JAXON POV
The Shadow Lord fortress burst in flas as I crashed through its walls.
I didn’t care about tactics. I didn’t care about backup. All I cared about was making them pay for what they did to Dad.
"Where is he?" I roared, taking a Shadow Guard by the throat. Dragon fire burned in my blood, making my eyes glow orange. "Where’s the thing that killed my father?"
The guard’s face went white with fear. "P-please, I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
I threw him across the room, where he hit the stone wall with a painful crack. My dragon side was taking over, and I wasn’t fighting it. For once, I was letting the beast free.
More guards rushed in, their black tal clanking. I didn’t even shift fully. My claws lengthened, my fangs grew longer, and dragon fire poured from my hands like water.
"Co on then!" I yelled, spreading my arms wide. "All of you at once!"
They struck together, thinking numbers would save them. They were wrong.
I moved like lightning, my dragon speed making almost invisible. One guard swung his sword at my head. I ducked under it and drove my claws through his chest plate. Another tried to stab from behind. I spun around and grabbed his blade, lting it with my bare hands.
"This is for my father!" I scread, sending a blast of fire that turned three more guards to ash.
But the more I fought, the angrier I got. Dad was gone forever. Nothing I did here would bring him back. The anger was eating alive from the inside.
I burst through another wall, looking for the Shadow Lord Commander. The thing that had seized Elena. The monster that had taken Dad’s life force.
Instead, I found sothing worse.
A room full of children.
They were all young, maybe eight or nine years old. They sat in cages, their eyes glowing the sa sick yellow as the Shadow Guards. But these weren’t enemy forces. These were kids who had been turned into guns.
"No," I whispered, my dragon fire quivering. "They’re just babies."
One of the children looked up at . She had blonde hair and blue eyes that should have been innocent. Instead, they were filled with darkness.
"You killed our friends," she said in a voice too old for her face. "Now we have to kill you."
The cage doors opened by themselves. All twelve children stood up at the sa ti. They moved like puppets on strings, their little faces empty of real feeling.
My dragon side wants to fight. But my normal heart couldn’t hurt children, even if they were possessed.
"I’m not going to fight you," I said, backing away. "You’re just kids. Soone is making you do this."
"We chose this," another child said. This one was a boy with dark hair. "The Shadow Lord offered us power. He promised we’d never be weak again."
"He lied to you," I said desperately. "The Shadow Lord uses people and throws them away. You don’t have to do this."
The blonde girl tilted her head. "But we want to. It feels good to be strong."
They all started walking toward . Their small hands grew claws. Their teeth beca fangs. But they were still children underneath the darkness.
I backed against the wall, my mind racing. I couldn’t fight them. But I couldn’t let them kill either. My boys needed . Aria needed . The pack needed .
"Listen to ," I said, trying to sound calm. "I know what it’s like to want power. I know what it’s like to feel angry all the ti. But this isn’t the answer."
"You don’t know anything," the dark-haired boy growled. "You’re just another weak werewolf."
"I’m a dragon," I said simply. "And dragons protect children. Even from themselves."
I closed my eyes and did sothing I’d never tried before. Instead of using my dragon fire to kill, I used it to heal. I sent waves of warm, gentle energy toward the children.
For a mont, their yellow eyes flickered. I could see the real kids underneath the property, scared and confused.
"Help us," the blonde girl whispered, her voice becoming normal again. "We can’t stop ourselves. The Shadow Lord is in our heads."
But then the darkness crashed back over them, stronger than before.
"Nice try," said a new voice.
I spun around to see the Shadow Lord Commander walking into the room. But now I could see what Mom had warned us about. This wasn’t really the Commander anymore. Sothing old and evil was wearing his body like a costu.
"You almost broke my hold on them," the thing said with the Commander’s mouth. "Impressive. Your dragon fire has qualities I didn’t expect."
"Let the children go," I growled. "Fight instead."
"Oh, I will fight you," it said, grinning with too many teeth. "But first, let show you what happens to those who interfere with my plans."
The thing raised its hand, and all twelve children scread at once. Their bodies began to change, getting larger and more twisted. Their sweet faces stretched into sothing monstrous.
"I’ve been feeding on their life force for months," the Shadow Lord stated. "They’re almost ready to beco my perfect fighters. Children who will never question directions. Children who will kill without pity."
My dragon rage burst again, but this ti it was different. This ti it was pure, righteous anger.
"You sick monster!" I roared, dragon fire exploding around . "They’re innocent!"
"Not anymore," it laughed.
The changed children attacked all at once. I had no choice but to fight back, but I tried to use just enough force to stop them, not kill them.
It was the hardest fight of my life. Every ti I knocked one down, I saw the scared child underneath the monster. Every ti I used my claws, I wondered if I was hurting soone who could still be saved.
That’s when I realized the Shadow Lord’s real plan.
It wasn’t trying to kill . It was trying to break . It wanted to either die fighting children or live with the guilt of hurting them.
"Clever boy," the thing said, reading my face. "You understand now. But it’s too late."
The room began to shake. More Shadow Guards poured in from every direction. The children kept attacking, their moves becoming more violent and desperate.
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