Nothing.
Try as he might, he couldn’t make his jaw clamp down. Couldn’t close the rows of sharp teeth around his prey. Saliva dripped from his open mouth to his chin. His entire being vibrated with tension, fighting an unseen force that prevented his body from obeying his mind.
A furious, frustrated growl emanated from his chest through his throat. He tilted his head and tried again, biting down hard.
But his jaw wouldn’t close around the Hunter’s neck. Blood trickled from the puncture wounds he created, but he couldn’t grab hold of the male’s jugular to tear it out.
The fuck!
Even worse, involuntarily, he lapped at the blood that leaked fresh and hot from the puncture wounds, and the fragrant aroma of it, mixed with the male’s forest scent, assaulted his nostrils.
The smell and taste of the male nigh overwhelmed him, infiltrating his senses like a marauding army, making him freeze entirely.
His half-crazed mind rang with words he didn’t want to admit or comprehend. They confused him utterly. Threatened to tear him in half. Between the part of him that demanded justice and revenge, and the part of him that clamored:
Mine.
Finally, the agony of his wounds overpowered the adrenaline of the fight. Exhausted, confused and frustrated beyond measure, Sin collapsed on top of the Dark Hunter in a boneless heap.
Maybe his weight would crush all the air out of the fucker and suffocate him, was Sin’s last coherent thought before oblivion took him.
Much later, it was the chilly night breeze that awoke Sin.
Before he opened his eyes, he took a mental survey of his too many wounds. Good thing he healed at twice the rate of a Beast’s already accelerated healing, thanks to the powerful combination of his lion sire and tiger mother.
His fractured ribs were still tender and sore, but the bones had already mended. A new layer of skin covered his exposed wounds, even though the deep gashes in his hide and flesh hadn’t fully closed. He’d stopped bleeding at least. Now, what he needed was food and water to fuel his body, so that he could heal even faster and regain his strength.
He raised his head to test the air, inhaling deeply and twitching his whiskers. Surprisingly, he couldn’t detect any pursuers or threat nearby.
Did the Dark Queen assume that the fall from the mountain cliff had killed them? Or at least broken them?
She should know, being Immortal herself, that a tumble down a mountain wouldn’t be guaranteed to kill creatures as strong as they, especially since there were plenty of obstructions to slow or break their fall.
Perhaps she simply didn’t care, her public demonstration having been fulfilled. Why bother with a feral Beast with no pride of his own and a lowly Dark Hunter? Especially one with the mark of a traitor.
Aye, Sin noticed the tattoo over the claw marks he’d left in the Hunter’s face.
Now that his mind was somewhat clearer, given that the pain of his wounds had receded to a manageable throb, he wondered whether it was the sight of the tattoo that stopped him from killing the Hunter.
What had he done to warrant such a brand? And if he had betrayed the Dark rule, why was he doling out the Dark Queen Ashlu’s punishment against Sin?
For the first time in two decades, Sin’s rusty mind worked over thoughts beyond just revenge, hate, and a singular determination tokill. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill the fucker in the end, but for now, he’d hold off until he had some answers.
Thus decided, he slowly stretched to his paws and stood over the Hunter’s prone body, his limbs bracketing the male like the bars of a cage.
As he looked down upon his prey, his heart gave a sudden kick against his breastbone, and his pulse started to race. Something inside of him purred with satisfaction, and he felt as if he’d done this before, crouching over the other male’s body, imprisoning him.
It seemed so natural, like pieces of a broken tablet that found each other and fit together again.
Sin shook his head and chuffed a low growl, feeling extremely annoyed with himself.
He didn’t know this man. He’d only ever encountered the Hunter on that fateful day decades ago, though his Kind knew of the Master Hunter who led the Blood Moon Queen’s squadron by reputation.
It was the male’s scent and taste that was to blame, he decided. Animal attraction, that’s all this was. It didn’t mean anything.
Granted, Sin had never felt a pull this strong with anyone else across the whole of his existence. Even his lost mate. And he’d never felt it for another male.
Whatever this was…it was primal at the most basic, primitive level. Every fiber of Sin’s being vibrated with an instinctual recognition.