The Beast's Possession

**Aife

pov**

The moment we returned back to the women's housing, I bolted to the house that was assigned to me. Claudia and some other women tried to knock on my door and bring me clothing, but as ashamed as I was to admit it to myself, I was too scared to accept their help.

No one knew if the all-mighty nameless Alpha had his eyes on me even here. And if he had, I would suffer something far worse than simply running around naked. They would suffer too.

As the hours clicked by, I realized I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. Oddly enough, I didn't remember feeling hungry either.

At one point, I went outside to sit on the porch. Soon after, one of the younger women joined me and sat on the chair next to mine, her eyes focused on something in the distance. "You're Aife, right? I'm Rose," she muttered.

A slight smile spread across my lips as I spoke. "That's me. It's nice to meet you, Rose."

After that she sat silent, as if she had something she really wanted to say, but held back. For a while, I was okay with the situation, but the more time passed, the more silence irked me. "So, spit it out. What is it?" I tried to sound amused as I spoke.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Rose shift in her seat as she started nibbling on her nails. "Well," she breathed out. "Why are you refusing the clothes we offer?"

Rose spoke so fast, it felt like she was more frustrated about the whole situation than I was.

"Because I don't want to get you guys in any trouble," I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "Besides, I can learn how to feel more comfortable in my skin, so that has to be a plus side to this situation." "So it's not because you want to be chosen?" She gasped. Rose's eyes focused on me so intensively that I started feeling uncomfortable being this close.

"Chosen?" I had to sound like a moron as I repeated the word, but seriously, I had no idea what she was talking about.

I didn't want to be here to begin with. Barely the first day and I was already punished for doing nothing wrong, and still, she thought I wanted something here?

"Yes, chosen," Rose snapped at me.

My silence had to be loud enough for her to understand I was left in the dark. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped as she stared at me as if I was an alien. "You really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Since no words worked with this girl, I just shrugged my shoulders and looked away. Whatever the hell this place was, their system was too much for me to understand, so I didn't want to bother and even try to.

"One of the men is exchanging a woman. I don't know which one exactly, but there is a rumor that his chosen one turned out to be unfit, so he's sending her here to join the rejects and taking one of us since the Alpha rejected his plea to leave the pack and find a replacement."

While Rose spoke with excitement, I couldn't help but feel disgusted. By the pack, the leader, and finally - her too. How all of them treated living shifters like they were a piece of property to take, share and toss away, was beyond me. "Forgive my ignorance, but why are you so excited?" I finally broke the silence.

Rose frowned at me. "How-" she stopped herself and took a deep breath. The cheerful expression faded and was replaced by an ugly scowl. "You know what, I don't understand why I even bothered to come here and try to talk to you. And you're right, you are ignorant." She hissed.

Just as Rose was about to stand up and probably storm away, I placed my hand over hers and stopped her. She could sulk and act all offended later, but now, I wanted to get some answers.

"Again, I'm sorry for acting so ignorant. I have barely spent any time here, so I'm not familiar with how this pack works yet. It seems that you know a lot about the system, so could you please tell me? I don't want to be so clueless and keep offending everyone just because I don't know," I tried to flatter her.

Rose froze for a second, but when she looked at me again, her eyes burned in hatred. "And why would I try to help you? What's in it for me?" She spat.

I didn't need time to think about the answer. I had a feeling I knew exactly what she wanted.

Smiling, I slowly rose from my seat and tugged on her hand as I walked to the door. "When I have to face the Alpha again, I will praise you for educating me on the pack customs. I'm sure he would be very pleased to hear how seriously some of the women here take his rules."

Just as I suspected, those words caught Rose's attention. She became all too eager to enter the house. In fact, she ran inside first and pulled me right after her.

Rose dragged me to the couch and pushed me on it. Then, she started pacing the room and explained how the choosing and exchanges of the women happened in the pack.

Then, as soon as she was done boasting about how much she loved the said 'tradition' and how happy she was to be chosen by the warriors of this pack when hers was attacked, she became serious and focused her gaze on me. "I'm not supposed to tell you this since you're still a newcomer and an outsider, but since you promised to do me a massive favor, I'll do one for you too."

I raised an eyebrow as she walked closer to me and leaned in to whisper, "I know a couple of warriors. They are all too happy to tell me everything about the newest rumors and updates we usually don't get from the main building. The word got out that the Alpha is preparing his house for something big. He has spent the last couple of years in the main building, but he's getting ready to move out soon. This is why I need you to uphold your end of the bargain." Maybe I really wasn't that gifted when it came to intelligence, but most of the things she said made no sense to me.

How was her stupid need to please the Alpha connected to his sudden decision to move into a separate housing?

"Oh my God, you don't get it," Rose gasped and started laughing like a maniac.

When she managed to calm down a little, she wiped tears from her cheeks and added, "the Alpha is single. Believe it or not, but the men of this pack are very serious about the women they choose. Once they find a partner, it's for a lifetime unless the said partner has unforgivable flaws."

"Like?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Like she's infertile. That's unforgivable and I have a gut feeling that the one who will be taken in today is incapable of carrying a child, hence the exchange." Rose announced with a smug look on her face.

I was dying to remind her she wasn't any better than the rest of the women in the houses around here. The same as others, Rose was a reject, unwanted and undesired by the pack men. Unfortunately, I needed answers, so I had to bite my tongue and keep my mouth shut.

"Where was I? Oh, right. Now that Alpha is preparing his house, I think he is about to make a choice soon. I have always felt like this part of the pack isn't the rejects at all. I believe he keeps the best of all here for his own choosing. Not to brag, but I know I'm on the top of his list, so you need to tell him I was nice and educated you so you stop messing up his days."

I was about to open my mouth and tell her something I probably shouldn't have when the door opened and Claudia saved my ass. "Aife, love, can we talk? In private."