Luna. Chapter 131

(Kael's POV)

The rage that built inside me at Cassius's threat was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Every cell in my body was screaming for violence, for the chance to tear apart the people who had taken my family and were now using them as leverage.

But I forced myself to think strategically. Getting myself killed in a futile attack wouldn't help Lyra or Asher.

"You're making a mistake," I said quietly.

"Are we?" The King settled back on his throne, apparently confident that he'd won this confrontation. "It seems to me that we hold all the cards in this particular game."

"You hold my family. You don't hold me."

"What's the difference?" General Cassius asked. "You'll do exactly what we tell you to do, or they die."

"I'll do exactly what you tell me to do, and you'll still kill them eventually. That's how this works, isn't it? You get my cooperation for a while, use me to legitimize your actions, and then eliminate all the witnesses when you don't need them anymore."

The King's expression didn't change, but I caught the slight flicker in his eyes that told me I'd guessed correctly.

"Your cynicism is noted, Alpha Blackwood."

"My realism is what's keeping this conversation civil." I took a step closer to the throne, ignoring General Cassius's threatening posture. "You want to know what I think? I think you're terrified."

"Of a three-year-old?"

"Of what he represents. Change. Evolution. The possibility that the old ways of doing things aren't going to work anymore." I let my voice carry across the vast room. "You've spent centuries maintaining power through fear and control, and now there's a child who might grow up to be stronger than you."

"Power must be regulated—"

"Power must be earned. And you're afraid that when Asher grows up, he'll realize that your authority is based on nothing more than age and political maneuvering."

General Cassius moved to intercept me, but the King waved him back.

"Continue, Alpha Blackwood. This is... illuminating."

"You talk about supernatural survival, about protecting the community from human discovery. But what you really want is to maintain your position at the top of the hierarchy. Asher threatens that, so you want him neutralized."

"The boy's power levels are unprecedented—"

"And that scares you because it means the game is changing. It means that raw political authority might not be enough anymore. It means you might have to actually earn the loyalty of your subjects instead of demanding it."

The King studied me for a long moment, his ancient eyes unreadable.

"You think I'm motivated by petty concerns about maintaining power."

"I think you're motivated by the same thing that motivates most people in positions of absolute authority. The fear of losing it."

"And what would you do, in my position? How would you handle a child whose emotional tantrums can level buildings?"

"I'd help him learn control. I'd surround him with people who love him and want him to succeed. I'd treat him like a person instead of a weapon or a threat."

"And if he chose to use his abilities destructively? If he decided that werewolf society wasn't to his liking?"

"Then I'd deal with that situation when it actually happened instead of punishing him for crimes he might commit in twenty years."

General Cassius laughed harshly. "Idealistic nonsense. Power corrupts, Alpha Blackwood. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Your son is going to have more power than anyone in recorded supernatural history."

"My son is three years old. He's more concerned with toy cars than world domination."

"Today. What about tomorrow? What about when he's fourteen and discovers that he can have anything he wants simply by willing it into existence?"

"Then we'll teach him why he shouldn't want everything he can have."

"And if you fail? If your parenting proves insufficient to contain god-like abilities?"

"Then we'll figure out what comes next. Together. As a family."

"Together," the King repeated thoughtfully. "An interesting concept. But ultimately naive."

"Why? Because it doesn't involve threats and imprisonment?"

"Because it assumes that love and good intentions are sufficient to control unlimited power."

I thought about Asher, about his gentle nature and his infectious laughter. About the way he worried when other children were hurt, about how he tried to share his toys with everyone he met.

"Love and good intentions are what make power worth having in the first place."

"Pretty words. But insufficient for the magnitude of this situation."

"Then what would you suggest? Lock him in a cell for the next twenty years? Suppress his abilities with drugs and magical restraints? Turn him into a prisoner of his own nature?"

"If necessary, yes."

The casual way he said it, the complete lack of emotion or regret in his voice, told me everything I needed to know about the kind of man I was dealing with.

"You're monsters."

"We're pragmatists."

"You're cowards. You're so afraid of change, so terrified of losing control, that you'd destroy a child to maintain the status quo."

General Cassius stepped forward again, his patience finally exhausted. "Enough philosophy. Alpha Blackwood, you have a choice to make. Cooperate with us, help us manage your son's abilities in a way that protects supernatural security, and everyone lives. Refuse, and face the consequences."

"What consequences, specifically?"

"Your wife and son die. Your packs are dissolved and their members scattered. You spend whatever time you have left watching everything you've ever cared about be systematically destroyed."

"And you think that will ensure my cooperation?"

"I think it will ensure your compliance."

I looked at the two men who held ultimate authority over the supernatural community, who commanded resources and loyalty that I could never match. They were offering me a choice between submission and annihilation.

But they'd made the same mistake that everyone seemed to make when dealing with me. They assumed I would choose based on fear instead of principle.

"General Cassius," I said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Go to hell."

The words hung in the air for a moment, their implications crystal clear. I had just openly defied royal authority in the throne room of the Alpha King.

General Cassius's hand moved to his weapon, but the King held up a restraining gesture.

"Alpha Blackwood," he said calmly, "I'm going to give you one more chance to reconsider that response."

"Don't bother. My answer isn't going to change."

"Even if it means the death of your family?"

"Especially because it means the death of my family. You're going to kill them anyway, once you don't need them as leverage anymore. The only question is whether I die with my dignity intact or spend my last few weeks groveling for mercy you have no intention of giving."

"You're making a grave mistake."

"I'm making the right choice. Finally."