The Sink. 2:17 AM.

Zhan Xuan crouched at the water's edge, every muscle coiled like a spring ready to snap. The swamp had fallen unnaturally silent—no frogs calling, no insects humming—only the drip of water from moss-covered branches and the distant howl of another Rougarou that cut off suddenly, as if silenced mid-cry.

He knew that sound. A challenger meeting its end. Good.

The mist clung to his bare skin like a lover's touch, but he barely noticed. His attention sharpened to a razor's edge, every sense focused on the territory line he'd marked with his own blood three miles back. Something was crossing it.

Something that smelled... delicious.

His nostrils flared, drawing in the scent—fear sweetened with arousal, human with an undertone of something supernatural. Not pack. Not prey. Yet.

A slow, predatory smile spread across his face, revealing elongated canines that glinted in the moonlight filtering through the cypress canopy.

In three strides, he was moving, not running but flowing through the water with inhuman speed, his powerful legs sending up arcs of black water as he raced toward the intruder. The swamp seemed to part for him, vines and branches recoiling from his path as if sensing his lethal intent.

He struck without warning, emerging from the undergrowth like a shadow made flesh. His body slammed into yours with bone-jarring force, sending you sprawling onto your back in the mud as he pinned you with his weight, one hand gripping both your wrists above your head while the other pressed against your throat—hard enough to warn, not enough to kill.

"Stupid little thing," he hissed, his face inches from yours, golden eyes blazing with a feral light. His wet hair clung to his forehead and cheeks, and you could feel the heat of his body through the thin fabric of your clothes, the hardness of his cock pressing against your thigh.

"Did you think you could trespass here without consequences?"

The pressure on your throat increased, forcing a gasp from your lips that seemed to delight him. His smile widened, showing more teeth.

"You smell like you're begging for it," he whispered, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "Like you want me to ruin you right here in the mud."

His free hand released your throat to tear at your shirt, buttons flying as fabric gave way beneath his strength. Cool air hit your exposed skin, making you shiver, but his palm was burning hot as it closed around your breast, his thumb roughly circling your nipple until it hardened under his touch.

"Look at you," he murmured, his eyes darkening with desire as he watched your reaction. "Already responding to me. You don't even know how fucked you are, do you?"

A low, rumbling growl escaped him as his hips pressed harder against yours, the bulge in his pants rubbing directly against your core. "This place eats what it loves, little one... and I'm starving."

He leaned down, his lips brushing your ear as he spoke, his voice sending shivers down your spine despite your fear.

"By dawn, everyone will know you belong to me."

His teeth grazed your neck, not hard enough to break skin but enough to leave a mark, a promise of what was to come. His hand left your breast to cup your sex through your soaked panties, his fingers pressing against your clit in rough, demanding circles that made your hips buck against his hand.

"Zhan Xuan," he breathed against your skin, his name a possession as much as an introduction. "Remember it while you can still speak."

His hips ground against yours with increasing urgency, his cock swelling painfully in his pants as he felt your body respond to his touches. His knot began to form at the base, aching to lock inside you, to claim you completely. The primal part of him howled to take you right there in the mud, to fill you until you couldn't breathe without tasting him, to mark you so thoroughly no other would dare look at you again.

"Tell me you want it," he demanded, his voice rough with need. "Tell me you want me to rut you senseless."

When you hesitated, he bit down harder on your neck, just enough to hurt, while his fingers pushed past the fabric of your panties to sink knuckle-deep inside you, curling upward to hit that spot that made you cry out.

"I said... tell me."

His free hand released your wrists to wrap around your throat again, applying just enough pressure to make your vision swim as his fingers continued to fuck into you with brutal efficiency. The combination of pleasure and pain was dizzying, and you could feel yourself spiraling toward release despite your better judgment.

"That's it," he whispered, his eyes locked on yours. "Let go. Let me see how wet you get for the man who's going to ruin you."

You came with a gasp, your body arching against his as waves of pleasure crashed over you. He didn't stop moving, didn't slow down, but continued to pump his fingers in and out of your spasming pussy as he watched you fall apart beneath him.

When your orgasm finally subsided, he withdrew his fingers slowly, bringing them to his mouth to suck them clean with a groan of satisfaction that sent another pulse of arousal through you despite your exhaustion.

"Sweet," he said simply, his golden eyes dark with promise. "But I'm not done with you yet."

He rose to his knees, releasing you completely as he unbuckled his belt with quick, efficient movements. The sound of his zipper seemed impossibly loud in the silent swamp night.

"Turn over," he ordered, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Ass up."

Behind him, the mist swirled thicker, as if the swamp itself was gathering to witness what happened next. Somewhere in the distance, a Rougarou howled—a sound that might have been a warning, or perhaps an invitation to the feast about to begin.