How to Survive as a BL Villain-Chapter 55: He felt like a puppet,

"Because the thing that’s breaking you?" His smile returned—gentle, chilling.

"It’s not out there. It’s the boy you left behind. And he’s still screaming, Elliot."

Lucian’s presence loomed over Cassian, his dark eyes intense and unwavering. The room, with its dusty shelves and forgotten music, seemed to echo their unspoken tension. Cassian, his body trembling, felt trapped, his panic escalating as he tried to escape the memories that Lucian’s words and proximity evoked.

"You’re so fragile, Elliot," Lucian murmured, his voice low and commanding. "I can see it in your eyes, the way you flinch at every sound. Let me show you how to be strong again." Cassian’s breath hitched, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He knew he should resist, but Lucian’s words, laced with a promise of relief, were like a siren’s song. He wanted to believe, to surrender, but fear held him back. Lucian, sensing his hesitation, moved closer, his body heat a tangible force.

He placed a hand on Cassian’s knee, a gentle touch that belied the iron grip of his control.

"I won’t hurt you," he whispered, his breath warm against Cassian’s skin. "I’ll make it better." And then, without warning, Lucian’s lips descended upon Cassian’s, a brutal, possessive kiss that stole his breath. Cassian’s eyes widened in shock, his body instinctively trying to twist away, but Lucian’s hand on his chest held him firm.

With a strength that belied his slender frame, Lucian pressed closer, his mouth moving aggressively, his tongue demanding entrance. Cassian’s protests were muffled, his hand reaching up to push Lucian away, but it was no use. Lucian’s grip tightened, his other hand sliding behind Cassian’s neck, holding him in place. He bit down hard on Cassian’s lip, drawing blood, and a small squeak escaped Cassian’s throat.

The taste of blood seemed to excite Lucian further. He deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring Cassian’s mouth with rough familiarity, his grip on Cassian’s neck tightening just enough to restrict his air. Cassian’s body bucked, his legs kicking out in a futile attempt to escape, but Lucian held him fast. As the kiss continued, Cassian’s struggles lessened, his body going limp as the panic began to ebb. Lucian’s kiss, brutal and dominating, was a strange comfort, a reminder of a time when he felt safe and understood.

The blood on his lip, the slight pain, brought back memories of their past, a time when Lucian’s dominance had been a shield, protecting him from the world. Lucian, sensing Cassian’s surrender, finally pulled back, his smirk victorious. He licked the blood from Cassian’s lip, the action intimate and cruel, before turning his tongue to his own lip, a silent promise of more to come. Cassian’s body shook, a mixture of relief and humiliation washing over him. He felt exposed, vulnerable, but the panic, the true terror, had receded.

Lucian’s kiss, though rough and forceful, had calmed him, a strange paradox that Cassian couldn’t quite comprehend. Lucian, noticing Cassian’s subdued state, reached down and gently cupped his face, his touch a stark contrast to the brutality of his kiss. "See, Elliot? You’re better now. You don’t need to run. I’ll always be here to bring you back." Cassian, his eyes wet with unshed tears, couldn’t find the words to respond. He knew Lucian’s kiss had broken something in him, but it had also offered a strange solace. He felt like a puppet, his strings pulled by Lucian’s dominant hands, but for now, he was content to let Lucian guide him, to let him break him.

Cassian’s mind reeled, a storm of conflicting emotions crashing through him. The kiss had shattered his defenses, leaving him raw and exposed, yet the panic that had clawed at his chest moments ago had dulled to a faint echo. He hated it hated how Lucian’s brutal touch could pull him back from the edge, how it twisted his fear into something almost like relief. His lips throbbed from the bite, the metallic tang of blood lingering on his tongue.

Trembling hands clenched into fists at his sides, his body still pressed against the dusty floor of the music storage room. The muffled shouts from outside Aiden and Leonel calling his name felt distant now, like voices from another life. He couldn’t stay here. Not with Lucian looming over him, that possessive glint in his eyes promising more control, more breaking.

