The Beast's Possession

**Aife

pov**

One thing that was equal to Kala's beauty was her stubbornness. As much as it annoyed me, I couldn't blame the girl. I had a feeling that she had gone through hell and back to develop an attitude as such. Kala was very snappy, but I saw it as a form of defense mechanism, not a need to hurt someone.

Perhaps, if I tried a little harder, I could get her to open up to me and come clean with her deepest fears and then, I could figure something out... But the facts remained facts - no one trusted a stranger, especially not so much to tell them an entire life story. That would be stupid.

But now, while a part of me really wanted to stay with Kala and try to speak to her more, the other, logical one, knew that I was too tired to deal with everything on my own. I needed Zion to step up and do his part in this whole mess. So, without overthinking the situation, I flashed Kala the brightest smile I could muster and stepped away from the cell door. "I need some rest, I'm sure you understand. I find it difficult to focus on the conversation, so I will send your mate down there and it would really help me if you could tell him what exactly was the powder that knocked me out. I might be allergic."

As soon as I mentioned a possible allergy, Kala's face drained of color and mouth opened so much, a little more and she could kiss the ground without bending down.

"You have allergies? But you're a wolf shifter, you don't have allergies," Kala insisted.

I was sure she was a bright girl, but darn, it seemed that she had trouble using that brain power when it mattered. Shaking my head, I explained further. "I haven't met my wolf yet. About to turn twenty-one, so until my birthday, I am as human as they get. So yes, Kala, I have allergies. Loads of them."

With that being said, I turned around and walked away to find Zion.

I wanted to pull Kala out of those cells, but it was clear even for a fool that she was a flight risk. While that was an actual fact, I couldn't figure out why she would try to up and leave, especially after finding out that she had a mate in this pack. A mate who was desperate to take care of her, love her and ensure every need was met. Zion could be the goofiest man in the whole universe, but I could see it in his eyes - if he loved, he loved hard.

Kala, however, was a different scenario. She was very timid and clearly struggled if someone showed her kindness. That much I noticed back in the cells when I tried to apologize. My words were like a trigger for her.

Hopefully, Zion could manage to get to her and figure out what she had experienced, if she had suffered or if she had a post traumatic stress disorder. Shifters had that too, so checking on her mental well-being couldn't hurt too much. Or could it?

The main worry for me was that she could assume we were holding her there to force her into a relationship with Zion. Knowing him, he would rather set her free than watch her suffer, but only Kala knew what was going on in her mind. For once, luck was on my side and as soon as I stepped in the living room, I found Zion. Maybe I shouldn't say I was lucky as the poor thing was sitting on the couch, sobbing, but at least I found him. "Zion?" I called his name as gently as I could.

As soon as he realized he wasn't alone, Zion shot to his feet and turned his back to me. I could see him wiping the tears as he attempted to gather himself and it truly broke everything within me. He was too good to be treated like this. Sadly, Kala didn't know that. In fact, she didn't know anything about Zion and hence why she was acting so cold. If only she gave him a chance... Just one.

"Sorry, I needed some time alone," he whispered, his back still turned to me. The poor thing didn't even try to turn around and look at me. It was truly heartbreaking to see him hide his pain like this. "I just... I can't understand why. I mean look at you, after everything Bane did to you, after all that pain he caused, you still gave him a chance to fix his wrongdoings. But I... I haven't done anything. Why does she hate me so much? I could be so good, Aife, I swear, I could be so good to her."

"Zion, sweetheart, it's not your fault. I think she's scared, possibly very hurt. Something is off about that girl, I think someone hurt her very badly. You should try to talk to her. Maybe she will give you a chance," I whispered, unsure if any of my words could help him cope.

I really hoped I would have the answers we all clearly needed, but I had none. As much as I believed Zion deserved nothing but the best, Kala didn't know him like all of us did. For her, he was a scary stranger and possibly a threat. "I can't go down there again. She will reject me the moment she sees me. Just give me some time to accept the thought and I will go down there. Maybe a day or two to prepare is all I'm asking for."

Slowly, I walked closer to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "I might be wrong, but I think she might give you a chance. Kala is a smart girl, she will figure out how good you are and how much you want to make her happy. Trust me. You deserve a chance but so does her."

As soon as I was finished, Zion spun around on his heel, beaming at me as if he wasn't crying just minutes ago. "Kala? Her name is Kala? Wow, how pretty is that. Not only is she the prettiest little thing but her name also compliments her. Wow, just wow. Imagine how good we would be together. Kala and Zion. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?"

Only now, I remembered that he didn't know her name. If the tiny detail was enough to make him this happy, Zion really was someone easy to please.

"I think you two could be good together, yes. You would complement each other and she could teach you something while you can teach her how to be stronger. Seriously, Zion, I think you should man up and go down there to have an actual conversation with your mate. Fighting and hiding has never helped anyone. You said it yourself, I gave a chance to Bane, but only because we learned how to communicate. Without proper communication even friendships don't last, let alone relationships between two adults."

Zion nodded sharply and leaned down to peck my cheek. "Thank you, my Luna, you truly are a miracle. A blessing to a pack of heathens. Now go and get some rest, I'll go talk to my mate."