The Beast's Possession

**Kala

pov**

We managed to get out of the tunnel. Finally, we were both seeing the light of the day again. Although around us there was nothing but trees and bushes, at least we were safe. I hoped we were.

Zion leaned against the nearest tree and clutched his side while I walked close by, looking for any natural remedies to help with the pain.

Just as I leaned down to grab some leaves, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. As I sniffed the air, at first, I couldn't believe in it, but when the scent became more potent, I knew I couldn't be mistaken. I couldn't help but scream her name, hoping she could hear me. Once. Twice. A breath and the third time until I finally heard a response.

"Kala!” Her voice rang out loud, somewhere in the distance, but that didn't matter - Aife was here, getting closer to us.

"Aife!" I screamed as loud as I could, praying the Goddess Aife wasn't coming alone and there was someone who might help my mate. "Hurry, Zion is injured, we need your help!" I added. After my last words, there were no sounds around us. Not even the sounds of nature, like we were stuck in a bubble of nothingness.

That is, until I heard footsteps nearing us and some branches breaking. Tears instantly welled up in my eyes as I realized Aife really wasn't coming alone - she had someone accompany her.

Those seconds of waiting dragged longer than years. My heart beat so fast, I could hear the pounding even in my ears, feel each beat through my entire body.

No matter how many times I sucked in a breath, each time felt like not enough.

By the time I finally noticed her, I was sure I had at least three massive inner breakdowns. And when her face really came into focus, when I knew for sure it was her, my knees gave out from under me. With a desperate cry, I collapsed on the ground as Aife ran to me, shouting something at the man who followed her and pointing her finger in the direction where I knew my mate still stood. She dropped to her knees next to me and carefully lifted my head in her lap, slowly running her fingers through my hair and whispering something.

I had no idea how long it took for me to start hearing her words, not just the sounds, but when I did - most of her words were along the lines of how everything would be okay and she had me. "You're here, you're here of all the places," I sobbed and wrapped my arms around her, holding onto Aife as if my life depended on how tightly I could hold on.

"I'm here, it's really me. I know this feels insane, unreal even, I still struggle to accept it's you here, not a trick of my imagination. I missed you so much," she muttered, her voice just as strained and broken as mine. "Aife, I'll take Beta Zion home and tend to his wounds. Listen to the creatures whenever you're ready to leave the forest, they will guide you home," said a man who had my mate tossed over his shoulder. While I doubted I could trust him, Aife just nodded and agreed. "Just be careful, Jonathan, he doesn't look good."

The scary-looking man just nodded and took off, leaving us both behind.

Sensing my worry, Aife cupped my cheek and smiled, "don't worry, Kala, he's a good guy. Jonathan is here to protect me and I'm sure he will protect you and Zion too. He means no harm."

"Who is he?" I managed to ask, completely ignoring her words. Well, actually partly. Later, I could ask Aife why she needed this man to protect her.

Hell, for all we knew, she might have gotten herself in trouble soon after leaving Bane's pack. This girl was just as crazy as she was naive at times - too good to everyone, sadly, often letting others walk all over her. "Jonathan is one of Alpha Killian's men. He's supposedly a driver, but I have a feeling there's more to him than everyone lets you know. From what I know, Jonathan always accompanies Killian on every trip outside the pack he takes, so that makes me feel like Jonathan might be a bodyguard or something. All I really know is that I can trust him and he means no harm."

As her words finally sink in, I nearly jump to my feet as I shout, "Killian's man? Isn't he the enemy you were hiding from? Aife, have you lost your mind? You went to the enemy and now you trust him too? Did they feed you something?" I had more questions, some of them awfully rude, but I had to hold back for now. What mattered was that she was relatively safe and seemed happy.

The giggle that escaped her just proved my idea about her being happy where she was true. Aife didn't appear to be in any distress, in fact, for once - she appeared to be at ease, relaxed and hopeful.

"Let's say some things aren't as they appear to be. That's all I'm willing to share right now. How about we pull ourselves together and head home, hmm? Jonathan might be needing our help with Zion and we could have some food too. The Goddess knows I need a bloody nap."

It was so weird to see her this relaxed after the hell that woman had called her life. Looking at Aife, I started wondering if I even had the right to be up in arms and complain about whatever was happening to me. Out of the two of us, somehow, I was sure she had it all worse.

But all of that had to be left in the past, right where it belonged. Now, what mattered was that she was here, close by, alive and healthy.

Perhaps the moon Goddess answered my prayers by reconnecting us? I still believed that only Aife could save Bane, only she could bring him out of that shell of a body and banish whatever had possessed him. She helped me up and quickly hugged me, muttering how much she had missed me.

When Aife's hold around me felt a little too tight, I yelped. "Careful, you don't want to harm the baby, do you?"

When Aife pulled away, her face turned pale and eyes widened as if I had said something wrong. To ease the momentary tension, I pointed down at my belly and grinned, "we're expecting a boy."

It took her a couple of seconds to process what I had said and then, a bright, nearly blinding smile spread across her lips as Aife pulled me into another hug and nearly shouted in my ear, "I can't believe we're expecting at the same time!"