The Beast's Possession

**Bane pov**

Against my better judgment, I snatched the envelope from her and walked away without uttering a word.

Aife called after me, but instead of acting like an adult and giving her a peace of mind, I told her to remain where she was and left the cabin. "Gather around!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and the next moment, my men left their positions and surrounded me.

I scanned the crowd and frowned. Every single person around me looked confused, yet I couldn't point out even one man I didn't trust.

This bunch were the ones I couldn't doubt. Every single one of them had proved to me their loyalty in one way or another plenty of times.

"I need you guys to stay as close to the cabin as possible. Everyone has to stay here, no questions asked. Luna is inside, you protect her and give up your life for her if needed." My eyes scanned them all and again, not even one appeared sketchy. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, Alpha," they agreed in unison.

"Good. Keep your eyes on her. I would actually prefer it if some of you would keep her company while I take a walk. I need some fresh air."

All of them nodded in agreement and just as I started walking away, three men entered the cabin while the rest took positions around it. Once I got in a safe distance, I pressed my back against a tree and closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths before I opened the envelope.

*Alpha Bane. I see you have received and read my first letter, but I haven't received an answer. How rude. Don't you think ignoring others might make you come around as offensive? I do think so, but I suppose it goes to show how different our upbringing was. It's a nice cabin you have over there, hidden in the woods, away from prying eyes. How convenient. Tell me, doesn't it scare you? Aren't you worried that you took your Luna to a place that could be considered perfect for a crime? No witnesses. I'm starting rambing here. Not the best approach to writing letters, right? We shall meet soon, expect me, Alpha Bane.*

The hand that clutched the piece of paper started shaking. Now, I knew that the traitor wasn't my biggest problem anymore. There was more to the picture than I could see.

Anyone could have left these letters around me, but no one but the few helpers and basically the entire security crew knew where we were heading.

Worst of all, I didn't see the envelope when I did my first sweep of the place, which meant it had to be planted there when I went to let Aife out of the car. My heart stopped for a second. What if...

No, it couldn't be possible. There was no way Aife had anything to do with those threatening letters. In the cabin, maybe, but not in the office.

And besides, why would she do anything like that? What could she gain?

As the time went on, I realized I wasn't getting any calmer. All I did was hide away like a coward instead of confronting the problem. On top of that, I left Aife behind again. *Why would you force us in danger for some woman?*

Great, as if I didn't have enough on my shoulders already, the fucker was back to prove that my life could, in fact, get even worse.

"I don't know, maybe because I'm pretty sure I am in love with her? Not that you would know how it feels, the only one you care about is yourself," I snapped back at him.

*I said "us" not "me", doesn't that mean I care about you?*

A bitter chuckle left me as I shook my head in utter disbelief. "The only reason why you care about me at all is because I am what you call your 'flesh suit'. You need me to keep on living, that's why you're suddenly so fucking caring." *I won't argue about that. I need you to live. You need me to live.*

"Keep telling yourself that nonsense. The fact remains the same - I can live without you, but you without me, yeah, that would be impossible. How about you drop your usual attitude and instead of constantly sabotaging my life you could help me figure this out?"

*Oh, I would love to. Hand me over the control and I will solve your mystery in no time.*

The tone of his voice became softer in no time. He sounded sickeningly sweet, so much so that there was no way I could fall for his games.

He was planning something, but it wasn't anything connected to helping me. I suspected that he wanted control to get close to Aife and hurt her.

This shit we called our life was getting more complicated every day. At this point, I seriously feared that everyone had hidden agendas and their goal was nothing but to hurt the woman I loved.

Why, of all the people, they chose Aife was beyond me.

*Are you going to hand me the control? Don't waste time, Bane. Stop acting so spineless, stop showing weakness and let me help you. I am the only one who will help you.*

He didn't shut up. After one lie came the other and the more I listened, the more desperate I grew to come up with a way to rid myself of his influence for good.

No matter how hard I tried to focus on my breathing and calm down, nothing worked for me. I had no idea how much time I had spent away from her when I realized that maybe this was what the bloody voice in my head wanted.

He was distracting me, stalling to win more time. The longer I listened to him, the longer time I spent away from Aife.

Since I was quite far from the cabin, there was a risk that if anyone were to attack her and my men, I wouldn't hear screams and the sounds of the fight.

Panic instantly surged through me as I imagined scenarios of an attack. I hid the letter in the pocket of my pants and ran like my life depended on how fast I could be.

By the time I got back to the cabin, I was out of breath. Thankfully, there were no signs of an attack and my men still stood around the tiny building.

What didn't sit too well with me was how silent it was. No sounds came from the cabin, there were no voices and no laughter at all.

Getting closer, I glanced at my men. For some reason, they all looked disappointed and shook their heads in disapproval. To make matters worse, none even bothered to look my way.

My heart hammered against my ribcage as I opened the door and stepped inside. Although I had seen some of my men enter the cabin earlier, there weren't any inside now. The only person in the cabin was Aife. She sat at the table, alone.

When her gaze found mine, I instantly felt like the worst person alive. The hurt that flashed in her eyes was heartbreaking.

"I-" I tried to explain myself, but she cut me off by raising her hand.

"Don't give me another disappointing excuse. Truth or nothing at all."