#to which

‘Everything except me.’ In a room filled with people, Darlin’ has never felt so out of place. Their own lilac outfit felt dull compared to the vibrancy that surrounded them. It was loud, it was colourful, it was bright and it wasn’t them.

An arm wrapped around their waist that pulled them into their safe spot. Their head rested on his chest as he chuckled in their ears. “I don’t know why you’re still stressing about how you look. You’re the most beautiful wolf in this ball.”

Darlin’ lifted their head from his chest and stared into his silver eyes, ones that shone brighter than the diamonds on his mask. “Samuel, I’m the only wolf in this ball.” Sam smirked and used his free hand to spin them around, mimicking the dancers that surrounded them. 

He pulled them close, with their back to his chest and secured both arms around them. He swayed them side to side, chuckling at their nervousness. “I see your point Darlin’, but,” he cut himself off by placing gentle kisses on their neck. He trailed his lips from the base of their neck to their ears and whispered, “you still are the most beautiful person in this ball.” He trailed his arms up and down Darlin’s body, to prove his point further. 

He spinned them around to face him and kissed his Darlin’. They wrapped their arms around his neck and leaned their heads to the side, making the kiss even deeper. They could feel Sam’s heartbeat pounding in his chest, matching the beat of their own heart. His hands continued wandering on their body, pulling them even closer. He wanted to make them melt into him. Wanted to pull every single sound out of them. Wanted his Darlin’ to feel everything that they did to him.

Darlin’ wouldn’t mind it, but not now in front of Vampire Royalty.

Darlin’ leaned back to part their lips, but stayed close enough as to not break the bubble they had created. “You’re a fucking tease Collins.” The seemingly harsh words were said breathlessly, a quiet tone with a gentle smile.

Sam laughed, pulling back from Darlin’ and standing up straight. “You love me, my Darlin’.” Sam looked around the room and noticed the tower of champagne across the room. “Would you mind a glass of champagne? Nothing screams love like getting drunk with your partner.”

Darlin’ rolled their eyes and responded with a teasing tone. “Last time I checked, vampires can’t get drunk Sammy?” 

Sam leaned in close, pecking their cheek and whispered in their ear, “no, but the night might go by quicker and then we can go home.” His hand squeezed their waist, the action making Darlin' shudder at the promise of what would come later that night. Once they were in the privacy of their home, of course.

“I’m down for a few glasses if you’re the one taking me home,” they giggled. Sam smiled and left to get a few glasses for his partner. Darlin’ stood there alone, eyeing the dancing crowd before them. ‘Maybe I should join them…?’

As that thought crossed their minds, Darlin’ felt a tap on their shoulder. They turned and were faced with a vampire holding his hand out to dance. On his clothing were golden roses, adorning the cuff of his sleeves and the sides if his vest. The red mask had done well to obscure his identity, but…

‘I swear I’ve seen this man before. Fuck, he don’t look like he’s clan but still…’

Darlin’s suspicion of the vampire would have made them decline the offer, but they remembered what Sam had said while getting ready for the ball.

“The best way to bond with a vamp is to accept a dance from them. These are Old Blood, and there ain’t a lot of things that Old Bloods love more than a good dance.”

‘If Sam can make all that effort in bonding with the pack, then I can suck it up for one shitty dance with a vamp.’

With a small bow and a tight-lipped smile, Darlin’ accepted the hand that was given to them. The two walked onto the dance floor and faced each other. The vampire grabbed their hand and held their waist in a respectable way. Darlin’ held the vamp’s shoulder and the two began to sway and spin with the other dancers.

A few missteps and trips had Darlin’ chuckling nervously. They cleared their throat before apologizing. “I’m um… I’m not used to dancing like this… I’m more of a club kinda wolf ya know?” They added the unnecessary detail in the hopes it makes them more endearing.

The vampire chuckled as he spun the wolf around. “Oh it’s quite alright,” he pulled the wolf uncomfortably close and used the arm to trap them against his torso. “I know the kind of dancer you are, Little Wolf.”

‘OH FUCK-!’ Before they could try to fight the vamp’s hold, he had put a trance on them. A light one meant to keep them from screaming, but a trance nonetheless. The hold placed in their mind is a familiar one, one that they hoped to never experience again.

“Now, now Little Wolf, we shouldn’t make a ruckus at such an illustrious ball.” Darlin’s eyes gazed quickly over their surroundings. They were alone. They couldn’t see Sam, or Vincent and his partner, or the progenies. William was sitting on a throne and they were nowhere near it.

The vampire leaned closer. Darlin’ tried to lean away, desperately trying to escape into Sam’s arms, but the vampire’s grip on them was too strong. The vamp’s lips brushed against their ears, causing them to shiver out of fear. He whispered, “and if you try to scream for help, I’ll go to that southern vamp of yours, and make sure that you hear his heartbeat stop.”

