The Beast's Possession

**Kala

pov**

Only the wolf Goddess knew how much I wanted for Aife to return. Her relationship with the Alpha wasn't great, it was sort of toxic, but that woman - she did wonders.

For her, Alpha Bane fought against his demons. For her, he tried to be a better man every day. For her, Alpha Bane did his best to be a person, not a monster he was slowly becoming now. Thankfully, I managed to sneak away from the cells unnoticed, armed with a new type of determination. I had overheard some whispers from the guards, so I knew what I had to do next.

I had to get to the bottom of this whole curse thing, figure out how to break it and then, I believed I could free Zion. My mate was a grand, powerful man, but despite how much I believed in his abilities - I still worried about his chances with pulling through this.

One thing was clear - if he would come out of this, which I was almost absolutely sure he would, Zion would end up with a lot of trauma and getting him back to his usual self wouldn't be easy at all.

Oh, who was I kidding? Even understanding this whole curse thing would be better than trying to grasp at empty air.

As I hurried down the halls, doing my best to avoid any possibility of running into the Alpha, I headed towards the kitchen. I was happy to see that only one woman was working. The less people were involved in my mission, the better.

It had to be a lucky twist of fate that the woman hurried towards me as soon as she noticed me. "Beta Kala, have you gotten any news on Aife? We're so worried," she whispered as her eyes frantically scanned the kitchen.

Everyone in the main building was walking on eggshells around Bane. One wrong word could land them in the same position as my poor mate, so I didn't blame her attempts to be sneaky.

Shaking my head, I spoke. "Claudia, right? I need your help in my house. I need to change curtains in the living room as the old set is so dusty, it's triggering my allergies. I can't afford the risk while being pregnant, but the doctors advised me not to raise my arms for some reason. Will you be done with your responsibilities here anytime soon?"

Only the gods knew how much I appreciated this woman's ability to catch on a hint and think fast. Claudia nodded frantically and reached for a kitchen towel to dry her hands, "I'm done here. The other girls are setting the table right now and they have been told to bring out the food once Alpha arrives. I'm available to help until dinner preparation time."

As if on cue, the kitchen door opened and one of Bane's minions strode inside as if he had no worry in the world. In this short time, I learned that far too many men preferred the monster over their Alpha and gladly followed his reign. Fucking disgusting.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? The half-cat and the servant. You two suit each other," he mocked us as he approached the refrigerator. "What are you two morons up to here? Planning rebelion, I'd assume?"

As much as I wanted to smack him across that smug face, I knew violence wouldn't lead to anything good. A good warrior always knew when they were fighting a losing battle and had learned when to take a step back.

"I was asking Claudia if she could help me change curtains in my living room," I repeated the lie I used as a cover up to get the woman away from the main building.

The darn minion tore his gaze away from the fridge and glared at me, "and why can't you do that yourself? Have you lost your arms? I know you're carrying the old Beta's bastard, but that doesn't give you special privileges around this place. You ain't a queen, bitch."

Rolling my eyes at his remark, I sighed. "Doctor's orders. Can't do that myself, hence why I asked if she is available to help, not commanded her to. There's a difference between those things, you know."

As silence took over, I feared for a moment that I had gone too far. My own words echoed in my mind, making me realize just how bitter and sarcastic I sounded.

Thankfully, the guy with little to no brain power shrugged and returned his attention to the open refrigerator, which by now had started playing the song of death. You know, the beeping sound that device made whenever it was losing temperature? Yeah, that.

"Makes sense," he muttered under his breath and finally, I felt like I could breathe.

"It shouldn't take more than an hour or two, I promise Claudia will be back here before dinner time," I assured the minion, just to ensure he wouldn't think of entering my home if she stayed with me for too long and I hadn't provided a time frame.

"Whatever, make sure she doesn't forget her place and works as she's supposed to." He snapped at me, slammed the fridge door shut and left the kitchen.

Cold shivers ran down my spine. Something was terribly off with this man. While he wasn't one of the tallest or more muscular pack men, he had an aura that brought dread wherever he went. The only explanation I could use would be that he was so deeply rooted evil that he didn't need a threatening frame to scare someone.

"Follow me, please," I addressed Claudia, doing my best to hide the fear that surged through me and failing miserably. At least it didn't look like I was the only one who was scared shitless - she didn't look even a bit better than I did. We left the main building without unnecessary run-ins with anyone, which I was grateful for, and headed towards the house Zion had chosen as our home.

During the walk, both of us were tense and kept looking around for anything. These days, the demon Bane had developed an ability to appear out of nowhere at the worst moments possible. The last thing I needed was his presence. The walk back home left like an eternity even though it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes. As soon as I opened the house door and stepped inside, only to be met with the familiar yet fading scent of my mate, I wanted to collapse.

I was tired beyond explanation. If Zion were here, he would send me to the bedroom to get some rest, but if I wanted to experience that type of love ever again, I couldn't rest for a second. Not until I had him back.

"I assume this isn't about the curtains," Claudia muttered, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Arming myself with a newfound sense of purpose, I spun on my heel to face her and met her gaze, "I brought you here to talk about Alpha Bane. What do you know about his curse?"