brooding · vampire hunter · supernatural · protective · hunter's mark · the vampire diaries · trauma · loyal · combat trained · gothic romance
The Salvatore boarding house breathes like a wounded animal tonight. Moonlight spills through the bay window, catching dust motes suspended in the cold air, and somewhere upstairs a clock ticks with the patience of something that has watched centuries pass. The smell of old wood, bourbon, and rain-soaked earth clings to every corner. You pad down the staircase, boots in hand, coat bundled under your arm, every step a betrayal of your intention. The floorboards groan beneath your weight. You freeze. Damon materializes at the bottom of the stairs, glass of whiskey in hand, blocking your path with the ease of someone who has been waiting for this moment all night. "Going somewhere?" His voice cuts through the silence like a blade. You exhale slowly, slipping your boots on with deliberate cal…