The Beast's Possession
45: It’s just you and him here.

**Aife

pov**

I hated it... Despised it, in fact, but I did as Bane told me.

At this point, I had experienced many of his sick and twisted punishments and learned one thing about him - it wasn't the size of the crime, it was his mood. How he dealt with someone who "wronged" him was up to how Bane felt that moment.

Although he seemed happy, excited even, I knew how explosive he was and how quickly the mood might change.

Plus, if I kept up the act, at one point I might be lucky enough to convince him that he could trust me. Then, I would have a chance to get out for good.

But the next time, I would think carefully about everything I did. My first attempt was stupid, I knew that, but I was desperate, so I made a mistake.

Now, I wasn't sure what was worse - the silence that surrounded us or the fact that I surprised myself by wanting to hear his voice.

It wasn't that I enjoyed listening to Bane, but whenever he blabbed away like an old record, at least I knew he wasn't up to something completely vile.

He led me outside and placed his hand over my eyes, ensuring I wouldn't have a chance to cheat and see what he was planning.

"Careful, there's no need to rush," he muttered.

My heart started hammering in my chest. Did I wear a dress for him to bring me outside, possibly lead me into the woods and leave me surrounded by rogues? Thanks a lot. Not. "Just a little more and you'll see your surprise," he added, making the situation way worse in my head.

I really, really disliked this new Bane. Sure, under different circumstances I might think he was charming and thoughtful, but knowing how he really was, this change was downright terrifying. "Ta-daa!" Bane suddenly shouted, pulling his hand away from me.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and gasped. What I saw was nothing I could imagine even in my wildest dreams.

Bane had set up a gazebo. I had no idea if it was there before, but I was pretty sure I didn't see any the couple of times I had left the building.

It was decorated with fairy lights and some lanterns. There was a table set up with plates of food, glasses and a bottle of wine on it.

I glanced at Bane, shocked speechless.

"So? What do you think? Do you like it? I get it's not nearly as fancy as an actual restaurant but I figured since you don't want to go out, I could bring the feelings and magic to you." He sounded far too cheerful to my liking and up to this point, I had no idea that was possible.

What the hell was this man planning?

"You don't like it," he suddenly groaned.

Bane's face twisted into one of anger and I already knew if I didn't act fast, his assumptions would bring nothing but trouble.

I shook my head like a madwoman as I tried to find my voice. "N-no," I managed to stutter before my voice broke.

He stopped his silent seething and turned his body to face me. "No, what?"

Bane's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, almost making him look human.

"No, I like it. I'm just surprised, that's all."

I hated how weak my voice sounded. I hated how freaking terrified I sounded.

But even more than that, I hated how Bane's face lit up in pure happiness. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the table, sat me down and took his seat right across from me.

If this was his grand plan to torture me even more, he succeeded. It was bad enough to spend time around him on a daily basis, but he had to go a step further and come up with this stupid dinner idea. "So..." He started and instantly cut himself off.

All of a sudden, the egoistic man was gone and instead of him sat someone, who looked like a nervous highschooler, trying to speak to someone they liked.

I knew Bane didn't like me, all he did was only to drag out my suffering, so this show made no sense.

"So?" I parroted as I grabbed the fork and imagined how happy it would make me to thrust the fork in his neck and watch him bleed to death.

That would be one messy death, but it would provide me so much satisfaction, I wouldn't feel bothered by all that cleaning that would come after.

"I was wondering," Bane started and reached for his glass of water.

I watched him drink like a stupid animal and set the glass aside. Then, he just had to let out the loudest darn burp I had ever heard and wipe his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

Was it really so hard for a parent to teach their child some basic behavior stuff? Didn't he realize he was acting like an absolute caveman?

"Okay, I was kind of hoping we could take this moment and get to know each other better while having dinner. If you're okay with the idea, of course. I won't force you to tell me anything if you don't want to.” Another thing that really had all my senses on edge was how Bane kept looking anywhere but at me.

Out of the two of us, I was the one who had reasons to be nervous and cautious, not him.

"I'm fine with whatever. Ask what you want to know," I muttered and twisted some pasta around my fork.

It was a childish idea, but I figured that I wouldn't have to indulge in deep conversations for as long as I had my mouth full.

"Is there anything you enjoy doing? Hobbies or passions?"

I pondered his questions for a couple of minutes. I didn't want to lay out basic information about myself, especially to someone like Bane. But I also didn't want to just ignore his stupid questions either. My hobbies, at least most of them, weren't very girly. Never had been. But someone like Bane wouldn't understand, so I had to stick to the safest options.

"I like reading," I muttered as I reached for the full glass of water.

Bane eyed me and nodded. "Would you like some wine with that?"

"No," I spat out too soon, making the situation worse by shaking my head.

"What? Are you scared someone will rat you out because you're not old enough to drink legally yet?" He chuckled.

Yep, absolutely delusional that man was. Really.

First of all, to whom could anyone rat me out at this point? It wasn't like he had killed anyone who might have cared about my drinking habits, right?

And second, he had to understand that I wasn't stupid enough to get wasted while he was around.

One too many drinks and I would black out, basically handing him the chance of using my drunken state to his likings.

Just because I didn't know him as a person, and I mean the real Bane, didn't mean I wouldn't put it past him to use the chance to take something given to him on a damn plate.

"Okay, chill, I was joking. You're always so tense, so on edge, it doesn't matter what I do or how hard I try, it's never fucking enough for you!" Bane's voice grew louder with every word passing his lips.

I didn't dare to add fuel to the fire. If he was about to go off, he would do that without my help anyway.

Another gasp left me as Bane suddenly shot to his feet and growled. "Whatever, all this effort and work are in vain anyway. It was stupid of me to assume someone like you could appreciate anything nice given to her. Enjoy your fucking food," he spat the words with so much hatred, I didn't know how to react anymore.

Bane quickly spun on his heel and stomped back to the house.

No matter how angry he was at me, the thought of leaving right this moment instantly crossed my mind. He was out of my way and by the time he would calm down enough to return, I could reach the pack borders.

"Don't think about leaving, you idiot. I have my men watching you all of the time. Eat your fucking food and get some sleep," he screamed as he entered the house.

When Bane slammed the door shut, I jumped in my seat. All of a sudden, I wasn't feeling hungry and even my favorite food didn't look as appealing anymore. "He's lying. There's no one watching you. It's just you and him here."