The Beast's Possession
11: I couldn’t do it.

**Aife

pov**

We ran for hours. Every snap of the branch and sound sent me into a state of panic I had never known. Before this escape, I had never felt such feral fear surging through me. Even when I tried to escape Bane.. Yes, I was scared shitless, but not like this.

The feeling I had eating me from the inside now was raw and ugly. If it weren't for Clove running, I could bet that my muscles would have locked up already and frozen me on the spot. I couldn't do this without her, that much was clear.

*"Oh, shush, stop putting yourself down. You're more than that, way more, Aife. And for the record - if it weren't for me, you would still get out of that madhouse one way or another. I know you, I've watched you, and while you don't have the ability to admit this to yourself, I can help a little - you are a strong one. Way stronger than you think. You went to hell and came back stronger. Instead of fearing or fighting your demons, you ride with them. Now, if that isn't admirable, I don't know what it is."*

Her words made me feel warm inside. Besides Bane, no one had ever been talking about me so highly. Wasn't it a little pathetic? The man who kidnapped and broke me was the man who showed me the most kindness and remorse. "Thank you," I muttered, barely holding back the tears.

If Clove was serious about watching me all those years, she knew more about my life than I was willing to share. She knew the deepest, darkest secrets, the pain and misery. She knew it all, she watched me break and attempt to put myself together times and times again.

Honestly, if it was me who was asked what or how I was, I would never use words as kind as Clove did. I could find more faults within myself than positives.

"I'm very grateful to have you. I know this sounds cheesy, but I'm extremely thankful to finally have someone as my best friend. Someone, who will never leave me and will always remain by my side. I didn't dare to dream of this happening. Ever." I choked on my own words.

The reality was that I might have sounded pathetic, but I needed to get it all out. I needed her to understand how important she was to me and at this point, the wolf was my lifeline. Without her, I wouldn't get out of there so soon and would risk the life of our pup.

*"I think it's best if we rest a little. As much as I enjoy myself running and chasing the small forest animals, my paws are on fire. Do you want to remain like this or do you prefer to shift back to your body? Don't worry, there's not a soul around us, no one will see you and if I'm wrong, the shift won't take longer than a second. I'm here to introduce everyone to my claws and canines if needed."* She chuckled as amusement oozed from her words.

"I wouldn't mind stretching my legs and having a quick snack," I replied.

Just how easy the shift was earlier, it was now. In a matter of a second, I stood up and stretched my body before I untied the tote bag and got dressed. As soon as I did, I grabbed an apple and showed the other bag inside the tote.

Unlike me, Clove paid more attention to our surroundings and managed to snatch a plastic bag with women's clothes on our way out of the territory. She had no idea how thankful I was for an extra set of clothes to change whenever needed.

Sitting down on a rock, I scanned our surroundings and bit down on the apple. "What now? Do we have any idea what we will do next? Oh, and won't they feel that we left or something? I think I can recall something my father mentioned about pack links."

Clove snorted out a laugh. *"Thankfully, we don't have to worry about the pack link."*

I frowned and arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Why don't we?"

She hummed, as if deep in thought and then, the image of her wolfish grin flashed in my mind. "We don't belong to that pack, so no one feels how we come or go. After the pack you belonged to was slaughtered and you were taken away from there, the link broke. You were out of it, that's why you didn't feel the pain and the overwhelming sense of loss. Ever since, I couldn't say you are a pack wolf."*

Her words stung a little. If not a pack wolf, where did I belong then? Wolves were creatures of habit and closed communities, we preferred to stay around our packs, and hold onto our territories.

*"You, my darling, you are a lone wolf now. You have been for a while. We are our own pack."* Clove announced, sounding so proud, I almost teared up.

I kind of liked how she said it. Even more, I enjoyed how she stressed that we were our own pack, not me, not her - we.

I slowly chewed the last bite of the apple and tossed the leftover away, feeling surprisingly full. Clove had found a beautiful clearing with various types of wildflowers and some small insects buzzing around. Not many knew this, but for as long as you could hear the forest life around you - you were safe.

The whole place stilled and went unusually quiet only when there was a predator nearby.

As my thoughts went down that rabbit hole, Clove laughed. *"You are the predator, Aife."*

A giggle left me. "Not now. Right now, I'm just a woman, sitting in the middle of the forest, enjoying my alone time. For all we know, if anyone runs into us, they could think I got lost or something. The real predator is you, my lovely Clove. The breathtaking wolf with the soft, brown fur that looks like silk under the sunlight and eyes as deep as ocean - the magnificent animal, created to hunt and kill."

*"Point made," she chuckled and suddenly, nothing but the slight buzzing of the forest and a comfortable silence surrounded us.

Prior to this, I could count on my fingers how many times any type of silence had made me feel this comfortable. It was the soothing kind, one I often experienced while laying on Bane's chest and just listening to his heartbeat. Goddess, I missed him like crazy. Just a brief moment in passing would do, even if that was the last thing I could get from him. I just really, really wanted him here. Bane would know what to do, he would fight for us, for our baby.

But he didn't know about the baby.. There was no way for him to know. And now, because of the selfishness of someone I had trusted and loved my entire life, I had to leave the place where he could find me. How was he supposed to get to me?

*"Mate will find you. Even if it takes years, he will. Mate bond is a beautiful thing, my precious human, it's unbreakable. Those who claim you can break one are liars. There's no breaking the link between the souls drawn by the Goddess. She will guide him to you. We can't give up. Until he comes, we're on our own."*