The Beast's Possession
74: Chill, it’s just a little testy-test. No biggie.

**Zion

pov**

Did I fuck up already? Maybe... Maybe.

Alright, I fucked up big, massive, enormous time, but it wasn't like I could predict something like this could happen. Especially out in the public.

And besides, it wasn't like I left Aife alone for long. It was a couple of minutes tops that I wasted getting water and trying to tell the harpies I didn't need their company.

But as it turned out, the fucker who waited in the shadows didn't need more time than that. As soon as he saw his chance, he got his dirty paws all over her.

Bane was going to murder me. I could almost taste the stench in the cells that were to become my home for a couple of weeks from now.

That is, if Bane happened to replace out what happened. Something he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

Except...

The text message that flashed on my phone's screen screamed trouble before the mad fucker was actually trying to get inside here.

*Pray for your life, Zion, I'm not joking around. If you leave her side for as much as a second before I arrive, you're as good as dead. I know you took her to the cave. Be there in five.*

Well, suppose he received my text and the reaction following was the same I expected. Of course, I never planned the shit that was happening before my eyes, but I partly thought I could rid us all of trouble. Walking closer to Aife, I set my eyes on the one man no one wanted to see. Alpha Killian in flesh.

How he got the word that we were here was beyond me, but he surely had to know I wasn't happy about it.

Standing right behind him as he grinded against Aife, I cleared my throat.

"Fuck off, this ones taken," he growled, startling at least half of the people that surrounded us.

With a wide smile across my lips, I tapped his shoulder. "I know she's taken. By me."

If I went around and told people Aife was Bane's chosen Luna, it would scare away as many people as it would bring in. Bane had plenty of enemies, just mentioning his name made shit go downhill pretty damn fast. As he turned his head to look at me over his shoulder, I could see the initial shock he felt, but of course, Killian was a master at hiding his emotions.

To my surprise, he pulled his dirty paws away from Aife's waist, which instantly made her relax, and stepped aside. "My bad, man, didn't see you with her earlier." Killian lied.

Of course he had seen me. He had seen her. He had watched us all this time. I felt his eyes on us, but never thought the moron could go as far as to actually approach her.

Forcing a smile, I stepped close enough to Aife for her to lean against me. "Yeah, it happens. Nice seeing you around and about for once."

"Same, same," Killian hummed as his gaze slowly left me and focused on Aife. "And who is this beautiful creature, if I may ask? I hadn't heard anything about the great Beta Zion entering the dating pool."

I had to suppress the growl that was forming in my chest due to us being in a public space. Following our laws, I wasn't supposed to be disrespectful to an Alpha, but shit, did I want to be.

"My name is Maya, I'm Zion's girlfriend," Aife reacted before I could, offering her hand to the shithead grinning at her.

"Maya, huh? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Maya. I'm very sorry if I came across as some creep, I just can't help myself if I happen to run into a stunning woman such as yourself, especially if she's left behind, lonely." Killian spoke like he owned the damn place.

"I didn't catch your name," Aife said as she shook his hand.

"My name is of no importance, lovely. I wouldn't want to mess with that beautiful little head of yours since you're a taken woman."

Aife pulled her hand out of his grip and glanced at me, seeking answers.

"That's Alpha Killian, babe." I said as I threw my arm around her shoulders and pulled Aife closer to me. "This catching up has been a fun thing to do, but we really must get going. Places to be, people to see and all the regular shit, I'm sure you understand."

Killian didn't look pleased. Deep down, I knew he was aware that I was lying and there still was a possibility that he might have recognized her scent, but I pushed the thoughts aside.

Unlike his regular asshole behavior, he actually stepped aside to let us leave and wished us the best.

Yeah, Killian's best wishes were the last thing I needed, especially with Bane on his way to rip off my head.

The moment I had the chance, I pulled Aife out of the building and walked her back to the car, scanning the parking lot as I did.

"What are you looking for?" Aife asked as soon as we stopped in front of my car.

Although I didn't want to admit it, I had to come clean with her. I kind of dragged her into deep shit and if there were to be any consequences, I had to ensure she knew why and who was responsible for it.

"Bane," I muttered the name, sounding as if just saying it was killing me.

Aife's eyes widened and jaw nearly hit the ground. Her eyes immediately started scanning the parking lot frantically, showing just how uneasy and scared she had grown with the new revelation.

"I can't believe you dragged me into trouble, Zion," she whisper-yelled at me. "I thought you would take me to see places, maybe to drink a cup of coffee, not put a target on my back all over again. You know how Bane is, I will suffer, not you." Just as I opened my mouth, any word that was about to leave me disappeared and my throat dried up.

"You're not getting in trouble. He is," Bane spoke as he approached us.

We both looked at him in horror. Each of us had our own reasons to fear my best friend, but the main reason had to be how unpredictable Bane became when he was angry.

"Get in the car," Bane told Aife, a little softer than I expected his voice to be.

"But-" she tried to argue.

"I said get in the bloody car," Bane roared as he pointed his finger at his car, not mine.

Yeah, there he was, the old Bane, back and better than ever.

"I can take her home," I announced just to get all the heat off her.

This was my fault, she really had nothing to do with my ideas and Bane just had to understand that much.

As expected, Bane glared at me without saying a word. Aife hurried to his car and sat down, throwing me worried glances while Bane stalked closer to me.

In a stupid attempt to ease the situation, I raised my hands and took a step back, "Chill, it's just a little testy-test. No biggie."

Bane's face twisted in anger as he raised his fist, pulled it back, and swung at me. The moment his knuckles connected with my jaw, I was thrown off my feet.

With an unreadable expression on his face, Bane loomed over me and mocked my own words, "chill, it's just a little testy-test. No biggie. Get in the car and drive home, we have some serious conversations ahead. Don't be fucking late.”