The Beast's Possession
37: Not nearly as stupid as you look.

**Aife

pov**

I struggled to stumble to the bathroom, but I managed. Only when the water hit my skin did I realize how much I needed the relaxation only water could give me.

The tension slowly left my muscles as I hummed a melody to myself.

Moments like these, without Bane around, felt like heaven.

As the thought popped in my mind, a loud gasp left my lips and everything suddenly started making sense.

The time I had spent with Bane had taught me a couple of things. One of them was that Bane was unpredictable for most, but one thing kept happening over and over again - after a moment of peace he did everything to rain hell down on

me.

Suddenly, I was short of breath and my hands started shaking. Even as I tried to tense my muscles to stop, it didn't help the slightest.

At one point, I realized I was about to have a panic attack, so I reminded myself how my mom taught me to calm down.

I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. Sucking in a slow, deep breath, I held it for a second and then released it just as slowly. I focused on every positive memory I had until my heart rate slowed down and my hands didn't shake as violently.

By the time I was ready to leave the bathroom simply because the walls were slowly closing in on me, I hadn't managed to use any of the products Bane had lined out for me.

Instead of thinking about everything negative, I wrapped the big towel around me and limped out of the bathroom. I knew Bane had chosen a new set of underwear for me, but I couldn't be bothered to wear it now. I really needed to get out of the bathroom first.

As I entered the bedroom, I froze in my step.

Bane stood next to the bed, grinning like he had just heard the best news of his lifetime. I didn't like the look on his face, it screamed trouble.

"Now that you had the shower and some time to make yourself presentable, we can focus on what is truly important," he announced as the grin grew wider.

I raised an eyebrow at him, nervously shifting my weight from one leg to another. This wasn't good.

"As you might remember, I made it a point to tell you that actions have consequences, didn't I?"

That wasn't a question. It was another of his tricks to rub something in my face.

Since Bane didn't add anything, I simply nodded my head and did my best to avoid eye contact with him. For some reason, now he wanted to stare into my eyes. Freaking weirdo. "I'm glad you're not nearly as stupid as you look," Bane chuckled and reached his hand towards the bed.

My eyes followed the action. He had placed something on top of it and even as Bane's hand gripped it, I couldn't understand what he was holding for me to see.

Frowning, I patiently waited for him to speak again.

"I'm actually glad you decided to act like your old self and ignored the generosity I was showing. Not surprised, really." He muttered, confusing me even more.

Since when was Bane showing me any generosity? Didn't he claim the same bullshit after he killed my family and friends? How delusional was he?

"Ah," Bane chuckled. "You didn't get it, I suppose?"

Again, instead of wasting words, I just shook my head.

This time, he didn't bother to make an issue out of my lack of words and just laughed. The sound echoed against the walls and returned with twice as force, mocking my sole existence.

"The underwear. I actually went out of my way to fold it in and you're not wearing any. Or, is it that you don't think that someone, giving you clothing, is generous? Would it feel better if I gave you nothing at all?" He arched an eyebrow at me. Tears instantly stung my eyes. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, so I instantly tried to apologize. “I'm sorry,” I choked out.

I didn't want to walk around naked again. Even one of those blows that I had taken from Bane and his men didn't hurt as much as just standing there, completely exposed for everyone to see and grab.

"A little too late to apologize, don't you think?" Bane laughed again, gripped the object he was holding and stomped towards me.

I wanted to hide in the bathroom, to slam the door and lock myself in, but my feet were rooted, I couldn't even take one step back.

Bane had the ability to move so fast, it was impossible to follow everything he did, and he sure did love using it against me.

I had barely enough time to blink a couple of times when before I felt something around my neck. Bane forced a finger under the thing and tugged on it a little, praising himself in a whisper. "Since you've been hell bent on acting like a bitch, I don't mind treating you as one. A collar and a leash is the first step."

My jaw dropped. Bane spoke like it was no big deal to treat someone like a dog and make them look like one as well.

As if he wasn't already going too far, the next moment he grabbed the towel and ripped it away, throwing it in the corner of the bedroom.

On an instinct, I tried to hide myself from his gaze while all he did was laugh. I was seriously getting sick from how much this vile man was laughing at my misery.

"It wouldn't be a party if my eyes were the only ones to witness the view, now would it?" Bane said as he tugged on the leash and dragged me towards the bedroom door.

Panic surged through me. What did he mean? What party? Was he planning to repeat the things he had already done?

"Please," I managed to choke out the plea, growing more desperate with every step down the hall he took. I didn't want to join Bane's party, whatever it meant.

"Don't act all innocent now, reject. You should've thought about the consequences before you decided to run. Before you pulled that stunt, I was in a pretty good mood and actually planned to let you skip the party since you're still weak. In fact, I even thought about canceling it for good. But then, you decided to show me that you're not as weak as you pretended to be, so we'll have a blast tonight."

I expected Bane to pull me in the living room, in the center of another ungodly orgy, but to my suprise, he took me to his office.

The momentarily sense of relief left me the moment Bane presented me with a muzzle and a pair of handcuffs. First, he locked my arms behind my back and handcuffed me. Then, he put on the muzzle.

"There, not only do you love acting like one, but now you also look like a proper bitch," he cheered.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as Bane pulled me out of the office and towards the living room. The closer we got, the louder the music became.

When he kicked the door open and dragged me along, everyone's eyes focused on us. "Gentlemen, let's get this party started."