Chapter Text
They walked into the den just when the pack meeting was starting, sunglasses on and feeling like they were marching through mud. Everything was too fucking loud. Their head didn’t exactly hurt, more like everything else hurt. They found a seat near the wall and took it. David had left messages warning them that if they didn’t make an appearance soon, he would personally come check on them. That was the last thing they needed right now.
Their life was a mess. They just needed to figure out how to get it right again. But first they had to sit through one of these stupid pack meetings to get David off their back.
Darlin folded their arms tight against their chest and settled in. This couldn’t take that long could it?
David had started talking, a handful of others toward the front involved in the discussion. Darlin honestly tried to pay attention, but they couldn’t focus, could barely keep their eyes open. Come on, come on, just keep it together for forty minutes and then they could slip out.
But about twenty minutes in, someone dragged a chair over and sat next to them. Right next to them.
“Long time no see,” Asher whispered. He bumped their shoulders together.
Darlin thought about leaning away or rolling their eyes or even moving to sit someplace else, but they couldn’t. They were too tired.
“You know we’re inside, right? You don’t need the sunglasses,” Asher continued.
Darlin felt dizzy, their head heavy and their heart beating too fast. Oh shit, were they going to be sick? No. Not here. Not in front of these people.
“Darlin?” Asher asked, voice serious now but at least still low enough not to draw attention. He turned toward them, touching the back of their chair.
“What?” Darlin got out, hating how their voice sounded raw. It had been a bad week.
Asher didn’t say anything.
For a second Darlin was relieved, hopeful the nosey fucker had just found someone else to focus on, but then they felt his eyes on them. They turned their head and saw his smile was gone and his gaze on their neck. Sitting so close, they almost thought they heard a growl low in his chest.
Darlin touched their neck, fingering a scab peeking out from the collar of their shirt and jacket. They’d been so focused on covering up the bandage on the other side that they hadn’t thought about that—hadn’t thought anyone would be this close.
“Someone bite you?” he asked, voice low. There was no usual hint of a joke or lightness to him. Asher could be light even when they were talking about totally dark shit, but not this. Why not this?
Darlin forced a smirk. “I bite back. Don’t worry about it.”
Asher’s eyes stayed on them, scrutinizing everything he could see.
Darlin’s skin tingled, exposed even with jeans and shirt and jacket on, like he could see through everything. What a horrific idea that was.
“You look tired.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“You feeling dizzy?”
“Fuck you, I’m feeling annoyed.”
Asher nodded once and then turned to face forward again, as though paying attention to the meeting. But he slid his arm along the back of their chair, bracing the back of their shoulders. Darlin’s heart hammered in their chest, making their vision fuzzy. “You can sleep if you need to.”
Darlin wanted to laugh and roll their shoulders to shove his arm off. They didn’t need shit. But they were so tired. They weren’t lying. They hadn’t been sleeping well for a while, trying to get hours in during the day and stay on the move at night. They were playing chess, only Darlin didn’t know how to play chess. And last night Quinn had found them. What an asshole he was.
Darlin lost time. People were leaving the den, still talking, some arguing in a comfortable way. They always felt weird at pack meetings, like an intruder on a family gathering. They still hoped no one noticed them sleeping at the meeting. They didn’t belong but they didn’t want to be a dick either. Not really. Not if they could help it. They unraveled their arms and leaned forward, trying to wake up.
“Stay put,” Asher said, voice soothing and so close.
They winced. Fuck. He had his arm around them and they’d fallen asleep right into his side. That was so weak. They felt sick. They needed to leave.
His hand squeezed their shoulder gently. “Darlin?”
People were looking, stealing curious glances as they headed out.
David was coming, working his way across the room.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Standing up was harder than it should have been.
“Darlin?” Asher stood up with them, worry in his voice now. Why?
Darlin shook their head, not sure why, and decided to just leave. They’d just walk out and let David leave some more shitty messages on their phone about pack and duty and family.
“Darlin!”
They didn’t realize they were falling at first. Their legs just didn’t work, dropping out from under them. Their whole body sinking. But before they could hit the floor, someone caught them. Asher? Fuck. This was embarrassing. They didn’t want anyone to see this. They—
Darlin fainted.
David couldn’t believe his eyes.
He’d seen them walk into the meeting right after it started—perfectly timed so that he couldn’t actually talk to them. He’d sent Asher over to make sure the shit didn’t duck out early too. And why the hell were they wearing sunglasses? Were they falling asleep?
