The Beast's Possession

**Kayson pov**

I had never considered Killian as the villain of someone's story.

But...

These days, he was slowly turning into someone I didn't recognize anymore. He kept losing his cool over the smallest things and even admitted it himself that remaining calm was getting more challenging by day. The biggest problem, in my opinion, was that he refused to speak.

Ever since I was a child, my mother had always insisted communication was the key for every relationship, friendships included. But these days, no matter how hard I tried to get him to open up, he never did.

"I can hear you thinking from here," Killian grumbled at me without lifting his eyes from the map he had been scanning for the last three hours. "Maybe I have a lot on my mind," I retorted without offering more details.

Years ago, to hell, a couple of months ago, I wouldn't feel bothered by Killian's presence. He was my best friend and my brother-in-law, after all.

However, these days, I felt like I was walking on eggshells around him. Yesterday he threw a chair at me because apparently, I was breathing too loud.

"Let me guess," Killian started, finally prying his gaze away from the map and glancing at me. "You're thinking about another anniversary gift for my sister, right? What is it going to be this time? Another overpriced handbag or a trip to Bali?" He was mocking me.noveldrama

Killian hated it when I spent money on his sister. Not because he was jealous or worried about my financial situation. His anger came from years of experiencing favoritism.

My wife was his parent's favorite, even despite the fact that they didn't share the same bloodline.

Rosalie was adopted by Killian's parents soon after she was born and instantly won over everyone's hearts.

Except for Killian's. He had always been more or less rough around the edges, very closed in and if he could get away with it - he always chose to remain silent.

While my lovely wife was the heart of the party, her older brother was the sulking asshole who never bothered to hide how much he hated being a part of the said party. And yet, all that aside, I knew how much he loved his sister. Killian had threatened me plenty of times that he would do awful things to me if I ever hurt his sister. Honestly, I didn't doubt him for a second. If I fucked up, he would deal with me. But the threats also meant he cared for his sister, even while he was doing his best to hide it. "How about this year," Killian spoke again, getting up from his seat and stretching out his muscles. "You give her a pink silk scarf?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why? I could get her that any day of the year, anniversaries are special occasions, man. I need something more special." I argued. Killian rolled his eyes at me. "You're still just as dumb as a bag of rocks."

I shot up from my seat, ready to explain my reasoning, but he raised his hand to stop me before even one word could pass my lips.

"Just listen to me, okay? I'm really not in the mood for another argument, but once you actually hear me out, I think you will see the point I'm trying to make here."

I pondered his words for a second. Technically, he wasn't wrong. Or sort of. What harm was there in letting him explain his ideas? Besides, I could take or ignore his advice, so either way, I really didn't have much to lose here. Slowly, I sat down and nodded at him.

The corner of Killians mouth twitched. "My sister is obsessed with everything pink. That would be the reason for color. I brought up the silk scarf because of her sensory thing, but not only that. While we all grew up more or less together, you didn't see many things in our lives, so unless she told you this, you wouldn't know."

Killian suddenly stopped talking and spun on his heel. After a brief pause, Killian let out a shaky breath and carried on. "Our grandmother gave Rosalie a silk scarf shortly before she died. My sister was obsessed with the silly thing." He walked towards the office window while I flipped through my memories, but no matter how hard I tried to recall this scarf, I couldn't remember it.

"Knowing how my wife is and has been, I find it difficult to believe you. Rosalie has always loved showing off items that she held very valuable, even her rock collection, so why can't I remember the scarf?" I asked.

Killian scoffed. "Patience, my friend. I'm getting there."

Despite the dying need to say something stingy, I bit my tongue. Killian would shut down and withhold the information if I tested his patience. Sometimes it was better to shut up.

"Where was I? Ah, right. So, shortly before our grandmother died, she gifted my sister the scarf. Come to think of it, it's not much, right? Well, Rosalie didn't think so. She worshiped the scarf and was ready to guard it with her life. Sadly, the scarf disappeared shortly after grandmother's funeral. Rosalie refused to wear it or take it out of her room, and still, one day she realized it was missing."

"And what then?" I couldn't help but ask.

"She cried, and later basically bullied our parents into turning the territory upside down and we still didn't find it."

"Listen, I appreciate that you shared this with me, but I must ask one thing - why are you telling me all of this and suggesting I look for a similar thing as the anniversary gift? Won't it take away from the memories? What if she doesn't like it?"

Killian laughed at my words. "That's the thing - she wouldn't know I told you the story. That is, if you don't break under pressure and tell her. Rosalie will love it. Imagine getting a gift she will absolutely love and connect it to something so important she lost years ago. Buy her the damn bag if you want, but get the scarf too. You can thank me later."

As he slowly turned around to face me, I noticed the smug smile across his lips. I really wanted to slap it off, but managed to regain my composure.

"You can take the rest of the day off. I'm not planning to leave the office anyway, it wouldn't be fair to keep you stuck here with me for the rest of the day. And besides, I would really prefer it if you spent more time with your pregnant wife than you spend next to me. Another week and the people will start rumoring that you got me pregnant too," he chuckled.

At first, I didn't get the joke, but a second later it sunk in and I started laughing. Sometimes Killian still acted more like a child than an Alpha. I really liked that he didn't lose his playful nature, even if it shone through painfully rarely. "Yeah, I would rather head home anyway," I agreed.

There was no damn way I would say no to an offer like that. Rosalie had already started complaining about me, working too much, and not helping around the house enough.

Honestly, if it weren't for Killian's missing bride, I wouldn't leave the house until at least six months after our beautiful daughter would be born.

As I headed for the door, Killian didn't say a word. He silently sat back down and took a pen, focusing on marking every area he had checked on the map.

I left the office, strode down the hall and then downstairs. To my surprise, an unknown man stood at the bottom of the stairs. He didn't notice me approaching as he was focusing on the discussion with the maid.

She, however, noticed me. "Ah, Beta Kayson, here you are. This gentleman came to see our Alpha. I explained that Alpha Killian is too busy to meet someone who hasn't set up a prior meeting, but he wouldn't listen."

I nodded at the maid and glanced at the man. He was older, an Alpha, which made me wonder why he came here. Killian didn't want more allies or connections, especially with the older generation leaders who still treated their packs like shit for most part.

"Good day, Beta." He greeted me and offered me his hand. "I know this visit is very sudden and rude, but trust me, I really need to talk to Alpha Killian. It is regarding his missing bride."