Mark On My Heart ~ (Y/N x Bucky Barnes) BOOK 2

*Your POV*

Everything feels like static, like your body isn't your own. Your limbs are heavy, your mind foggy, but the moment you hear Chase, your body reacts against your will.

Hydra soldiers start to emerge from the tree line, but you don't register it, as the air around you ripples, a low thrumming noise vibrating through your body, rattling your bones. The warmth of Bucky's touch vanishes, replaced by something cold, something invasive.

Your entire body locks up. Your muscles strain, your chest tightens, and you try to pull back, try to push them out—but it's useless. The familiar suffocating weight of control presses into you, slipping through the cracks of your mind like venom.

Bucky is there, reaching for you, his hands gripping you to keep you upright, but the second he touches you, the world turns black.

"(Y/N)," he says sharply, shaking you slightly. "Hey, look at me."

You try. You really do. But your body is no longer yours. Your fingers twitch at your sides. Your breath catches in your throat. And then, without warning, you feel your own hands shove Bucky away with a force you didn't know you had.

He stumbles back, shock flashing across his face before his instincts kick in. He plants his feet, hands raised, watching you. The Avengers tense.

"Shit," Sam mutters under his breath. "What did they do to her?"

*Bucky's POV*

The force of the unexpected push slams into my chest like a freight train, sending me skidding backward across the frozen ground, but I barely register it. My focus is on her.

(Y/N) is standing in the middle of the clearing, her body rigid, her eyes unfocused, like she's there, but not. It makes me wonder if this is how I looked under Hydra's control.

A surge of panic grips me as I take a small step towards her. No. Not again. I just got her back.

Steve, Tony, Natasha, and Sam are already reacting. Guns are raised, shields lifted, and blasts charged. More Hydra soldiers continue to emerge from the shadows, weapons drawn. The air turns deadly in an instant.

Steve moves first. "Take them down!"

The others charge forward, clashing with the Hydra agents, gunfire and blasts lighting up the forest.

But my fight isn't with Hydra. It's with (Y/N).

She turns toward me now, her movements forced. Her fingers flex, her breath shaky. I barely dodge the first attack as she lunges towards me.

(Y/N) is fast. Faster than before. Stronger. More precise.

Every strike is aimed with an unnatural accuracy. Hydra is controlling her like a weapon, using the full extent of her abilities, turning her into something she never wanted to be.

Her fingers grasp at my shirt, desperate, clawing. I know what she's trying to do, I've seen it before. If she gets a hold of me, even for a second, she'll drag me under, pull me into a nightmare I can't wake up from.

She'll make me relive the worst parts of myself, the things Hydra did, the things I did. Bring my worst fears to the surface, making them all too real. My chest tightens. I dodge, twisting out of her reach, barely keeping ahead of her movements.

But she's relentless, her eyes flickering with something foreign, something controlled. And the worst part? I know it's not really her. But I still can't let her touch me.

I block a hit to my stomach, catching her wrist for a second and trying to hold her still, speaking softly. "Come on, (Y/N/N), fight this."

(Authors note: (Y/N/N) is your nickname)

She twists, breaking my grip easily. Too easily. I don't want to hurt her. But if I don't do something, she's going to rip through everything in her path, including me.

Gunfire cracks through the trees, flashes of light cutting through the darkness as the others fight the Hydra soldiers. Steve's shield deflects a round of bullets, ricocheting them back toward the enemy, while Sam swoops down, his wings cutting through the chaos.

Natasha moves like a shadow, silent and lethal, her knives flashing as she takes down anyone who gets too close. Tony's blasts light up the clearing, blasts of energy keeping Hydra at bay.

But none of them understand what's really happening here. They don't know that the real fight isn't just the one against Hydra. It's the one happening between me and her.

She sends another strike toward me, trying to get a grip on my arm, and I barely have time to throw myself out of the way before it lands. She's not holding back.

"You gotta wake up, doll!" I try again, dodging another grasp. "You hear me?! It's me!"

Her hands shake. Her breath stutters. There. There it is. The hesitation. I need to keep going.

I feel her fingers graze my chest as she lunges towards me again, and my breath catches. I barely twist away in time, my body instinctively jerking back.

If she touches me, if she gets a grip, she'll tear through my head, pull me under, bury me in memories I won't be able to claw my way out of. I can't let that happen.

My heart slams against my ribs as I move, dodging and blocking, but I'm not fighting her. I can't fight her. I just have to stop her. To get her back.

Across the clearing, Chase watches us intently, his expression darkening when he sees me breaking through, sees her hesitating, sees the flicker of recognition in her eyes. He snarls something into his comm, and then more Hydra agents break through the trees, their weapons aimed directly at me.

They're trying to distract me. To keep me from getting her back. I tense, shifting my stance, readying myself, but then, out of nowhere, Steve moves in front of me with his shield raised, and Sam lands beside him, wings flaring.

"We've got this," Steve says, voice firm, gaze steady. They don't understand what's happening, but they know one thing, he's not letting them get to me. He's making sure I can keep going. Keep reaching for her. Keep pulling her back.

And I do.

Because I'm not losing her. Not now. Not ever.

I move fast, closing the distance between us before she can attack again. Her eyes flash dangerously, and I can feel another surge of power building in her, but I don't stop.

I grab her wrists and pull her in. Her breath is sharp and ragged as I press my forehead against hers, forcing her to see me.

"I love you, (Y/N). I'm not letting you go." I whisper to her softly, and her body trembles. Her hands fist against my chest. Her eyes flicker. "You're stronger than them."

The control wavers. The power falters. Her breathing turns uneven, panicked, but real.

"I'm here. You're safe. Come back to me, doll." I continue, and she gasps suddenly, and the air around us implodes. The Hydra soldiers are thrown backward, including Chase. The energy surging from her body dies. And then, she collapses.

I catch her before she hits the ground, dropping to my knees as I cradle her against me. Her breathing is shallow, and her body is limp. But she's back.

"(Y/N), hey...stay with me."

As soon as he's sure the soldiers are incapacitated, Steve rushes over, his eyes darting between me and her, concern etched across his face. "Is she--?"

"Alive," My grip tightens around her, my breath unsteady. I look at him, and for the first time in a long time, my voice doesn't waver. "But we need to get her out of here. Now."

Tony lands next to us, his suit powering down slightly, and taking a cautious step forward. "We need to get her somewhere safe."

I barely look at them. I'm too focused on (Y/N). I shift my grip, pulling her closer towards me. Her fingers weakly clutch at the sleeve of my shirt, barely conscious.

"Let's get back to the safe house," Sam mutters, concern etched in his voice, gesturing to the Hydra agents and Chase on the ground, still unconscious. "Before these assholes wake up again."