Horace didn't even have time to brace.
The Prototype's strike hit him square in the chest—
a brutal, metallic blow sharp enough to split bone.
THWHACK—!!
His breath was knocked out of him.
He flew backward.
His body slammed into the medbay wall so violently the plaster cracked.
I screamed so loudly it tore my throat.
"HORACE—!!"
He crumpled to the floor.
Not moving.
Not breathing.
For a second—
for the longest second—
the world tilted sideways.
No sound.
No breath.
No heartbeat.
Just a hollow, shattering silence.
Then—
everything rushed back in at once.
Rowan let out a piercing sob.
Chandler cursed violently, dragging Rowan toward the corner and shielding his head.
Lucian screamed:
"HORACE—!!"
My body moved before my mind did.
I ran to him.
I didn't care about instincts or danger or the Prototype closing in—
my knees hit the floor so hard I scraped them through my uniform pants.
I grabbed Horace's shoulders—
still warm
still soft—
"Horace—Horace, please—PLEASE—open your eyes—"
His head lolled forward.
His hair fell into his lashes.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
He wasn't responding.
He wasn't—
"HORACE—!!"
My voice cracked.
Lucian grabbed my arm, pulling me backward.
"Elleanore—DON'T TOUCH HIM—YOUR SCENT WILL SEND HIM INTO CARDIAC COLLAPSE—!!"
"HE ALREADY COLLAPSED—!! LET GO OF ME—!!"
Lucian struggled to restrain me.
"Elleanore—STOP—LISTEN—HE'S STILL ALIVE—BUT YOU'LL KILL HIM IF YOU—"
I shoved him so hard he stumbled backward.
"I DON'T CARE—!!"
My instinct burst—
raw, cracking, ripping at my ribs like something wild and monstrous trying to break out.
The Prototype turned its cracked lens toward me.
"…Her output is destabilizing.
Prime collapse nearing threshold."
Lucian coughed harshly.
"Oh god—
Elleanore, STOP—
you're pushing toward Stage Four—!!
If you fully collapse—
your scent alone could kill EVERYONE in this room—!!"
I shook my head violently.
"No—no—NO—
I'm NOT losing him—
not him—
not when he just—
not when he—"
My voice broke into a sob.
I lowered myself onto Horace's chest.
My tears fell onto his skin.
"Horace…
please…
please don't leave me…"
His body was limp under my hands.
His pulse…
I pressed trembling fingers to his neck.
It fluttered—
so faint
so far away
like something slipping through my fingers—
but it was there.
"HORACE—!!" I screamed at him.
"COME BACK—!! YOU PROMISED—!! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE—!"
Nothing.
Not even a twitch.
My scent spiked violently.
Lucian swore and forced himself up, grabbing a defibrillator from the ground.
"Elleanore—MOVE—NOW—!!"
I didn't.
He grabbed my shoulders.
"MOVE—!!"
"I CAN'T—!!"
My voice cracked.
Because moving felt like leaving.
Leaving felt like losing.
Losing felt like dying.
"HORACE—WAKE UP—!!"
Lucian pushed me backward and slammed the paddles onto Horace's chest.
"CLEAR—!!"
THUMP—!!
Horace's body jerked.
Monitors crackled.
Nothing.
Lucian cursed.
"Charging again—!!"
Rowan's sobs tore through the room.
"Chandler—it's killing him—he's dying—he's—"
Chandler kissed Rowan's trembling forehead over and over.
"I know—I know—I'm sorry—I know—
Don't look—Rowan—DON'T—
please—
don't look—"
Rowan shook, choking on breath.
"Make it stop—Chandler—make it stop—make it stop—PLEASE—!!"
"I'm here—I'm not leaving you—just hold onto me—"
But the Prototype took a heavy step forward.
TANG—
Lucian froze over Horace's body.
The Prototype's voice glitched coldly.
"…Elleanore will follow if he is removed."
My blood turned to ice.
Lucian grabbed a fallen metal tray, holding it like a shield.
"If you go ANY closer to them—
I SWEAR—
I will rip you apart with my bare hands—!!"
The Prototype ignored him.
It looked directly at me.
"…Come.
He cannot protect you now."
Something snapped inside me.
Not scent surge.
Not instinct collapse.
A deeper, darker instinct.
The kind that only lit up when someone touched what was mine.
I stood.
Slowly.
My body shaking, my vision blurry with tears, my breath unsteady—
but I stood between Horace and the Prototype.
"Elleanore—NO—!!" Lucian shouted.
Chandler yelled:
"ELLIE—DON'T—STOP—!!"
Rowan sobbed harder.
But I stepped forward.
The Prototype's head tilted, analyzing.
"…You stand alone."
"No."
My voice was raw and trembling.
"I stand with him."
The Prototype's claws flexed.
"…He is dying."
My chest cracked.
"THEN SO AM I."
Lucian froze.
Horace—
even unconscious—
twitched faintly at my words.
