Luca's POV
The attack comes three days later.
I'm in the studio when the howls start—warning, danger, invasion.
Rian appears instantly, eyes amber. "Kaine's here. Stay close to me."
"I'm ready." I grab the silver blade he taught me to use. "Let's go."
Outside is chaos. Wolves everywhere—Kaine's pack attacking, our pack defending. The sounds are horrific—snarling, screaming, dying.
Rian shifts, his massive black wolf powerful and deadly. He stays close, protecting me while fighting off attackers.
I see him then—Kaine. Larger than Rian, scarred, vicious. His red eyes lock onto me.
There's the prize, his expression says.
He charges.
Rian intercepts, and they collide with devastating force. The fight is brutal—teeth and claws and blood.
"Rian!" I scream as Kaine's claws rake across his side.
Through the bond, I feel his pain. And his fear—not for himself. For me.
A wolf breaks through, lunging for me. I don't freeze. Training kicks in. I dodge, slash with the silver blade, and the wolf yelps.
"Good, baby," Rian's thought echoes through our bond. "Stay alive. For me."
Kaine speaks, his voice human despite his wolf form. "Your new mate fights. How cute. He'll still die screaming."
"Over my dead body," Rian snarls back.
"That can be arranged."
They clash again. This time, Kaine goes for the kill. His jaws close around Rian's throat—
"NO!" Power explodes from me.
Actual power. Silver light bursts from my hands, throwing Kaine backward.
Everyone freezes. What the hell was that?
"Impossible," Kaine breathes. "Human mates don't have power—"
"This one does," I growl. The power still tingles under my skin—my grandmother's magic, awakened by desperation.
Rian shifts to human form, bleeding but alive. "Luca?"
"I don't know what that was. But—" I look at my hands, still glowing faintly. "I can do it again."
Kaine laughs. "Interesting. A magic-user mate. This changes things."
He signals his pack. They retreat, melting into the forest.
"This isn't over, Blackwood," Kaine calls. "I'll be back. And next time, I'll take your mate's magic AND his life."
Then he's gone.
The silence is deafening.
Rian's beside me instantly, checking for injuries. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. You're bleeding—"
"I'm fine." He pulls me close, trembling. "You have magic. You have fucking MAGIC."
"Apparently." I'm shaking too. "My grandmother had power. I thought it skipped me—"
"The bond must have awakened it." He kisses me frantically. "You saved me. You saved all of us."
"We saved each other." I cup his face. "Together. Like we promised."
That night, after tending wounds and securing defenses, we collapse in our room.
"That was close," I whisper.
"Too close." He holds me tighter. "But we survived. You were incredible."
"We were incredible." I kiss his shoulder. "Now rest. We'll need our strength."
"For round two."
"For victory."