The Beast's Possession
47: Big plans.

pov**

**Aife Tears stung in my eyes as I tried to focus on my breathing. I didn't want Bane to see how stupidly miserable he was making me feel.

The fact that he made up this whole thing just to test me was outrageous. How could someone be so stuck in their delusions to think that a person they were abusing wouldn't try to escape them?

"Can I please head upstairs? I'm really tired," I muttered, averting my gaze to my feet.

If I had any chance at getting away from him even for as little as a couple of minutes, I would be willing to give up on anything just to get the taste of freedom.

"Yeah, I'll head to bed later, still have some work to do in the office. I'm not sure if I will get any sleep tonight, if I'm being honest." Bane pulled away from me and stepped aside. "But don't stay up too late, I have some big plans for tomorrow and you're coming with me."

Curiosity was killing me. Sometimes, all he had to do was to toss some bits at me and I grabbed them all as if my life depended on it, but not this time.

Whatever he was planning could wait until tomorrow. Now, I needed some alone time with my thoughts and without him in my personal space.

"Okay," I agreed and started walking towards the stairs.

"Wait up! Don't you want to know what I'm planning?" Bane called after me.

Without sparing him a glance, I kept walking and replied, "let's call it a surprise."

"See, even your attitude is improving. Hard work pays off!"

I ignored him and focused on getting away. Thankfully, Bane wasn't in one of his moods, so he dismissed my behavior and went on with whatever he needed to do.

As soon as I stepped inside the stupid shared bedroom, the realization hit me. He mentioned that there was a possibility that he wouldn't sleep tonight, which meant I could get away with sleeping in the guest room.

Driven by the hope of having a bed all to myself without the beast breathing down my neck, I grabbed a set of pajamas and rushed to the nearest empty room.

There, I took a long, relaxing shower, got dressed and headed to bed. The moment I pulled the covers over my body, for the first time in Goddess knew how long, I felt pleasantly exhausted.

This type of exhaustion was welcomed, one you'd experience after a long day of hard but needed work, one that came with a sense of accomplishment.

I could feel the smile that spread across my lips as I closed my eyes and gave in.

***

The morning came sooner than expected. If I was being completely honest, I was disappointed it came at all.

Just to make the matter even worse, I wasn't alone anymore.

In fact, I was in the same room, but I was sleeping in the arms of the beast himself. Bane had buried his face in the crook of my neck and had what I called a death grip on me.

I tried to squirm out of his arms, but the hold around me became tighter every time I moved for as much as an inch.

"Where do you think you are going?" Bane muttered in that stupidly deep, sleepy voice he had every morning.

"I need to pee," I spat out without thinking.

That was my go-to lie whenever I woke up and found myself caged in his arms. Go-to simply because it worked like a charm, every darn time.

Reluctantly, he let me leave the bed, but of course, not without muttering something I couldn't understand and groaning.

If anyone were to watch him now, I was pretty sure they would mistake Bane for some doting boyfriend, stuck in the pink glasses period, unwilling to spend a moment apart from whoever he 'dated'.

I bolted inside the bathroom, but left the door ajar. It was another one of his stupid rules, I couldn't pee in peace because he didn't trust me.

"Why did you come here? Is there something wrong with the bed in the bedroom? It took me a while to replace which room you decided to hide in," Bane called from the room.

I pondered his questions for long enough to excuse the time I was taking as not hearing him properly.

"Will you ever answer my questions?" He called out again.

"Huh?" I did my best to sound as stupid as possible, pretending I didn't hear him.

"You zoned out again, didn't you?" Bane groaned.

I listened to him move around the bedroom for a bit and then, spoke up again, "sorry, you know it happens when I wake up. It always takes me a moment to come to my senses." "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Bane grumbled, clearly a little pissed. "So? Why did you come here? Is there anything wrong with the bedroom now?"

Taking his previous words as a way to get rid of him, I went with his own assumptions. "There's something wrong with the bed. I tried laying down, but for some reason, the mattress is giving me back pain. Since you mentioned that you didn't know if you could get any sleep at all, I figured you wouldn't be angry if I tried to get some decent sleep at least once."

As I lied through my teeth, I realized this was the most we had spoken for weeks. I always did everything to avoid having unnecessary conversations with Bane, but now, I was bypassing my own rules.

"I'll get a new bed and mattress delivered today," he announced. "Take a shower, wear something comfortable and come downstairs for breakfast. We're leaving in about an hour or so."

With that being said, Bane left the room and finally, I felt like I could breathe again.

I finished my business and took a shower in the guest bathroom. The reason why I didn't use the one in Bane's bathroom was the beast himself. I knew he left to take his morning shower and there was no way I was going to join him. Ever. Once I felt refreshed and somewhat awake, I dragged myself to the bedroom to get dressed. By the time I entered, Bane had already gone downstairs, so this seemed like a good start for the day.

Following Bane's suggestion, I chose the most comfortable clothes he had gotten for me - a simple hoodie and leggings. I put my hair in a messy bun and headed to the kitchen.

When I entered, Bane was already sitting down, reading his paper and inhaling his food. There was a cup of coffee left for me on the kitchen counter and a bowl of cereal. The only good thing about him was that he noticed small details, such as what I preferred for breakfast.

As I sat down across from him, Bane spoke up without prying his eyes away from the paper. "I packed some snacks and fruits in the bag already. We can stop at any diner if you will want decent food for once, but I think I have your favorite stuff already."

I sipped my coffee without noticing the danger that was nearing me. "Where are we going?" I finally asked and took another sip.

Of all the things in this universe, I could never imagine what Bane had planned. In fact, his words shocked me so much, I spat my coffee all over the table.

"We are going to visit Killian."