Tyr released his owl form, letting the magic ripple through him as feathers melted away, leaving him in human form oncemore. His hand closed around the man's throat like a steel trap before the human could even blink.
Tyr lifted him effortlessly, slamming him against the tree with bone-jarring force. The oak's ridged bark bit into the man's spine as the impact drove every ounce of air from his lungs in a strangled wheeze.
The rifle clattered, forgotten, to the forest floor as the man's hands scrabbled desperately at Tyr's iron grip. Pure terror replaced the hunter's earlier confidence as his feet kicked uselessly in the air, finding nothing but empty space. His eyes bulged, seeing death in the cold gaze of the creature that held him immobile.
"Not so fun being stalked, is it?" Tyr's voice carried the promise of certain death. His fangs slid out like ivory daggers, razor-sharp, designed for killing. "You think you're tough? Came here to hunt shifters? Amateur." His fingers pressed deeper into the man's throat until he wheezed for breath. "You're about to learn the difference between hunter and prey."
The acrid smell of fear and urine rose around them. His fingers clawed weakly at Tyr's hand, but the fight was draining from him as primal terror took hold. This wasn't how his night was supposed to go - he'd planned to be the hunter, not the prey.
"P-please," the man choked out. "Don't... don't kill me."
"Kill you?" Tyr's voice carried the chill of centuries of predatory experience. "That would be too easy." He leaned closer, letting the man get a good look at his fangs. "No, you're going to tell me exactly who sent you here. And then we're going to have a long chat about what happens to people who threaten those under my protection."
The stench of fear and alcohol rolled off the human in waves. His boots kicked helplessly a good foot above the ground, scrabbling for purchase against the tree trunk. The Confederatepatch on his jacket caught the moonlight as he thrashed - a crude symbol that spoke volumes about his motivations.
"No one sent me… Please..." The word wheezed past Tyr's grip. "Don't..."
"Don't what?" Tyr leaned closer, letting his fangs extend. "Don't kill you? Like you were planning to kill innocent people?" His fingers flexed against the man's throat, feeling the rapid flutter of his pulse. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drain you dry right here."
The human's face had gone from red to purple, terror replacing the hatred that had driven him to stalk the clinic. His hands clawed weakly at Tyr's iron grip, but the vampire's strength rendered his struggles meaningless.
"Look at me." Tyr shook the man roughly, his supernatural strength making the human's head snap back. "Look. At. Me."
The man's terrified eyes locked with Tyr's glacial gaze. "What... what are you?"
"That doesn't matter." Tyr's voice deepened, ancient power threading through his words. "Because you won't remember me, or anything that happened after you came to the clinic tonight. Now. Who sent you?"
"N-no one. I swear, no one! It was just me, I—I thought I could?—"
"Thought you could what?" Tyr's voice turned silky with menace. "Bag yourself a shifter?"
The man's face went even paler, if that were possible, and he made a strangled sound that might have been agreement or just pure terror.
"You were in the woods. Something was chasing you in the dark." Tyr poured power into his voice, weaving the false memory into the human's mind. "You came here to do something very, very bad - and now you're being hunted."
A whimper escaped the man's throat as the terror - not entirely manufactured - took root.
"The thing that hunts you has your scent now." Tyr's words fell like ice into the man's consciousness. "It will never stop hunting you. Never give up. You can hear its breathing in the dark. Smell its musk on the wind. Sense the evil. You'll never be safe again, anywhere you go. It can find you. And when it finds you..." Tyr leaned closer, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "It will tear you apart. Slowly."
Tyr's lips pulled back in a feral grin, moonlight glinting off his extended fangs. The man's eyes widened in absolute terror as Tyr's head snapped forward with supernatural speed. His fangs hovered a hair's breadth from the human's exposed throat, close enough that the man could feel their deadly points against his racing pulse.
The scream that erupted from the would-be hunter's throat echoed through the dark forest, a primal sound of pure horror that scattered sleeping birds from nearby trees. His eyes rolled back in his head as consciousness fled, his body going limp in Tyr's grasp.
Tyr held the unconscious man pinned against the tree trunk, satisfaction curling through him at the effectiveness of his performance.
Tyr let the unconscious man slump to the forest floor, his head lolling against the oak's gnarled roots. The stench of fear and urine still hung heavy in the night air.
"Damn, brother, that was awesome." Tobi's voice carried from behind him, rich with amusement.
Tyr whirled, scowling at his twin. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Recording you." Tobi grinned and held up his cell phone, its screen still glowing. "Had to document that performance.The whole 'something hunts you in the dark' bit?" He gave an exaggerated chef's kiss. "Pure poetry."
"You were supposed to be checking the west perimeter." Tyr's voice held equal parts exasperation and affection.
"I did." Tobi tucked his phone away. "Found nothing but deer tracks and rabbit droppings. Then I heard you going all dark and broody over here, and well..." He shrugged. "Couldn't resist capturing the show."
"Delete that video."
