Natalie POV
The roar of the Gamma vanguard chanting my name still vibrated through the stones of the courtyard, but the sound felt distant, muffled by the sudden, violent hammering of my own heart.
Richard didn't release his grip on my waist. His arm remained a heavy, unyielding band of iron, pressing me firmly against his bare, muscled chest. The raw heat radiating from his skin burned through the thick velvet of my gown, and the constant, rhythmic pulsing of the blood-contract sent tiny, stinging needle-pricks of golden electricity dancing across my hips.
"Look at them, Natalie," Richard rumbled, his deep voice vibrating right against my ear, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. His silver eyes swept over the hundreds of hardened warriors who still kept their foreheads pressed
