The Beast's Possession

**Aife

pov**

By the time Jonathan strode inside the house, I had already managed to get dressed in my own clothes and hidden the pill inside the pocket of the jeans I was wearing.

His smile was so bright, it could light up any place, but sadly, it was evident that the smile was forced. Jonathan wasn't genuinely happy - he was worried about something and tried to hide it. Once he got close enough, I didn't hold back from questioning him. "What's going on?"

The moment the question left my lips, the smile faded and his eyes widened. Jonathan raised his hands and took a step back, "woah, hold your horses, what's with the instant attack? What makes you think anything is going on?" I raised an eyebrow at him and gave him the 'really' look, waiting for Jonathan to come clean. I didn't like it when people underestimated me and even more, I disliked it when they took me for a fool. I had eyes and senses - fooling me wasn't nearly as easy as everyone assumes.

"Alright," he dropped his hands to his sides and let out a heavy breath. "Maybe something is going on, but that's as much as I'm willing to share. Aife, you can't stress about anything, it's bad for the baby."

I could appreciate it that he was trying to look out for me, but he was approaching it in the wrong way. While Jonathan might think that what I didn't know didn't hurt me, in fact, it did. Now, I knew I wouldn't stop thinking about it until I found out what was wrong.

Running a hand though my hair, I closed my eyes and took a few breaths to ground myself. "Joanthan," I started, his name coming out harsher than I intended. "You need to understand that while I get your intentions are pure and your heart is at the right place - you're failing in keeping me calm. I won't stop thinking about this, and that, in turn, will stress me out more than you can imagine."

As I opened my eyes, I noticed how his facial expression changed with realization. "Shit," he cursed under his breath, looking so out of place it was almost entertaining. "I didn't think about it."

"Sure you didn't," I snapped back without thinking.

Thankfully, Jonathan didn't seem to be a person who held a grudge and instead of returning the attitude, he laughed. The laugh was nervous, but nevertheless still somewhat amused.

"Would it be okay with you if I promised to tell you everything once we reach our new home?" Jonathan offered, hope beaming in his eyes.

Since I didn't have any other choice, I agreed. I preferred to find out what was going on later over never anyway.

Also, the fact that Jonathan instantly looked less tense and happier helped too. He didn't waste a second to ask me where my bags were, which weren't much - most of the suitcases Killian brought were filled with different clothing he had gotten from the pack women and some bathroom products.

I pointed a finger at the suitcases in the corner of the room and Jonathan was more than glad to take them to the car.

Stepping outside the house, I expected to see Killian for one last time, but he wasn't here. Sensing my confusion, Jonathan glanced over his shoulder and offered a weak smile, "he said he will try to get here before we leave, which gives him about five minutes from now, but Alpha couldn't make any promises. He has spent so much time away from the pack, work has been piling up, waiting for his return."

I nodded. "That's understandable. Has everything been arranged already? Are you sure we will have a roof over our heads? I don't mind sleeping on the ground and watching the stars before I fall asleep, but that won't be a good idea for long term arrangements. At one point, as the baby grows, I think my back will kill me." I chuckled, adding some light to the situation.

"Don't worry," Jonathan muttered as he placed the first suitcase inside the trunk. "We have a small but cozy house waiting for us. You'll have a separate bedroom and I'll take the couch. Before you protest, let me stress that the couch is comfortable as hell. You might even try to steal my spot. This isn't the first time I'm staying there."

Those words actually calmed me a little. If nothing else, at least he knew where we were going and if Jonathan had spent a night there already, the place had to be safe to live in.

Just as I parted my lips to voice those thoughts, a car raced down the road towards us.

Jonathan glanced in the direction of the slick, black Mercedes and grinned. "There he is, the man of the day. He could free some time to see us before we go after all."

My eyes darted between the nearing car and Jonathan. Oh, for sure, he had a massive crush on his Alpha. And oddly enough, against everything I had learned about Killian with the deal he made with my father, I had a feeling the big bad Alpha had a soft spot for his driver too.

If it wasn't like that, I couldn't think of an explanation as to why as soon as a panicked-looking Killian stopped the car and jumped out of it, his eyes instantly found Jonathan and relief crossed his features.

I stood aside and watched Killian stride straight to Jonathan and pull the smaller man into a tight, almost bone-crushing hug. "I thought I was too late, had to speed to get here on time before you leave," he muttered as I pretended I didn't hear him.

These two had been acting weird around me, so to make them both more comfortable, I kept acting like I was oblivious to the obvious attraction and the tension that surrounded those two.

"I just told Aife there was a fifty-fifty chance of you arriving," Jonathan choked out, struggling to breathe.

The mention of my name was enough to pull Killian out of the weird daze. He let go of Jonathan and nearly jumped away from him as if he was hit with a surge of electricity.

Watching his reaction, I quickly averted my gaze and stared at the tree tops, pretending that I had noticed something. Once I felt their gazes on me, I spoke, "I think I saw an owl. Do they fly around during the day or were my eyes tricking me?" Soon after the words left me, Jonathan and Killian laughed, finally acting a little less tense. Returning my gaze to them, I smiled, happy to see that the grumpy Alpha didn't look like he was caught committing a crime anymore. Killian cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Are you ready to go?"

I wasn't. Honestly, I wasn't ready for all the changes that had happened in my life in the past couple of months, but I had to pretend that I was for the greater good. Fake it till you make it.

"Yes, as ready as I'll ever be," I announced and approached him. "A hug for goodbye?" I asked, opening my arms to embrace the man who was going above and beyond for me. It was hard to believe that just months ago, this same man was willing to buy me like a loaf of bread just to hide me away from the danger now that I was carrying the child of his enemy.

And that was when it hit me. I blindly trusted Killian because he didn't give me a reason to doubt him, and yet, his own doctor handed me a pill that was burning my skin through my jeans now. I couldn't trust anyone, especially an Alpha who knew I was carrying an Alpha's child..