The Beast's Possession

**Aife pov**

Waking up felt different. I had gotten used to having Bane's arms around me, his body pressed against mine, but even while he was still asleep, he seemed different.

How I could tell that was beyond me, but the feeling didn't fade even when his eyes opened and a bright smile spread across his lips.

His hold around me tightened as Bane pecked my cheek and muttered, "good morning, sleeping beauty."

Why, all of a sudden, I felt such unease around him?

My eyes took in his features as I sought out what was off with him, but I couldn't find anything. He still looked like the same Bane who had kissed me goodnight the night before. But there was something...

Sensing something was off, as always, Bane offered a way to distract me. "Are you ready for your girls day with Amelia? I already sent her a message and got confirmation, she's beyond happy to spend a day with you."

Hearing his words, I pushed Bane away from me and got out of the bed. I ran to the bathroom to take a shower while he laughed at my eagerness.

As I stepped inside the bathroom, I dropped my clothes on the floor and was about to step into the shower, but again, the uneasy feeling overwhelmed me.

Guessing that had to be because of the clothes on the floor, I quickly picked them up and dropped them in the laundry basket. But I didn't step away from it or start the shower.

Instead, I stared at the clothes in the basket. Slowly, the feeling started making sense.

The reason why Bane felt different was because he had done something awful while I was asleep. The stench of blood was so potent, at one point, I had gotten used to it.

Even when Bane joined me and stood behind me, I didn't move a muscle. His hands wrapped around me and he instantly rested his chin on my shoulder. "Please don't ask questions. There was an accident. That's all I'm willing to share for now, just focus on my words. An accident happened."

My heart squeezed. How could he call an entire load of laundry, soaked in blood, an accident?

Was it the man from yesterday that Bane had killed? Wasn't there a way to deal with issues without instantly taking lives and committing crimes?

Gulping, I slowly spun around in his arms and raised my hand to his cheek. Bane instantly leaned into my touch, closed his eyes and sighed. "I promise it was an accident," he whispered.

As much as I wanted to attack him with questions, Bane looked so tired and sad, I couldn't.

"Okay," I managed to whisper. "I need to take a shower."

At those words, his eyes shot open and again, I could see the spark dancing in his eyes. "Perfect, I need to take a shower too and we could save some water if we take it together." "Only if you wash my hair," I teased.

To my surprise, Bane started stipping so fast, he nearly fell over. "I'm great at that. I think I've cracked a code or might as well be called a professional hairdresser, I'm so good at washing hair."

At times when he acted like a happy child, I really enjoyed his presence. In fact, I enjoyed being around him for most of the time, but there were some instances where I really wanted some distance between us. Despite everything I found in the bathroom, I took a shower with Bane and tried to shake off the thoughts. I could trust Amelia, so I would discuss my suspicions with her later.

The time I spent with Bane went by in a blur. He washed my hair and insisted on washing my body too. For someone so rough, his touch was surprisingly gentle.

Then, he helped me get dressed. It seemed that it didn't matter to Bane that I had the ability to do things on my own, he kept insisting he wanted to do everything for me.

Just to make the whole situation even more ridiculous, when we heard the front door to the house open and Amelia called out that she had arrived, Bane scooped me in his arms and carried me downstairs. "Good morning, Alpha," she happily greeted Bane.

"Amelia," he grunted.

Her eyes darted between us and an amused, smug grin spread across her lips. Bane carefully set me back to my feet, held my face in his hands and pressed the most delicate kiss to my lips. "I need to deal with some stuff at the main building. If you need me, you can find me there or just tell one of the guards that I need to come home, okay?" He whispered.

I nodded and assured him we would be okay.

Bane thought that Amelia and I would leave the territory, but that was the last thing I wanted today. I was in the mood for some gossip, tea and maybe movies, not adventures. I had plenty of those yesterday.

"Make sure she doesn't get herself in trouble, yea?" Bane said to Amelia and she instantly agreed, claiming she would never let me do anything he didn't approve of. Such a liar. "Alright. Behave, ladies."

And then, as soon as Bane left and the door closed behind him, Amelia flashed me the most shit-eating grin I had ever seen. "You have him wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and her and plopped down on the couch. "No, I don't. Bane acts however he wants to act with everyone. It just so happens that he's, I guess nicer, with me. And besides, he kind of asked me out so I suppose we're dating now."

While I tried to sound as unbothered as possible, it was clear that Amelia was going through masses of different emotions with every word I offered.

She jumped, clapped her hands and sat next to me, pushing her body incredibly close to mine. "Oh my, tell me more. No, tell me everything. How did it happen? When he took you from our house, I was so scared he would do awful things to you and send me back to reject housings, but he did nothing of sorts. You need to tell me your secret. What did you do to change the Alpha?"

I stared at Amelia as if she was explaining how she could grow another head. "I did nothing. Everything just happened, I guess. He's just... Different."

"Just different? Yeah, repeat that a few more times and watch me not fall for it. The Alpha isn't just different, he's a completely new person. At least from the little encounter I got to watch. He even carried you here. Are you hurt?" "I'm not hurt," I rolled my eyes again.

"Point proven. He doesn't want you to walk around on your own, so he's carrying you around. I have no idea what you did, but you clearly have his heart hostage," Amelia muttered the last words.

My head snapped in her direction and eyes widened. "His heart hostage? What kind of romance books are you reading these days?"

Amelia laughed at my question and ignored it. "I'm serious. Don't think that this is the first day I have spent in this pack. I have watched Alpha for a long time, maybe even too long. I saw him with his girlfriend. Back then, he was smitten, that much was clear, but never to this level that he is with you. I don't know if you're still planning to leave, so all I will say is you need to watch your back and be careful. You know how far Alpha Bane can go. I seriously think you have his heart and if you happen to leave him, be warned that he will stop at nothing to get it back."