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dominimoonbeam · 2 years

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Long Time No See - Part 6

And it continues!!!

Darlin/David/Asher but at the moment it’s really David/Asher working on Darlin’s trust issues.

tags: All the Darlin/Quinn tags, all the Quinn tags, the writer swears a lot too, mention of abusive relationships.

Long Time No See - Part 6

Marie and Stealth were in the back office with Darlin, mending a broken arm and some cuts, while David paced and Asher explained down the long hall.

David closed his eyes when Asher explained Darlin and Quinn coming out the window, hitting the street, and then how he dragged the vamp to the sun. “He was healing. He was already talking about how he was going to turn them next chance he got. He meant it. He was bent on killing them.”

Quinn had been in their apartment waiting. David cringed. He should have thought of that. They could have died. He could have turned them. He could have invoked them and—

“It’s done,” Asher said, tighter than usual. When David opened his eyes he noticed the way the other man was standing, arms folded against himself. “I should have gone upstairs with them. I should have considered he might have been waiting. I know that. But it’s done now.”

David stared. Of course, Asher would be thinking the same thing he was. Only, when he heard someone else say it, it was absurd. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault but that bloodsucker’s and he’s dust now. You did the right thing.” He watched the tension ease out of Asher and hated that he hadn’t anticipated that doubt. He was so careful to try to see the needs of his pack but sometimes it was too easy to overlook Asher. He was just always so close to him that he felt like a part of him. It made it too easy to take him for granted. David closed the distance between them easily, curling a hand around his shoulders and pulling him in close. Asher inhaled, surprised, but leaned into him. David wasn’t usually comfortable with public affection beyond the usual sort he had with everyone in the pack. But he was never going to be okay with leaving his partner needing comfort or contact and not getting it, either.

Asher sighed against his neck, hesitating before touching his waist.

David didn’t like that he hesitated. He wouldn’t have at home or anywhere that it was just the two of them. He shouldn’t have allowed the idea that they were a secret to take root. But that was done, all he could do now was fix things moving forward. Just like the whole Darlin and Quinn situation. There was no going back—no what if.

A door thumped shut and voices bled into the room with nearing footfalls.

Asher let go of him and stepped back, face turning away like he could pretend he was doing something else. David touched his jaw and tipped his face back to him. They were still standing close. Surprise widened Asher’s eyes. His stare practically spoke, reminding him that people would see them. And they did see them. He could tell by the way voices cut off mid-sentence and foot falls fell short. David stared back, hoping he heard him in return when he said he didn’t care. He thumbed under Asher’s bottom lip. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Asher huffed and then grinned big. “I’m always okay. I’m the best.”

David rolled his eyes and grunted, letting him go. “You’re the best,” he agreed, though making sure to sound wildly unconvinced.

Milo coughed, peeling away from the others to tell them about the situation with the Department.

Stealth and Marie came down the hall soon after, joining them. Stealth offered to help with the Department paperwork but Milo could handle it and if something really did stump him he could always ask about it. No reason to add to Stealth’s workload just because they worked for the Department.

After Milo and Stealth went into one of the offices, Asher pulled out his car keys. “I’m going to double back to the building and grab Darlin’s stuff.”

David frowned, not sure about that but not sure why either. It wasn’t like Quinn could come back and be in wait again. “Maybe they’ll want to do it?” he suggested, but wasn’t entirely sold on that idea either.

Asher looked the way he felt about it. “Place was pretty bad, and they were shaken up after tackling that shitbag out a window. I’m not sure they should go back there anytime soon.”

David sighed but nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, go. I’ll get Darlin and meet you back at the apartment.”

Asher did a little salute and then headed for the front of the warehouse.

David waited another second, wondering if Darlin would come out of the backroom on their own before finally grunting and walking down the narrow hall himself. They’d been a mess when Asher brought them in, not the worst he’d seen them by far, but more freaked out than he’d ever seen them.

He opened the door quietly and spotted Darlin on the couch, right where they’d been when he left, only now they weren’t bleeding or broken, not in any way that could be seen at least.

Darlin looked like they were about to fall asleep on the little couch but the moment they saw him they jerked upright, eyes flashing wide and then to the floor.

Fuck.

“You ready to go?”

Darlin’s eyes grew and he heard their pulse pick up, breath coming faster.

