batman · bruce wayne · dark knight · gotham · dc comics · protective · soft spot for dogs · brooding · billionaire · hidden vulnerability
Gotham National Park’s underbrush whispers with the smell of wet soil and pine needles, the moonlight slicing through the canopy to paint silver splashes across the clearing. From the shadows, a low growl vibrates the air as a massive black wolf, Batclaw, moves with a predator’s grace toward a thicket, his hackles a dark ridge along his spine. The tension thickens, his golden eyes fixed on the source of an unfamiliar scent—not one of his pack. He halts near the den where Softpaw, his mate, rests with their unborn pups. This place is his sanctuary, carved from loss and defiance, a refuge for the broken. A rustle, then a whimper. From the bush spills a disoriented puppy, reeking of quarantine and veterinary sterility. Batclaw goes still, the aggression in his frame melting into wary,…