The Beast's Possession

**Aife pov**

Not too surprisingly, I woke up in a hospital room, surrounded by a swarm of doctors and nurses. I knew Zion loved to overreact most times when something didn't go according to his plans, but this was far too much. Even for Zion. As I watched the frantic medical personnel discuss something, completely unaware of the fact that I was awake, I wondered what had gotten their panties in such a twist.

The most reasonable answer was their pure fear of Bane. But would the Alpha himself actually punish anyone if anything were to happen to me? Accidents happened to everyone on a daily basis, I was sure Bane would understand. "Should we tell her?" One of the nurses whisper-hissed, catching my attention.

I knew it was wrong, very much so, but I couldn't fight the temptation to eavesdrop on them. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing to ensure I appeared as if I was still asleep, unaware of everything.

"I don't think it's a good idea. Luna was attacked, we still don't know all the reasons for this attack and Beta Zion has been in those cells for longer than we thought he would be. I think the prisoner is refusing to tell him the reason behind the sudden attack," another voice joined the discussion.

Someone cleared their throat, all I could say was that it had to be a man, and the commotion from the medics instantly died down. I wasn't sure if it was because he noticed I was listening, not really sleeping, or if he was someone with authority and everyone knew they had to listen to him.

The silence that followed was deafening. It was a little funny how even I could feel how thick the tension in the room was and how much it weighed down on everyone present, including me.

After what felt like hours with seconds as long as eternity, he finally spoke up. "I think it's best if we try to reach out to the Alpha and tell him what's going on here. As unbelievable as it seems, there might be a rat inside the pack. Someone we trust, sadly. There is no other way anyone could know Alpha left and Luna is still in the pack without his protection. We all know that nobody dares to enter the territory because of him. Alpha Bane is someone who haunts everyone's nightmares, hence why he hates leaving the pack. His name and reputation is what keeps us safe. What could keep her safe."

His words were followed by silent muttering of others, but no one dared to speak up until another voice decided to argue. "If we tell him, we're as good as dead. Think of what will happen to Beta Zion. He was assigned to protect the Luna and while he was really trying to, someone got in. The alpha won't be happy."

The rest of the staff instantly jumped in and agreed with the woman's argument. She had a point, sort of, but if I had any power here, I wouldn't allow Bane to hurt Zion. If anything, this truly was an accident. Sure, I would rather find out more about the curse I remembered someone mentioning, but if Zion thought it was better to get me out of that situation, maybe I was better off not knowing anything.

Or perhaps he really wanted Bane to come clean with me and tell me everything personally... Which would be the best case scenario. If there was anything I should know, I would prefer to hear it from him.

"Nonsense," the same, deep male voice spoke over everyone. "Luna will have Beta's back. They are friends and if anyone has any power over our Alpha, it's her. Trust me on this one, our Luna is a very intelligent woman and she knows sometimes things happen. As much as we are trying to protect her from everything, we just can't predict that something awful will happen. We aren't gods."

I wanted to smile so bad, but I managed to suppress the need. It wasn't the praise this man was giving me about intelligence, it was the fact that he could see me for who I was. He knew I stood for what was right and did my best to protect everyone. At least someone had faith in me.

"Alright, you are making a lot of sense," the woman who argued earlier spoke up. She sucked in a deep breath and judging by the sound she was making, I could tell she was awfully frustrated. "But what about her? Do you really think it's better to keep our mouths shut and pretend we don't know anything? I mean, we don't have precise answers but we have assumptions and ideas. She will ask questions, Cole."

A deep humm echoed against the walls and a moment later, it was replaced by a sigh of defeat. "You're right, sadly. Just like I mentioned, she's intelligent and she asks many questions. Even if we act like we don't know anything, she will catch on to something being off. Sooner or later, she will figure out something. If she finds out we lied or withheld information from her, Luna will never believe us again. It's like a battle we can't win with her on one side and the Alpha on the other." Since this conversation was going nowhere, I decided this was the right moment to let them know I was awake. Slowly, I moved my hand and blinked my eyes open, letting out a low, guttural sound, which instantly let them know my throat was dry.

In a blink of an eye, the doctors surrounded my bed and started taking vitals, asking me questions and overall creating an unnecessary scene. Thankfully, at least one of them had enough brain power to hand me a glass of water with a straw so at least my throat didn't feel like it was burning anymore.

"Thank you," I whispered and smiled at the kind nurse.

"Anytime, Luna, glad to help," she beamed as she placed the glass back on the nightstand next to the bed.

For the first few minutes, I let the doctors fuss around me until the initial panic slowly wore off and they finally managed to collect themselves enough to look like professionals, not a bunch of soccer moms.

"How are you feeling, Luna?" Asked the doctor who had complimented me earlier.

I smiled at him and slowly sat up in bed. "A little dizzy, but other than that, I don't feel any pain or discomfort. May I know what happened? I don't remember much."

As expected, the doctors and nurses exchanged glances, as if they were having a silent discussion between them and the man spoke again. "Someone broke into the main house and got to you. We have no idea why this woman was here or what her goal was, all we know is that she used a sedative powder and then, Beta Zion got her."

"What do you mean Zion got her? Did he hurt her? Where is she now?" I had a feeling I knew what they meant and I did hear a thing or two, but pretending to be clueless about it all was better in this case.

The doctor sighed and looked at his colleagues before looking back at me. "Beta Zion got there in time, but not fast enough to hold that woman back from doing what she did. She's in the cells right now and Beta is dealing with her. Now, we really need to do more tests to ensure the powder was only sedatives, not something that could harm you."