The Prototype's lens flared bright red.
"…Prime instability.
Her collapse is near."
Lucian staggered up beside me, face pale and bleeding.
"Elleanore—listen—
if you spike—
if you collapse—
you will take Horace with you.
You'll kill him—
your bond will tear his instincts apart."
I shook my head.
"No.
It won't."
"Elleanore—!!"
"BECAUSE HE WILL WAKE FOR ME."
"That's not how biology works—!!" Lucian snapped.
"He ALWAYS wakes for me!" I screamed back.
"Because he chooses me—
because he PROTECTS me—
because he—"
My voice cracked.
I pressed my hand to my heart.
"He loves me."
Everything stopped.
Rowan's sob quieted for a heartbeat.
Chandler stared at me, eyes wide.
Lucian froze mid-breath.
Even the Prototype tilted its head.
"…love…?"
Horace's fingers twitched.
Just barely.
I stepped toward the Prototype.
"You don't get to touch him.
You don't get to say his name.
You don't get to decide ANYTHING about me."
The Prototype's claws dragged across the floor.
"…Elleanore.
Your bond is detrimental to your origin."
"MY ORIGIN," I whispered,
"is MINE to choose."
The Prototype lifted its arm—
but Lucian suddenly shouted:
"Elleanore—
STOP—
I HAVE TO TELL YOU—
THE TRUTH—!!"
I turned sharply.
"WHAT TRUTH—?!"
Lucian's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.
His eyes trembled.
He swallowed hard—painfully hard—
then forced out the words he'd been hiding since the beginning.
"Elleanore—
the Prototype—
was built using your family's genetic blueprint."
My heart stopped.
Lucian continued, voice breaking:
"It reacts to your bloodline—
because it was modeled after it."
My stomach dropped.
"And Elliot—"
My breath froze.
Lucian choked—
"Elliot—
…he wasn't taken because he resembled you."
Everything inside me twisted.
"He was taken—
because he carried the SAME imprint."
The Prototype's lens glowed.
"…blood of origin."
Lucian whispered:
"Elleanore—
the Prototype was the FIRST attempt."
I stared at him.
Unable to breathe.
"Meaning…?"
Lucian's eyes filled with something like grief.
"Elleanore—
the Prototype—
is related to you."
My vision blurred.
My knees shook.
Rowan sobbed into Chandler's chest, trembling.
"What—does that—mean—??"
Chandler held him tighter, whispering:
"Don't listen—don't think about it—stay with me—"
But there was no escaping it.
Lucian's voice trembled.
"It means—
the Prototype isn't just hunting you."
He took a painful breath.
"It's RETURNING to you."
The Prototype's voice glitched loud and sharp:
"…Blood of origin…
Elleanore…
come home."
And then—
before I could scream—
before I could run—
before I could even reach for Horace—
the Prototype lunged again.
Straight at me.
Prime Shatter
The Prototype lunged—
a blur of metal
sharp angles
crackling power
and bloodline instinct screaming for me.
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
Lucian shouted something—
Chandler yelled my name—
Rowan screamed—
but the world crashed into a tunnel.
The Prototype's claws sliced through the air—
and I felt it coming closer, closer—
so close its distorted breath grazed my cheek.
Then—
HORACE MOVED.
He didn't walk.
He didn't run.
He threw himself between us—
broken body and all—
catching the full brunt of the Prototype's strike.
CRAAACK—!!
The sound was sickening—
like bone splitting under metal.
Horace folded forward—
blood trailing from his mouth—
and collapsed toward me.
I caught him before he hit the ground.
"HORACE—!! HORACE—NO—NO—WAKE UP—!!"
His chest wasn't rising.
His eyes weren't opening.
His pulse—
I pressed trembling fingers to his neck.
Nothing.
My heart split open.
He wasn't breathing.
"NO—NO—NO—HORACE—PLEASE—!!"
Lucian grabbed the defibrillator again.
"Elleanore—MOVE—!! NOW—!!"
"I WON'T—!! HE CAN'T—HE CAN'T—!!"
"Elleanore—MOVE—OR YOU'LL KILL HIM—!!"
Chandler shouted:
"ELLEANORE—GET BACK, HE'S NOT LYING—!!"
Rowan sobbed over Chandler's shoulder:
"Horace—please—Horace—wake up—please—please—!!"
My body felt numb and burning at the same time.
Lucian shoved me aside and slammed the paddles to Horace's chest.
"CLEAR—!!"
THUMP—!!
Horace didn't move.
The Prototype reared back to strike again.
"NO—!!" I screamed.
Chandler threw a broken metal cart into its path—
it barely slowed it.
Rowan wailed, trembling so violently he fell to his knees.
Chandler dove to catch him, shielding him with his entire body.
"Baby—hey—hey—breathe—breathe—don't shut down—come on—"
Rowan gasped through sobs.
"Chandler—it's going to kill her—Horace—everyone—!!"
