Veil of Darkness | Yan! Itachi x Reader |

Chapter 23

The night was suffocatingly quiet, the kind of silence that felt alive, pressing in on Y/N from every side. She stood in the middle of the room, the only sound was her own shallow breathing. Every corner of the room seemed to stretch and blur into shadows, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t feel anything but the weight of Itachi’s presence looming behind her. Always behind her, like the dark specter of control he’d become.

This was the moment she had been dreading. The moment she had been craving.

Her mind had been teetering on the edge for days, maybe weeks. The slow, steady decay of her resistance had long since given way to something else—something darker. She had been fighting for so long, wrestling with the parts of herself that screamed this wasn’t right, that she needed to get out. But those voices were faint now, buried under layers of doubt, fear, and something far more dangerous.

Desire.

Her pulse quickened as she sensed him move behind her. The way he moved was always so calculated, so silent, and yet she could always feel him. His presence wrapped around her like an invisible chain, tightening with every passing second. She had tried to escape once, twice even, but each time, it had only solidified her fate. Itachi wasn’t just in control of her life—he was her life now.

There was no more outside world for Y/N. No more university, no more future filled with dreams or aspirations. She had forgotten what it even felt like to care about those things. All that remained was him. And the maddening pull he had over her.

“You’ve been thinking,” his voice cut through the darkness, sending a shiver down her spine.

Y/N didn’t turn around. She didn’t have to. He was right behind her, so close that she could feel the heat of his body, the intensity of his gaze burning into her back. She had always been able to feel it—his eyes watching, analyzing, controlling. And now, she craved it. Needed it.

“Tell me, Y/N,” he whispered, his breath ghosting over her ear. “What is it you’ve finally realized?”

Her throat tightened, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. The answer had been building within her for days, the truth of her submission sinking into her bones. She had fought against it, tried to claw her way out, but she was too far gone now. There was no more pretending, no more hiding.

“I...” She hesitated, her voice trembling as she spoke. “I belong to you.”

The words fell from her lips like a confession, a dark and twisted prayer offered up to the man who had consumed every part of her. There was no turning back now. She had crossed the point of no return.

Itachi’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, his fingers curling possessively around her skin. The touch was deceptively gentle, but Y/N could feel the power behind it, the weight of his control. Her heart pounded in her chest, a mix of fear and exhilaration flooding her veins.

“You’ve always belonged to me,” he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. “You were just too stubborn to admit it.”

He was right, of course. She had resisted him at every turn, fought him tooth and nail, but all it had done was delay the inevitable. From the moment their paths had crossed, she had been his. Her body, her mind, her soul—they were all his to claim. She had been too blind to see it before, but now... now there was nothing left to fight.

She felt his hand slide down her arm, his fingers trailing over her skin in a way that sent electricity through her body. Every touch was a reminder of his control, of the power he wielded over her. And she didn’t want to fight it anymore. She couldn’t fight it anymore.

“I’m yours,” she whispered, the words barely audible, but she knew he heard them. She could feel his reaction, the subtle shift in the air between them, the way his grip tightened ever so slightly.

Itachi stepped closer, his body pressing against hers, trapping her in place. She could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, the warmth of his breath on her neck. Her heart raced, but it wasn’t out of fear anymore. It was something else—something far darker and more dangerous.

“You finally understand,” he said, his voice a mixture of satisfaction and something far more primal. “You’re mine, Y/N. Mind, body, and soul. There’s no escape from this.”

The words should have terrified her. Once, they would have. But now, they felt like a promise. A twisted, dark promise that she had come to accept, even crave.

“I know,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I don’t want to escape.”

Itachi’s hand slid up to her throat, his fingers wrapping around her neck in a possessive grip. It wasn’t tight—he wasn’t choking her—but the weight of his hand was enough to remind her of exactly who was in control. She leaned into it, her body trembling, her mind finally surrendering completely.

This was the moment. The final submission.

“You’re mine,” Itachi repeated, his voice low and commanding. “And you’ll never be anything else. You don’t want to be anything else, do you?”

Y/N shook her head, her breathing uneven as she spoke. “No... I don’t.”

The words came out almost like a plea, as if she was begging him to make her his completely. She had fought for so long, but now she couldn’t fight anymore. The weight of her submission was crushing, but it also brought with it a sense of twisted relief.

Itachi’s grip tightened slightly, his fingers pressing into the skin of her neck just enough to remind her of his power. And she wanted that reminder. She needed it. She was his now, completely and irrevocably. There was no going back.

“Good,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear. “Because from this moment on, you’re mine. You’ll never leave. You’ll never escape.”

Y/N’s breath hitched, her pulse racing under his fingers. The darkness of his words, the finality of them, should have sent her running. But instead, they wrapped around her like chains, binding her to him in ways she never thought possible.

And the terrifying truth?

She didn’t want to escape.