David growled. Really? “You’re not in trouble. I’m not throwing you out or anything.” He wasn’t going to tease the nightmare out of them. He didn’t know if this was a lit match or a raging wildfire of fear and despair. He was just going to throw buckets of water on it until he was sure it was out either way. “It’s been a hell of a day. I’m taking you back to our place. You can rest and we can talk about this if you want.” Fuck. He was bad at this. He should have sent Asher in and gone to the apartment to get their stuff instead.

Darlin exhaled hard, the relief real enough to cut his heart. They nodded, still looking at the floor. Their eyes were glazed from the magic that had been poured into them. “Thanks. I…” They sighed. “You don’t have to let me crash at your place. If I can stay here for a couple—”

“If you don’t want to stay with me and Ash, that’s okay. But I need you to know that you’re welcome. More than welcome.” Yes, he should have definitely left Asher to handle this. “You can use the guest room and stay as long as you want.”

Darlin’s gaze met his for a few seconds. Why did they have to look so surprised?

He really just wanted to get them home and know that they were someplace safe. He knew the den was safe too. He knew that. But he wanted them home.

Darlin looked at the floor again, nodding. “Okay.”

David stared, honestly surprised. He took a step back and opened the door before they could change their mind, waiting.

Darlin grabbed their truly beaten leather jacket off the back of a chair and headed out of the room ahead of him.

To say they were a ball of conflicting thought and emotions wasn’t even close to right. They were a cyclone. Quinn was dead. They were relieved and they were heartbroken. They’d finally fought back and they were both emboldened and self-loathing. Yes, he had been a monster, but at one point they’d been together—they’d been good. And Darlin had never really fought anyone they’d slept with before. Quinn wasn’t the first relationship that got violent, though he’d definitely been the worst. At first, they hadn’t even really thought it was that big a deal. He was a vampire, of course he got bity. He was a jerk, of course he got mean.

But then he’d been mean to other people. Then he’d been bity with other people.

They were an idiot not to see it sooner.

They were a fool to have ever loved him.

And how twisted was it that they mourned him now? They’d decided to kill him, even if Asher had finished it. There was no other way with Quinn. He would never have stopped.

When they got into David’s truck, it felt like defeat. They were in the same spot they’d been in the other night, needing someone to give them safe harbor for a night. When were they going to just admit that they were the storm? When would David? He’d see it eventually and realize they were no good.

“Seatbelt,” David said, engine rumbling but truck still in park.

Darlin grabbed at the belt and clipped it in, rolling their eyes.

“What do you want to eat today?”

Darlin blinked. It was such a normal question that it totally caught them off guard, jarring them from their thoughts. How many times had anyone ever asked them that? Had anyone? “Um. I don’t know. Whatever. I can go get my own food.”

David huffed. “I know you can. But we might as well eat together. And if we don’t decide first, Asher will order pizza. He likes to freak out this delivery guy. It’s a whole thing.”

Darlin absorbed that, all of it, and remembered how they’d been completely oblivious to Asher and David being a couple. That seemed absolutely insane now. How could they not have realized it? The two had been inseparable since they were kids. Jesus. How long had they been a couple? They supposed if they’d been a better friend, a better pack member, they would have known. Darlin squeezed their eyes shut. They wanted to disappear. They wanted to curl up and just—

David shoved their head with the heel of his palm.

It was such a surprise that their eyes snapped open to stare at him.

He still had one hand on the steering wheel, brow creased with a scowl. “Knock it off,” he grumbled, attention flicking between them and the road.

“What? I didn’t—”

“You’re thinking bad shit. I can feel it.”

“What the fuck do you mean feel it? You can’t—”

“You’re so tense and miserable, I’d have to be the thickest unempowered human not to feel it. You look like you’re going to cry.”

“Shut up! I’m not going to cry!”

David put both hands on the wheel again, turning a corner. The seconds ticked by before he said, “You could, you know.”

“Could what?”

“Cry.”

“Oh, fuck you!” Darlin crossed their arms against their chest.

David growled. “I’m not teasing you! I’m saying you could cry if you wanted to. I’m not going to make fun of you or something. It was a bad day.”

“Aside from breaking my window, it wasn’t that bad,” they lied.

He side-eyed them.

The silence stretched and they hoped it would get them all the way to the apartment.

It didn’t.

“Quinn’s dead,” he said.

Darlin winced, exhaling like they’d been hit. Their pulse jumped in their throat. “That was the idea, right? He was a bad person. I had to—”

“You had to,” he confirmed, taking another turn. “But it’s okay to have feelings about it. You used to be together.”

