The Beast's Possession

*TW: MENTION OF ASSAULT* **Killian

pov**

"I can't fucking believe this!" I growled. The anger that I felt rose within me was like nothing I had experienced before. How was it possible that every step and turn I took, somehow, I still was faced with that asshole? Ever since we were kids, he had always been the better one. The one with a more promising future, more Alpha features, better at literally anything. No matter what we did, Bane always ended up one step ahead. As we grew up, our friendship started fading and in no time, we were grown men, not the children that used to love spending time together and now, we hated each other with passion.

Every little thing either of us did became a stupid competition. And now, not only he managed to snag the woman I was promised to be wed to, but also, he was connected to Milly, the widow of my closest friend. The moon Goddess was testing me. She kept fucking me over every chance I got, just to rub it in my face that Bane still was the better one. This shit was unfair. Beyond unfair.

"I can't believe it! How are you, of all people, you, Milly, how are you connected to him? Why would you ever think of getting close to that asshole, especially after learning everything about the man he is? How could you do this to me? And to mindlessly marry my closest friend while being connected to the man he despised? How dare you enter my house, use the hospitality my pack and myself are showing while knowing what you did? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" At this point, I was so enraged, I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

Usually, I tried to keep my composure, but now, even if the entire pack heard me scream, I didn't care.

They too deserve to know that we have let a rat inside our lives. We have kept an enemy right under our noses without knowing the true intentions she had and treated her like a dear friend.

This.. This right here was why I hated people so much. Why I was so passionate about keeping my inner circle as small as possible to ensure no one would betray me.

But once again, fate wasn't on my side. I accepted her, I loved her like my own sister and she threw it all away as if my affection and care didn't mean shit to her.

If this wasn't a true betrayal at its core, I didn't know what it was.

"Killian, I beg you, please listen to what she has to say before you lose your cool. It might seem very bad but unless you hear her story, you will never know the truth. My Milly has gone through hell and back because of that man, you don't know half of it," the old man insisted, standing up and trying to approach me.

In his eyes, I was a wild animal, forced into a corner, desperate to escape. And maybe I was, but who gave a damn about it? There was no way I would let him anywhere close to me, no way I would allow this traitor to tame my anger and trick me into another trap of theirs.

Lifting my hand, I barely held back from attacking them both. As soon as he stopped in his step, I knew I could hold myself together for as long as he didn't try to get too close to me.

"Talk," I forced the word through gritted teeth.

In all honesty, I didn't think they had any idea how much I was really struggling here. Everyone in my life knew that I had some serious issues with Bane, yet some fuckheads decided to still get him involved in one way or another. The old man started backing up. Fucking thankfully. The further away from me he got, the better I felt. Finally, the sensation of something heavy being stuck on my chest faded and I could breathe all over again.

"Give her some time, okay? Don't interrupt her, Milly has been through enough as it is, there's no need to add more trauma to her list. And keep in mind that she mentioned a demon, not an ally or a friend. That's what Bane is to her - a demon of her past that still haunts her. Please, Killian, I beg you, for everything you hold dear, let her explain herself. Just look at her. She's scared. Scared of you and finally letting her fear be seen by others. This situation is harder to her than it ever could be for you," he kept talking.

Before he could spit out more bullshit, I interrupted him with a loud, threatening growl and glared at the shameless man. "You don't know what's hard for me, you don't know my fucking story so don't try to put words in my mouth!" While I expected he could back off, the fool didn't. Instead, he doubled down with more force and actually took a step closer, forcing the uneasy feeling back on me.

"I don't care, alright? I don't care! While you act like a child because Bane has become your trigger for some unfortunate reason, he is the reason for my daughter's trauma! He tortured her, he humiliated her and made her into a shell of her former self. He took everything from her and then, he took my Milly from me. Don't tell me it's hard on you if you haven't gotten a taste of actual Bane's doings!"

My eyes darted to Milly. Her cheeks were red and tears streamed down them. No matter how mad I was, I couldn't help but feel sad for her. She was in so much pain, yet I stood here as if only I mattered.

Taking a few deep breaths, I closed my eyes and focused on happy thoughts. The moments of silence felt like an eternity but at least they waited until I came back to my senses.

"Okay, I can listen now," I gave in and opened my eyes to look at Milly. Whatever she was about to tell me would make or break the situation. Whatever he did to her.. I wasn't sure how I would react to her secrets.

"I think it's better if you sit down for this conversation," Milly whispered and focused her gaze to the floor.

Whenever she got like this - so quiet, unsure of herself, sad and slowly isolating everyone, I got truly worried about her well-being. Milly has always been someone so open and happy, especially among people, it was weird to see her like this. While she tried to ground herself, I did as I was told and sat down, waiting for whenever she would be ready to speak.

"It happened years ago," she started. "Even now, years later, I get these cold, awful shivers running down the entirety of my body every time I think about that man and what he did."

I leaned forward a little to let her know I was listening and she had my full attention. Whatever she was about to tell me would make or break our friendship for good.

Deep down, I hoped Milly understood a lot was on the line here. This conversation might change everything.

If it happened that her secrets weren't half as awful as I suspected they were, I would throw her and her father out of here. I had never protected traitors, never hid them from someone they wronged and I wasn't about to start doing that either.

No matter what others thought of me, I was a man of my word and believed in greater good than that of a few people.

The longer the silence lasted, the more suspicious I grew. What if she was focusing on trying to come up with some sick lie to fool me?

"Milly, I get it if you need time, but if you're taking this much time, it makes me think you're coming up with a lie. Time's ticking, start talking," I tried to encourage her and make it known where I stood in this.

As soon as the words left me, Milly looked up, right into my eyes. Tears brimmed hers as her bottom lip trembled and nostrils flared. "He raped me. There. Happy? You know. Now, tell me how this is a lie I just came up with. Come on, go for it, blame the victim, Killian. After all, you're good at it, aren't you?"