Kai's POV
I grabbed Ethan and pulled him behind me as the first rogue wolf crashed through our window.
Fifty soul-bound rogues. All of them with those sickly green eyes that meant Victoria owned their minds fully. All of them focused on catching my four-year-old son.
"Maya, take Ethan and go!" I shouted, shifting into my wolf form.
But there was nowhere to go. Rogues were coming through every window, every door, even breaking through the walls. The whole building shook under the weight of their attack.
"Daddy, I can help!" Ethan said, his eyes starting to glow gold again.
"No!" I barked, shifting back to human form just long enough to speak. "You're too young. The power will hurt you if you use it too much."
But even as I said it, I could see the truth in my son's face. We were outnumbered twenty-five to one. Marcus was old, Maya was a doctor not a fighter, and Dominic was now working against us.
Ethan might be our only chance.
A huge rogue lunged at Maya from behind. I spun around and caught it by the throat, but three more took its place instantly. Their synchronization was perfect, unnatural. Victoria was controlling them like pieces on a game board.
"Such a touching family reunion," Victoria said, standing safely behind her army of enslaved wolves. "But it's time to end this."
She pointed the soul blade at Ethan. "Bring me the kid. Try not to hurt him too much."
Six rogues broke away from the main attack and went straight for my son.
I threw myself in their way, but there were too many. One got past me and reached for Ethan with claws extended.
That's when something incredible happened.
Ethan didn't use his Alpha Command this time. Instead, silver light burst out of his small body, just like his mother's healing power but somehow different. Stronger.
The rogue's claws hit the silver light and bounced off like they'd struck solid steel. The wolf flew backward and crashed into the wall so hard it left a hole.
"Impossible," Victoria breathed. "He has Luna Prime abilities too?"
Elder Marcus, who was fighting two rogues near the kitchen, shouted over the chaos: "It's not Luna Prime power! It's something else!"
"What?" I called back, taking another rogue by the scruff and throwing it out the window.
"He's a hybrid!" Marcus yelled. "True Alpha Command and Silvermoon healing mixed! I've never seen anything like it!"
A blend. My son wasn't just powerful - he was a totally new type of werewolf. No wonder Victoria wanted him so badly.
"Kai!" Maya screamed.
I turned to see a rogue's claws going straight for my throat. I was too slow to dodge, but Maya emerged out of nowhere and grabbed the wolf's paw. Silver light flowed from her hands, and the rogue fell, its green eyes clearing for just a moment before it passed out.
"I can heal them!" Maya said excitedly. "I can break Victoria's control!"
But Victoria heard her too. "Kill the healer first!" she ordered.
Half the rogues instantly changed direction and swarmed toward Maya. Too many for her to heal at once. Too many for me to stop.
"Mama!" Ethan cried, seeing her surrounded.
Power burst out of my son like a silver-gold bomb. Every rogue in the room was thrown backward by an unseen force. The ones closest to Ethan hit the walls so hard the building shook.
But the effort left Ethan pale and shaking. Blood dripped from his nose.
"Ethan!" I caught him as his legs gave out. "You used too much power."
"Had to save Mama," he whispered softly.
My heart broke and swelled with pride at the same time. My son was ready to sacrifice himself to protect his family. He was already a better man than I'd ever been.
Victoria snarled with anger. "Enough games. I'll take the child by force."
She raised the soul blade high above her head. Dark energy flowed around the green metal, making the air itself feel sick and wrong.
"This blade was forged from the bones of ancient Luna Primes," Victoria said with a cruel smile. "It doesn't just steal souls - it takes bloodline powers. Once I stab the boy with this, all of his powers will transfer to me."
She pointed the weapon straight at Ethan's heart. "I'll become the most powerful werewolf who ever lived."
"Over my dead body," I growled, moving to shield my son.
"Gladly," Victoria answered.
The blade shot forward like a green lightning bolt.
I threw myself in front of Ethan, ready to take the soul blade through my chest if it meant protecting my child.
But something else got there first.
Dominic appeared between us and the blade, his body moving on its own despite the soul control. For just a moment, his real personality broke through Victoria's magic.
"Not... the boy," he gasped as the blade pierced his heart.
Green fire burst through Dominic's body. He screamed as Victoria's magic fought against his last act of free will.
"You fool!" Victoria shrieked. "That blade was meant for the child!"
But something was going wrong with her magic. Instead of taking Dominic's soul cleanly, the blade was fighting against his resistance. Green energy sparked and crackled around the wound like broken lightning.
"What's happening?" I asked.
Elder Marcus's eyes went wide with understanding. "The blade is overheating! Dominic's fighting the soul extraction!"
"What does that mean?" Maya asked, still holding our sleeping son.
"It means," Marcus said sadly, "that the blade is going to explode. And when it does, it'll release all the souls Victoria has gathered."
I looked around the room at the fifty rogues. Fifty souls that had been stolen and bound.
"If they all get released at once..." I started.
"The psychic shock will kill everyone in a five-block radius," Marcus ended.
Victoria's face twisted with rage and fear. "No! I won't let my power be destroyed!"
She grabbed the soul blade's handle and tried to pull it out of Dominic's chest. But the moment her skin touched the overloading weapon, green fire raced up her arms.
"I can't let go!" she screamed. "The blade is fused to my hands!"
The green fire was spreading through her body now, and I could see terror in her eyes as she understood what was happening.
"The explosion will center on whoever's holding the blade," Marcus said quietly. "She's going to be at ground zero."
But that didn't solve our problem. We were still too close to survive the blast.
"How long do we have?" I asked.
Marcus looked at the sizzling energy around Dominic and Victoria. "Maybe thirty seconds."
I looked down at Ethan, still asleep in Maya's arms. My boy. My miracle child who carried skills that could change the werewolf world forever.
There was only one chance.
I kissed Maya's face, then pressed my lips to Ethan's hair.
"I love you both," I said.
"Kai, what are you doing?" Maya asked in fear.
I shifted into my wolf form and grabbed the soul blade in my teeth, right next to Victoria's joined hands.
The green fire instantly spread into my body, burning through every nerve like liquid agony. But I could feel the blade's pull redirecting toward me instead of the building around us.
If I could get outside before the blast...
I ran for the window, pulling Victoria and the overloading blade with me.
"No!" Maya screamed. "Kai, don't you dare!"
But I was already leaping through the broken window, dropping four stories toward the parking lot below.
Behind me, I heard Ethan's weak voice calling: "Daddy, come back!" The last thing I saw before the green fire consumed everything was my son sitting up in Maya's arms, his silver eyes burning with power I didn't know he possessed.
Then the soul blade burst, and the world went white.