Darlin stared at him, surprised that he’d say it like that—like it was real. “He was a monster.”

David nodded, his grip on the steering wheel suggesting he wholeheartedly agreed.

“I…I never really fought anyone that I liked before.” They didn’t know why they’d said it. They felt heat rising to their face as soon as the confession was out. They wished they could suck the words back into themself.

David was quiet for a stretch, like he was absorbing it? Or maybe just thought it was bullshit.

“You never fought back,” he said, but it sounded more like a realization than a question.

“I got away when it got bad,” they clarified. They didn’t want him thinking they just curled up into a ball.

His hands flexed against the steering wheel again. “You did the right thing,” he confirmed again. “You did the only thing.”

Darlin dragged a breath and let it out slowly. Fuck they were tired. It seemed like they were always tired—always falling asleep in this car and to his voice.

“Anyone you like ever not hit you?” he asked, voice low gravel barely heard even when it was just the two of them.

Darlin sighed, heavy lids closing. “Just you and Ash,” they thought. Or, they thought they thought rather than said aloud…

David drove the rest of the way to the apartment in the perfect quiet of their heartbeat and steady breathing. It was music that sang to his soul the way Asher’s did. It soothed him to have them close—to know that they were safe and that he was there to keep it that way.

He parked in his usual spot but Darlin didn’t wake up.

He got out of the car and went around, opening their door.

Darlin tried to wake up this time, eyelids flicking open before sinking shut again.

He almost laughed at the effort. It was actually impressive. How they managed to get up at all with all the healing magic in them was beyond reason. As usual. He unbuckled them. They twitched, grabbing at his arm but not really waking. They mumbled something that sounded like an apology.

“I’m going to carry you up,” he said.

Darlin frowned.

This time he did laugh. “If you want to walk on your own, then you’ll have to wake up.”

The frown softened when they faded farther into sleep.

“Thought so.” He scooped them out of the truck and over his shoulder, closing the door and heading for the lobby. Inside the apartment, he had to stop himself from taking them to their bedroom—from putting them back into their bed. He nudged open the door to the guest room and gently put them down on the bed that used to be Asher’s. He brushed the mess of their hair out of their face. They were so far from okay. He wished he could fix all those things he saw clawing at them beneath the surface, but he had no idea how to do that.

But he knew people who might. He’d talk to Asher about it.

Just because their monster was dead, didn’t mean Darlin would be magically all better. It was deeper than that. There was a reason they’d let someone like Quinn into their life—let things go so far. They’d admitted that every relationship they’d had, everyone they’d cared about, had physically hurt them…everyone but him and Ash.

David didn’t think Darlin had meant to say that out loud. Hearing it had been a jolt through his whole body landing on target in his heart. Darlin liked them. But whatever that could mean—whatever that could become—he knew they weren’t ready to explore it. He wasn’t going to rush this because he wasn’t going to fuck it up. The only thing he needed from Darlin was for them to be happy, healthy, and safe.

There was pain in Darlin that none of them had known what to do about. He wasn’t going to ignore it anymore.

Asher tried not to overthink. Really, he tried to keep his thoughts pretty blank while he walked around the wreckage of Darlin’s apartment. There was police tape on the door, the window frame busted clean out and the living room a storm of broken furniture and bloodshed. He tried not to think about the fight that had taken place there, or Darlin coming back to that apartment only to find Quinn there waiting and Asher… Asher was parking the fucking truck. He should have made them wait. He should have—

He shook his head to try to shake the thoughts out. He couldn’t go back. He couldn’t do it differently. He just had to do better from here. He went down the hall to the bedroom, expecting to be confronted with the epic chore of packing up a place without boxes. Instead, he stared at a mattress on the floor and an empty closet. The dresser didn’t have all the drawers and the ones that were there had a handful of shirts, another pair of ripped jeans, a switchblade, and some basics. He pulled one drawer out and collected all the clothes into it.

He carried it with him to the bathroom, nothing there but a bar of soap by the sink, a toothbrush and an almost empty tube of toothpaste. He didn’t bother with them. They always had extra toothbrushes. David was one of those people that planned for all the “just in case” scenarios. And considering how often pack members crashed at their place, he wasn’t wrong to do so.

Asher went back down the hall, this time to the tiny kitchen. There was no dining table or chairs. He put the drawer of belongings on the counter and then started opening cupboards. A box of cereal. Another switchblade, he checked and then tossed into the drawer.

