The Beast's Possession

**Jonathan

pov**

After I finally managed to get Zion to bed and made sure he was as comfortable as I could get him to be, I decided to check on Aife and Kala.

Both of them weren't in the living room earlier when I ran to the kitchen to fetch some water for Zion, so I was sure they found a private space to enjoy some gossip.

The house was quiet, the uncomfortable type that made every sound ten times louder. Every creak of the floorboards under my weight echoed against the walls, letting everyone know I was moving around. As I walked down the hall from the bedroom, I checked the living room again. Still empty. Since I couldn't hear voices from inside the house, I decided to check the porch, which is where I finally saw them both. They sat near each other, both nursing cups of steaming tea in their hands, looking at the wolf that didn't seem too eager to run off after all.

As I approached, I could finally hear their voices, even though they were hushed, more like whispers.

Then, I stopped and froze in my tracks as Aife spoke up again, the urgency and desperation in her voice caught me off guard.

"How is he?" Aife asked, her tone was soft but still demanding, like she knew she deserved the answer I wished Kala wouldn't offer.

But of course, my silent prayers did nothing because Kala answered the question after some hesitation on her part.

"It's not that easy to explain, you know. The pack is struggling and Alpha Bane. Shoot, Bane is not himself, Aife. Not in the way you remember him."

I knew that eavesdropping wasn't right, but I still leaned against the wall to keep myself out of their sight. I shouldn't have done that, but something in the way Aife spoke made it impossible not to try and listen.

"How bad is it?" Aife kept pressing. She sounded like a truly desperate woman in the weirdest ways - both scared to learn the truth and dying to know every single detail at the same time. It was hard to explain.

Kala hesitated again, but eventually, she blew out a heavy breath and spoke up again. "He lost control. There's a thing inside him and it has taken over completely. He's hurting people. He hurt Zion. The pack is falling apart, Aife. Some people are trying to hold everything together while others are too scared to breathe near him."

I heard the sharp intake of breath from Aife. Her next words were barely a whisper, probably meant only for her to hear. "We have to do something."

After that, I thought that Kala might ignore the remark, but she only waited for a bit before she reached out and placed her hand over Aife's, squeezing it in an assuring manner. "We're both expecting, Aife, this stress isn't good for our babies. Let's head inside and get some rest."

Aife nodded and followed Kala inside, thankfully neither of them noticed my presence, probably too stuck in their own thoughts to pay any attention to anything.

As both of them disappeared somewhere into the house, I stood frozen on the spot. My chest was so tight, I struggled to breathe and the damn weight of their words was already pushing down on me heavily. Aife was right, no one could just stand by and watch Alpha Bane go mad, but also, I couldn't let her do anything stupid.

As lights inside the house went out, I promised myself I would come up with a solution soon. Eventually, I returned to the living room and plopped down on the couch, but I couldn't sleep that night.

I spent the hours staring at the ceiling, counting the seconds until morning. My mind raced, replaying their conversation over and over. The thought of Bane's pack - of Aife's pack - falling apart left a massive pit in my stomach. I wasn't sure why, but I really felt off about the chance of her home being destroyed like that.

Something had to be done, but it couldn't come from Aife. She was too vulnerable, pregnant and too emotionally involved with the whole mess. Kala was pregnant too and Zion, well, he had seen way better days. So, that left me.

Eventually, when the first rays of sun shone through the curtains, I got up and quietly moved around the house, ensuring I wouldn't wake up any of them. In the kitchen, I busied myself making breakfast. Within minutes, the smell of eggs and toast filled the air. Then, I put on the kettle for coffee, anticipating to see sleepy faces round the corner anytime soon.

As expected, Aife appeared in the doorway, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "You're up early," she mumbled and flashed me a beautiful smile.

Truth be told, I wasn't surprised why Alpha Bane had to have fallen in love with this woman. There was something special about her - the strength she possessed paired with the childish innocence were intoxicating traits. Even I enjoyed spending time with her and I had never been a people person.

"Couldn't sleep," I muttered and forced a smile of my own as I slid a plate of food onto the table right when she sat down. "Figured I'd make myself useful."

"This looks great. Thank you, Jonathan." She grinned and instantly busied herself with eating, not looking up at me at all.

"No problem. I was thinking of going for a quick run in the woods after breakfast. Stretch my legs a bit." I quickly blurted out my excuse, hoping to God she wouldn't catch on my voice being a little strained.

Aife nodded, eyes still focused on the bacon on her plate. "That's a good idea, just be careful. The forest can be unpredictable, even with the creatures protecting us and all." "Always am," I nodded.

She didn't question me further, just kept eating and gushed about the wonderful breakfast. As I enjoyed the cup of morning coffee and listened to her retelling of the dream she had, I felt a pang of guilt for the half-truth. But this was something I had to do.

Later, after Kala and Zion woke up, had breakfast and promised me a hundred times that they would look after Aife for me, I finally left the house. The wolf Aife rescued the day before tried to follow me, but I told it to stay and to my surprise, it did. Well, okay, it did only after I told it to guard Aife.

As soon as I entered the woods, I took off running. I didn't shift into my wolf, seeing how my only goal was to get to a safe distance from the house. I had to be far enough that I wouldn't be overheard but close enough to return quickly if needed.

Once I was sure the distance was right, I stopped and leaned against the neared tree. Then, I took a couple of deeper breaths and pulled my phone from my pocket to dial Killian's number. It rang twice before he picked up. "Killian," he grunted.

Funny that even though he sounded grumpy, I couldn't help but grin like an idiot as soon as I heard his voice. This was no time for gushing and mushy remarks, but I sure as fuck missed him. Too bad he had no idea how much I really did. Clearing my throat, I got to the point instantly. "We have a problem. I overheard Aife and Kala talking last night. It's bad, Killian. Real bad."

There was a pause on the other end and some shuffling around, almost like he was trying to get rid of someone's presence before we kept talking. "Tell me everything."

And so I did. I told him everything I heard, every detail Zion told me about what was going on in the pack and even added my worry about the chance that Aife might try to go back.

When I finished, Killian cursed under his breath. "Alright. Stay where you are. I'll handle it from here, first I need to find out more about what is going on there and then, we can come up with a plan. Some of his pack members are seeking refuge here, I'm sure I'll have answers by the end of the day. Make sure she stays put and doesn't put her life in danger, okay?"

"I'll do my best. From what I gather, Aife might be a pretty important piece of the puzzle here, so I'm getting worried. What if she does something stupid?" I asked and glanced over my shoulder, as if scared someone might be listening in. "She wouldn't risk the life of an unborn child."