The Beast's Possession
31: Wise choice.

**Aife

pov**

I heard him. I really did. But was I hearing him? Because I could have sworn that Bane just announced he was planning to claim me as his Luna.

Me... The woman he addressed as a reject. The woman he stole from her home and ridiculed every chance he got.

If this wasn't a sign that the vile beast was losing his mind, I didn't know what it was.

After a far too long moment of silence, suddenly, his laughter echoed against the walls, which made me even more uncomfortable than I was earlier.

If I had my voice, I wouldn't be able to hold the questions back. Such as - what the hell was wrong with him and when was the last time he got checked by a proper doctor. "The look on your face," Bane forced out in-between the fit of laughter. "It's priceless. If only you could see yourself now."

Although I wanted to, I refused to show him any reaction. Even when Bane managed to calm down and started wiping the tears off his cheeks, I didn't show any emotion. Regardless of how much truth was hidden behind his announcement - he was up to something. Whatever Bane had planned, it had to be bad.

I didn't have to know the man for years to learn he wasn't a good person. If anything, Bane was doing everything in his power to prove just how awful he was.

When he started walking closer and far too close to the bed, I tried to move away just to increase the distance between us.

Honestly, I wouldn't put forcing himself onto women past Bane. He was more than capable of taking whatever he pleased, even if he had to kill for it, so it made sense to think so.

"But I'm not joking," he spoke again, this time, sounding more determined than earlier.

Once again, I felt like my eyes widened so much, they were about to pop out of the sockets. I even started wondering if people around here had a magic tree that provided them with unlimited amounts of delusional juice. Admittedly, I was scared out of my skin to even think about what tomorrow might bring, but I also knew that remaining silent and letting him do whatever he pleased would be worse than taking the abuse.

Consequences really were something I had to fear, but I still thought that suffering those would be a thousand times better than suffering next to Bane's side.

So, without overthinking the possibilities, I did the only thing I could in my situation.

Weakly, but still, I shook my head in a relatively silent protest.

His pack members could give Bane everything on a silver platter, but I wasn't one of them. He wasn't my Alpha, leader, friend, or family. And he definitely wouldn't become the man with whom I would be forced to spend the rest of my life. Bane could try, but I wouldn't stop looking for ways to escape him. And next time, I wouldn't stop at just damaging my body - I would finish the job for good.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, reject," Bane chuckled, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I glanced at him to see the beast still standing next to the bed, looking at his phone with a bored expression on his face.

Seeing how he was as stubborn as a mule, I decided to give him a piece of my mind in writing. Yet, the moment he noticed the grip I had on the pen, Bane reached out his hand and snatched the notebook from me.

He quickly opened it and frowned. "I thought you were talking to the maid," he muttered so quietly, I was sure he didn't want me to hear him.

"Ah, it's missing a page. Interesting. Are you having secrets now? I'm not sure how our relationship could grow and become stronger if you want to hide something from me. We just started building mutual trust and you're already breaking it. Sad, isn't it?"

Bane deliberately mocked me. I knew every word that left him was meant to get to me, so maybe that was why I found it so easy to ignore him.

While sadly I couldn't do more to defy him, my lack of reaction was enough to get under his skin. It was truly amusing to watch such a vile, despicable man get so frustrated simply because he couldn't gain full control over one, small person. "What? You don't feel bad about breaking my trust so early in our relationship?" He huffed, tossing the notebook on the bed, well out of my reach.

I glanced at Bane and raised an eyebrow. How did he expect me to answer, if he took away what was supposed to be my way of communication?

Watching him sulk gave me an odd sense of satisfaction. If not more, at least I could give him a hard time.

Bane made a show out of crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring at me. He didn't look away for about five minutes until the overgrown pest came up with a new idea on how to torment me.

The corner of his mouth twitched in a suppressed smile as Bane sat on the bed and reached for the notebook before handing it to me.

"I can always ask Silvia. Seeing how the missing page isn't anywhere in my view, I think it's safe to assume she has it. Should I leave to replace her or will you tell me on your own? Think carefully because if you choose the first one, Silvia's coming here and you will watch me question her. Remember who I am and keep in mind that I don't ask questions as everyone else does."

Bane had to be the most delusional bloody person I had misfortune to meet. How could I forget his way of asking questions? The beast had no idea how to lead a decent conversation, all he knew was how to kill, hurt, manipulate, and do everything a decent person wouldn't.

My hands shook as I opened the notebook and scribbled down the answer.

Bane snatched the notebook again and started laughing at me. Clearly, he thought my words were funny while I didn't replace them amusing.

What I wrote was disgusting and humiliating - a sentence that set me up for nothing but pain and misery. He had won. Again, Bane freaking won.

His laughter seemed to become louder with every second passing. Each time it echoed against the walls, I felt like it came back to me and hit me with double force.

My heart sank as Bane returned the notebook and winked at me. "Wise choice, reject. Not that I ever implied you had a say in this, but I'll let it slide. This one time only," he sang, got up and walked to the door.

I watched him unlock it and leave the bedroom. Bane actually started to whistle a melody, which I was sure was another of his ways to torment me.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, my eyes traveled down to the open notebook.

There it was, my death sentence, written black on white, in my handwriting. I kept reading the words until tears clouded my vision.

**For as long as you promise to stop hurting everyone to get your way, I agree.' *