The Beast's Possession
36: I didn’t mean to hurt you.

**Aife

pov**

I ran. I actually managed to run and ignore the pain that shot through my body. Every time my feet collided with the ground, another wave of pain traveled throughout my legs. Instead of focusing on the downside of my doings, I focused on my goal. Although I had no idea how far from the border I was, at least I had a head start.

Worst case scenario, I could climb a tree or replace a cave where I could hide while I regained some energy.

At one point, I felt like I had been running for hours even though I knew it couldn't have been longer than ten minutes. I was weak, running out of energy very fast, and in pain. Not the best scenario for someone, who was trying to escape their captor.

What made the situation worse was that just when my stupid mind started conjuring up ideas that I was getting away from Bane, I heard weird sounds nearby.

It wasn't an animal, that much was sure. Whoever followed me didn't bother to be quiet as the sound of breaking branches neared me.

I ran for another minute until I admitted to myself that I couldn't run for any longer. Goddess knew how far I had gotten, but surely it wasn't far enough to have a fair chance at getting away from here.

As the last resort, I stopped by a massive pine tree and pressed my back against it in a feeble attempt to hide from whoever was chasing me.

I had little to no hope it would work, and surely, barely seconds later, I realized just how foolish my idea was.

Bane moved so fast, I didn't catch every moment until it was too late. He had my arm locked behind my back as his other hand grabbed the back of my neck and squeezed it painfully. He added so much pressure to his hold on my arm, I screamed out in pain.

"Stupid, pathetic bitch! Did you really think you could escape me? Me?" He spat words through gritted teeth. "Actions have consequences, mutt. Trust my ass!"

Bane didn't hold back from adding more hurtful insults and twisting my arm every time I didn't walk fast enough for his liking. At one point, he twisted my arm so painfully, it felt as if he broke it.

As the pain shot through my arm, it sent me down to my knees, which earned another wave of insults from the Alpha asshole.

He surely thought I wasn't in enough pain because in the fit of rage, Bane kicked my stomach. Tears stung my eyes as I gritted my teeth and tried to endure the pain quietly.

Seeing that I wasn't moving, Bane grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder.

I let silent tears fall as he carried me back to the fancy prison. When he reached the house, the only positive thing was that there still were no guards around it.

This was humiliating. So much so, I actually preferred to suffer in the presence of the beast rather than be put on display for everyone to see how I failed my attempt to get out.

Bane carried me to his bedroom, threw me on the bed and stomped out without uttering a word. I hated how the room reeked of him, how everything in this place was nothing but another reminder of his existence.

As carefully as I could, I pulled my knees to my chest and cried out everything. The pain, the desperation, his words and attack, and most importantly - how I failed.

I had no idea how much time passed, but apparently I cried myself to sleep because the next moment when my eyes opened, Bane was sitting next to me, running his fingers through my hair.

The look on his face was weird, almost concerned, but far away at the same time. Reading his expressions was hard and nearly impossible when his actions told another story.

"I'm sorry,” Bane muttered, catching me completely off guard.

My eyes widened so much, I feared they would pop out of the sockets. He didn't look at me, didn't pay attention to my reaction, just kept staring in the distance and running his fingers through my hair.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. Sometimes, I can't control my anger even if I'm putting up the fight of my lifetime. That is why I asked you to behave. When shit like this happens, I have no idea how I will react. But I'm sorry about what I did back there, Aife. It was messed up, I know."

Okay, I had to be dreaming. Or dead. Yes, I had to be dead.

"And I'm especially sorry for kicking you and almost breaking your arm. I called the pack doctor here, he checked on you and said the injuries aren't serious. You'll be fine by the morning," Bane kept talking.

Did he have any idea just how much I dreamed about slapping him across the face? Or even better - I could throw a good punch at his jaw and hopefully break it in the process.

When Bane's hand slid from my hair to my neck, I tried to move away from him and instantly a hiss of pain left me.

It seemed as if only now he came back to his senses. Bane jumped off the bed, looked at me in panic and ran out of the room.

At this point, I was sure even he had no idea what the hell was wrong with him.

Just as I felt like I could breathe, without him in the room, Bane returned with something in his hands. He placed a neatly folded laundry next to me and nodded.

"This is the softest and biggest towel I could replace in the house. I folded new underwear inside so you wouldn't get embarrassed when you see it. Please, take a shower and once you're done, I need to talk to you about something important." Bane's words weren't the only thing that worried me. His behavior was all sorts of weird, out of character, that much was sure. But, what really triggered my suspicion was the fact that while he spoke, Bane kept looking everywhere but at me. We didn't know each other, but there were a few things I had noticed about him. One of those things was the fact that he wasn't one to avoid eye contact.

Quite the opposite, he took every chance he had to torment me by forcing me to meet his creepily empty gaze.

"Do you need my help? The doctor cleared you to walk and do whatever you want basically, but if you're still in pain, I can help. After all, it is my fault that you're in pain to begin with," Bane broke the silence, still staring in the distance. If it were anyone but him, I would gladly accept the help. Bane, however, yeah, I wouldn't ask that man to pee on me if I were on fire, let alone ask him to help me.

We were in a similar position once already and that was probably one of the worst moments of my life. Come to think of it, anything connected to Bane could be deemed like the worst moments of my life.

The man was like a real life parasite - he latched onto someone, sucked out their life force and then kept going on with his life as if nothing happened, still working on his goal to make his victim's life as miserable as possible. "No, thank you," I managed to whisper.

My voice didn't sound like mine. It reminded me of the sounds characters from scary movies made in moments when the exorcists did their job, but nevertheless, at least I had a voice.

"Okay,” Bane muttered and nodded again. Slowly, he spun on his heel and headed for the door. "I will come back in half an hour to check on you. Take your time and don't hesitate to call out for me if you need any help."