The Beast's Possession

**Killian

pov**

I was so close to getting her all to myself, I could almost feel her in my arms, I could almost imagine the smell of her hair and the brightness of her smile. Everyone thought I was mad, but if becoming a mad man meant I could get what I was entitled to, I was fine with that.

Her family.. They were a fucking nightmare. Her father in particular has to be the stupidest man alive, and honestly, these days, I wondered how the man had survived this long.

He had to be what, like hundred? That could be far-fetched, but he didn't look a day younger, so I didn't really care.

Now, as I sat in my office with the sole intent to hide away from the moron, I couldn't help but wonder if his daughter's disappearance was a curse or a blessing. I, too, wouldn't mind being kidnapped if I got away from a moron like him. As if on cue, a knock on the office door startled me. A loud, annoyed groan left me as I pinched the bridge of my nose and glared at the door. If only whoever stood behind that door could feel my stare, maybe they would leave. But of course, as freaking always, that didn't work as I wished it would. If anything, the knocking became more intense and louder. Taking a few deep breaths, I braced myself and plastered another fake smile on my lips as I called out, "come in!"

As expected, the old fool opened the door and entered my office as if he owned the whole place. A funny fact about him was that he didn't appear self-aware. Like at all. Wherever he went, he carried a sense of entitlement and arrogance I hadn't seen ever before. It wasn't strength, power or title, just pure ego.

"How may I help you?" I asked, feeling disgusted at how inviting my tone sounded as it rang against the damn walls.

The old fool sat down right across from me and frowned. "Are you doing anything at all? Anything but sitting in this office and sulking at your own shadow? Son, I want to see my daughter wed. I don't want to die before I get to see her getting married to a good man."

Fighting against the insane need to roll my eyes, I stood from my seat and approached the window to look outside. For as long as I had my back turned on him, he wouldn't see my facial expressions. This stunt came at risk, of course. The old bastard could try to stab me in the back at any given time.

"I'm doing everything in my power, dad," I answered, barely holding back the gag. The damn aftertaste of that one word in my throat would probably haunt me till the end of my days.

He wasn't my father and would never be, even if I married his daughter. And I did fully intend to marry her.

"Well, you're not doing enough," he huffed.

We had been through this shit so many times, I knew he had crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned even without looking at the bastard.

Sometimes, I wondered how bad it would be if I took the risk and killed him. Just a quick snap and done, he would be gone. While the thought was very inviting and made me feel a little better about myself, I knew it wouldn't please my future wife so I had to hold back from acting on instinct.

"There isn't that much I could do right now, or is there something? Besides, we have had this conversation more times than I can count, so what's the point in discussing this today? Not to be rude or anything, but isn't it your fault that he took her? We had a deal, I already paid you and just a few months before I was supposed to collect my prize, you lost it."

The silence that followed my words was deafening, accompanied by a tension that was so thick, we could cut it with a knife.

"I didn't do anything," he huffed again, as always, denying his faults.

If it weren't for this fucker, challanging Bane, we wouldn't be hiding in my territory like some leftover bitches. The old bastard knew what he did when he decided to poke the most unpredictable man known to the entire community. "So, you're saying you didn't send the letters to taunt him, right?" I chuckled.

"No, I didn't," he kept denying the truth.

Slowly, turning around, I finally faced the bastard and glared at him again. If looks could kill, this piece of shit would be dead and forgotten by now.

Taking a step closer, I cleared my throat and smiled again. This time, I didn't bother to appear kind or nice, the smile was menacing and clearly a warning about the things I was dying to do to him.

"Bane is an asshole. I know that, you know that, fuck it, everyone knows that. But what we also know about Bane is that he won't go out of his way to slaughter an entire pack if no one provokes him. You had it coming, you knew what was about to go down, yet, you still went and made the stupidest decision in the history of wolf shifters. If it weren't for your need to appear like a winner in everyone's eyes, your pack wouldn't have suffered the consequences. I hate that guy, but I still am man enough to admit he won't do anything reckless just for shits and giggles."

While I spoke, his eyes darted everywhere but at me. He knew I wasn't playing around and this entire mess was his own doing.

All things aside, there was only one thing that truly caught my attention. Bane wasn't known as someone who left witnesses. Ever.

But alas, here he was, leaving the old man and his new wife alive. Why? Why would Bane spare the life of someone he clearly despised more than his entire bloodline. And for the record - Bane's bloodline was truly fucked up. There was nothing to love or respect there.

"I haven't broken any law," the old man muttered and shot to his feet. Whenever he got pissy like this, he acted as if he was in his early twenties, not into the process of decomposition. As always, he pointed a finger at me as if I was the root of his miserable existence and snarled, "I will forgive the disrespect this time, but no more. You're too emotional to be taken seriously, we will discuss this during dinner."

With that being said, he stormed out of my office and slammed the door on his way out. Now, I could breathe and think of the plan properly.

Within the next three days, I was planning to enter Bane's territory and take what he stole from me. Finally, I could get her back.