The Beast's Possession
78: Don’t cry, my angel.

**Aife

pov**

I woke up because I was freezing. The blanket I found yesterday had fallen on the floor, crumpled up right next to the couch.

At first, I didn't understand why the house felt so cold. Or at least until I cast a glance at the main door which was left open.

And here I was, sitting on the couch on which I spent the night waiting for him, but Bane never cared enough to do as much as close the door.

Anger instantly surged through me. So much for trying to be nice, huh?

Oddly enough, while I was seething in anger, I didn't get up from the couch. Maybe it was part of my paranoid nature, but I had a feeling that there was more to the situation than met the eye. My father often said I tended to look too much into situations, but this really felt too weird to be true.

And then, as my eyes took in the room, realization hit me as soon as my eyes focused on what looked like a small drop on the floor. It was impossible to mistake it for anything but what it truly was - blood. The anger faded and was replaced by panic.

I shot up from the couch and approached the small drop of blood, frantically looking for more. There were a few, some looked like someone had tried to clean up, but all led towards the kitchen. Deep down, I knew that grabbing any weapon to defend myself would be better, but I didn't have enough time for that.

Whatever awaited me on the other side of that door, I would take it.

I expected anything but what I saw as I slowly opened the door.

Bane was lying on the floor, in the puddle of his own blood, his skin as pale as a paper sheet.

I knew I shouldn't feel the way I did, but I couldn't help it. No matter how vicious the beast was, he was hurting and no one but me could help him.

Slowly, I got closer and dropped to my knees next to him. First, I checked his pulse. Thankfully, I found it. It wasn't nearly as strong as I hoped, but one was better than none at all.

I slapped his cheek a couple of times, trying to wake him. Since Bane didn't react, I started panicking and added more force to each slap.

"Come on, Bane, open your eyes. Don't you dare to die on me, open your eyes, damn it! Bane, come on!" I hissed as tears started stinging in my eyes.

Perhaps I was stuck in a shitty book scenario because I was acting as if I cared about his well-being. Or maybe Stockholm syndrome was real and I managed to grow fond of my captor? Whichever it was, I didn't have time to waste.

I threw a leg over him and straddled his hips to grab Bane's shoulders and try to shake him awake. While I did, I kept hissing at him to wake up, growing more desperate with each word that passed my lips.

Just as I was about to give up and look for his phone to call for help, Bane opened his eyes. Barely, just briefly, but it was enough for me to know he was still fighting.

"Did I die?" Bane muttered and closed his eyes.

Taken aback by his question I didn't react instantly, giving him a perfect chance to add a little more of his thoughts. "I swear I just saw an angel. I can't open my eyes again, she'll disappear." "You didn't die," I breathed out. "Where is your phone? I need to call Zion, he has to come here to help. I think you lost too much blood. Why aren't you healing, darn it?"

As I explained my intentions, I patted down the pockets of his jeans until I found the phone. Thankfully, he didn't have any lock on his so I could quickly find Zion's number and dial it.

"I didn't let him win. Not this time," Bane muttered just as Zion answered the call.

"Hey, what's up? Why are you calling me? Do we have a new rule that we can't use the pack mind-link or some shit? Since when?" Zion sounded cheerful and in good spirits, so at least I knew their conversation didn't turn too violent yesterday.

"Zion!" I shouted his name just as he started ranting more about the pack link. "You need to come here and bring the doctor. Bane's hurt, he's not healing and I barely got him to open his eyes. I think he lost too much blood." At this point, tears streamed down my cheeks. Ugly sobs escaped my lips as Zion instructed me to stay on the line until his arrival.

I listened to him shout at people and burst through the main building door as he was assuring me that he was on his way.

My vision was so blurry, I didn't notice Bane looking at me until somehow, he managed to raise his hand enough to cup my cheek. "Don't cry, my angel. Not because of me."

His words were barely a whisper, yet they speared through my heart with so much power to them that I couldn't stop crying even if I tried. Even my bottom lip started trembling.

I didn't care why I felt the way I did as I laid my head on his chest and let the tears out. Between the sobs, I managed to plead with him not to die, despite not knowing why I didn't want Bane to die.

Everything I did contradicted things I should have done. There was my chance to escape - I could have left him to die on the kitchen floor and disappear before anyone noticed his absence.

But instead, I remained by his side and called for help to save him.

Why I felt like I was saving Bane from himself was beyond me.

I didn't know him, I really didn't. Other than his ugly nature and dirty deeds, there was nothing about him to know. Those few times he was nice to me couldn't undo the damage he had caused, but I still laid on his chest as if he mattered. I should be hating him, but seeing Bane like this, I just couldn't.

Maybe I was too good, perhaps my nature was too naive and empathetic...

"Please don't die," I muttered just before someone yanked my body off Bane's.

I hadn't noticed Zion and his men arriving, so it was too late for me to react when my body was thrown against the wall. Pain surged through me as the back of my head hit the wall, but I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the howl of pain inside.

I couldn't let their attention be taken away from Bane. My pain was nothing compared to what he was experiencing right now.

For a bit, I watched the men and Zion surround Bane and shout something to each other. Seconds later, black dots slowly clouded my vision and other than the ringing in my ears, I couldn't hear anything.

Maybe the impact with the wall was worse than I initially thought. And yet, I couldn't feel bothered. For some reason, it didn't feel important.

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I slowly let my eyelids close and gave into the temptation and peace the darkness offered.