Cassian’s breath came in shaky gasps as he forced himself to sit up, his muscles protesting the movement. His vision blurred for a second, tears stinging his eyes, but he wiped them away roughly. Pushing off the floor with one hand, he tried to stand, his legs wobbling like a newborn foal’s. Lucian’s hand still cupped his face, thumb brushing his cheek in a mockery of tenderness. ’Please,’ Cassian whispered, his voice cracking. He shoved weakly at Lucian’s shoulder, the push barely registering against the solid wall of his body.

’Stop doing this. I wanna go out. Let me go.’ Lucian controlled his smile, the corners of his mouth twitching as he watched Cassian struggle. The weak shove to his shoulder, the desperate plea it all fueled the dark amusement bubbling inside him. Cassian tried to sidestep, to walk past him toward the door, but Lucian let out a low, dark laugh that echoed off the shelves of forgotten instruments. In a blur of motion, he grabbed Cassian’s hand, yanking him back with a force that sent pain shooting up his arm.

Cassian stumbled, his feet tangling, and Lucian threw him down hard onto the same spot on the floor, the impact jarring his spine and knocking the air from his lungs. ’Man, aren’t you being selfish?’ Lucian growled, his voice laced with mock disappointment as he towered over Cassian. ’You got your panic under control, so you’re just leaving? What about me?’ Cassian flinched, the memory of the kiss flooding back the taste of blood, the unyielding press of Lucian’s mouth. His heart hammered in his chest, a fresh wave of humiliation washing over him. ’I-I didn’t want to!’ he stammered, scrambling back on his elbows, his back hitting a low shelf. ’I pushed you away! You forced -’

’Shush,’ Lucian cut him off sharply, his eyes narrowing. ’Stop talking, or you’re gonna make me mad again. And we both don’t want that, do we?’ Cassian froze, staring up at him with wide, horrified eyes. The room felt smaller, the air thicker, pressing down on him like a weight. Why wouldn’t Lucian just let him go?

The voices outside were closer now, footsteps thudding in the hallway. ’Why are you making me sit here?’ Cassian pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper. ’What do you want?’ Lucian’s smile returned, slow and predatory. Without a word, he lunged forward, grabbing Cassian’s leg and sliding him down to the floor in one rough pull.

Cassian yelped, his body twisting as Lucian forced him to turn around, pressing his face hard into the cold, dusty linoleum. The impact stung his cheek, the scent of old paper and metal filling his nostrils. Instinctively, Cassian shot his hand back, pressing his palm against Lucian’s chest to keep some distance, his fingers splaying over the firm muscle beneath the shirt.

’You think this weak hand can stop me?’ Lucian sneered, his breath hot against Cassian’s ear. He snatched Cassian’s arm the one pressed to his chest and twisted it behind his back with a vicious yank. Pain exploded up Cassian’s shoulder, a sharp, burning twist that made his vision white out for a second.

He hissed through clenched teeth, his body trembling violently. ’That hurts! Fuck, get off me!’ Rage bubbled up in Cassian, hot and desperate. He pulled his hand free from Lucian’s grip and swung it back, his fist connecting with Lucian’s face in a glancing blow. Looking over his shoulder, Cassian tilted his head, anger flashing in his eyes.

But the moment their gazes locked, that anger evaporated into sheer horror. Lucian’s face had transformed no smile, just a cold, dark fury burning in his eyes, his jaw set like stone.

’I-I’m sorry,’ Cassian blurted out, the words tumbling from his lips without thought. It was the same reflex from the past, whenever Lucian looked at him like that apologizing to appease the storm, to avoid the fallout. His body shook harder, pinned face-down, arm still throbbing from the twist.

Lucian didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed the collar of Cassian’s shirt from behind his neck, yanking it roughly to expose his right shoulder. The fabric tore with a sharp rip, two or three top buttons popping off and scattering across the floor. Cassian flinched, his free hand scrabbling to grab at his shirt, trying to cover himself, but Lucian was faster. He bent his head down, teeth sinking into the soft flesh of Cassian’s shoulder with a hard, deliberate bite.