The Beast's Possession
63: Who hurt you?

**Aife

pov**

After the not-so-pleasant conversation I had with Zion, we both got lost in our thoughts as we got ready to finally get some sleep.

Zion was kind enough to offer me his shirt and a pair of older sweatpants, seeing how uncomfortable I was still wearing Bane's shirt. It wasn't that I didn't like it or the fabric was wrong, it was Bane's scent.

Maybe I was overreacting, but he hurt me and then tossed me out like an old, torn-up plastic bag, and that hurt more than the slap did. As I sat on the couch, which Zion moved closer to the bed, he flicked through the channels until something caught my eye.

"Stop. Can we watch this?" I asked, a little too eager to sound like I was twenty years old.

"Lion King?" Zion furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes, please. It's been years since I saw it and I have really wanted to see it again, but-" I cut myself off.

Once again, I was overexplaining myself. I didn't have to give so many details, a simple nod or 'yes' would be enough for Zion.

He set the remote aside and watched me as I got comfortable.

The movie was just as good and heartbreaking as I remembered it. As the great lion died, tears streamed down my cheeks, but deep down, I knew I wasn't crying just because of the movie.

"Who hurt you? And I don't mean Bane. Before him..." Zion muttered the questions and rolled over to look at me. "You can tell me, Aife. I'm probably the only person in this house right now who wants to be your friend. Just a friend, not someone with an ulterior motive. Who hurt you, sweetheart?"

His words cut deep. Not only because it had been so long since the last time I heard someone have so much concern for me, but the nickname did it.

I started crying like a baby, hiccuping and barely sucking any breath. Sometimes, when things were piled up, it was only a matter of time when the person would break. But me, I wasn't allowed to break. I had to be perfect.

Zion slid from under the covers and sat on the couch next to me. He didn't speak as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

This silent attempt to comfort me did it. This was my breaking point.

"I-it's so u-unfair," I hiccuped as I tried to speak.

Zion started running his hand through my hair. "Shhh, it's fine, princess. It's fine. Everything will be alright, I promise. Now you have me. I'm your friend and you are mine. And friends stick together. You hear me, Aife? Friends have each other's backs. Always."

I nodded my head, unable to form a word. This was nice. Someone went above and beyond to ensure I would calm down and wouldn't be hurting.

I had no intentions to tell Zion more about my past, so he would never replace out that it was impossible to take the hurt away, but maybe with his help, I could learn how to forget.

Never in my life had I wanted to have a person who could become my happiness source. I saw that as being selfish and unable to be at peace with myself. But now, Zion was the ray of sunshine that I clung to like my life depended on it.

By the time the movie ended, I still sniffled, but I felt way better. Crying helped ease the tension and released some of the negativity that had rooted itself within me.

Eventually, Zion returned to his bed and we wished each other good night. Except, neither of us could sleep. I did my best to pretend that I fell asleep, for Zion's sake, and that was the only reason why I knew he left the room.

He didn't leave a note or warn me about leaving, he just left.

Although I didn't want to believe it, there was a chance that deep down, Zion was the same as everyone else. They all left when it got a little too hard to deal with me.

Sitting up on the couch, I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged my legs. I didn't know what I needed now, so maybe having some space was good.

Was it bad that there was a tiny part in me that was glad I got away? I had planned to leave my father's pack for years, but every time I got close to leaving, he figured it out and did everything to keep me at his side.

Usually, he manipulated me by using his poor health. He wasn't a bad dad, great either, but he was my dad, so obviously I worried about him.

As my thoughts sent me back to the past, I didn't notice how the night slowly went by until the sun shone through the curtains. No Zion still. Where had he gone?

My body was stiff, so I decided to take a quick shower to feel a little better. I was sure Zion wouldn't mind and if I locked the door, no one could enter either.

First, I grabbed one of his shirts and then ran to the bathroom. I showered, changed into the clean shirt and made myself somewhat presentable.

Walking back in the bedroom, I noticed that Zion was still gone. I knew better than to take the risk, but if my newfound friend had gotten into trouble, I didn't want to leave him dealing with it alone.

I snuck out of the bedroom and wandered around the long halls until an eternity later, I finally found the staircase. Just as I stepped on the first step, a loud crash came from downstairs, followed with a growl so powerful, it shook the windows. Bane. It had to be Bane. No one other could possess that much animalistic power.

My knees shook as I slowly kept walking down the stairs. Whatever was happening had to be bad, and if Zion wasn't around to take care of the situation, I feared someone might get seriously hurt.

As if on cue, right when the damn thought crossed my mind, a loud scream tore through the building and someone was thrown into the lobby.

My eyes widened as I glanced at the man, who kept screaming in pain. His body was covered in blood and claw marks, I could see bones poking out of the deep wounds.

Then, I saw him. The beast himself stalked towards the man. "How many fucking times do I have to tell you that you're not allowed to enter the office without knocking? Who even let you in here? Who the fuck had the gall to tell you that you're allowed inside the house and my territory?" Bane snarled.

My hand gripped the railing so tightly, my knuckles turned white. I couldn't move, couldn't tear my gaze away from the horror happening before me.

I wanted to scream at him to stop, to call Zion for help, but every time I opened my mouth, I couldn't force out even a sound.

Tears stung my eyes as Bane kicked the poor man, ignoring the cries of pain and pleas to stop. It was a truly terrifying view, one I much rather would never see, but I didn't have a choice. Not anymore.

As soon as the tears started rolling down my cheeks, the victim's eyes focused on me. To my surprise, he didn't scream, beg or cry anymore. Instead, he smiled. Grinned, actually.

After two more kicks to the man's ribs, Bane noticed that something had changed. He stood next to the man, breathing heavily, and then, his eyes followed the direction of his victim's gaze.

Whoever looked at me, it wasn't Bane. It wasn't the Bane who killed my family, it wasn't the Bane who ridiculed me, the one who punished me for nothing, and definitely not the Bane who had treated me so kindly for a couple of hours.

And now that he was looking at me, my body unfroze. I spun around and bolted up the stairs as he called after me. I didn't dare to look back or stop. I had to replace a way out of here, because I was next on his list - the next person on that floor, broken, shattered and bloody will be me.

I almost reached Zion's room when an arm snuck around my waist as someone lifted me. "Got you."