47: I promise.
**Bane pov**
I was still holding Aife in my arms, pressed close to her warmth, letting myself soak in the quiet moments that had become far too rare. All I could focus on was her - the curve of her cheek against my chest, the soft rise and fall of her breath, the way her hair smelled faintly of lavender.
I let my fingers trace the small lines and dips of her spine like a map I already knew by heart.
“Bane,” she murmured and tilted her head to look up at me. “Are you thinking too hard again?”
I let out a rough laugh, “maybe, but right now, thinking about you isn’t hard at all. In fact, it’s the only thing I want to do.”
She smiled and nuzzled closer. “Okay, I can live with that. Just don’t move and stay, okay?”
I did as she asked, held her a little tighter and let the bubble form around us.
Aife’s hand found mine and she laced our fingers together, watching our hands and still smiling while I closed my eyes and breathed in this moment. For a little bit, the word outside didn’t exist for us.
And then, suddenly, it did. The sound of rising panic and hurried footsteps, accompanied by raised voices, made me sit upright without thinking.
My heart hammered in my chest and eyes widened as I looked at Aife, who appeared just as distraught as I felt. “What is it?” She asked but didn’t wait for my answer as she was already getting off the bed and pulling me towards the tent entrance.
I let go of her hand and stormed past her. “Something’s wrong out there, don’t leave the tent, just stay here for a bit, okay?” I said without looking at her, trying to keep the panic from my voice.
I was risking a lot by letting go, but I had stupid faith in me that I could hold that bastard down and if something awful was happening, like camp was under an attack, the beast was still on my side and already stirring under my skin, ready to fight to protect my mate.
Not surprisingly, Aife didn’t listen and we stepped out of the tent together. The scene that met us froze the blood in my veins.
Khan, Enzo and a cluster of lions from the patrol ran around the camp like a bunch of headless chicken. The tension that radiated off them was like a strom cloud I could taste on the tip of my tongue even before I saw their disheveled states.
“Khan,” I called out and started walking towards him.
His head turned in my direction and a look of pure anger crossed his face. “Bane,” he growled, voice packed with nothing but anger. “Nathan, the guy you call the brute, he’s under attack.”
I didn’t need him to say more - my stomach dropped and every muscle in my body tensed, ready to explode. I looked over my shoulder and caught Aife’s terrified expression, then looked back at Khan and stepped even closer. “Where?” I demanded, tone low and demanding - one only a true Alpha would use.
Enzo appeared right at my side, looking like he was ready to jump between us if the need arose. “He was sent on a patrol, deeper than we expected. Villagers ambushed him, the patrol lion who was sent with him alerted us that he’s already badly hurt. He needs help and he needs it now.”
I felt every inch of my control slip away the moment the last words slipped past Enzo’s lips. The monster inside me instantly tried to grab the chance to take over and pushed at my mind with all his might, sensing the chaos and wanting to feed off of it.
I clenched my fists and pushed him back. “I can control him,” I muttered the reminder to myself, even though the words sounded empty, I still refused to call them lies. Aife placed a hand on my upper arm but I shook my head. “No, love, I will control him on my own. You can’t come with me, but I need to go. The brute needs me. He was there for me, I refuse to let him die in the woods.”
Aife’s eyes widened and for a moment, I thought she might try to argue, but she stepped back and nodded her head as her hands covered her belly protectively. “Promise me you won’t let the monster get the best of you.”
I nodded, leaned closer to press a quick kiss to her lips and whispered, “I promise. Stay safe and wait for me, both of you.”
Aife nodded as I backed away, turned around and took off. I sprinted through the camp, past the tents and startled lions as the beast under my skin started strutting, urging me to be freed.
I kept running but didn’t release him just yet. For once he was listening to me, so I intended to use him as the weapon I needed right now, but first, I had to get further away from everyone.
The second I hit the treeline, I let it take the smallest sliver of control. My back arched, muscles expanded unnaturally and the sound of the bones cracking filled the air around me. A growl, more monster than anything, tore out of the beast’s throat as soon as he took his full form - all rotten flesh and blood.
As I straightened up, now in his body, my eyes scanned the surroundings and nose twitches as it caught the scent trail of blood, panic and anger.
The beast snarled again, and I swear, he smiled at the stench. I could feel how his body vibrated with hunger for hunt, but also he fully understood his purpose - protect the brute, destroy the threat and bring him back to the camp safely.
The beast took off the next moment, breaking through the thick trees and bushes. As it ran, I could feel his anticipation for what was to come and at the back of my head, I heard his voice echo, “kill, destroy, tear them apart.”
I let out a growl of my own, reminding the beast who was in charge and he didn’t fight back. He kept moving with speed that still surprised me more than it should, following the metallic stench of the blood.
The brute was alive, I was sure he was. Although Khan made it clear that he was badly hurt, I refused to believe that the bastard wasn’t stubborn enough to survive the attack.
When the forest finally opened to a clearing, my worst fears came true. Villagers, dozens of them, heavily armed and chaotically trying to scramble away from the place of crime. Somehow, the fact that they yet didn’t know that the predator they stalked was far more dangerous than they assumed made me smile.
My gaze swept over the scene and I noticed the brute, leaned against the tree, hand clutched over a nasty looking wound as blood streamed down his body.
“Nathan!” I roared his name in a voice that wasn’t truly mine anymore.
His eyes snapped toward me, wide with relief and recognition. Even in pain, bloody and exhausted, he responded instantly. “Bane!” He growled my name and his shoulders sagged with relief.
“Hold on!” I yelled back and took a slow, deep breath.
Then, I let the beast take over fully. He was the one the brute and everyone back in the camp feared the most, yet he didn’t hesitate as he lunged forward - teeth bared, claws digging into the earth.
“Stay alive, Nathan!” I growled.
The beast charged into the clearing, cutting through the villagers like a force of nature. The patrol lion screamed something in the background, but his words were distant and meant nothing to me.
Villagers screamed around me, weapons slashed, but nothing connected. The beast moved like liquid steel, bounding over logs, snapping branches, teeth sinking into anyone that tried to reach Nathan.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Nathan limping, trying to back away. He refused to pull back his claw, still using it to dodge some of the villagers that tried to run and risked to attack him as they did.
The beast roared - the sound so powerful it shook the forest floor, and suddenly the remaining villagers scattered like leaves in a hurricane.
The last villager fell silent before disappearing into the undergrowth, and only then did I allow the beast to retreat.
As I turned, Nathan’s eyes met mine, burning with pain, fury, and gratitude all at once. He didn’t say a word, that look alone was more than enough for me to see that he was grateful for the help, even if he hadn’t asked for any himself.
I took a show, shuddering breath and walked closer to him. Nathan looked worried and tense, as if he feared the monster could break out any moment and take control.
But instead, once I got close enough, I reached out and threw his arm around my shoulders, supporting his body against mine. “I got you, buddy, I got you,” I muttered and slowly started walking back towards the camp.
Nathan nodded and let out a weak, pained grunt as he supported more of his weight against me. “You okay, beast?”
I let out a strained laugh and nodded. “Of course I’m alright. Let’s worry about you before we start worrying about me, okay?”
Nathan grinned and nodded weakly. “I’ll survive, just if next time happens, don’t let me right alone”
I smirked and tightened my hold on him as gently as I possibly could, focusing on getting him back home before the stubborn bastard bled out of me.
In response, Nathan made a sound and hissed, “promise me, asshole. Promise you won’t let me fight alone again.”
“I promise.”
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