The Beast's Possession
9: Before anyone notices.

**Aife pov**

As soon as father left the bedroom, I felt like I could breathe again. Not for too long, though. Clove felt like something was off with him and the reason behind his visit so she kept urging me to sneak after him and find out if he had something to hide.

At first, I argued back and tried to convince her that father, as weird as he could be, was a good man and didn't hold secrets from his family.

However, along with her nagging came a weird feeling in my gut, the same type as one I felt when Bane attacked the pack and took me from there. The feeling I swore to never ignore again.

So, instead of hiding away like I had done for the past few months, I took the leap into the unknown and snuck downstairs, intently listening for any giveaway where my father might be.

It didn't take longer than a minute for me to hear hushed voices coming from the living room. One was my father's, the other, I didn't quite recognize it yet.

Sneaking closer, I held my breath and willed my heart to calm down a little. I couldn't just barge in on that conversation, especially since it sounded tense, so I had to ensure they wouldn't catch me spying on them.

As I got close enough to hear the muffled words, I pressed my back against the wall and listened in, paying attention to my surroundings just in case someone would walk by and catch me red-handed.

"She is as much of a human being as we both are, she shouldn't be treated as less. Or a breeding machine." My father stated.

It looked like I had missed quite a chunk of the conversation, but this sounded serious. I didn't have all of the information and details, so I definitely had to stay around and listen.

Whatever was happening in that room - it was big.

My heart was beating so fast, I heard the pounding in my ears and missed something, but managed to gather myself possibly at the best moment ever.

"If Killian wants her to give him six children, she will do that even if the price she has to pay is her life. I don't give a shit. The only thing I care about are the five million per child Killian will stop in my bank account. I've already started work in the pack which has forced me into massive debt so I suggest you don't fuck this up for me. Not to mention that you have failed to marry her off to Killian so I haven't gotten the initially agreed sum yet either." A woman hissed.

I didn't need to hear more. No matter how hard someone might try to convince me that this conversation had nothing to do with me, it was too late to cover it with lies. Far too late.

My hand instinctively covered my flat belly. If these two were planning to marry me off and promised I would pop out children for that man, he would rather die than let my baby live. Killian and Bane had some bad blood between them, what would be a better way for Killian to hurt Bane if not kill his child?

Bile rose up to my throat and tears filled my eyes. I wouldn't allow this. I couldn't.

Just because they didn't know I was pregnant didn't mean they had any right to treat me like less than a human being. Just like them, I was a shifter, one of an Alpha line at that, so they had no damn right to sell me off like last week's pie. Taking a shaky breath, I pushed myself off the wall and tip-toed away. Once I reached the staircase and glanced up, I realized that returning to that room might be the worst thing I could do now.

While grabbing some essentials sounded like the best course of action, by doing so, I put myself under more risk than I already was. I could probably grab a bag of extra clothing in the woods and Clove would surely hunt something for us to

eat.

*"Bet your ass I will. We can devour the animal in my form but once we get far enough, I don't mind hunting one down and waiting until you cook the meat. I know a thing or two about forests and everything edible there so I can guide you. Oh, and I'm pretty good at combat too, if I may say so myself, so you two will be protected."* She assured me.

A slight smile tugged at my lips. Us two. Didn't that sound amazing?

"Now, it's us three against the world," I muttered to myself, loving the sense of pride that surged through me as soon as those words passed my lips.

*"We better leave before anyone notices us,"* Clove urged me.

I really appreciated how aware and careful she was. With her on my side now, I felt like for once, I had someone I could rely on without fearing anything going wrong. No one could take Clove from me.

But first, I snuck inside the kitchen and looked around. Oddly enough, there were no cameras around this massive property and unless someone had to actually work in the kitchen, no one stuck around there. It was a complete opposite to Bane's pack where the pack members loved to mingle in the kitchen, if only to enjoy a cup of coffee together.

*"Grab what you need and let's go, I think the patrol is nearing, we'll have about five minutes to escape before they notice someone darting through the property."*

I nodded in a silent agreement and grabbed a tote bag left hanging on a doorknob. I could have gone for better things, but I chose to toss some apples, granola bars and a couple of bottles of water inside the bag. *"That doesn't look too tasty,"* Clove complained.

"And that also doesn't reek like meat does," I explained in a whisper, heading for the back door.

*"Point taken. I hear them gathering on the other side of the house, our five minutes start now. Once you reach the forest line, put the clothes in that bag and let me do my magic."*

I didn't bother to even think about protesting her words. I knew Clove had a plan and was more than willing to stick to it. And besides, her plan was way better than anything I could suggest - she was a way faster runner than I could be. As I hurried out of the house and headed towards the forest, I kept glancing back and around, just in case someone noticed me leaving. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and by the time I entered the forest, no one had noticed my absence yet. That had to be a good sign.

Once I dropped the bag and started stripping, a painful realization hit me. "Won't the shift hurt the baby? I'm a little worried that it could be too much. We don't know," I muttered, still worried that someone could overhear us. *“No,”* Clover didn't have any hint of worry in her voice. *"Shifts are natural to us and at one point, they will be natural for our pup too. It won't hurt the baby, I'm sure it won't."*

Okay, I really needed that reassurement more than I initially thought. Thankfully, she sounded so sure of every word she said, I didn't have to overthink and waste the time we both didn't have.

I slid off my panties and shoved all the clothes in the tote bag, tying it close just in case. The next moment, I didn't realize how I had shifted faster than I could bink. One second I stood on two feet and the next, I was on four. Clover took the bag with her teeth and bit onto it for extra safety. *"You can rest now, I will protect you two."