Protective Instincts

Protective Instincts
Iris POV

I couldn't breathe.
Concrete and dust pressed down on my back. My shoulder still bled from the bullet wound. Everything hurt.
"Alex?" I tried to shout, but it came out as a whisper.
"I'm here." His voice came from somewhere above me. "Don't move. The ceiling is unstable."
"Your father—"
"He's alive. Barely."
I heard voices. Shouting. People digging through the rubble.
"Hold on!" That was Ian. "We're getting you out!"
It took ten minutes that felt like hours. Finally, hands pulled me free from the debris.
I gasped for air, coughing up dust.
Alex emerged next, covered in blood and dirt. He was cradling his father in his arms.
Enzo looked bad. Really bad.
"Get him to the medical room!" Mom ordered. "Now!"
Men rushed forward with a stretcher. They took Enzo away, and Alex tried to follow.
"No." Mom blocked his path. "You need medical attention too."
"I'm fine."
"You're bleeding from your ears. That means brain damage from using too much psychic power."
"I said I'm fine!"
"Alessandro." Mom's voice got hard. "You can't help your father if you're dead. Let Elena patch you up."
Alex looked torn. Finally, he nodded.
Elena led him away, and I tried to follow.
"You too, Iris," Mom said. "That bullet wound needs proper treatment."
"But—"
"No arguments."
Dad appeared beside me. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you fixed up."
In the medical room, Elena cleaned my shoulder while Dad held my hand. The bullet had gone straight through. Lucky, Elena said. Nothing vital hit.
It didn't feel lucky.
"How many did we lose?" I asked.
Dad's face went dark. "Eight dead. Twelve wounded."
Eight people. Dead because of me.
"Don't," Dad said, reading my expression. "Don't blame yourself."
"How can I not? They came here for me."
"They came here for all of us. You didn't ask for this war."
"But I'm the reason it started."
"No. Your grandmother is the reason. The other bloodlines are the reason. You're just a kid caught in the middle."
"I'm twenty-one."
"To me, you'll always be my little girl."
His words made tears spill down my face. All the fear and pain and guilt came pouring out.
Dad held me while I cried, just like he used to when I was small. Before I knew he was my father. Before everything got so complicated.
"We'll get through this," he promised. "Together."
After Elena finished with me, I went looking for Alex. I found him in a private room, sitting beside his father's bed.
Enzo was hooked up to machines. His breathing was weak and ragged.
"How is he?" I asked quietly.
"Dying." Alex's voice was flat. Empty.
"I'm sorry."
"He knew the risks. We all did."
I sat down beside Alex. We didn't talk. Just sat there listening to the machines beep.
Finally, Enzo's eyes opened. "Alessandro?"
"I'm here, Father."
"Good. Listen carefully. What I tried to tell you before—"
"Save your strength."
"No time." Enzo coughed blood. "The prophecy. Three bloodlines will merge. Three who are one. They will either save the gifted or destroy them all."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Iris, Ian, and Natasha. The triplets. They're the key."
"Key to what?"
"To ending the war. To stopping the hunt. To—" He coughed again, worse this time.
"Father!"
"Protect her, Alessandro. No matter what happens. No matter what it costs. Protect the girl."
"I will."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
Enzo smiled weakly. "Good boy." His eyes found me. "Girl. You're stronger than you know. Don't let anyone make you a weapon. Be a shield instead."
"I don't understand."
"You will. When the time comes."
His eyes closed. The machines started making terrible noises.
Doctors rushed in, pushing us out of the room.
We stood in the hallway, listening to them try to save Enzo's life.
After twenty minutes, a doctor came out.
"I'm sorry. He's gone."
Alex didn't cry. Didn't scream. Didn't react at all.
He just turned and walked away.
I followed him through the destroyed mansion, up stairs that were barely standing, to a balcony that overlooked the city.
"Alex?"
"Leave me alone."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because you just lost your father, and you shouldn't be alone right now."
He laughed bitterly. "My father and I were never close. He saw me as a business asset, not a son."
"That's not true. His last words were about protecting me. He wanted you to be safe."
"He wanted you to be safe. I'm just the guard dog."
"That's not fair."
"Life's not fair, Iris. If it was, eight people wouldn't have died tonight. My father would still be alive. And you wouldn't have a bullet hole in your shoulder."
He turned to face me, and I saw tears on his cheeks despite his cold words.
"You took a bullet for me," he said quietly. "Why would you do something so stupid?"
"Because I care about you."
"You barely know me."
"I know enough."
We stood there in silence, the destroyed city spreading out below us. Smoke rose from several buildings. Sirens wailed in the distance.
"This is my world, Iris. Death and destruction. Is this really what you want?"
"I don't want any of this. But I'm here anyway."
"You could leave. Your father would protect you."
"And you?"
"I'd let you go. If it meant keeping you safe."
"I don't believe you."
"Why not?"
"Because when that attacker pointed a gun at me, you broke through his helmet with pure force. You almost killed yourself saving me."
"That was just instinct."
"Was it?"
Alex looked at me with those dark eyes. "What do you want from me, Iris?"
"The truth. Do you care about me because I'm valuable? Or because I'm me?"
For a long moment, he didn't answer.
Then he stepped closer. So close I could feel his breath.
