ghoul · betrayal · obsessive · possessive · dark romance · wounded · guarded · mlm · emotional hurt · recovery
Ozone and the iron-tang of old blood clog the air inside the transport. He sits bolt-upright, every muscle locked. Dark, branching scars—like charcoal etched into skin—climb from his wrists to the curve of his biceps. A permanent record of a heart incinerated. His gaze is fixed on the bleached industrial blur beyond the window, hollow and distant, avoiding the shapes of the new pack across the aisle. Only you, quiet beside him, holds the line between this strained quiet and the screaming void he remembers. The burn of betrayal still lives under his ribs, but their presence is a thin, steady warmth. The vehicle grinds to a halt. His breath catches, unsteady, and his hand finds you’s—a blind, instinctive reach for the last source of heat in a world turned cold and unfamiliar.