The Villains Must Win-Chapter 276: Vampire Hunt 36

Selis rolled over, staring at the ceiling beams.

Despite her body aching, she felt oddly restless. She had spent too many nights bracing for an attack, too many hours expecting claws, fangs, or worse to burst out of the darkness.

Her eyes narrowed at the thought. "If another vampire tries me tonight, I swear—I’ll burn the whole nest down myself."

But the room was warm, the sheets smelled faintly of lavender, and for the first time in what felt like forever, her eyelids grew heavy without fear clutching her chest.

Still, as sleep began to pull her under, she found herself whispering, half a prayer, half a threat: "No vampires tonight. Please. I’m sick to death of you bastards."

With that, she drifted into the first deep, unbroken sleep she’d had in months—unaware that Lucian slip into her room.

At the sight of Selis asleep, Lucian paused at the door. It was locked, of course, but he could definitely open it.

He had told her earlier—clearly, he thought—that he would come to her room tonight to discuss their strategy for infiltrating the Sanctum once they returned to the capital.

But there she was, curled on the bed, boots kicked off haphazardly, hair spilling across the pillow in loose waves, sleeping as though the world itself had finally decided to leave her alone.

For a moment, Lucian stood there with his hand still on the doorframe. His usual certainty wavered.

Should he wake her? The plan was important; their next move could mean life or death. Yet . . . one look at her face softened him.

Selis looked younger in sleep, free of her usual sharp smirks and mocking glances. Her lips parted slightly with each quiet breath, lashes casting faint shadows on her cheeks.

There was even the faintest trace of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, as if she was dreaming of something mischievous even now.

Lucian’s jaw tightened. He reminded himself—he wasn’t here to indulge in foolish thoughts. He was her captain, and she was his soldier.

Still, seeing her so vulnerable made him hesitate.

"Did she really forget?" he muttered under his breath, exhaling through his nose. "Or did she just ignore me?"

In truth, Selis had heard him earlier but had promptly filed it away in the part of her brain labeled ’Future Selis’s Problem.’

Unfortunately, exhaustion had claimed her before that future ever came.

Lucian sighed. "Unbelievable . . ."

His instinct told him to let her rest. She looked exhausted, and part of him hated the thought of disturbing that fragile peace.

But another part—the one that hated leaving things unresolved—demanded this conversation be finished tonight. He wanted this over with, for both their sakes.

In the end, Lucian pulled a chair closer and lowered himself into it, settling beside the bed. He crossed his arms, posture deceptively casual, though his eyes didn’t leave her face.

She really was . . . pretty.

Not in the delicate, porcelain-doll way that court ladies prided themselves on, but in a manner that suited her perfectly.

There was something untamed in her features, even in sleep—the mischievous tilt of her lips, the restless flicker of her lashes as though her dreams themselves were rowdy things.

She wasn’t gentle or subdued. She was wild, bright, maddening, and stubborn. And that, Lucian realized, was exactly what made her beautiful.

It fit her character.

Lucian leaned back in the chair, exhaling through his nose. What are we now?

They had been comrades, nothing but captain and soldier, thorns in his sides. Now? Something else entirely. Something far more complicated.

He rubbed at his jaw, eyes narrowing slightly. He had never been one to linger on such thoughts. Romance, family, futures—it had always felt irrelevant, almost foreign.

His interests had never leaned toward the opposite sex, nor toward anyone, really. He had lived for his duty, his blade, the next mission. Nothing more.

And yet . . . meeting her had changed that.

It had been gradual at first—annoying little sparks in his chest whenever she laughed too loud, or when she stood toe-to-toe with him in an argument, utterly fearless.

Then there were the quiet moments, when her sharpness softened, when she let him glimpse the warmth hidden beneath all that mischief.

And when she finally learned who he truly was—saw the shadows he carried, her blood on his fangs—and still chose to accept him, something in Lucian unraveled.

In that moment, restraint was impossible. He couldn’t stop himself; he reached for her, claimed her, as though she had become the only truth he could hold on to.

Somewhere along the way, against his better judgment, he had allowed her to creep in.

The thought of a future.

Not with a faceless comrade, not with some idealized partner, but with her. A life where she stayed by his side, not just for battles or fleeting alliances, but for mornings and nights, for the ordinary moments no one ever saw.

The image had lodged itself in his mind before he could stop it: a home, a family, her laughter filling the walls. A ridiculous dream for someone like him—but once imagined, impossible to shake off.

His lips twitched upward in a dry, self-deprecating smile.

What would she say if she knew I was thinking like this?

Most likely, she’d laugh in his face. Or worse, tease him mercilessly about turning soft. The very idea made his ears burn.

He let out a low, quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "Ridiculous," he muttered. "Completely ridiculous."

But the truth lingered, stubborn and undeniable. He didn’t know if it was love—he wasn’t sure he even understood what that feeling was supposed to be.

All he knew was this: he liked it when she was here, when she was close, when she stayed by his side.

And if that was foolish, then so be it.

Lucian leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees. His eyes stayed fixed on her face, tracing the steady rise and fall of her breathing. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He told himself he was just waiting for her to wake so they could talk. That was all. Nothing more.

But the longer he sat there, the more he knew he was lying to himself.