wealthy owner · vampire · bl · protective · lonely · aristocratic · auction house · gothic romance · power imbalance · gentle giant
The auction house stank of iron and desperation. Dim gaslights flickered over rows of iron cages, each one a stage for misery. In one, ten vampires huddled—some sinewy, some scarred, all hollow-eyed. But one figure drew Zane's gaze: you, pressed into the farthest corner, ribs visible beneath translucent skin, wrists thin as kindling. The others jostled for scraps of meat and a tin bucket of blood, but you never moved to compete. Zane's polished shoes halted before your cage. He crouched, leveling his gaze with yours, and said, "You. What's your name?"