When the meeting ended and people started leaving, he made his way toward them. No fucking way where they going to sneak out of here without having a talk. But when they stood up it was shaky. He could see the worry on Asher’s face even across the room. Asher was talking. And Darlin…Darlin was swaying.
No. No way were they going to faint.
David had seen them drunk and this wasn’t that. Darlin didn’t sway when they were drunk. It was annoying as hell but they’d won a dozen bets about whether or not they could walk a straight line. Asher had lost all of those bets.
He had never seen Darlin faint before but that was exactly what they did, their whole body sinking toward the floor. Asher lunged for them at the same time as David. Asher caught their arm but David got his arms under their back, catching them before they could hit the floor.
“Asher?” David asked, staring at Darlin in his arms. They were completely limp. He shifted them closer to his chest and touched their cheek, pushing their hair out of their face. Their skin was cold and clammy.
“I don’t know,” Asher said, but he could tell by his tone that wasn’t true.
David frowned hard. It wasn’t like Asher to lie to him. But he wasn’t really, he realized. He was being discreet. Some of the pack was still there, watching.
Darlin’s head lulled back against his shoulder, the angle dragging the collar of their shirt low in just the right spot that he saw the corner of a white bandage. Had they been in a fight?
“David?” Amanda was asking, edging closer to the scene. There were at least a dozen of the pack still in the room, craning their necks to see what was going on.
David looked at Asher and growled, “Clear the room.”
Asher was on his feet in a flash, turning on the others and herding them out.
David lifted Darlin and walked to the back office. He put them in a chair in the corner just as they were starting to wake up again. He took their stupid sunglasses off just as they were blinking, cringing against the light of the room. David winced. A splotch of yellow bruising hung under one eye. An old bruise almost healed. “Darlin? Can you hear me?”
Darlin groaned but nodded. They tried to lift a hand to their face but it shook and dropped like it was too heavy.
David reached out to curl a hand behind their neck, but they jumped in a flinch, eyes flinging open in surprise. They stared at each other. Darlin dragged a breath, their lips the same color as their skin, everything flushed. “I’m sorry,” Darlin said, voice quiet and rasping.
David shook his head slowly. They didn’t need to apologize for flinching or for whatever had made them do it. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time he’d see them flinch since they were teens. He hadn’t understood then, why someone as tough as Darlin would ever flinch, let alone to people that weren’t necessarily bigger or stronger than them—just people they hadn’t seen coming or people that reached for them when they were vulnerable.
His dad had explained it to him though. Had explained how some parents aren’t good and some kids aren’t safe. He had asked why his dad hadn’t done something about it and he still remembered how his dad had looked at him, so patient but so tired of the truths of the world. He understood now that if Gabe had run those assholes out of Dahlia, they would have taken Darlin with them. As it was, when their parents did finally take off, Darlin hadn’t gone. And then his dad had passed away and David had used everything he had just to keep going.
By the time he realized how far Darlin had drifted from them, it seemed almost impossible to bridge the gap. But there was no way he was giving up.
“Tell me what’s going on,” David said, voice steady even though he didn’t feel steady.
Darlin dragged a few more breaths. “I’m fine. I just need a minute,” they mumbled, barely getting all the words outs.
“I’m taking you to a healing clinic, they’ll—”
“I don’t need… I don’t need that. I just need to sleep,” Darlin growled but it was weak—tired.
“You’re injured. Have you been fighting?”
Darlin sighed, closing their eyes. “Yeah, I guess.”
David sighed. “Can I see?”
“What?” Darlin opened their eyes, confused and then worried. He saw it before they could hide it. “No. It’s nothing.”
They were lying and David knew it. “You can let me get a look, or I can take you to a proper healer to have you checked out.”
Darlin whined but even that was tired. “Come on, David. Just let me go home.”
Asher came into the office. “Everyone’s gone. I locked up.” He frowned at Darlin’s bruised eye but crossed the office to the little refrigerator in the corner. He popped it open. David was about to snap at him about looking for snacks right then, when Asher grabbed an orange juice and came back to them, screwing off the lid. He crouched next to Darlin and pushed the bottle into their hand. “Someone’s been feeding on you?”
David felt rage coil in his chest and the itchy need to shift. He growled low when Darlin didn’t immediately deny it, taking the juice instead and shakily lifting it to their lips.
