The Beast's Possession
70: What do you want me to do?

**Bane

pov**

I wasn't supposed to feel guilty. Ever.

But facing her and seeing how she was trying to appear strong while she clearly broke down inside, yeah, that kind of broke me too. And I felt guilty.

I felt guilty for leading my men to slaughter that bloody pack. I felt guilty for taking her against her will and forcing her into a world she didn't fit in. And more than anything, I felt guilty because I knew I could never give her everything she deserved.

I wasn't the charming prince who swept her off her feet and gave her the life she dreamed of. I was the wicked, ugly beast who stood in the path of her price. I was the one who kept her from her happily ever after.

On top of those things, I was also selfish. Because I wanted her to myself, even though I knew it was wrong of me. I wasn't supposed to want her at all.

"I'm not? Oh, wow, thank you the most kind sir, what could I do if it weren't for your sudden decision to not sell me all of a sudden?" She snapped back at me, all sass and sarcasm.

This side of her I liked it. Aife had a mischievous glint in her eyes that drove me closer, that encouraged me to hold onto the idea of having her tighter.

No wonder Zion loved to rub in my eyes that one day, I would accidentally run into someone who would annoy me beyond any limit but I still would refuse to let go of the person.

As my luck would have it, the person turned out to be the one I couldn't have. Fate was a bitch.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, my voice weaker than I wanted for it to be. "Seriously, just tell me what do you want me to do? It's bad if I give you too much attention, bad if I'm mean, bad when I'm nice, and when I start avoiding you to give you the bloody space you clearly need, again, it's bad. Is there anything I can do the right way, or will everything I do become wrong in your eyes?"

Her eyes widened a little, as if my words were something she couldn't believe.

"You're shitting me right now, are you?" Aife gasped.

I was an ass, I knew that much, but the fact was proven even more when I almost smiled at her question. I led my life living surrounded by other men, all of them as polite as sailors, so to hear her say the occasional rude word was quite amusing.

"No, I'm not," I answered when I finally got back to my senses.

All that hurt suddenly turned into anger as she stalked closer to me. Just as I was about to ask what she was doing, Aife slapped me across the face. Hard.

Slowly she took a step back and shook her hand as if the slap hurt her more than it did me. It probably did. "There. This is what you can do to make me feel better. See, I'm already feeling way better. Consequences be damned, I needed this. God, I needed this."

As shocked as I was about the slap, nothing shocked me more than my own reaction. My head dropped in shame as I muttered, "I deserved that."

She didn't react to my words and maybe that was for the best. Maybe keeping my distance while giving her what she wanted would be better.

After all, it was clear she craved human interaction, just not with me. I had done more damage than intended already.

Taking a few steps back, I neared the door. "Zion will be with you shortly," I announced, turned on my heel and left the bedroom.

I had done some pretty fucked up stuff in my life, but this had to be the lowest I had fallen. For years, I couldn't wait until I could get my revenge, but I got so twisted in hurt and anger that I didn't see how I was hurting the wrong person. Aife had nothing to do with my past. She wasn't the one who did those awful things, yet I forced her to take the blame. She didn't commit the crimes she was paying for.

As I rounded the corner, I ran into Zion. I had a feeling he didn't leave and would wait nearby in case she needed him, so I was glad to have him around.

Clearing my throat, I looked into my best friend's eyes and said the words I should have said ages ago, "I recall the Alpha command. You are a man of your own free will. I trust you." I patted his shoulder and left him too.

I knew Aife often referred to me as the bane of her existence, which let's be clear, was pretty funny but also accurate. These days, I felt like I was the very thing to everyone who was unfortunate enough to have me in their way. No one bothered or tried to stop me as I made my way back to the office. That was my new hideout, the one place where I didn't feel like anyone could barge in and disturb my peace.

Yeah, I might have been spending my days among empty bottles, but that was beyond the point.

As soon as I slipped inside my office, I closed the door and locked it behind me. That was the only way I could ensure no one would go after me.

Walking through the piles of empty bottles and trash, I realized that I was sinking even lower than I thought, so I grabbed a few trash bags and started tossing out everything that was empty or appeared suspicious.

The only thing I didn't touch was everything piled up on the desk. I had so many notes and documents there, losing one could result in setting myself up pretty bad.

Ever since Killian pulled off that stunt by sending his hounds inside my territory and house, I couldn't be too careful. So, once I figured out how to keep Aife away from this mess, I started digging dirt on him.

I wasn't entirely sure what urged him to get her at all costs, but I was adamant to find out. If she were just an Alpha's daughter, I doubt he would try this damn hard.

I suspected there was something about her, something special and probably so unique, finding another woman with whatever she had would be damn near impossible. All that was left was for me to figure out what exactly it was.

By the time I finished tossing all the trash in the bags, I felt a little lighter. Like a weight was lifted off my shoulders with a couple of those bags.

Once I sat back behind my desk, I sorted the papers in separate piles to go through them easier. I pulled many strings to get some of the more private information, including her medical history, so if there was anything for me to find, I would. *Don't fuck this up, Bane, just don't fuck this up.*