The Beast's Possession

**Aife pov**

After an insane amount of tests, the doctors finally backed off. At one point, I wanted to ask them if they could spare me some blood since I literally felt too light-headed after the amount they took.

But thankfully, one of the nurses brought me tea and some snacks, claiming I would feel better in an instant if I drank and ate. Perhaps it was a placebo effect, but I really did feel better after drinking tea.

A while later, Zion joined me in the room and brought me some clean clothes. I had no idea why he did it, but either way, I thanked him and changed into the new set. When I left the bathroom with my clothes in hand, Zion grabbed them and forced them inside a plastic bag.

As if his behavior wasn't weird already, Zion pinched his nose shut as he was dealing with my clothes.

"Do I stink?" I asked, eyebrows raised and arms crossed in front of my chest.

All color drained from his face as Zion started frantically shaking his head. His eyes were wide and a look of pure panic crossed his face. Something was terribly off with the usually bubbly, foolish Beta.

"Zion, seriously, what the hell is your damn problem? Why are you refusing to look at me and why do you keep acting as if I stink? You can deny it all you want, but I can see it, I can sense the discomfort you have around me." I pressed, taking a step closer to him.

Once I took a step, Zion took one back. A little hesitant, I tried again, but nothing, the weirdo kept trying to get away from me. Frowning, I kept walking closer until Zion's back hit the wall and his eyes widened as soon as I stopped right in front of him.

Slowly, I raised my hand and brought it to his cheek to cup it. "Zion, you can talk to me. We are friends, remember? Whatever it is, I won't be mad. Seriously, if I really stink just tell me and I'll take a shower to rid you of the torture I'm bringing upon you. I don't want to hurt my friend."

Zion's expression softened as tears filled his eyes. To my surprise, his bottom lip trembled as Zion dropped the plastic bag with my clothes and threw his arms around me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.

I wasn't sure what was happening, but I could sense his distress, so I hugged and held him while Zion cried.

Truth to be told, he was a weirdo, rather eccentric and very psychotic, but he was a genuine man with nothing but kindness in his heart. I had never seen him this upset, despite the fact that we didn't know each other for that long, I know that Zion was a very positive and happy person.

But now, he was a complete wreck. Crying and holding onto me as if his life would end if I disappeared. I ran my hand through his hair in an attempt to soothe him and whispered, "it's alright. If you're hurt, cry it out, let the pain go, set yourself free from it. It'll all be better soon, I know it will. No matter how bad it hurts, no matter how awful it gets, better days will come. I know they will."

I wasn't sure if he needed my words, but I hoped they would help. One thing I knew for a fact was that I had seen awful things happen before - look at me.

I survived the initial Bane and now, I was happy with Bane.

I couldn't stress that enough. The sole reason for my torment and pain now was the one reason for my happiness.

"Shh, you need to tell me what happened," I whispered, unable to deal with my own emotions. Holding Zion and watching him break down broke my heart. I had no idea whom I needed to kill, but I knew heads would roll if someone had hurt Zion. "Tell me what happened and I will make it all better. Just tell me. Trust me," I repeated myself, silently praying the Goddess would answer my prayers.

"It's so dumb," Zion muttered, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "I feel like a wimp. A grown man, crying like a little freaking baby. What is wrong with me, Aife? What's going on? Why can't I stop crying? Are my eyes sweating?"

I barely held back the laugh that got stuck in my throat. Only Zion could assume that crying was his eyes sweating, not another proof that he was as human as all of us were and everyone had emotions.

"I think I can give you some answers only if you tell me what caused this disease of your eyes sweating. Also, perhaps we should get you checked out since we're at the hospital anyway. From what I know, only tears are supposed to escape your eyes, not sweat. Who knows, this might be genetic," I mumbled the stupidest ideas until Zion stopped crying and started laughing at me.

"You're one silly woman, you know that?" He asked and released his hold on me.

I took a step back to give him some more breathing and personal space. While he could be expecting for me to talk, I kept my mouth shut and just watched him.

In all honesty, Zion looked like a toddler as he wiped his tears with the sleeves of his shirt and frowned.

"What happened?" I asked after a moment, but instead of an answer, Zion took my hand in his and pulled me towards the door. "Where are you taking me? What's going on?"

"I will tell you everything once we get somewhere more private. This is a personal matter and I don't want anyone to know anything about it yet." Zion explained and led me down the halls and finally, out of the hospital wing.

By the time we climbed the stairs, we received more than plenty of curious stares and as we stood in front of the bedroom door, I was breathless, probably very red in the face.

Zion opened the door for me, but all I did was raise an eyebrow at him. "Why our bedroom, not yours or any other place in this massive house? I don't think Bane will be very happy if rumours start to circulate and he hears about you, spending time with me in the bedroom during his absence. You know that people talk and sometimes they don't have anything pretty to say."

Zion laughed at my concerns and pushed me inside. "Come on, he won't say anything. Bane is my best friend, he knows you're my friend too. And not in a friend with benefits type of situation. As for why the bedroom," he added, closing the door behind him and locking it. "This is the only place I could think of that could provide complete privacy for this conversation. People don't really come close to his bedroom, so I consider this place as safe as a freaking bank vault." Nodding, I didn't try to argue anymore. We sat on the edge of the bed and looked around, as if both of us were waiting for the other one to speak up. In a sense, it was true. I wanted Zion to come clean about the situation and he probably wanted me to ask questions.

As soon as I sucked in a deep breath, preparing myself for the questioning I was about to force on him, Zion placed his hand over mine and sighed. "Promise you won't tell anyone? This is a secret, Aife. It's my secret and I'm trusting it with you. Promise me you won't let my secret leave these four walls. Even if Bane begs you for answers, you won't tell him."