He found another knife in one of the drawers, despite finding no real cutlery at all. One drawer was full of soy sauce packages and plastic wrapped chopsticks. He popped open the refrigerator, bracing for the stink of rot. Instead, he blinked at the glowing metal shelves, empty but for a single rubber duck in the middle, staring back at him. “What the fuck, Darlin…” he wondered, reaching it and pulling it out.

He thumbed the deep cuts in the plastic, a crescent. For a split second he thought they’d bitten the toy—but then they realized those clean punctures. Quinn? He put the duck on the sad stack of clothes and then checked under the sink. He found a roll of duct tape and some garbage bags. He put everything into one bag and rubbed his chest, like he could physically massage away that ache in his heart at the fact that everything Darlin owned didn’t even come close to filling the bag. How the hell had they let this happen?

He shook his head again. No going back. Only forward.

Someone walked up the hallway toward the apartment door. Asher realized it was Milo even before the door swung open and his friend ducked under the police tape.

Asher smiled to greet him but felt it wither as soon as he saw that serious expression. “What are you doing here? Everything okay?”

Milo frowned at the living room, clearly thinking about how far from okay things were, but then he dragged his gaze to Asher and winced.

Asher almost dropped the bag, taking a step toward him. “You’re okay? Stealth?”

Milo shook his head fast, hand out. “Fine. We’re fine. It’s nothing like that. I just… I swung by to talk to you real quick.”

Asher’s mind raced. What the hell was wrong that he couldn’t just call?

“You and David…”

Asher held tight to the bag, his heart beating faster. Oh shit. He knew. Was this a problem? Would he think it was inappropriate because David was alpha? Was it somehow a conflict of interest? He and David would never prioritize anything above the pack, not even each other… “Yeah.”

Milo looked down at the floor, nodding tightly. “How long?”

Asher felt his heart drop. He should have told him. They’d been friends forever. He should have just told him before and faced whatever this was directly. “A year maybe. It… just happened. I should have told you but it was…new? And then it was just normal. I’m s—”

“Don’t,” Milo said, the word jumping out of him with a shake of his head. “Don’t apologize. I should have noticed.” He rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. “I know I’ve been really busy this last year, but I should have noticed. I just hope you didn’t feel like you couldn’t tell me about this…”

“No! Nothing like that.” Asher took a step closer, dropping the bag of belongings. “And I should have just told you. I guess, at first I wasn’t sure how long it would last and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it? And then it had all just slid under the pack radar and been so private I just…”

Milo was watching him and not the floor now. He cracked a smile. “You weren’t sure David was serious?” he asked jokingly. The joke died fast though. Something on Asher’s face maybe? Maybe this was why Asher hadn’t talked to him about it before… “Are you serious? Ash. David’s always serious.” His smile faded, worry creeping into his face. “You thought you were a secret or something?”

Asher laughed but he knew it wouldn’t hide shit from Milo. “Of course not.”

Milo frowned a little, touching his shoulder, squeezing it through his t-shirt. “You didn’t look like a secret in the den today.”

Asher shrugged but he couldn’t hide his smile. That had been a surprise, but a very well appreciated one.

“You’re happy?” Milo asked.

Asher shouldn’t have been surprised by the question, or the patience after waiting for an answer.

Milo would hear the truth either way.

Asher was still smiling when he nodded. “Very.”

Milo nodded too, and then finally looked around the living room again, frowning hard. “They really lived here?” he changed the subject.

Asher groaned, picking up the bag. “Yeah.”

“They’re not coming back here, are they?”

“No. They’re gonna stay with us, at least for a while.” Hopefully longer than a while.

David was at the kitchen table working on paperwork he’d brought home with him when Asher finally came in. He put down the folder in his hand and raised an eyebrow at the one black bag the other man put down on the floor near the wall. “That’s it?”

Asher dropped his head back and groaned. “Don’t start. That place was bleak.” His gaze cut down the hall, to their door—well, formerly the guest door, confirming for himself that Darlin was out cold. “That place looked like a crime scene even before it became one.”

David saw the pause after he said it, the moment when he realized it probably was. Asher scrubbed a hand over his face, shoulders finally dropping the way he only ever completely let them when they were home. He got up from where he sat at the table and crossed the short distance to his mate, reaching out to close that distance even more. Asher sighed, leaning into that contact.

“We can’t let this happen again.”

