The Beast's Possession

**Aife pov**

My heart hammered in my chest as I listened to the heavy steps that were echoing against the walls as the man in question made his way upstairs.

A screech of panic left Claudia. She shoved me behind her and blocked my view at the door, in time with the bedroom door opening with a loud bang, making both of us jump.

"Ah, there she is, the one and only Aife," the man chuckled and approached Claudia. "Step aside. In the name of our friendship, I don't want to hurt you, but for that, you need to listen to me."

At his words, cold shivers ran down my spine. He sounded absolutely detached from reality and humanity - a man, who wouldn't have an issue with killing even those closest to him.

My first instinct was to step aside and let him see me, let him do whatever he pleased, but the thought was instantly followed with a wave of overwhelming memories.

I followed my instincts when these monsters slaughtered our pack. I followed him, I did what he wanted, and in turn, he still killed my family.

The leader manipulated me into thinking my family might be alive, but that was hard to believe, so at the end of the day - I could see that all of them repeated the same pattern. They all lied. Claudia followed the command and stepped aside, whispering a weak, "I'm sorry."

I was sure we all knew her words were aimed at me, not the man, but he still grinned as if he had won a prize of a lifetime.

First, his eyes took me in. He scanned me from head to toes, so tortuously slowly, I wished the ground would open and swallow me whole just to get away from his scrutiny.

Then, he reached out his hand and captured a strand of my hair and twirled it between his fingers as the corner of his mouth twitched in a suppressed smile. "Now I see it," he muttered.

I held my breath, refusing to utter a word that could send me closer to the rock bottom. As if I wasn't close enough, ha.

From the corner of my eye, I could see how terrified Claudia looked. Her face had turned as pale as a paper sheet and her bottom lip trembled.

"Just like the Alpha said, you are a wild one, aren't you, Aife? One would think it is mandatory to greet their superior. But you... You stand before me and pretend to be mute. Bad girl, very, very bad girl." The tone he used gave me the creeps but I still refused to speak.

I wasn't under any obligation to greet these monsters.

If anything, they were the ones who had to beg my forgiveness. Beg for the forgiveness of every woman they kidnapped, the forgiveness of every pack they slaughtered and left behind, drowning in pools of their own blood.

I knew that one day, this monstrosity of a pack would meet their darkness. Something so powerful - they would realize there would be nothing left of their pride, just guilt and regret.

As the thought crossed my mind, he yanked the strand of hair he was holding, forcing a hiss of pain to escape me.

Again, the corner of his mouth twitched, ever so slightly, but noticeable enough for me to see how much he enjoyed inflicting pain.

"I like this one. She's coming with me," he announced and looked at Claudia.

"Delta," Claudia cried out. I refused to look away from the man, he had to see that it wouldn't be nearly as easy to break me as he assumed, but I still could see my only friend drop to her knees from the corner of my eye. "I'm begging you, don't. Aife isn't of age yet, she is far too young. Take any woman here, take me, but don't touch the girl. I'm begging."

I felt like an invisible claw had caught my heart and started squeezing it. The pain spread throughout my chest. Claudia, someone who barely knew me, was ready to give up on her life just to serve instead of me.

I admired her just as much as I hated her proposition. It seemed like I was stuck in a vicious repeat of challenges of fate. Once again, I knew I couldn't let others suffer because of me.

"No," the word escaped me before I could stop it.

Delta's eyes snapped to me as he yanked my hair again. Tears stung my eyes as he brought his face dangerously close to mine and growled, "no, what?"

"Don't take her. I'll go, just please, don't hurt her," tears started streaming down my cheeks as I struggled to form words.

"Aife -" Claudia started, but the words died on her lips right when Delta growled again. This time, the growl was so powerful, it shook the windows of the building.

"You heard her, Claudia. She's coming with me, like it or not. I've made my choice," he spat. His eyes were trained on me even when he was addressing Claudia, which was something I found extremely disrespectful, but didn't dare to bring up. As selfish as it sounded, deep down, I hoped this man was far too full of himself to care about what happened around him. I hoped he would be careless, blinded by his own pride. That would be perfect for me because then, I could surely find a way out.

At the beginning, I could earn his trust. Everyone, even the rogues, knew that mating a woman before she was of age would kill her. A dead woman brought no use to anyone, so they didn't dare to touch those who weren't of age. Following this logic, I had a little over two months to plan out my escape. First, I would follow him home. Then, I would follow every command and order he would give me. And finally, just when he would learn to trust me and wouldn't suspect anything - I would leave.

Planning my exit felt wrong. I wanted to help the remaining women labeled as rejects, but sadly, I knew I wouldn't be able to convince them to leave. From what I noticed, they were comfortable in their roles and neither appeared to be too keen to get away from this pack.

"Pack your bag and don't try anything. You have five minutes." Delta snarled, pulling me out of my thoughts and finally let go of my hair.

I watched how he spun on his heel and headed out without a single worry in the world.

Claudia instantly rushed to my side, threw her arms around me and started sobbing. Her hold on me became so tight, I knew she didn't want to let me go.

"It's fine. I've been through worse. Don't cry for me, Claudia, we will still see each other." I muttered and placed my hand on her lower arm, letting her know she had to release me.

Once she did, Claudia nodded her head and wiped her tears. "I'll help you pack."

It wasn't like I owned anything here, but we still packed the few pieces of clothing that were in the closet. Claudia threw a bottle of shampoo and a few packs of pads in the bag, claiming pack men didn't let women leave the territory, so she thought I had to stock up.

I stood aside and let her fuss around for a little. Ever since I arrived here, Claudia had acted like my guardian, a mother almost.

Thinking about Claudia as a mother, I couldn't hold it all in. I pulled her into a tight hug and started sobbing myself, crying out the hurt of the loss brought by the monsters.

I wasn't ready to leave, but of course, neither of the men here knew mercy. Delta appeared out of nowhere, grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me to his side, effectively breaking the hug we were sharing.

He grabbed the bag, told Claudia she had to stay in the house and dragged me downstairs. Even as we approached the door, he didn't let go. In fact, his grip tightened as if he wanted me to scream, cry and beg him to let me go.

When he forced me out of the building, I could see all of the women surrounding the house, scowling at me and muttering something to each other.

I averted my gaze to the ground and gave in, letting the man drag me to his car. He opened the door, threw me inside, and closed the door with such force, I was surprised how he didn't smash the windows.

Now, I was almost sure that fate had only one thing in mind for me - from the hands of one tormentor, to another.