The Beast's Possession

**Aife

pov**

A little hesitant, I swallowed and nodded, but that wasn't enough proof for Zion to take the action for granted. He pulled his hand away, jumped to his feet and started pacing the bedroom.

The few times he glanced my way, I could see the tears brimming in his eyes, which once again, broke my heart. I didn't want to hurt him even more than he already was. My only intention was to take that weight off his shoulders and support my friend.

"I need a verbal agreement, Aife," Zion groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "I need you to speak up and promise me that you will keep my secret. I trust you, but I need to make sure that once I put this much trust in you, you won't turn around and break everything. Not that I think that you would, I'm just very stressed about this, okay? So, so, so damn stressed. It's eating me alive. Just promise."

Wasn't his behavior what people often called an overreaction? If Zion claimed he could trust me, shouldn't he just show me that much? But then again, I kind of understood him as well.

If this whole mess was as big as he painted it to be... Well, it had to be. If whatever happened hit him hard enough to cry, it had to be as close to the end of the world in Zion's books as it got. Either way, I had to suck up my attitude and act like a friend, not a judgmental ass.

"Zion," I called out to stop his rant. Nearly instantly, he froze and turned to stare at me. I could sense the waves of unease and nervous energy radiating off him, so I slowly stood from my seat and approached him. Grabbing Zion's hand, I raised it and locked our pinky fingers. "I promise your secret won't leave these four walls even if someone has to torture me to get the information out of me. Even then I won't tell anyone. You have my word."

Zion's bottom lip trembled as he listened and looked at our locked pinky fingers. Slowly, his gaze traveled up until our eyes met. I could see something in his. Perhaps determination?

He stared into my eyes as if he was looking for answers I didn't think I could have. Once he found whatever he was searching for, Zion sighed and cleared his throat. "Give me Luna's honor word."

The demand took me off guard. Not only because I wasn't officially the Luna of this pack, but also because I knew that if I ever broke this promise, I would have to stand trial before the Moon Goddess after my death. Breaking a promise given under Luna's honor was an awful crime.

Despite the possible consequences, I agreed without a thought. "You have my word. No, sorry, I promise to keep your secret and not disclose it to anyone, regardless of the circumstances, Luna's honor."

All tension finally left his features. Zion suddenly looked like his usual self again, all smiles and giggles. "Okay, now sit down and listen to what I have to say. It's pretty important so don't interrupt me, okay?"

I did as I was told and sat down, crossing my legs and patiently waiting on whatever he had to say. Once again, Zion started pacing the bedroom, deep in thought.

As much as I wanted to speak up and encourage him to speak up, I held back. It wasn't like I knew much about whatever was on his mind, but given the awful mood swings he was displaying, I assumed it was bad.

Honestly, I really wanted Bane to be here. Everything was easier with him by my side and this was his best friend who was in trouble. I could bet my head that Bane could read Zion better than anyone and would understand what was wrong from the get-go.

Sadly for Zion, he had only me now. But, I was determined to be the best darn replacement I could be. And that was exactly why I spent the next ten minutes biting my tongue and watching Zion gather his thoughts. Every time he stopped, I thought he would say something, but seconds later, he returned to pacing.

At one point, I realized we were wasting too much time. I could sit and count how seconds turned into minutes, but that wouldn't help Zion at all. He needed to open up - for his own benefit.

And again, damn it, again, Zion stopped just to start pacing all over. I was done.

"Zion, I gave you what you wanted, so now, I need you to stop distracting yourself from the matter and speak up. Unless you tell me what is going on with you, I will never be able to help you. If you changed your mind about talking, you need to tell me as much. I really wouldn't mind some time to rest and now, all you're doing is just walking around like a crazy person."

My words seemed to work, because for once, he just stopped and stared. I didn't expect him to just drop the bomb on me, but in true Zion's fashion, he did just that. "My mate is about to reject me."

Saying he caught me off guard would be an understatement. Zion just stopped the entire planet from spinning just with his words alone.

"E-excuse me?" I stuttered. I had to heard something wrong. Yeah, that was the case. I overheard him.

"Gosh, Aife, are you listening? I just told you my mate is about to reject me. That's why I cried like a damn baby. She's about to toss me in the trash like a second-hand rug or some shit. Call me Mister Used Condom now, because she's discarding my ass without getting to know me. Well, it's not like anyone tries to get to know a condom before they use it, but that's beyond the point."

I stared at him in pure disbelief. I wasn't sure what was worse - the fact that Zion had an imaginary mate which was about to reject him or the fact that he was calling himself a used condom.

If this wasn't a wake-up call for me about how insatiable Zion was, I didn't know what it was. As soon as Bane would come home, I would bring this up and figure out how we could get Zion in therapy.

Seeing my confusion, Zion groaned and started pacing the bedroom again. "I'm not joking. I'm also not losing my mind, but to be fair, I wish it was the damn case. The woman that attacked you, she's my mate."

Okay, the planet really did stop spinning. I was sure that was the case. No way in hell was that old woman his mate. I refused to believe it.

"She's not old," Zion added, as if he could read my mind. "Definitely not old. She's a cat of sorts, she has those freaky eyes and insane hatred for werewolves. I went down to the cells to figure out why she snuck in and attacked you and then I lost the trail of thoughts because I realized she's my mate. That's why I was gagging because of the smell on your clothes. It's her scent. I'm trying to get over her before the rejection happens, you know."

The last words were merely a whisper, but those were enough for me to feel every emotion that was surging through Zion. He wasn't lying. He was completely serious. Shit, Zion was serious.