The Beast's Possession

**Zion pov**

Chilling with Aife while Bane left on his suicide mission was fun. The girl asked too many questions, which did annoy me a little and force me into a rather uncomfortable position, but I dealt with it all like a big boy. As the day slowly went by, I realized I would have to think about some creative ways to distract her so I came up with an idea to have a barbeque. It was a success.

Well, up until the kids swarmed her like she was the last peanut butter and jelly sandwich. At first, it looked all innocent and cute, but when the fuckers started attacking her, I was mortified. I seriously didn't know what to do since they were just kids, but those grabby hands did some damage, so I started shouting at everyone.

Of course, Aife was way better than me. She bribed the kids with something and the little fuckers just lined up and patiently waited for their turn to touch her hair. I seriously wanted to line up too because they looked like they really enjoyed touching her hair. Funny thing - I wasn't the only adult who seemed curious.

Anyway, once they were done with touching Aife's hair and smothering her with cheek kisses, I dragged the whole bunch of kids aside to play some ball. All fun and games, of course, until I overheard the conversation those women were having with Aife.

As soon as they brought up the curse, I panicked. I tossed the ball away and ran towards them. Apparently, I hit a kid in their face, but while someone shouted something and the kid cried, I broke through the crowd and reached the spot women were sitting in.

Aife's mouth was open, she was about to question them, but before she could, I grabbed her and tossed her over my shoulder. "Party's over," I growled at the women and left them behind.

Some of the pack men gave me curious glances, but every time I caught them looking, I growled. Aife was kicking her feet and hitting my back while she demanded for me to release her, but I didn't budge.

That shit they were about to discuss, she had no right to find it out. At least not this soon. And definitely not from those women. If anyone were about to tell her anything, it had to be my best friend.

The curse was Bane's secret. It was the weight he carried, something he had been trying to break ever since he found out about it, so if Aife were to stick around and only if Bane wanted her to know, he would tell her himself. I carried her to the bedroom, opened the door and basically shoved her inside, slamming the door closed and locking her in.

The last thing I needed was for her to get out of the building and run after those women, demanding for answers.

Deep down, I knew I was acting like a complete dick, but this was a really freaking small price to pay to ensure everything wouldn't come crashing down before Bane returned. If Aife had to hate me until he was back, I could take it. Honestly, it kind of sucked. We had sort of grown closer and I really liked her. I liked her for Bane. Whatever she was doing - it worked. My best friend was seeing things differently and becoming a better person, all for her. I couldn't risk losing

it.

Stalking down the stairs and out of the building, I felt like my blood was boiling in anger. No one had left yet, the men and women were busy cleaning up and chatting while the kids had started playing the ball again. I guess I didn't injure that one too badly then.

As soon as everyone noticed my presence, they froze. Men parted their way for me while women stood in a line and averted their gazes to their feet. From the corner of my eye, I could see how men were struggling to stay put.

I got it. Their instincts screamed to protect their mates, but there wasn't much they could really do to hold me back. And besides, I wasn't coming here to punish anyone, just establishing some boundaries and shit. Stopping right in front of the line, I cleared my throat. "Look at me."

All heads snapped up as my eyes scanned them. As soon as my gaze met that of Bree, I knew I had the woman responsible for the slip-up I barely prevented.

"Bree," I hissed and brought my hand to my face, pinning the bridge of my nose.

"Yes, oh all-mighty Beta Zion?" Bree dragged the words, clearly intent on pushing my buttons today. She knew I had a soft spot for her, so she always acted a little wild since my dumbass would get her dumbass out of trouble all the damn time.

"Why... Just why... You know what? Yeah, that's the bloody question. Why?" I couldn't find the right words, no matter how hard I tried. "Why, what?" She frowned.

Instead of talking, I motioned towards her, in general to all of her body. All she did was giggle, which seriously didn't make me feel like we were getting any closer to answers I sought. "Why do you always have to be the problem, huh? Why couldn't you give me a goddamn break and be a part of the problem? No, you wake up every morning and when you do, the Devil himself feels sad because you're about to cause more chaos than that fucker could. Why can't you just be a little less?"

As if on cue, her mate appeared next to me, threw his arm around my shoulders and sighed. "I ask her this every day, my friend. Trust me, she might seem like a lot here, but you should see her everyday at home. That's where she's the most comfortable in her skin. That's where the true crimes happen. The other week, she hit me with a wok. A bloody wok."

Glancing between them two, I still was as far from establishing the ground rules as I possibly could. Bree grinned like she was about to slaughter an entire Kingdom worth of men force while her mate paled, looking genuinely terrified of her. Shaking my head, I realized just telling them what was acceptable and what wasn't was better. I couldn't get any decent answers even if I tortured Bree. Honestly, I had a feeling she might secretly like the torture.

"Okay. We will have one massive rule, alright? No one but Alpha is allowed to discuss the curse or bring it up. He hasn't told Luna anythring for a reason and it really isn't your fucking place to take it from him. Get it?" I raised my voice for everyone to hear.

Not surprisingly, everyone but Bree instantly agreed, shaking their heads and muttering an agreement. As I glared at Bree, she shrugged and grinned, "no promises."

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and mimicked her chuckle. "Oh, I know, you're on another list of crazies. If you tell her anything, mark my words, I won't help you. In fact, I will be the one who tells Bane you told her everything. And if she runs, you'll be responsible for it. Don't fear me, you know I wouldn't hurt you. Ever. But Bane... Yeah, he wouldn't stop at just hurting you if you cost him that woman. And he wouldn't be alone. THAT would be angry too."