Page 104 of His Claim
He’d slipped away in the confusion, moving toward the alleys beyond the square. He staggered, one hand holding something against his chest, his face pale with blood loss.
“Voss!” I roared.
He froze, looked back once, then turned around and ran.
Mariah snarled with barely contained rage. I met her gaze. No words were needed.
We went after him together.
The smoke swallowed him, but I could still hear his boots pounding down the street with cadence of a man running notfromfear buttowardsomething.
We tore after him through the ruins. The buildings loomed like broken teeth on either side of us. Fires licked the walls, turning everything gold and red. Ahead, Voss stumbled once, then straightened, ducking into a ruined courtyard.
Mariah reached it first. She leapt over the wreckage and landed in a crouch, fur bristling, eyes burning with fury. I followed, boots crunching on broken glass.
At the center of the courtyard, there had once been a fountain. Now it was a crater filled with debris. Voss stood at the far edge, breathing hard, his silver insignia gleaming in the firelight.In his hand, he held a small metal injector, the liquid inside glowing faint blue.
“This prototype hasn’t even been tested yet. I call this version of the rage serum The Finisher.”
“Don’t,” I warned as Mariah and I inched closer, rounding what was left of the fountain.
He smiled, lips slick with blood. “You think I’d let your mongrel army tear down everything I’ve built?”
His voice was too calm. “I made this city. I made the wolves what they are. And now, Commander Varek, I’ll show you what perfection looks like.”
He plunged the injector into his neck and slammed down the plunger.
The change hit him instantly. His back arched, bones cracking in a series of loud pops. His breath turned into a roar. Veins darkened under his skin. His eyes rolled white, then black, pupils vanishing. The skin on his hands split as claws burst through.
Mariah growled beside me.
I didn’t answer. There was nothing to say.
Voss straightened. He was taller now, broader, his muscles bulging against his uniform until the seams split and the fabric hung in tatters. The veins under his skin pulsed like streaks of blue and black lightning, crawling eerily across his body. He grinned. His teeth were wrong. There were too many. They were too sharp.
“Behold! I amevolution.” His insanity was on triumphant display. “I am the future neither of you were strong enough to become.”
He lunged.
I barely had time to react. He hit me like a battering ram, knocking me off my feet and into the wreckage of the fountain. The concrete cracked under the impact. Pain shot through my back.
I rolled, drawing my knife, and slashed upward. The blade bit into his side but barely slowed him. Blood hissed as it hit the ground, steaming like acid.
Mariah leapt, slamming into his side. Her teeth closed on his arm, but he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and hurled her across the courtyard as though she were a naughty puppy. She hit the wall hard, yelping, and crumpled.
“Mariah!” I roared.
She was already pushing herself up, blood dripping from her muzzle. She shook her head once and growled.
Voss turned toward me again, breathing heavily, his grin a jagged smear of madness. “You can’t ssssstop it, Commander Varek. Thisss is what I’ve intended aaall along—wolvezzz without weaknesssss, rrrrrage without restraint. How kind of the Watch to do the work for us.” His transformed voice and maniacal laughter sent a chill through me.
He came at me again, faster. I ducked under his arm, slamming my elbow into his kidney. It was like hitting stone. He spun and swung his claws, catching my shoulder and tearing deep through muscle and tendon. Hot blood soaked through my shirt and I letout a scream. Then I bit back the pain and drove my knee into his gut.
He staggered back, just enough for Mariah to leap again, her jaws snapping at his throat, missing but catching his face and jaw. He caught her body midair, his claws sinking into her side. Her razor-sharp teeth scored his flesh as he pulled her off. He yelled, but it was her cry of pain that tore through me like a blade.
“Get off her!” I roared, tackling him with everything I had left.
We crashed into the fountain, water and debris flying. His claws raked down my back, burning like fire. I slammed my forehead into his nose; blood sprayed. I followed with a knife strike to the ribs as hard as I could, twisting until the steel hit bone.
