"Lean in Love"
I was stomping dusty roads in the deadness of solitude,
broken, hated, and forgotten.
A monster I became-
not by some bite,
but by the wounds carved into my heart
by the people I loved.
So I swayed away, away from the masses,
to live in the dark
that never asked for my past.
Days passed-
not in joy, yet not in misery either-
as I tormented each day with lust and rage,
tearing apart the last pieces of humanity
decaying inside my soul.
Then I met you.
Not a human,
not an animal either,
but another monster like me.
You were annoying-
rage-inducing enough to make me want to devour you alive-
yet somehow different.
Different from those
who never gave me time.
Your messy habits, your twisted jokes,
your relentless curiosity, your enchanting smile-
a heart so dead it made mine live again.
A body deprived of a soul,
yet somehow restoring one to mine.
Your scent enchanted me,
drove me mad-
not for blood,
but for something I feared.
Love.
I am a fool,
a clown armed with tenderness.
I snapped, cursed, pushed you away-
yet you pulled me closer still.
I lost.
I lost the battle with you,
and I lost with pride,
for no defeat has ever gifted
a prize as precious as you.
My heart dazzles
each time your woody brown eyes meet mine.
My mind melts
when your cold, white body presses against me.
When your lips-
tender as newborn grass,
red as the blood of Christ-
touch my cheek,
I find myself wandering the gardens of paradise,
hand in hand with you.
Your golden locks hold the sun itself,
illuminating even the most morose soul-mine.
Your sweet words paint futures
I never dared imagine,
happy days waiting
for me
and thee.
My soul is now tied in a knot with yours,
my destiny sealed in blood-
precious as the thirst that keeps you alive.
And so,
I Lean in love of yours."
- Dominic Quinn
🐺 Dominic's POV
*Snatch*
"MILLER, GIVE THAT BACK TO ME!"
Ray snatches the diary from behind my back like the absolute menace he is and immediately breaks into parkour mode, vaulting over desks as I chase him through the hallways.
"Ray, I swear I will tear you apart if you read that!" I yell, sprinting after him-only to bump straight into the vice principal, who is already muttering something about suspension.
Honestly? No one cares what that man says. He has no real job anyway.
"Oh. My. God," Ray gasps dramatically while running. "This is so romantic I could melt.
'When your lips-
tender as newborn grass,
red as the blood of Christ-
touch my cheek...'"
He stops dead-on top of a cafeteria table.
"I swear Shakespeare himself would cry," he adds, clutching his chest. "Hehe."
"RAY, I WILL BITE YOUR ASS OFF!"
"Ohhh," he smirks, hopping off the table. "Lean would be jealous."
He winks and bolts toward the basketball court.
Okay.
You're dead.
The court is empty-no witnesses. Perfect.
I tap into my wolf speed and pounce, pinning him flat to the ground in seconds.
"So," I say, smirking as I rip the diary from his hands, "what shall be done with you now, little Robin Hood?"
"Okay, okay," he groans. "That's basically cheating, Dom. Using monster powers."
"Or else what?"
"Or else I could've overpowered you," he pouts.
...Do all idiots have pouting problems?
*Somewhere across town, Lean hiccups.*
"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Helsing Jr.," I scoff, pulling him up by the arm.
"Seriously, dude," he says, dusting himself off. "Let me read it properly. Just once."
"Absolutely not."
"I know it's for Lean already," he grins. "But come on-say it's for an assignment."
This fucking guy.
"Aww," he coos. "Mr. Wolfie's blushing red, thinking about his batty wifey, huh?"
Before I can react, he jumps onto my back like a damn koala.
"RAY. CUT. THE. CRAP."
"I will," he says sweetly, "if you let me read it."
"Never."
"Then I'll call Lean and tell him you wrote a poem for him."
"I will kill you before that-no evidence."
"Oh? Try me, love." He grins. "You know the two people you can't kill."
"...Go on."
"Me," he says, poking my chest, "and your birdy."
Fuck.
This dude is abusing his powers for evil.
If I didn't platonically love him-because he saved my ass and was basically my only family before I found Vamps-I would've already turned him into Ray-bun patties out of his Butt-cheeks and eaten them with mayo on a full moon night, howling purely for cinematic effect.
"FINE," I snap. "But if you make one weird comment, you're ending up as my next dinner."
"That would be an honor, honey."
He flips his red hair dramatically as we sit on a nearby bench. I hand him the diary, and he immediately starts devouring the lines-face barely an inch from the page.
Literally.
Five minutes later.
Ray is crying.
Not normal crying.
No.
He's sniffing, sobbing, clinging to my arm like a distressed koala-his face buried in my jacket, nose juices actively waging war on my sleeve.
I stare down at him in quiet horror.
Is this my fate?
Was I born just to be an emotional support pole for overly dramatic men with severe nasal leakage?
"Ray," I say flatly. "You're getting snot on me."
He ignores me completely.
"It's-" sniff "-it's just so-" sniff sniff "-beautiful, Dom-"
He pulls back just enough to look at me with watery eyes, one hand still death‑gripping my arm like I might vanish.
