The Beast's Possession

**Zion

pov**

"You called me mate," I beamed, unable to contain the emotions I felt. "You seriously just called me your mate. Holy shit, I've never felt this alive. I am your mate. Yours."

This was a plot twist I never expected. In all honesty, I was almost completely sure that Kala would reject me any moment she would feel good enough to leave, but this.. This changed everything.

The only issue was that as soon as those words escaped my lips, her eyes widened and jaw dropped nearly to the ground as the realization sunk in.

It was so quiet around us that even outside, anyone could hear a pin drop. But even with how gloomy this situation turned, I still remained hopeful. She called me her mate, it had to mean something.

Deep down, I still feared the day she would tell me to fuck off, but if the day truly came, at least I got to experience this moment, which felt like heaven. Now, I loved her even more than I loved her yesterday and probably just as much as I would tomorrow.

Kala cleared her throat and looked away, "I needed to stop you somehow, you were about to hurt Aife and she has done nothing wrong. I needed to protect her."

Her words hit me.. Hard. Like an arrow, aimed straight at my heart. Yet, even that didn't deter me from enjoying the little happiness that still surged through me. Letting the high go was hard. She created it so suddenly, yet so strongly, I didn't want to believe that she would back out of this so easily.

Sure, there was a risk that she just tried to appear uninterested to save her own image, but if that was the case, I would figure out a way how to deal with it.

Just as I parted my lips to speak up, I was stopped by Aife's action. She placed her hand on Kala's shoulder and squeezed it a little. "I think it's better if you two have a conversation now. Make sure every second counts, heart to heart, no secrets. Only after you find your answer can you make the decision."

With that being said, Aife flashed me a warm smile and slowly walked away from us. Bane truly chose the best out of best, Aife was a true Luna material, someone who cared so much about others, she didn't care if she could be hurt in the process.

"Please," Kala hissed. "For the love of the Goddess you worship, remain seated and don't move a muscle. I won't be able to focus if you get in my personal space," she whispered.

Would it be a complete dick move if I kept grinning like a mad man now that she admitted that my presence made things hard for her? Maybe it would and maybe that was why I did just that - grinned.

The butterflies in my stomach couldn't be tamed at this point. Kala had no idea what she was doing to me, how crazy she made me and how badly I was losing my mind over the fact that she didn't want to be touched by me now. "Okay, I get it. I promise to remain seated right here like the good dog I am," I wiggled my eyebrows and laughed at the stupid joke, even more when Kala decided that she needed to pin me with her gaze.

"Can't you be serious for one second? You're a grown man, Zion, please act like one," she groaned, rolling her eyes at me.

There it was, another opening for me to say something and you can bet your ass I took the chance as soon as I saw one. "I like the way my name sounds when you say it, so hot."

"If you don't want to talk about us, just say it. There's no need to play around with me while I'm trying to be serious. Just.. Don't."

My poor mate sounded like she was at the end of her rope. As much as I wanted to focus on that, I couldn't. The only thing that rang in my head was that one word she just said - us. Did that mean there was a chance for us? Or was this nothing but her attempt to discuss the logistics of the possible rejection? I hoped, I fucking prayed it wouldn't be the latter one.

However, as much as I didn't want the worst to happen, I could admit one thing - I couldn't force Kala to love me, no matter how much I wanted it. If she wanted to leave, I had no right to stand in her way and prevent her from regaining her freedom.

At the end of the day, everything was in her hands, even the possible future of us.

"I do!" I shouted so loud, I startled myself. But I had a reason to scream. Kala was starting to back away as if she took my silence for an answer. Quickly, I cleared my throat and tried to appear calmer as I spoke. "What I mean is that I really do want to talk to you, especially about everything you label as us."

And again, she rolled her eyes at me, but this time, Kala wasn't annoyed. In fact, she appeared amused and more at ease. That was a good sign, wasn't it? It had to be a good sign.

Fuck yes! We were getting somewhere and we were really doing this together. I couldn't wait for Bane to return so I could tell him everything about how cool and sweet and overall amazing my mate was.

On a side note, I would have to come up with a way for him not to look at Kala because she was mine. No, scratch that, I was getting too paranoid. Bane was so obsessed with Aife, the dude didn't know other women exist too at this point. She was the only woman he could see, so I didn't have to worry about my mate.

My eyes followed Kala as she sat on the nearby bench and exhaled. She didn't look at me, but that was fine, I could live with that. For as long as she was close by, I could live with anything.

"I cried earlier because I told her some things I haven't told to anyone and for now, I would like to keep those details secret from you. Please, don't ask, okay?"

As she spoke, her eyes never met mine. In a way, it hurt me to know that she trusted Aife more than me, but I could also understand why.

I was her mate, a man she didn't know at all and she kind of wanted to reject me while Aife, she was another woman and extremely kind to Kala so it was easy to trust her. Aife went down to the cells to support Kala and I, well, I didn't do much besides cry because my mate didn't want me.

Honestly, I was surprised she agreed to talk to me now. After the stuff that went off, I didn't think she would allow me anywhere near her, but here we were, so close I could reach out and grab her. Not that I would. No matter how much my hands were itching to do that, I was dead set on respecting her boundaries.

Besides, there still was a chance that I came onto her too strongly with the excitement and puppy dog love blinding my ability to act like a decent person.

"But," she started again, this time, freaking finally, looking at me. "I think," she dragged and flashed me a quick, shy smile. "I think we could try to get to know each other. Baby steps, slow and steady, nothing over the top, you know."