The threat to Sam’s life awoken a feral part of Darlin’. They pushed him away from their face and glared them in the eyes. “You go anywhere near him Quinn, and I will tear you apart limb from limb,” they growled, digging their claws into Quinn’s shoulder.

Quinn chuckled, “ah, still my feral wolf.” 

Darlin’ scoffed at the statement. “I’m not your wolf anymore, bastard.”

They moved in rhythm with the music. For two people who hated each other as much as they did, they were in complete harmony. They let go of each other and grabbed the opposite hands. They circled each other, sizing the other up to see how much of a threat the other was. The two switched hands, eyes never leaving each other, in fear of a surprise attack. The vampire was the first to speak during this stalemate.

“What do you say, shall we continue this dance? You and me? For old times sake?”

As much as they wanted to run, Darlin’ gave a stiff nod. If they continue this dance, they can keep his gaze from Sam. If they let his hands on their body, he won’t be close to Sam.

For tonight, and just tonight, things will go back to the way it was.

Where he was the person who understood them, and they were the hope he had in the future.

A tense atmosphere settled between them. Darlin’ wasn’t even sure they had taken a breath during this ordeal. He was so close. So damn close. They could just use the hand that was already on his neck and snap it. They know they could do it. All they had to do was tighten that hand and this nightmare would be over.

Darlin’ refrains themselves from their violent thoughts. They needed to keep his eyes on them. For Sam’s sake. To their disdain, the pair continued to glid across the ballroom, moving like the other dancers.

To an ignorant person, they’d assume that they were two lovers dancing the night away.

Perhaps they could have been.

Quinn grabbed Darlin’s left hand with his right and placed it behind his back. They mirrored his actions with their own hands. Again, they found themselves circling each other, but not with the purpose to hunt each other as it was earlier. Instead, there was… melancholic energy radiating from the two. Darlin’ could have sworn that his eyes went soft for a moment. 

Darlin’ felt their eyes softening as well.

‘Why the fuck, after all the shit he’s pulled, do I still care for him? He’s a monster. He hurt the progenies, my friend… he hurt me. So why?...’

Because neither of them could let go of what could have been.

They know their heart now and forever will belong to Sam. Yet in the dead of night, when there was nothing distracting them, their mind wandered to the what ifs.

What if Quinn didn’t manipulate them?

What if Darlin’ didn’t try to make him mad?

What if he hadn’t hurt their friend?

What if they never tried to turn him in, and when that failed, hunt him down?

The what ifs are like parasites. They attached themselves to Darlin’s brain. They feed off of Darlin’s need to help people, the doubts in their brain that they could have done something to help. And then they multiply, creating a thousand scenarios with a thousand more endings.

They know, in the deepest parts of their heart, that this, despite everything Quinn may say, was never meant to be. That despite how much they loved and cared for him, there was no saving him. But that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t mourn what could have been.

That didn’t mean they didn’t feel disgusted with themselves trying to justify his actions.

In another life, Quinn and Darlin’ may have been lovers. Where this dance would have been filled with secret kisses and teases of what happens after.

This was not that life.

Quinn once told them that they were soulmates, destined for one another. He wasn’t wrong. They were destined for each other. They were destined to be each other's worst enemy.

Their worst nightmare.

The music died down, a tell that this dance was over and the performers were preparing to play their next piece. Like the other couples, Darlin’ and Quinn let each other go and bowed. But before they could run to Sam, Quinn grabbed their hand. He raised their hand up to his mouth, but instead of the violent action that Darlin’ was expecting, he placed a gentle kiss on it. 

“May our eternal dance continue, and that our hunt will never end.”

Before they could comprehend what he just said, Quinn zipped away. ‘Probably to terrorize some other poor person,’ they thought bitterly. With him gone, they can finally breathe and go see Sam. They frantically turned around trying to find their mate. Once they locked onto his scent, Darlin’ ran across the room to find him. Hell, if the clothes weren’t so damn expensive, they would have shifted to find Sam.

“Hey Darlin’, you looked like you were having fun-” the southern vampire was cut off by the shifter burying themselves in his chest. He dropped the champagne glasses he was holding to wrap one arm around his waist and the other playing with their hair. Finally, Darlin’ felt the familiar and safe arms of their mate wrap around them. “Darlin’, are you ok?” Sam’s voice was dripping with concern.

Darlin’ looked up at their mate with teary eyes and with a shaky voice, they said, “I want to go home Samuel.”

(Unbeknownst to the couple, there was a pair of stray silver eyes from the dance floor, looking at the two in this intimate moment.