The Beast's Possession

**Aife

pov**

My breath hitched and suddenly, I wasn't so sure about my idea anymore. Especially when his arm snuck around my waist to pull me incredibly close against him and Bane's lips slowly traveled down my neck.

When he reached the crook of my neck, he inhaled my scent and let out a loud growl. I knew men had a weird obsession with that part of a woman's body simply because that was where they left their marks, but Bane's clear liking of it sometimes worried me.

At times, I feared he would lose control and mark me. I hadn't reached the age, hadn't met my wolf yet, and if he were to do that, I would never meet my true mate. If I had one...

Bane's grip around me tightened, so I decided to distract him. "Now that you're here, you could actually tell me why you sent the guard to tell me to pack. Where are we going? And most importantly, why?"

His body tensed as Bane hesitated a little. That was all I needed to know he was about to tell me some lies. "We're going on a camping trip. I want more time with you. Is that a crime for a boyfriend to want to spend some time in privacy with his girlfriend? Have I gotten all this relationship thing wrong?"

As much as I wanted to confront him, I could tell there was something on his mind. Something bad that worried him, so I let Bane feed his lies to me.

"What should I pack? I don't think there's a tent in that closet."

Bane laughed at the remark and slowly led me inside the closet. He pulled some bags from the top shelves and handed them to me. "Clothing only. We will stay in a cabin my parents built when I was a kid. No need to worry about dust and possible allergies, I have it cleaned every week even if I don't go there. We can call this our weekend getaway," he winked.

Somehow, Bane managed to make me feel like I was someone special. Every time he tried to do something nice for me, a sensation of warmth spread through my chest.

Maybe it was because although he didn't know me, he still remained mindful of every possibility and tried to make sure I wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

The man he was when he first brought me here was nothing compared to the man he was today.

While I was stalling, Bane didn't waste any time loading up the bags for me and him. The speed at which he was doing everything made me a little suspicious. What could have happened for him to want to leave this fast? In no time, he was holding two loaded duffle bags as he tilted his head towards the door.

I walked out of the closet and moved closer to the bedroom door just to come to a sudden halt. Glancing at him over my shoulder, I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure where we are supposed to go, so why am I walking in front of you, not the other way around?"

Bane grinned. "Maybe because I hate seeing you go but sure do love watching you leave."

My cheeks instantly tinted bright red as I stepped aside and waited for Bane to start walking.

"Oh, come on, I can get at least that much, can't I? Besides, it's not like I'm some creep who keeps everything a secret, I actually told you I'm literally enjoying the view. What's the issue?" Laughing, I slapped his arm and shoved him a little. "Let's get going, you seemed to be in a rush when you packed the bags. Besides, I need to return the phone to its owner." The stressful situation turned into an amusing one as we kept teasing each other and tossing remarks at one another until we finally reached the last step of the stairs.

Amelia stood next to the guard, her arms crossed in front of her chest, a frown on her face. I kind of understood why she looked so unhappy as we were promised a whole day together.

"Amelia, I must apologize to you as there has been a change of plans and the day has to be cut short. I'm sure you understand that unexpected things do happen. I will make sure we return soon and you two will get to have your day." The guard, Amelia, heck, even me, we all stared at Bane as if he had grown another head. I knew he was capable of apologizing when needed, but he hadn't done that to anyone but me.

"It's fine, Alpha. There's no need to apologize and I do understand," Amelia blurted out as soon as she came back to her senses.

Bane took the phone from me and handed it back to the guard. "Thank you for letting her call me. Take the rest of the day off and tell the others they can do the same. We will leave now."

The guard nodded and excused himself, dragging Amelia along. She actually muttered something about needing to ask some questions, but he had none of it.

As my friend was basically taken away from me, Bane took my hand and pulled me towards the door. Again, we got inside the car and, not surprisingly, he refused to tell me anything about how far the cabin was or in which direction it could be.

During the drive, Bane busied himself calling different people, rescheduling meetings and ensuring the food delivery to the cabin had already been made. By the time he finished, I felt like a whole eternity had passed.

"You seriously won't tell me anything? Not even a single, tiny detail?" I huffed.

Bane laughed and placed his hand on my thigh. "I can give you one tiny detail, if it's so crucial. You already know where we are going - a getaway at a cabin, hidden away from everyone. The detail you get is that I kind of went out of my way to come up with the most romantic stuff I found on Google."

My head snapped in his direction. "You can't tell me you just admitted you had to Google romantic stuff.”

Bane pulled his hand away from me and brought it to the back of his neck. His eyes didn't leave the road even for a second as he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat a little. "Well, I just did, I guess. Honestly, I get it has to be very hard to notice, but I'm not exactly the most romantic guy out there, but I'm trying, okay? I needed some ideas to base plans on. Most of the ideas I found, I used them as inspiration and did the rest myself."

And there it was, the warm feeling in my chest was back. How Bane was doing that truly was beyond me. I couldn't see him as the person he once was anymore.

Whatever was the real reason behind his sudden decision to visit the forest cabin - I had to be grateful for it, good or bad. Really, whatever it was, without it, I wouldn't get an experience like this with Bane without it. "Thank you," I whispered and looked out of the window.

From the corner of my eye, I could see him grip the steering wheel so hard, I could see his knuckles turning white.

"I'll take a quick nap, if you don't mind. And seriously, thank you," I added and closed my eyes.

At first, I couldn't fall asleep, the bumps on the road and the car engine kept me awake, but I didn't bother to open my eyes anymore. But after a while, just when tiredness finally caught up with me and I was about to doze off, I heard his voice, barely a whisper.

"Thank you, for what? For loving you? Don't thank me."