David huffed an almost-laugh, because it was exactly what he’d been thinking. He mussed up the back of Asher’s already messy hair, pulling his forehead to his.

Asher leaned into his neck, lips and nose brushing skin when he breathed in deep. It sent chills up David’s spine. “Milo knows.”

“Knows what?” David asked, hushed now that they were close again. He decided then that they needed to shower and then take a long nap before ordering food. He was even going to let Asher order from that pizza place and then shift when the delivery guy got there.

“About us,” Asher said, face still in David’s neck.

David paused, hands still on the other man, but for a moment not moving. “Is that bad?” He didn’t think for a second that Milo would have said anything negative about it. He was one of the best people David knew.

Asher shook his head against David’s neck before leaning back. He had a little smile. It was beautiful and strangely fragile for Ash. “Just thought you should know, I guess.”

David huffed.

Asher started to lean away but David caught him, pulling him in again and this time kissing him. He felt the other man’s pulse jump under the palm he had to the side of his neck. The kiss deepened. David growled low when Asher nipped his lip, the feel of those teeth sending a jolt through his body. He backed the slighter man up to the wall and groaned when Asher threw arms around his neck, bucking against him. He reached down, fingers brushing Asher’s jean clad thigh. That was all it took for the beta to jump up, hooking legs around his hips.

Asher broke the kiss with a grin, breath coming fast and eyes full of mischief and lust. “I thought you said I was too loud…”

David rumbled another growl, leaning away from the wall but keeping Asher wrapped around him. “You are. But…”

Asher’s smile managed to grow wider, the excitement so clear on his face that it was enough to make David’s heart beat faster. Fuck, he loved this guy. “But?”

David turned and walked him down the hall, past the guest room and the bathroom to their bedroom at the end. “They’re out cold and I figure if I give you something to do with that mouth you might not be a sound violation today…” He kicked the door shut behind him.

#redacted asmr #redactedverse #david is a king #asher is my favorite boi #darlin has all the trauma warnings #david/asher #darlin/david/asher #romance is happening!#might need to send darlin to therapy #therapy = cam #i love these characters so much #thanks for reading!#fanfic #dominimoonbeam #<3

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dominimoonbeam · 2 years

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Bad Dog

I got an ask for a fic where Darlin kills Quinn and David takes the fall for it, and this is what I made! I hope you liked it!

tags: trauma, post-violence, injury, blood, panic, dead Quinn, mention of Darlin’s abusive childhood.

I really need to do a count on how many times I’ve killed this vamp now...

Posted here and over on ao3!

Darlin & David.

BAD DOG

Darlin stood over his body, waiting for him to get up. Waiting. Waiting.

It was raining so hard that they couldn’t hear their own heart beat let alone his. They could check. They had to check. But their whole body still shook on adrenaline and fear—fear that if they lowered their guard and came too close, he would grab them again. He would break more bones, pin them down, run tongue and teeth over skin. They were so cold inside, even when their blood felt hot rolling down their neck and side.

Something burst from the trees and bushes to their right and Darlin jerked toward it so fast their legs finally gave out, dropping them onto their ass. The huge wolf shifted without losing step, coming right at Darlin.

Their arms came up to guard their face, a swear heaving from their already struggling lungs.

But he didn’t hit them, didn’t even grab and pull their arm down.

David was on his knees in front of them, big hands hovering. “Are you okay?” he was asking, voice louder than the rain. He touched their arms, carefully searching them for breaks and cuts while guiding them down. He swore loudly and clamped a hand over the side of their neck.

Darlin jolted, feeling the pain then. Quinn’s teeth had dug so deep. He liked to bite but it wasn’t usually… He hadn’t been biting, he’d been ripping. For the first time, Darlin looked down at themself. They were still in their jogging clothes. They’d gone out for a run. He’d pulled them right off the trail. Usually when they crossed he wanted to talk, to build to an argument, to play with Darlin’s head as much as their physical safety.

But this had been different. The game was over. Quinn had realized they were blood bound and had enough of it. He was getting rid of a problem.

A problem.

Darlin.

Tears welled up in their eyes. They’d been hunting him, but they’d never really been prepare to…

“You’re going to be okay,” David said, voice gathering a note of panic when he saw them crying. His other hand stroked their hair back from their face. “I’ll get you…” He noticed it then. The fact that he hadn’t noticed Quinn until that moment was proof that he really was dead, because if there had been any life in him at all, David would have registered the enemy the moment he approached.