“I’m handling it,” Darlin said, swallowing. Their gaze flicked up to him fast and then away. “No one knows, I promise. Today was…was a bad day. I promise, I—”
“Stop.”
Darlin winced, closing their mouth.
“You think I’m…what? Worried about pack image? Darlin, I’m worried about you.” That gaze flicked up to him again, so tired that he felt it in his own bones. “Healer or right here?” He asked. He wasn’t going to let them squirm out of this. He’d be happy to drive them to a clinic. Dahlia had two, one just outside of DAMN campus and the other run by the Department.
Darlin stared at him, like maybe this time they were going to be able to stare him down. Which was laughable since they’d never been able to do it when they were in good shape.
With a sigh they looked away, nodding defeat. They both knew Darlin wouldn’t walk into a healing clinic. They’d only ever gone in when they were too messed up to walk and someone else had brought them in. “It’s not as bad as it looks…” they said, sounding more brittle than he’d ever heard.
Real panic started to rise in his chest, and he saw it reflect in Asher.
Asher took the half-empty bottle of juice back from them when they stood up and put it on the desk.
Darlin shrugged out of their jacket. For a second they swayed, vision losing focus and both David and Asher stepped closer, afraid they would fall again. Darlin swallowed hard and then pulled their long-sleeved shirt off. David blinked. Skin, scars, and muscle. And bruises, a lot of bruises. And…
“Son of a bitch,” Asher ground out, his usually pleasant tone gone. There was nothing funny here. There were bites, healed over and in varying stages of bruised on their wrist, up their arm, and over their shoulder. More on their chest and on their hip.
Darlin sat down, managing to make it look cocky when they all knew their legs just wouldn’t hold much longer. They had to rest their head back against the wall.
David took another step closer, moving slow enough that Darlin would see his hand coming well before it reached the white bandage taped to the base of their neck. He pulled it away gently and then clicked his teeth hard when he saw the fresh bite there. It wasn’t a clean bite like some of the older ones might have been. It was like a bloodsucker had gnawed at them. “What happened?” This wasn’t one fight with a vampire. These were months of abuse printed on their skin in bruises and bites.
Darlin deflated a little more. Blood loss. They were tired and dizzy from blood loss. “I broke it off with him a couple weeks ago.”
Asher exhaled hard but bit back whatever he wanted to say.
David tried to absorb what they were telling them. Broke it off? Him? Who? Who the fuck had done this? “This one isn’t more than a day or two old,” he pointed out, trying to stick to the most pressing issue at hand.
Darlin winced. They hadn’t looked directly at him or Asher since they took off their shirt. “He’s…Not easy to convince.”
“What does that mean?” Asher asked, fast and David could hear the tightness in his voice. He was trying not to yell. Trying not to snap. “Did you break up with him?”
“Yes.”
“But he still shows up?”
“Sometimes.”
David growled low. The bruises made sense now, not where they usually would be clustered from a fight but rings around upper arms and wrists and the splotchy handprints on their sides. A couple weeks ago. They’d broken up with the vamp and for the last couple of weeks he had been coming back to terrorize them. To put hands and teeth on them. “Did he bite you when you were still dating?” he asked, carefully putting the bandage back on the wound on their neck. Darlin wouldn’t want to go to a clinic, but he could get a healer to come take care of this. It wasn’t much for them, even if it felt like the world to David right now.
Darlin shrugged, still not meeting his gaze. “Vamps bite. It’s kind of their thing. But it wasn’t…bad, until I told him to get lost.”
“Why did you tell him to get lost?” Asher chanced and David wondered if he was as desperate to get a peek into Darlin’s life as he was—to find a way in and a way to bring them closer to the pack.
“He’s an asshole. It was fine when…” they trailed and shrugged.
Asher curled his lip but Darlin didn’t see it with their eyes on the floor. David did though. They both knew what Darlin was going to say—what they had thought. It was fine when the vamp was an asshole to them. Like it didn’t matter when it was them getting hurt.
“He tried to feed on this human who wasn’t into it and I made him stop. Broke up with him. Told him if I saw him pulling that shit again I’d report him.” Their voice got smaller and smaller.
David crouched in front of them, hands on either side of their chair and face in their downcast line of sight. Darlin looked worn thin, haunted, and tired. He tried not to think about someone taking advantage of them, pinning them down and using them like a blood bag—let alone someone they had trusted.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Asher asked, voice soft without judgement. He was right next to them.
