broke over Manhatt

use. Lightning flashed, casting long, jagged sha

twin bed, Al

violent muscle spasm ripped through his abdomen. His ski

had trigg

mutated. It was now heavy, sickeningly sweet, and laced with the intoxicating smell of fermente

ets, gasping for air. His lungs felt li

is trembling hand reaching

He had bought it hours ago from a shadowed alley in Queens.

hit him, har

. His fingers knocke

d dropped to the floor, bouncing once befor

d, his voice crack

reach it, but his arms gave out. He fell onto

g his mind apart. His body was screaming for t

is elbows to pull his dead weight forward, crawlin

ust needed a temporary

ard the master bedroom

thin sliver of yellow lig

ome back from the Hamptons

st. He pushed himself up against the heavy oak d

st and pounded w

d, his throat raw. "Bra

he sound of rustli

teps crosse

ugh the wood. It was thick with sleep and extreme irritatio

. He slid down the door, his fore

, mixing with the sweat. "My heat... it's early. I dro

d on the other s

allic click echoe

eadbolt. He had locked t

r than a physical blow. It shattered the last p

ston sme

e door was the unmistakable, cloyi

istress into their marital home, into their be

miliation of it burned aw

oke the skin. The sharp, piercing pain of his own teeth tearing into

arm. Blood trickl

eyes were wide, staring b

, his fingernails scraping against the hardwood floor. He craw

rneath the heavy wood. His fing

lled

find an alcohol wipe. He didn

ed the fabric of his sweat-soaked pants and viciously tore it aside, exposing the pale,

forcing the burning, acidic

. It felt like liquid fir

lack, and he slumped sideways ont

erile, soundproof basement

at in a leathe

pressure cuff around his bicep. The monitor

voice tight with panic. "If you don't find a compatible anchor to stabili

essure cuff off his arm. H

d over to the reinforced glass wall that

nvisible weight slamme

hands slapping against the

ering at a terrifying speed. His Enigma ins

it. The biol

he Omega was in excruciating pain. The distress signal was so strong it wa

es were entirely swallowed by the da

his pocket and hit the sp

around the Hayden penthouse," Easton ord

ched. But the Hayden building's security logs show Braydon Ha

ed in Easton's

rewed his mistress. Alston was suffering thr

ral snarl ripped fr

and slammed it directly

force of the blow. Blood dripped from Easton's spl

and. A slow, dark, terrifying

The prey was isolated, and his biology was