The Beast's Possession

**Kala pov**

I tried to eat, but every bit of food got stuck in my throat, that was how darn nervous I was. The woman that sat next to me held a lot of power in this pack, so technically, she could also decide what happened to me next. For all I knew, she could be a very spiteful person, pretending to be friendly. If that was the case, she could easily arrange my execution without batting an eye.

When everything was too much and my heart started beating so fast, I could hear the pounding in my ears, I set the plate of food aside and pulled my knees to my chest. "Are you going to send me to a death row?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

My words surprised the Luna so much, she choked on a piece of food she was chewing. Her eyes filled with tears as she coughed and fanned herself.

The next moment, guards appeared in front of the cell, looking at me like they were, in fact, about to murder me for asking a simple question. This was so unfair...

"Luna, are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" The older man asked as he stepped inside the cell.

The Luna raised her hand to hold him at distance and coughed two more times before she spoke again, "I'm fine, you shouldn't worry about me. My new friend, over here, decided to tell me a joke just as I was swallowing my food so this is the result. Could we please get our privacy back, gentlemen?"

I had no idea what it was, but I was amazed by this woman. Truthfully amazed. The way she carried herself, the way she spoke, acted and treated everyone, it was something I hadn't seen before.

My witch, Salem, claimed she loved me. But she did it when she whipped me every time I did something she disapproved of.

Shivers ran down my spine as the memory of the last time assaulted me. Thirty times. No breaks, no mercy, thirty deep cuts over my back and then, I came to my senses in Salem's arms as she whispered how much she loved me. Perhaps I was wired differently and couldn't really tell bad from good, but I had a feeling that what she did wasn't something anyone could do out of love.

A nudge to my side startled me so much, I jumped and screamed. My body was reacting to the sudden contact, but as fast as the panic overtook me, it left me.

Surprisingly, all because of the warm, soft hand on my shoulder, gently rubbing the skin. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you sweetheart. I'm truly sorry." The Luna whispered, clearly worried about my reaction.

That took me off guard even more. Why was she apologizing to me? No one ever did...

"I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your name. My name is Aife, it's nice to meet you," she suddenly smiled and offered me her hand.

Okay, this interaction was getting weirder with every minute passing. A woman of high rank, great power, was introducing herself to me as if she wanted to be my friend. And not only that, she offered me only her name, without insisting to add Luna in front of this.

This was either a great plan to get under my skin, or.. Or she really was a kind woman and didn't think of herself as anyone higher than others. I had a hard time believing the latter, especially because I didn't know her yet, but maybe that could be possible.

After all, it wasn't like I had met many people in my way. I knew cats and hated them. I knew witches and while they were pretty barbaric, they weren't as bad as cats, so that was that. All my experience in a few words.

My hand shook as I took hers, but I still accepted the handshake. "My name is Kala," I whispered, doing my best to avoid her gaze. I knew what was coming - ridicule. That was the reaction everyone had to my stupid name.

For some twisted reason, everyone I met knew that my name meant 'art', so they used it against me and mostly called me 'painting' or 'brush'. It was so stupid and annoying, but others found great pleasure in it. "Wow, that's such a pretty name. I haven't heard it before, but it's so unique. Wow, I love it. Zion would love it too, if only you told him," the Luna announced and winked at me.

My cheeks instantly started burning. I didn't want to talk about that guy. Wait, no, I wanted to. I needed to find out how the rejection was supposed to happen. I had heard about it, but never witnessed it happening and really had no idea what one was supposed to say to get rid of the unwanted person. "You wanted to talk about something, right?" I tried to distract her, but I didn't have much hope that it would work.

"Zion. Your mate. The man you told you are about to reject. The big, scary-looking teddy bear of a person who cried in my arms but still didn't protest your decision, no matter how much he doesn't want to accept it. The same man who thinks it's unfair for you to jump to conclusions without giving him a chance to prove himself, but instead of voicing his opinion, he leaves to suffer in silence. Yes, I think this is something I would like to talk about," she spoke calmly, as if she wasn't angry or irritated with me.

Was that another of her tactics to ensure I felt safe before she sent down the guillotine?

"You don't understand," I muttered and looked down at my feet, focusing on them and silently willing for the damn things to somehow set off on fire to get out of here.

"But I could understand if only you explained why you decided to give up on a gift of a mate, a good one if I may add, without giving him a chance to prove himself." She kept insisting.

"He's a dog," I snarled.

"And so am I. Does that make me a bad person? Does the fact that I'm what you call 'a dog' make me any less than others? You know we can't really choose who we will become after we are born, right?" Her words made sense, but I didn't want to accept them. "Cats and dogs don't mix. He will hurt me."

The laugh that left her was dripping in nothing but disbelief and amusement. She was laughing so loud, some of the prisoners joined in and laughed along with her. By the time she calmed down and wiped the tears off her cheeks, she was red in the face.

"I can't believe you. You don't know him. All you do is assume. I can't judge you, I know nothing about your past and traumas, but I got some news for you, Kala - sometimes, even when someone hurts us so deeply, we don't think we could forgive them, the same person brings so much happiness you can't contain it."

Anger burned within me. How dare she give me lectures from her high place. She was another woman, sitting on her throne and playing favorites after all.

"As if you know anything about pain and hardships, Luna," I spat at her.

Finally, I managed to shut her up. Not for long, though. Slowly, she got back to her feet and walked to the food trolley. I watched how she pulled the thing out of the cell and returned to collect the dishes. Once she was done, she spun around and faced me.

"For your information, yeah, I believe it's safe to say I know a thing or two about pain or hardships. Maybe in your mind or experience what I experienced myself isn't even half as bad as your life, but my entire pack was slain in front of my eyes, my house blown up and the pack burned to the ground. All of that and torture that followed. And guess what?" She closed the cell and locked it before adding, "all of that was done by the man I fell in love with. The one and only, Alpha Bane."