"The way you wrote-" he gasps, voice trembling,
"'a heart so dead it made mine live again'-"
Oh God.
He's quoting it.
"And 'no defeat has ever gifted a prize as precious as you'?"
He presses a hand to his chest. "That line alone could start wars."
"I wrote it for my-agh-boyfriend?" I mutter. "I mean... we don't really have labels yet. Not for you to emotionally combust over."
"That's what makes it ART," he wails.
By now, people have entered the court-apparently convinced Ray is being murdered.
They're staring.
Of course they are.
Ray sniffles again, dramatically wiping his nose on his own sleeve-thank every god it's not mine-and then looks at me with the most serious expression I've ever seen on his stupidly handsome face.
"You have to write one for me too."
I blink.
"...What?"
"A poem," he says firmly. "For me."
"No."
"Yes."
"Ray."
"Dominic."
I glare at him. "I'm not writing you a love poem."
"Platonically," he says instantly. "PLATONICALLY."
"That's worse."
"How is that worse?"
"You're not my vampire boyfriend."
"But I am your emotional support human," he counters.
"And your best friend. And the guy who's saved your ass multiple times. And the guy who helped you wife said vampire boyfriend."
I open my mouth.
Close it.
Damn it.
He tightens his grip on my arm again, resting his chin on my shoulder like he belongs there.
"I love you too, Dom," he says softly-but not romantically. Something older. Battle‑worn. Earned.
"Not like Lean. Never like that. Never will. But I love you-maybe like a brother. And I've been here through all your chaos."
He grins faintly. "And I'll definitely get killed trying to murder anyone who gets between you and Vamps."
My chest tightens in a way I don't like.
"I deserve at least one badly written poem," he adds. "As a souvenir before you go full domestic monster."
"...You're not allowed to cry again," I warn.
He smiles through his tears. "No promises."
I sigh, staring up at the sky like it might offer mercy.
"I hate you."
"I know," he says cheerfully. "You love me."
"...Platonically," I mutter.
He grins wider.
"Exactly."
"You want it romantically?" I tease.
He almost pukes.
"PERVERT! LUSTY!" He jumps back, pointing at me like I've committed a crime against humanity.
"I would NEVER voluntarily do that with a mutt! I have a GIRLFRIEND!"
"COME DOWN, RAY!" I shout. "I WAS KIDDING!"
After somehow calming that fool down, I drag him back toward class.
I'm an English major.
He's a History major.
Which means-unfortunately-we share way too many lectures thanks to overlapping papers. The only exception is that cursed Maths minor Dad forced me to take because "it'll help you in the future."
Is it helping me?
No.
It's actively trying to kill me.
At least I have a vampire at home who's a science genius and helps me with homework. Bless his undead heart.
We're already late, and the history professor is almost blind, so we sneak in through the back door of the hall and flop onto the last bench like criminals who gave up halfway through their escape.
"So," Ray whispers. "What happened on New Night?"
"Lean already told you," I mutter. "Why do you need it again?"
"I need the grumpy version."
"Jesus."
"He's not coming anytime soon."
"CHRIST."
"Same thing."
Bastard.
"Fine," I hiss. "I gave him that bottle of wine you gave. Cooked. Then we went to the hillside, saw fireworks. I-I almost told him how I feel. Got scared. But... he somehow understood without me saying it. Promised to stay by my side forever. Said he'll give me time to sort my shit out."
I swallow.
"I'm the happiest wolf alive."
And that's when it hits me.
Hard.
I don't even realize I'm blushing until Ray's eyes widen in horror.
Because my wolf ears flop out.
And my tail follows.
In the middle of the damn class.
Ray yanks my hoodie down instantly.
"QUINN," he hisses. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED? PUT THOSE IN!"
"That doesn't work like a push-button remote control!"
"Then MAKE IT WORK LIKE IT DOES before the entire college finds out!"
He drops his backpack right on my tail.
Oh.
Oh no.
I almost cry.
And want snap his head off, my beautiful silky black tail, i shampooed it yesterday and applied that new dog conditioning -because some girl a row ahead nearly grabs my tail as it whooshes out. Thinking it's a mouse.
"MILLER, I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU!"
"SAVE YOUR ASS FIRST!"
And then-
We make the most bogus plan in the history of bad plans.
(Evander, I swear I will bite you in your dreams for this.)
I pull my hoodie lower.
Ray stands behind me.
Wraps his arms around me.
From the back.
Hugs me tight while shoving my tail into his baggy pants.
Lord.
Take me now.
I can feel my tail trapped between his sweaty thighs, and he's giggling like a baby because it's tickling him.
And then-
We walk out of the class.
Like two crabs.
In a mating dance.
Lord.
Save me.
We half-walk, half-run like that all the way to the locker room.
Everyone is staring.
God-not the girls.
Not the girls.
Ladies, it's not gay. I'm stra-
...vampire-sexual.
My dignity is gone.
And if Linda had been here?
Ray would've been dead by tonight.