Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 80

"Zack, get your head down! Those aren't survey drones!"Victor’s boots slammed into the lunar dust, sending a grey plume spiraling upward in the weak gravity. He lunged, grabbing Zack by the back of his tactical vest and hauling him behind a jagged obsidian ridge. A fraction of a second later, a beam of concentrated sonic energy shrieked over their heads. The rock hissed. Cracks spider-webbed through the stone where the sound hit."F**k! My ears!" Zack scrambled for his rifle, his gloved fingers fumbling against the trigger guard. "Those Astro-Droids are tracking our heat signatures. They’re not just shooting; they’re hunting.""Spread out! Shadow Guard, flank left!" Victor roared.He didn't wait for a response. He pushed off the ground, a single kick sending him soaring fifteen feet through the thin atmosphere. In mid-air, his skin rippled. The White Alpha burst forward, fur erupting like jagged ice. He landed on the head of a hovering droid, his claws shearing through the titanium c

"Papa, stop! You can’t breathe the void! Get back inside the airlock!"Victor didn't look back. His boots ground into the lunar dust, sending grey plumes into the airless dark. He ignored the alarms screaming from the Iron Ark’s ruptured hull. He ignored the way his lungs burned, the pressure in his chest building like a detonator. He stared up at the mass of white fire and oily black tentacles that blotted out the stars."I’m the Alpha Prime, you monster!" Victor’s voice didn't need air; it tore through the psychic link, a jagged blade of sound. He slammed his fist against his chest, the impact dull and heavy. "My blood is the source. It’s the highest frequency on that planet. You want shards? You want power? Take it from the root. Take me!"The Mother of Tides didn't move. A tentacle the size of a skyscraper hovered inches above his head, the static electricity from its skin making Victor’s white fur stand on end."Victor, no! You’re just a battery to her! She’ll drain you and then

"Open the damn hatch, Zack! The pressure's equalized! Just pull the lever!"Victor's voice cracked, a jagged sound against the hiss of the Iron Ark’s venting cooling systems. He slammed his shoulder into the reinforced titanium door. The metal was scorched, radiating a heat that bit through his shredded tactical gear. Beside him, Elodie leaned against the bulkhead. Her breath came in shallow, rattling hitches. Her fingers, slick with dark lunar dust and dried blood, clawed at the rivet lines of the wall."I’m trying! The hydraulics are jammed with slag!" Zack yelled back. He kicked the manual release, his heavy boot clanging against the iron. "Give me a second! Ahh! My ribs..."With a scream of protesting metal, the hatch groaned open. A blast of thick, humid Earth air rushed into the sterile, ozone-heavy cabin. It tasted like rain, pine needles, and wet dirt. It was too heavy. Too real.Victor stepped onto the ramp. His legs buckled. Gravity here was a cruel joke after the moon’s lig

"Push that plate, El! The locking pin is jammed with slag!"Victor’s claws scraped against the ancient titanium casing of the console. Sparks hissed, biting into the white fur of his forearms. He didn't have fingers for fine work anymore. His massive, digitigrade legs braced against the cracked observatory floor, the marble shattering under the sheer pressure of his weight. Every breath was a low, rattling growl that vibrated through the domed room."I’m trying! Ahh! The feedback... it’s burning!"Elodie’s psychic voice hit his brain like a shard of glass. She shoved her shoulder against the auxiliary power lever, her silver fur matted with sweat and grease. Her runes flared a blinding, rhythmic violet, fighting the dampening field left behind by the High Humans. Outside the jagged hole in the observatory roof, the moon sat bloated and still. It was a cold, permanent eye watching the world bleed."Forget the lever! Bite through the primary coupling!" Victor roared through the link. He

Hold my hand or we both die as beasts."Malakai’s voice was a jagged rasp, barely pushing past his raw, human throat. He slumped against the jagged obsidian pillar of the observatory, his skin so pale it looked translucent under the dead sky. He reached out. His fingers were shaking."Malakai, you’re bleeding. Your eyes—they’re leaking black." Elodie scrambled toward him on all fours, her silver fur shedding in thick, wet clumps. Her bones were audible, snapping and grinding as she forced the transition."Just grab it! I can't hold the frequency alone!" Malakai's head snapped back. His jaw creaked. A black fluid, thick as tar, seeped from his tear ducts.Victor lunged forward, his massive white paws shrinking into calloused, human hands mid-air. He hit the marble floor hard. Bare skin slapped against cold stone. He didn't flinch. He grabbed Malakai’s right hand while Elodie seized the left.The scream that tore out of Malakai wasn't human. It was the sound of metal shearing."Don't le