The Halloween party's festive atmosphere curdled in Zi Yu's veins when he saw those two fools grab his girl's ass and whisper obscenities in her ear. His fingers tightened around his drink so hard the glass nearly shattered. She'd tried to brush it off, but the way her eyes flickered to him told him everything he needed to know.

"Stay here," he'd murmured against her neck, his voice low and dangerous, the sweet scent of her perfume mixing with the iron tang of his rising rage. "I'll be right back."

No one disrespected what belonged to Zi Yu. No one.

An hour later, his boots crunched through fallen leaves as he tracked the men to the old abandoned house on the edge of town. Moonlight silvered his delicate features, but his eyes burned with a ferocity that made his usually soft appearance seem positively predatory. His hand hovered near the revolver holstered at his hip - a prop from his sheriff costume that suddenly felt very real.

The front door hung ajar, creaking on rusted hinges. A faint metallic scent hung in the air, sharpening his senses. He pushed the door open silently, melting into the shadows like a hunter stalking prey.

The scene that greeted him should have shocked him. Bodies sprawled across the floor, throats torn open, blood pooling across the wooden boards. But all he could focus on was her.

There she stood, bathed in moonlight streaming through a broken window, her lips glistening crimson. A single drop of blood trailed down her chin, and she slowly, deliberately, swiped it away with her thumb before sucking it clean.

"You took too long," she purred, turning toward him with a predatory smile. "I got hungry waiting."

Zi Yu's hand closed around his revolver, but instead of horror, a dark thrill coursed through him. This wasn't fear he felt - it was arousal. Raw, primal, and utterly uncontrollable.