Page 62 of Stalker

A maintenance worker swings a wrench at my head. I catch it in my teeth, yank it away, and headbutt him unconscious. A desk clerk tries to garrote me with computer cable. My bone spurs slice through the wire and into her hands.

"He's unstoppable!"

"Keep firing!"

More rounds impact. My healing factor works overtime, but I'm burning through energy reserves fast. My vision blurs. The lobby spins.

Then Maryse's scream echoes through our bond, and everything snaps into crystal clarity.

My roar drowns out their gunfire. My claws find flesh. My bone spurs pierce armor. They fall before me like wheat before a scythe.

Nothing will keep me from her. Not broken bones. Not an army of hotel staff. Not even death itself.

I am a Reaper. And I will reap.

Another wave of hotel staff charges. Their weapons spark off my armor, but I ignore them. Time grows short - I feel Maryse's consciousness dimming through our bond.

I close my eyes, letting muscle memory guide my claws through flesh and bone. The physical fight matters less than the mental one now.

Maryse. I reach through our connection, past the fear and pain clouding her mind. Take my strength.

Her thoughts flutter against mine like a trapped bird. Bruticus?

I'm here. Whatever he's doing, fight it. Use me.

The bond between us pulses. I pour my essence through it - my rage, my power, my unstoppable will. Her mind clutches at the offering like a lifeline.

It hurts. Her mental voice wavers. The machine... trying to make me forget...

Then remember. I send her memories of us together - her smile in the firelight, her fingers tracing my bone spurs, her laughter at my awkward attempts at human customs. Remember us.

Her consciousness steadies, drawing on my strength. The fear in our bond transmutes to determination.

That's it. Fight him.

A security guard's knife finds my ribs. I barely notice. All my focus stays on Maryse, feeding her my power through our connection.

I won't let him win, she promises. Just hurry.

Almost there. Hold on.

The bond thrums between us, growing stronger with each passing second. Where before I felt her slipping away, now her presence blazes in my mind like a star.

My body continues its dance of death through the lobby, but my spirit remains with her. Together, we will endure until I can reach her side.

CHAPTER 24

MARYSE

The collar burns against my throat, pulsing with dark energy. My skin tingles as Bruticus's strength floods through me. Our connection blazes like a supernova.

"What's happening to her?" Someone shouts.

Bone spikes tear through my flesh. The pain should be excruciating, but instead each new spur fills me with savage joy. My pale skin darkens to obsidian leather, matching Bruticus's ebony hide.

A laugh bubbles up from my chest, starting as a gasp of shock but transforming into something wild and feral. The restraints that held me to the chair snap like tissue paper.

My father's face drains of color. "No... impossible..."