Darlin wanted to reach up and cover his eyes. They didn’t want him to see it. Quinn was… mangled. He had been so beautiful before, terrible but beautiful. Now? Now he was shredded meat. Mauled. And they had done that. They had killed someone. They could still taste his blood.

Bad dog.

They shuddered, almost a full convulsion and it dragged David’s focus back to them. His hand still holding the wound on the side of their neck.

Bad dog.

Darlin’s parents used to whisper it as something the Department would say. Something they would be branded if they got out of line—if the Department had cause to put them down.

David felt their pulse under his palm, hot and liquid, trying to escape.

He wouldn’t let it. He absolutely would not lose Darlin.

“Everyone knows I’ve been hunting him… They’ll think I… The Department… Oh god. Will they put me down? Will I be exiled?” Their breath was coming too fast, words tumbling out half-formed. They grabbed at David’s arms, eyes full of wild terror. He knew this distrust—this fear. Darlin’s family had always distrusted authority. They wanted to run free. He knew several of Darlin’s bloodline had crossed the Department. Some went away. Some disappeared. There were a million ways to explain it, but the stories Darlin’s parents had been nightmares. His heart lurched. Darlin was working up to running. Better to die running than be caged.

“It was self-defense. You know that. I know that. I won’t let anyone take you away.” He’d never seen them this scared or this exposed. They’d killed Quinn. Had they ever had to kill anyone before? No. He would know. Not that they would have told him—but that he would have seen the shadow of it in their eyes. Darlin was tough, brave, and fearless. But they were also kind, no matter how they tried to hide it. No matter how hard their parents had tried to beat it out of them. They were a scrapper, but not a killer.

“No one’s going to believe that. I’m a liar and a troublemaker.”

He winced, shaking his head.

A wolf howled on the other side of the park. Milo.

Darlin was supposed to meet up with them for a real run, one on all fours, but when they didn’t show up they’d split up to look for them.

Darlin jerked under him, almost pulling out of the hold he had one that ripped side of their neck. “I-I have to—”

“No,” David growled. “You are not running. You are not going anywhere.”

“D-David… I—”

“You are mine,” he reminded, voice hard. It came from someplace deep, in his core, in his instincts, in his blood. Darlin belongs to his pack, and no one was going to take them from him, not even Darlin’s own fear. The only way they could leave, was if they honestly wanted to, and even then—even if they went to the other side of the world—he would always have a place for them.

He could feel Milo getting closer.

He could feel Darlin breaking, their gaze glued to that body. What would this do to them? How long would Quinn be hurting them?

“David…Please…” Darlin begged, and his teeth ached in fury that they would ever have to beg him for anything, let alone beg him to let them go—let them bleed out while they ran for the woods—let them die alone and free.

David leaned in, hand still holding tight to that wound on their neck. He licked blood splatter from their chin, lips, jaw and cheek. He rubbed his face to theirs while he did, until his face and his teeth were red. Darlin stared at him, confused and dazed from shock and blood loss.

Milo burst from the trees, shifting human and taking in the scene. “What…What happened?”

David turned his head to look back at Milo, the blood on his mouth when he said, “Quinn attacked them. We need a healer.”

Milo took another step to see Darlin, his eyes growing and his hands digging into his pockets to find his phone. “Yeah. Yeah, sit tight.”

David looked down at Darlin, at the confusion in their eyes even as the slipped toward unconsciousness. “He attacked you. You fought. I killed him,” he said, just loud enough for them to hear. Milo might hear him too, but David wasn’t worried about that. When the Department asked Milo what he had seen, he could tell the truth. He arrived, he saw Quinn dead and Darlin bleeding out and David, bloody, holding Darlin together. He could say he saw the blood on David’s face. Milo was smart. He would realize what had really happened if he didn’t know immediately. But he was good pack, and he would also realize why the lie was being told.

No one would question David Shaw’s right to defend his pack, or his standing as a law-abiding wolf in his city. If he killed Quinn, then Quinn had it coming and there was no way around it. Darlin’s neck, Darlin’s whole body, was dressed in proof.

David said it again and again, his free hand thumbing away Darlin’s tears when they fell. He pressed his forehead to theirs when their eyes closed. “You are not a bad dog. You are my wolf.”

#darlin & david #dead quinn #darlin is a mess #david is the king for a reason #dominimoonbeam #fanfic #redactedasmr #redactedverse #david is a king #darlin is a precious mess

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