The Beast's Possession
75: I won’t hurt you.

**Aife

pov**

I slapped both of my hands over my mouth as I watched Bane attack Zion. He loomed over his best friend, spat something at him and stalked towards the car.

As soon as Bane sat in the driver's seat, he looked at me over his shoulder and growled, making me want to become invisible. "Why the fuck are you sitting in the back? Come here."

I shook my head, too scared to speak up. It didn't matter how many times I found the strength to speak up against him or defy his commands, angry Bane was very scary Bane and I didn't want to test my luck. "Aife," Bane breathed out my name as he leaned back in the seat and focused his eyes ahead. "I won't hurt you. You're not in trouble, Zion is. Please, sit next to me."

This gentle side of his was just as surprising as it was truly terrifying. There was no saying if and when he would change back to the beast he was, but constantly defying him might be a push for that to happen. My hands shook as I opened the car door and shut it. Then, I opened the passenger side door and carefully slid in, forcing my body as close to the door as possible.

When Bane leaned over to me, I flinched away. At first, I could see an emotion flash in his eyes, but he shook it away and focused on buckling me up like a child. "Safety first," Bane muttered.

My eyes didn't leave him as Bane started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

Okay, I lied there. My eyes did leave him for a second or two, enough to notice the man from the club standing at the entrance, watching us.

Zion claimed it was Alpha Killian, but since I didn't see much of him in the club, I couldn't know for sure and just had to trust what Zion said.

The first few minutes of the drive went by in silence. Bane was gripping the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white. Every time he glanced in the rearview mirror, he grinded his teeth or made an annoyed sound. "You reek of him," Bane suddenly spat, clearly annoyed.

"Of who?" I managed to ask.

"Killian. How did that bitch get close to you?"

His words were laced in venom, dripping it, but there was something more. A hint of worry? Fear?

I cleared my throat and tried to sound as casual as I could. "Zion took me dancing. Please don't be angry at him, this kind of was my first experience in a nightclub and I really appreciate him for trying to cheer me up. If you haven't noticed already, I was kind of sheltered for the majority of my life. No, scratch that, I was isolated," I mumbled.

Bane's grip on the steering wheel became even tighter, a completely opposite reaction to how gentle his voice was. "How did Killian get close enough to you to rub his stench all over you? No offense, but you reek like a skunk peed on you." An unexpected chuckle left me. "I asked Zion if he could get me some water after a while of dancing. He literally barely turned his back on me to fetch the water and that man was there. Thankfully, Zion noticed it and he was back at my side seconds later."

"So that fucker used a window of mere seconds to approach you?" Bane spat through gritted teeth.

As much as I wanted to cover away and remain silent, I knew I couldn't do that. My answers would determine if Zion gets in trouble or not, I had to cover the situation for my new best friend.

"Yes, that he did. Can we please not talk about it? I know my happiness doesn't matter to you, but I was really enjoying myself and hoped we could come to an agreement to not sour my mood? I offer a bribe in the form of that dry chicken you never liked."

Bane couldn't see it, but I had crossed my fingers, hoping he would agree. If there was anything he hated more than any other thing, it had to be my cooking, so my attempt to bribe him probably wouldn't work.

Just as I was awaiting another row of mockery, Bane surprised me by laughing. "Yeah, I suppose I'm in the mood for some chicken sandwiches. Think you could throw some together?"

Containing the surprise I felt was hard, but I managed. From there, we both fell silent until Bane drove down the road closer to the main building, but made another turn right before we reached it. "Where are we going?" I asked, clearly taken aback.

"Back to my house. It's cleaned up, the furniture has been replaced and renovations might happen in the near future. For now, we're moving back there since Zion just proved I can't trust him as much as I thought I could," Bane explained, no emotions lacing his voice whatsoever.

"It really wasn't his fault, he shouldn't get punished for trying to make someone happy," I doubled down.

Bane chuckled. "I didn't say anything about him getting published, did I?"

I thought back the entire drive, including his last words and couldn't catch a moment when Bane implied he would do something to Zion, so I shook my head.

"My point exactly. I said he's in trouble, never claimed he would suffer dire consequences for his actions. Trouble means different things. For example, I can make him join the patrols more often so he stops acting like a child and starts thinking like an adult. Actions have consequences. This time, I'm withholding them because of you."

With that being said, Bane parked his car in front of the house and got out. He walked around the car, opened the door for me and offered me his hand.

A little reluctant, I placed my hand in his and let him pull me out of the car. As we neared the house, Bane didn't let go of my hand.

At the door stood a couple of guys who greeted us. Bane nodded at them in acknowledgement and muttered something about needing guards at all posts until he said otherwise.

Once we stepped inside the house, I was absolutely amazed how different it looked. Compared to previous designs, it was more plain and simple, but honestly, I liked it better now.

"You can redecorate and change things around however you like. Just let me know when you're ready to meet with the designers and get the work going."

I was sure I didn't hear it right as I was so overwhelmed by everything that was happening, I didn't know what to focus on.

The house was different, Bane acted differently and even as he led me towards the kitchen, he still refused to let go of my hand.

"You owe me a sandwich for the trouble I had to go through. While you cook, I'll stay around to chat and afterwards, when you take a shower and get ready to sleep, I'll have to step out." "Where?" I asked, as always, without thinking.

"The conversation with Zion. Promise I won't do anything stupid or anything you wouldn't do. Your new friend is safe, at least for now."