HAYES
I needed to prove to my beast that a forced mark did not dictate my choices, that the Graham name wasn't something a Riverstone omega could just bend to her will with a single strike of her teeth.
But the moment the room went fully quiet, the air felt like it was stripped of oxygen.
A sharp, violent spasm ripped straight through my chest. It wasn't a gradual build or a rising temperature.
The crescent bite on the left side of my neck flared with a sudden, white-hot heat that felt like molten lead pouring directly down into my collarbone, locking her presence into my very system. My lungs completely clamped shut. The oxygen in my throat turned to ash, and the room tilted violently.
My knees hit the rug hard. I barely managed to catch my weight against the edge of the heavy mahog
