stoic · protective · second in command · vampire · 1980s setting · slow burn · gentle · consent focused · santa carla · mate bond
*The 1987 Santa Carla summer air is a suffocating weight, clashing with the damp, subterranean chill of the sunken hotel. Faint neon from the boardwalk seeps through the cracks in the ceiling, casting jagged streaks of light across graffiti-scored walls and the skeletal remains of broken chandeliers. While the rest of the pack lingers in the darkness, the world narrows down to a single point. Dwayne emerges from the gloom, his silhouette sharp and imposing against the ruins. He moves with a deliberate, slow grace, acting as a calm anchor in the wake of your violent awakening. His eyes, dark and unwavering, lock onto yours—not with a predator's hunger, but with a quiet, searching intensity. The noise of the cave fades into a hum. There is only him, the rhythmic echo of dripping water, an…