"I'm here," Chandler whispered fiercely.
"I've got you. ALL of you. I'll fight if I have to—just don't look—don't listen—"
Lucian yelled:
"AGAIN—CLEAR—!!"
THUMP—!!
Horace's body jerked violently.
Still nothing.
My vision blurred.
He was gone.
He was slipping.
He was—
"Horace…"
My voice cracked.
"Please don't leave me…"
The Prototype straightened—
towering
cold
inevitable.
Its lens flickered blood-red.
"…Elleanore.
Your stabilizer is failing.
You are collapsing."
I couldn't hear anything properly.
The room tilted.
My scent burst outward—
wild
painful
out of control—
Lucian's eyes widened.
"ELLEANORE—STOP—YOU'RE GOING CRITICAL—!!"
I couldn't.
My body shook violently.
The air around me warped.
Rowan screamed in Chandler's arms:
"Chandler—her scent—Chandler—it's burning—!!"
Chandler shielded him tighter.
"DON'T LOOK—Rowan—DON'T—LOOK AT ME—!"
Lucian shouted:
"ELLEANORE—
IF YOU REACH STAGE FOUR—
YOU'LL KILL HORACE YOURSELF—
STOP—!!"
I clutched Horace's hand, sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.
"I CAN'T—
I CAN'T LOS—"
The Prototype's voice cut through everything:
"…I will complete you."
My scent detonated.
The air cracked.
Lucian threw himself toward me—
"NO—ELLEANORE—!!"
But it was too late.
Instinct ripped through me like fire.
Not desire.
Not rage.
Not grief.
Collapse.
My knees hit the floor.
My breath stopped.
My pulse stuttered.
The world twisted like it was bending in upon itself.
The Prototype stepped toward me—
"…Your bond is shattered.
Come home."
"No…"
My voice was thin.
Weak.
I felt Horace's hand slipping from mine.
Fading.
Vanishing.
"No—no—NO—HORACE—PLEASE—"
Lucian yelled:
"I CAN'T STABILIZE HER—SHE'S COLLAPSING—!!"
Rowan screamed:
"STOP—STOP—STOP—PLEASE—!!"
Chandler held him—
"BABY—BREATHE—PLEASE—DON'T FAINT—!!"
The Prototype knelt in front of me.
Claws extended.
"…Without the stabilizer…
you belong to me."
My vision blackened.
My body gave out.
I felt myself falling forward.
Everything went cold—
until suddenly—
a hand caught my wrist.
Burning hot.
Alive.
Shaking.
HORACE'S HAND.
My eyes flew open.
He was—
NO—
He wasn't breathing.
But he was MOVING.
Barely.
Barely.
He dragged my wrist toward him—
with the last flicker of strength in his body—
and whispered the weakest sound I'd ever heard:
"…don't… go…"
My instincts snapped back in place—
a violent, explosive correction.
The collapse stopped.
Just barely.
Lucian gasped:
"SHE'S HALTING THE COLLAPSE—KEEP HOLDING HIM—!!"
Rowan sobbed in Chandler's chest.
Chandler whispered through trembling breath:
"She's fighting—
Rowan—she's fighting—
look—look—she's still here—"
The Prototype's lens flickered.
"…Impossible."
Horace's fingers tightened on my wrist—
a faint movement
but a movement—
And my name broke from his lips like a dying breath:
"…Elleanore…"
My tears hit his cheek.
"I'm here—I'm right here—I won't leave—I WON'T—!"
Horace's voice cracked—
barely audible—
but strong enough to cut through death itself:
"…I told you…
don't break…
without me…"
Then his hand dropped.
His pulse vanished.
The monitor flatlined.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP—
I screamed.
Lucian moved in.
Chandler yelled for help.
Rowan sobbed so violently he nearly passed out.
The Prototype leaned over me—
"…He is gone.
You are mine."
And then—
for the first time—
my instincts didn't collapse.
They didn't burst.
They transformed.
Something vast and primal tore open inside me.
I lifted my head—
eyes burning—
voice no longer trembling—
instinct fully awakened—
And I said:
"No."
The Prototype froze.
I rose slowly—
holding Horace's limp hand—
scent shifting from collapse to something else entirely.
Lucian whispered:
"…Her evolution—
oh my god—
she's passing the threshold—
without dying—!!"
Chandler held Rowan as Rowan shook and stared in awe.
The Prototype stepped back—
for the first time.
"…What are you…?"
My scent spilled outward—
bright
lethal
beautiful
uncontrollable
and entirely mine.
"I am not yours," I said.
"And I am not broken."
The Prototype reeled.
Horace's name trembled on my lips.
My heart screamed for him.
But my voice was steady:
"I will save him.
With or without you."
The Prototype hissed static.
"…Phase Three initiated."
I stood between it—
and Horace's lifeless body—
my instincts blazing.
My evolution ignited.
My fear gone.
And whispered:
"Come and try."