[WARNING GORE]
Jason's lips parted, but no words came. His throat worked around a breath he couldn't quite control, and for a moment, something flickered in his expression, not fear, not yet, but the beginning of it. Confusion. Disorientation. The realization that something invisible was wrapping around his lungs, pressing, curling inside his skull like smoke.
But still, he tried.
Jason straightened, shoulders rigid against the pull, jaw clenched. "You think this scares me?" he managed, forcing the words out like gravel. "I've stood in front of alphas before."
Trevor tilted his head, calm and cold. "Not like me."
The weight of his pheromones shifted, infiltrating the air he breathed, sharp and clean, like glass sliding under skin.