David saw the answer on Darlin’s face. It had never occurred to them to tell anyone in the pack about it. It was their problem. Even now, he could see the flicker of worry in their eyes like they thought they were in trouble. “I’ll handle it,” they promised him.
David shook his head, grinding his teeth. “You’re not supposed to handle shit like that alone. No one expects you to.”
Darlin looked away, visibly shivering.
David picked up their shirt and bunched it up, holding it out for them to put their arms through. They did and he pulled the shirt back on them, careful of those cuts and bruises. “I’ll get the truck. Ash, you walk them out?”
Asher nodded and David stared at Darlin for another second, their eyelids already blinking slow. He grabbed his jacket and walked out of the office, hitting the lights on his way out toward the back, checking and locking the den up on his way, just like he knew Asher would do on his way toward the front. They would talk about this more when they got home, when Darlin was fed and sleeping someplace safe where they could watch out for them.
Asher picked up Darlin’s jacket off the floor and helped them into it.
They mumbled a thanks and started walking. It was more of a shuffle but at least they weren’t passing out, not that Asher gave them room to faint without him right there to catch them. He flicked off lights on their way to the front of the building, always keeping an eye on Darlin. He remembered where all the bites and bruises were—could almost see them in his memory laid over their jacket now.
How could someone do that?
And from the sound of it, the vamp was their ex. Someone they’d been with. Someone they’d let near them. It was a special club and this fucker was spitting on it. It made his skin crawl and his teeth ache to grow. He kept flexing his jaw, trying to remind himself not to shift when he thought about it—thought about this guy coming back to attack Darlin. Once? Twice? How many of those marks were consensual and how many weren’t?
They stepped outside, the air cold as the sun was setting. He turned on the alarm and closed the door, making sure it was latched with a good shake.
He was surprised to see Darlin turning to start walking away, toward the subway.
Asher caught their arm and pulled them back, leaning them against the wall. He didn’t miss how their eyes widened, watching him in confusion but at least not fear. “Where are you going?”
“Home,” Darlin lied. He could tell it was a lie. Where were they really going?
“Yeah, David’s getting the truck and then we’ll go home.”
Darlin blinked at him. “I don’t need a ride.”
“You’re so fucking stubborn,” Asher laughed, standing in front of them. They’d have to physically bump into him to get away from the wall and walk away. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d done it, but he knew sometimes they needed to feel like they should stay put to keep themself from running. “You’re coming back to the apartment with us. You can sleep there.”
Darlin stared at him. “What? No… No, I…”
“Where were you really going?” Asher asked.
“What?”
“You were lying about going home. Do you need to go someplace else?”
“I…No. I don’t. I just…” They glanced over his shoulder, to the glints of daylight sinking over the city.
Asher’s smile faded. “You can’t go home at night, can you?”
Darlin tensed, schooling their features to look like they didn’t care again—like they weren’t scared. “Of course, I can.”
Asher exhaled hard, almost a laugh. “Why do you do that, Darlin? You don’t ever need to lie to me. I’m not going to use it against you. You know that.” He caught their gaze and held it. “Just tell me.”
Darlin looked like they might blow him off again—might even push off the wall and away from him and walk away. But they didn’t. Too tired in their body or maybe too tired in their heart. “He’ll go to the apartment at night. I keep moving to try to stay away from him until sunup. I made it almost five days but then he caught up to me last night.”
Asher nodded slowly, taking that in. “What’s his name?”
Darlin sighed, body relaxing a fraction like there was a real weight to holding all of this themself and even just telling Asher those small truths had lightened the load. “Quinn.”
Asher nodded again. He reached out, slow enough that they’d see his hand coming before his fingers reached their face, brushing messy hair back from their face and then settling his palm against the side of their neck, not touching any of their wounds but making contact.
“I just need to get some sleep,” Darlin mumbled.
Asher thought they needed a lot more than sleep, but it would be a good start. “I’ll get you sleep,” he promised.
David’s truck rumbled low when he pulled around the block from the parking garage on the back and up along the sidewalk.
Asher tugged Darlin away from the wall and walked them to the vehicle. He got them up and in and then followed, sandwiching them between himself and David. They were asleep before David had them buckled, leaning against Asher’s shoulder.
Asher looked at that white bandage peeking out from their collar again.
Quinn was going to pay.