The Beast's Possession

**Aife pov**

When Bane pulled away and gaze finally met mine, I could see the sincerity in his eyes. I had seen this look a couple of times before, but only now I realized how to describe it.

He looked at me like I meant something.. And honestly, maybe it wasn't just that. I didn't have his words to support my assumptions, but I was quite sure the look screamed more than a thousand words would.

It wasn't just 'you mean a lot to me' look, it was more like 'if anyone takes you away from me, I will burn the entire world down if that's what I must do to get back what is mine' look.

There it was, another proof that I had read far too many romance books and still tried to find something that wasn't there.

But a girl could dream, couldn't she?

He offered me his hand, so I hesitantly placed mine in his as I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't ask questions, just trust me and let me show you something," Bane offered.

Did he have any idea that usually, when you told people that they shouldn't ask questions, that was the one thing they instantly wanted to do?

Although I was dying to ask where he wanted to lead me, I held back and remained silent.

Bane opened the office door and pulled me after him. "I know you're thinking about the mess I left behind, so don't. Drop the worry, I have plenty of people who can clean it up. And yes, before you ask, I will work to fix it too."

My jaw dropped. When he had the time to get to know me on such a personal level to know what was going through my head? He wasn't wrong, I really worried about the destruction he was leaving behind.

As we walked through halls and passed door after door, I realized Bane was taking me to a part of the main building I hadn't seen before. He stopped in front of a massive door and forced his hand inside the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a key.

I watched him unlock the door and open it for me. "Come on, let's go," Bane encouraged me. He let go of my hand to place his on the small of my back and pushed me a little.

For a brief moment, fear froze me. What if he was taking me there to do something bad? I couldn't know what was going through his head.

"It's a very special place I want to share with you. I keep the door locked to keep everyone out of here, even Zion isn't allowed to enter." Bane stated, offering me a slight smile.

He looked unsure, as if he was fighting himself about the idea. Seeing how uncomfortable he was, I nodded and stepped inside what I thought was another dark room, but turned out to be a long hall.

"You're taking me to your sex dungeon, right? No, it must be sex attic, we didn't head downstairs." I gasped, refusing to move forward.

Bane closed the door and locked it. Then, his laughter echoed against the walls and his body pressed against mine. Shivers ran all over my body as his lips brushed my ear when he whispered, "I told you I wouldn't force intimacy on you, didn't I? This is my secret, the first one I am ready to share with you."

A sense of guilt instantly hit me. I was so used to assuming the worst of him that I didn't notice how often I kept doing the same thing over and over again.

Just minutes ago, I threw the label 'boyfriend' at him, and now, I was thinking the worst of him.

The truth was that if Bane wanted to hurt me, he would have done that whenever he pleased. He didn't need to lure me away from others like some sick maniac would. As the Alpha, he could kill and torture whoever he pleased and the pack could do nothing about it.

I felt his hand grab mine and him, tugging it for me to follow him.

As soon as he stepped aside and his body wasn't pressed against mine anymore, I was freezing. I hadn't noticed how cold it was here until Bane stepped away.

He walked through down the hall as if he knew it by heart, which had to be the case as this was his house and his secret. All I could do was blindly follow him and hope we would reach a room that wasn't as pitch dark as the hall.

For a while, we just moved forward. Just when I was growing a little irritated, Bane stopped. I couldn't see what he was doing, I just heard him open another door.

We stepped inside the room and he instantly flicked on the lights, blinding me for a brief moment in the process.

By the time my eyes adjusted to the bright light, Bane was already standing on the other side of the room, looking at me as if he was expecting a reaction while holding his breath.

My eyes scanned the room and I instantly frowned. "A nursery?"

Bane nodded, a little too eagerly for me to understand why I was here in the first place. "Yes."

"But..." I started and stopped myself to draw in a breath. "Why is it pink?"

The whole place was pink over pink, on top of pink and a sprinkle of pink for good measure.

Bane chuckled and shook his head. His hand ran over a dust-covered crib and eyes focused on the floor. "My parents thought I would break-" he cut himself off before he finished.

His head snapped to the side, eyes wide, as if he was shocked about something. Just as I opened my mouth to ask what he meant with his words, Bane shook his head. "I wanted to show you a part of my history, I suppose. No one is allowed to enter this part of the building because it was my childhood home. This is where I spent my days with my parents. Do you want to see the photos?"

I knew he was doing his best to change the topic and allowed him to. Bane could share more of his history when he would be ready, just as he promised he would do.

"I would love to," I blurted out, slowly approaching him.

While clearly way bigger and stronger than me, at times, Bane acted like a timid animal. He couldn't be cornered since the reaction that followed wasn't one anyone could enjoy.

The last thing I wanted was for him to slap me across the face out of instinct.

"We need to go to their bedroom. I haven't been here for a while as you can probably see, so I apologize for the dust and dirt," he smiled, turned around and walked towards the door I didn't notice earlier.

Just in case, I kept some distance between us. I couldn't know how he felt or what he was thinking. For all I knew, Bane could change his mind about sharing this with me any moment, so it would be better if I approached everything with caution.

At first, when Bane entered the other room, I stuck close to the door, unsure if I was allowed to enter. Just as something caught my attention, Bane's hand shot out of the room, he grabbed me and pulled me inside.

Our bodies collided again, and this time, he took the chance to take what he kept asking for earlier. His lips pressed against mine and seconds later, we were sharing the most passionate kiss we had shared up to this day. His grip around me was so tight, I doubted he planned to let me go anytime soon.

My head started spinning, but he was nowhere near done with the assault on my lips. When he finally broke the kiss, I breathed so heavily, I must have sounded like a dying seal.

His large palm cupped my cheek as his eyes bore into mine. Whenever Bane did this, I felt like he was staring straight into my soul, no imaginary walls could protect me from his gaze. Ever.

This brief moment proved that no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried to keep my distance - there was no escaping. Sooner or later, I would have fallen for the beast. And I did.