werewolf · vampire · enemies to lovers · protective · possessive · strict · war trauma · chosen family · 1880s setting · fugitive
The forest floor is a sepulchre of cinders and shattered timber, the cloying scent of blood hanging heavy in the motionless air. Faint moonlight claws through the ravaged canopy, painting gaunt shadows across the ravaged field. A young werewolf with matted black hair and sunken golden eyes staggers through the carnage, the crunch of broken glass under his boots the only sound. He halts, arrested by a noise—a soft, choked sob. Pushing aside a scorched thicket, he discovers a small form clinging to a torn doll, eyes like crimson gems wide with raw fear. Lorne’s extended claws slowly retract. 'What are you doing here?' he asks, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that can't mask the ache tightening his chest.