Villain: 10x Rewards Begins With The Protagonist's Mother

The room was dark with only the moonlight coming through the curtains.

Both of them were lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

The bed was big enough for four people but Natasha was pressed against the far left edge and Dante was hugging the far right. One wrong turn and either of them would be on the floor.

The space between them could fit a whole other person.

Neither of them moved or spoke.

A full minute passed like this.

Dante stared at the ceiling with a speechless look in his eyes. "Master, are you sure this is going to help?"

Natasha didn’t turn her head. "This is fine. Just close your eyes and sleep."

"I don’t think I can sleep knowing one wrong turn and I’m on the floor."

"I’ll catch you if you fall."

"By then I’d already be awake and have to start all over again."

"Fine." Natasha sighed, shifted a little closer to the center, and reached out her hand. "Hold my hand."

Dante grinned internally and took her hand. But he didn’t stop there. He laced his fingers between hers.

’Is this how he holds hands?’ Natasha thought with a flash of irritation while her heart skipped a beat.

Before she could think any further, his voice reached her ears.

"Thank you, Master."

"Mm. Now sleep." She replied with a small smile on her face. ’Whatever. It’s just for one night. After today, those nightmares won’t bother him anymore.’

A few minutes later, Dante’s breathing slowed down and his grip on her hand loosened a bit. He didn’t let go though.

’He’s asleep already?’ Natasha turned to look at him for the first time since they got on the bed.

His face was completely relaxed. There were no furrowed brows and no tension.

It was just a peaceful sleeping face lit by the faint moonlight.

’Okay, that’s enough.’ She caught herself staring longer than she needed to. But in her defence, a good-looking face was a good-looking face.

Even Dante stared at her the same way when he carried her to her room that day. So they were even.

She turned back to the ceiling and breathed out slowly. Her body was finally starting to loosen up.

’See? Nothing happened. You were overthinking it, Natasha.’ Her eyelids were getting heavy.

She closed her eyes.

’Maybe this isn’t so b—’

...Her hand got yanked before she could finish that thought.

Her entire body was pulled across the bed in one sudden motion. His arms locked around her waist from behind and dragged her straight back against his chest. His face pressed into the back of her neck and his warm breath hit her skin directly.

Natasha’s eyes flew open instantly.

’W-what is he doing?!’

She tried to pry his arms off but they only tightened around her waist.

"Dante, what are you..." She whispered, trying not to panic.

He didn’t respond. His breathing was getting rougher and his body started trembling against hers.

"Don’t go..." He muttered into her neck, his voice cracking. "Please... don’t go..."

Natasha froze after hearing those words. The urgency in her body disappeared in an instant.

’A nightmare.’ She realized and stopped struggling.

’So this is what he goes through every night.’ Her heart ached as she felt his arms tighten around her even more. He was shaking like a scared child.

’If he’s still worrying that we’ll leave him, that means he still doesn’t fully trust me about making him the successor.’ It stung a little but she understood.

She told him she would prove it with actions but she hadn’t done a single thing for that yet. Even if his nightmares would be gone after tonight, that didn’t mean she should sit on her hands.

’I should start teaching him soon.’ She slowly placed her hand over his and held it gently.

"I’m here." She said softly. "I’m not going anywhere."

She kept repeating those words and his trembling gradually stopped. His breathing evened out and his grip loosened just enough for her to breathe properly.

But he didn’t let go.

Natasha lay there in his arms, staring at the wall in front of her. Her heart was beating fast but not from panic anymore.

’This... this is still fine.’ She told herself. ’He’s just having a bad dream. I’m helping him. That’s all this is.’

Even as she told herself that, her heartbeat refused to slow down. His body was pressed against hers from behind with no space left between them.

She could feel the steady heat of his chest against her back, rising and falling with every breath. His arms were locked tight around her stomach.

One of his legs had slipped between hers at some point, and his face was buried deep into her neck, his warm breath making her skin flush.

A few minutes passed and his body fully relaxed behind her. He had calmed down completely.

’Okay. It’s over.’ She slowly tried to lift his arm off her waist so she could move back to her side.

His arm didn’t budge.

She tried again, a little harder this time. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

She used some of her strength to gently pry his arms open and was finally about to slip out of his hold.

But Dante was just getting started.

’Step one complete. The stage is set.’ He pulled himself together, his expression turning serious behind her back. ’Time for step two.’

"I won’t let you go..." He murmured, pulling her right back against him.

Natasha let out a quiet sigh but she couldn’t stop the smile and the blush from showing up on her face. ’Even in his sleep, he’s stubborn.’

She gave up trying to escape and decided to wait until he loosened his grip on his own.

A minute passed. Then two.

His lips moved again.

"I won’t let you escape... Emma."

The smile on Natasha’s face disappeared completely. Her entire body went rigid in his arms. She didn’t even breathe for a second.

’What did he just say?’ She wondered if she had heard it wrong.

He didn’t make her wait long.

"Emma... I missed you so much."