The Beast's Possession

**Bane

pov**

I got about an hour of sleep. It wasn't much, but enough for me to wake up like a brand new man. As new as I could be with my skin and flesh barely healing. Those fuckers were using pure silver to hold me locked down there, so it didn't surprise me that my body wasn't up the speed and the voice in my head finally didn't bother me.

Chris hadn't moved for an inch. I had to give this boy some credit. Even after he saved me, I didn't fully trust him, but since he didn't do anything while I was asleep, I could try to cut him some slack.

Sitting up, I stretched my sore muscles and hissed as another unwelcomed wave of pain traveled through my body. Chris looked at me with nothing but worry as the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of liquid. "Here, have some water. It's not laced with anything, don't worry," he smiled as I took the bottle and gulped down the water as if I hadn't had any water in days.

Honestly, it felt like that. My throat felt as dry as sandpaper. As I closed the bottle and handed it back to him, I looked around again. Now, this place didn't look like any other regular cave. It looked like the entrance to hidden tunnels that lead somewhere.

"Finally noticed the tunnels, huh?" Chris chuckled.

"Yeah," I muttered, still gazing into the darkness. "Where do they lead?"

"No idea," he shrugged. "These tunnels are pretty darn old. I tried to check them out once, but there are far too many branches and the direction I took brought me back to the High Council building. I didn't check the others as I wasn't exactly allowed to roam around or leave the premises, but I think the others lead elsewhere. I think. I don't know."

"Are we using them?" I asked, a little curious about his future plans.

One thing was pretty clear - Chris didn't look like he was planning to return to the place he saved me from. Given that he mentioned his mother leaving, I assumed he didn't have anything to return to.

For most part, I could read everyone and predict their intentions. With Chris it was a bit challenging. He mentioned living his life to the fullest, yet he threw it all out, leaving the life he built behind just for me.

Was he planning to go back to the High Council? Did he plan to follow me around? Or was his intention to lead me somewhere safer and then leave to join his mother?

Before Chris could answer my question, I added another one. "What is your plan? I can't help but wonder what will happen to you next, especially if you decide to return to the High Council and still serve them."

"Fuck no!" Chris hissed, glaring at me in disbelief. The boy actually looked like I had offended him. "There is no way I will go back to those old fucks and keep acting like their servant. For others, the outsiders, they might seem like high, mighty and fair bunch of old men. But they're not. They are everything but that. I would think you know that after the experience you just had with them."

Raising my eyebrow, I decided to poke the bear a little more. Maybe in a state of emotional distress, he will give me some answers. Chris was pretty level-headed, way too mature for his age.

"If it was bad for you, why did you live there and work for them? And don't count my experience, I had to have done something to piss them off. I might have an idea or two about what I did." A bitter chuckle left me.

I had a feeling that the High Council got pissy after I made an assumption about their fog fuckers. While for me, it was nothing more than an assumption at the beginning, their reaction did nothing but prove that I was right to think so. They probably didn't want to see me getting close to the Lycan King and spilling their dirty, little secrets.

"Remember I mentioned that you were the reason why we could escape?" Chris whispered the question.

I nodded, giving him the time and room to speak his mind.

"After we got away from that hell, my mother and I had nowhere else to go. You see, the man you slaughtered held the pack under his rule like we were his property, his toys to play around with. We couldn't reach anyone outside the pack, not even distant relatives. What I didn't make crystal clear is that I happen to be the son of that bastard. Nothing to be proud of. Anyway, when mom took me away, we didn't know if we had any living relatives or anyone to help," Chris sucked in a deep breath and shook his head.

The boy was stronger than he thought. Clearly, he had gone through hell and back, and he still was standing, helping others in need - fighting for what was right, not what others deemed right. He was a man of his own accord and I seriously respected him for that. After a rather tense moment of silence, he started talking again. "Since we had nowhere else to go, no one to ask help from, we went to the only place we knew we could find any protection. Mom was very thankful for the stunt you pulled because it provided an out for us, but at the same time, she feared you might come after us because of who my father was. So, we went to the High Council. That's pretty much it."

I listened to every word he said, but I still didn't hear the answer for the question I asked. Overall, he told me how he ended up in the High Council territory, but Chris didn't tell me why he stayed there.

As if he could read my mind, Chris chuckled. "I decided to stay because I knew this day would come. I knew you would end up in those cells and no one but me could help you escape." "How?"

"When we first went there, the Council offered us jobs to earn a roof over our heads, food and clothing. Nothing much, basically the bare minimum. And when we agreed, my mom was sent to work in the kitchen while I had to train to become a guard. When they realized Alpha blood is in my veins, they decided to push me through harder training and turn me into a weapon only they could use. During those training sessions, I overheard some of the higher guards discuss shit. The Council has had it out for you for longer than you think."

Now, I was lost. I assumed fog fucks had to be the reason why the High Council were after my ass, but I found out about them literally days ago. What could make them want me dead before that?

"I can't give you details as I don't have them myself, but from what I heard, you are a threat. No idea why, something about you scares the living hell out of the whole Council, that's why they're after you."