The Villains Must Win

Chapter 110: (+18) Valerian Cross 30

[WARNING! Mature Content ahead!]

=== 🖤 ===

"L-Lucien," she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.

"Shhh . . . ," he soothed, pressing a kiss to the hollow of her throat. "Let me show you what it means to be mine."

His lips trailed downward, slow, reverent, setting every nerve in her body alight. His hands, impossibly strong yet painfully gentle, coaxed her into surrender, stripping away the last barriers between them.

Stephany trembled, caught between exhilaration and uncertainty. She had never known anything like this—the way his touch unraveled her, how his hunger made her feel both fragile and powerful all at once.

And when his mouth finally descended upon her bare shoulder, she felt the sharp press of fangs, the cool sting against her fevered skin.

"This is the mark of eternity," Lucien whispered, his voice like velvet and sin. "Once I take you, there will be no going back."

Stephany’s body thrummed with pain and pleasure as Lucien’s cock slid inside her, stretching her to the brink of discomfort.

"Ah . . . it hurts!" she groaned, her voice strained as she took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to push through the pain.

However, instead of taking it slow, Lucien drove deeper, his thrusts rhythmic and relentless. Stephany felt like she was drowning in a sea of sensation—the waves crashing against her skin like pounding surf.

She arched into him—her hips moving in sync with his strokes. The pain-pleasure haze consumed her entire being, leaving no room for rational thought.

As he pounded away at her core, Stephany felt herself unraveling thread by thread—the strands of control snapping like brittle twigs under the pressure of their lust.

Lucien groaned low in his throat as he bottomed out within her—his cock buried deep to the hilt

"Oh God," Stephany whispered through gritted teeth—the agony and ecstasy mingling together in a heady cocktail that threatened to consume them both.

With one final push, Lucien surged forward—his fangs sinking deep into the tender flesh of Stefany’s shoulder.

The world went dark as a primal scream tore from her lips—their bodies locked in a frenzy of pleasure and possession.

She gasped as his fangs pierced her flesh, a sharp, exquisite pain that quickly melted into something far more dangerous—a pleasure so consuming it stole the breath from her lungs. The bond snapped into place, searing through her veins like wildfire, and she felt herself slipping, drowning in him.

Lucien groaned against her skin, drinking deeply, his body moving against hers in a rhythm as ancient as time itself. A ritual of possession, of devotion.

Stephany clutched at him, her nails digging into his back as her world shattered and reformed in the span of heartbeats. She wasn’t sure where she ended and he began anymore, only that she was his now, in every possible way.

As the night stretched on, the mark on her skin throbbed—a reminder that she had crossed the threshold. She was no longer just Stephany, the human girl trapped between two worlds.

She was Stephany, the marked, the claimed.

And there was no turning back.

=== 🖤 ===

Valerian cast a wary glance at the full moon hanging motionless in the dark sky. Rain poured restlessly, eternally, an eerie reminder that time in this realm did not flow as it should. Something felt off.

A nagging sensation in his gut told him that something was wrong, though he couldn’t quite place what. He exhaled slowly, trying to shake off the unease, but it lingered like a shadow at the edge of his mind.

Meanwhile, Evelyn was entirely unbothered, giggling as she leaned against the massive hallow bark of the ancient tree that had become their temporary shelter. "This tree is so huge it could fit five people inside. Good thing we stumbled across it—I’m out of breath from walking all day."

She stretched her arms over her head, completely at ease, as if they weren’t lost in a dangerous, supernatural realm where death lurked behind every shadow.

Valerian scowled. "We shouldn’t be wasting time like this. We should be storming that castle."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Cross. We’ve been walking for an entire day, and you haven’t slept since Stephany was taken. That’s what? Four, maybe a week without rest? You’ll be useless when we get there if you collapse the moment we set foot inside."

"I don’t need rest," he muttered stubbornly. "I’m used to this. I was trained to go without sleep or food for days while hunting vampires."

Evelyn crossed her arms, unimpressed. "And I’m saying no. No, Cross. You will rest before we set foot in that castle. I refuse to sneak into a nest of bloodthirsty monsters with someone who’s about to tip over from exhaustion. I need you at your best in there, because if you screw up, it’s not just your life on the line—it’s mine, too. There are a lot of vampires in that castle, and some of them are nobles like Lucien. Are you sure you want to face them in this state?"

Valerian clenched his jaw. He hated to admit it, but she was right. His vision had started to blur at the edges, and his body felt sluggish, unresponsive. Still, his worry for Stephany gnawed at him, making it impossible to think about rest when she was still trapped in that godforsaken castle.

Evelyn sighed, her sharp eyes softening just a little. "Look, we’ve made it this far. A few hours of sleep won’t be the end of the world. But if you charge in there half-dead, that might be the end of you."

Valerian exhaled sharply through his nose. His instincts screamed at him to keep moving, but his body betrayed him—his exhaustion was catching up fast.

". . . Fine," he relented begrudgingly. "But only for a few hours."

Evelyn grinned. "Good. Now lie down before you fall over."

He didn’t argue, sinking against the thick bark of the tree, arms crossed over his chest as his body welcomed the momentary relief. Evelyn settled beside him, far too smug about winning this argument.

"See? I do know best," she teased.

Valerian shot her a glare, but there was no real heat in it. "Shut up." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Evelyn chuckled, resting her head against the tree. "Sweet dreams, Cross."

His lips twitched, but he said nothing. For the first time in days, exhaustion finally won.