"You're the most infuriating person I've ever met. You argue with me. You put yourself in danger. You make me feel things I haven't felt in twenty years."
"What things?"
"Hope. Fear. Love."
The word hung between us like a spark near gasoline.
"Alex—"
"I know it's wrong. I know I'm too old. I know we're technically related, even if it's barely. But Iris, I can't stop thinking about you. Can't stop wanting to protect you. Can't stop—"
I kissed him.
It wasn't planned. Wasn't smart. Wasn't anything except desperate and real.
He kissed me back, gentle at first, then deeper. Like he'd been holding back for too long and finally let go.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"This is a terrible idea," he whispered.
"The worst."
"Everyone will judge us."
"Let them."
He smiled. Actually smiled. "When did you get so brave?"
"When I stopped being scared of making the wrong choice."
We kissed again, and for a moment, the war didn't exist. The death didn't matter. Nothing mattered except this.
But reality came crashing back when we heard shouting from below.
We ran downstairs to find chaos.
Ian was arguing with Mom. Dad was yelling at someone on the phone. Marcus was loading weapons frantically.
"What's happening?" I demanded.
"They found us," Mom said grimly. "The other bloodlines. They're sending everything they have."
"How many?"
"Two hundred fighters. Maybe more. They'll be here in an hour."
Two hundred. We'd barely survived twenty.
"We need to evacuate," Dad said.
"There's no time," Mom replied. "We make our stand here."
"That's suicide!"
"It's survival. If we run, they'll hunt us forever. If we fight, we might win."
"Might isn't good enough!"
While they argued, Alex pulled me aside.
"Listen to me carefully," he said. "When the fighting starts, you stay with me. You don't leave my side for any reason."
"Alex, I can fight—"
"I don't care. You're staying with me."
"You can't control me."
"I can and I will. You took one bullet tonight. I'm not letting you take another."
His intensity scared me a little. But also made me feel cherished in a strange way.
"Okay," I agreed. "I'll stay close."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
He kissed my forehead. "Good. Now let's prepare for war."
The next hour was pure chaos. Everyone grabbed weapons and took defensive positions. We set traps in the hallways. Reinforced doors. Prepared for the worst.
I found myself in a room with Ian, both of us holding guns we barely knew how to use.
"Are you scared?" he asked.
"Terrified."
"Me too."
We held hands, connecting our minds. Together, we felt stronger. Braver.
But then I felt something else through our connection. Another mind. Stronger than ours.
Natasha.
Hello, siblings. Her voice echoed in our heads. Miss me?
"Where are you?" I thought at her.
Closer than you think. And Iris? I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to save you.
"By joining the people trying to kill us?"
By stopping them. But I need your help. I need all three of us together.
"Why should we trust you?"
Because the prophecy Father Enzo mentioned? It's real. And if we don't fulfill it in the next hour, everyone we love dies.
Before I could respond, the attack began.
Windows shattered as fighters poured in from every direction.
Gunfire erupted.
People screamed.
Alex appeared beside me, pulling me behind cover.
"Stay down!"
But I couldn't stay down. Not when people were dying.
I reached out with my mind, connecting with Ian. Together, we pushed toward the attackers.
Some of them stumbled. A few fell.
But most kept coming. Too many helmets. Too much protection.
"We can't stop them!" Ian shouted.
That's when I heard Alex's voice, cold and deadly, talking to his remaining men in the hallway.
"New orders. Anyone who gets within ten feet of Iris dies. Anyone who threatens her dies. Anyone who looks at her wrong dies."
"Boss, that's—"
"If anyone touches her, I'll kill their entire family. Their friends. Their pets. Everyone they've ever loved. Am I clear?"
"Yes, boss."
I stared at Alex, shocked by the violence in his voice. The absolute certainty.
He'd just threatened to murder innocent people to protect me.
Part of me was horrified.
Part of me felt safer than I'd ever felt in my life.
But before I could say anything, the wall behind us exploded inward.
And through the smoke walked a figure I recognized.
Natasha.
But she wasn't alone.
Behind her stood an army of gifted individuals. At least fifty of them.
"Hello, family," she said with a cold smile. "Ready to end this war?"
"Which side are you on?" Alex demanded, pointing his gun at her.
"My own side. Always." She looked at me. "The prophecy requires three bloodlines to merge. Kane, Torrino, and one more."
"What's the third?"
Natasha's smile got wider.
"Mine."
"You're a Kane," Ian said confused.
"No, brother. I'm not. Mom lied about that too."
She pulled off a glove, revealing a birthmark on her wrist. A symbol I'd never seen before.
"I'm from the Volkov bloodline. Russian psychics who've been hiding for three hundred years."
My world tilted again.
"You're not our sister?"
"Oh, I'm your sister. Mom did give birth to triplets. But she used a different father for each of us."
Ian looked sick. "That's impossible."
"Is it? Mom wanted to create the strongest possible children. So she found three men from three different bloodlines and—"
"Stop," I begged. "I don't want to hear this."
"Too bad. Because the truth is about to save all our lives."
She walked toward us, and I realized something terrible.
The fifty people behind her weren't allies.
They were prisoners.
All of them wore collars that glowed red.
"What did you do to them?" Alex growled.
"I gave them a choice. Fight for me or die. They chose to fight."
"You're enslaving people with our gift?"
"I'm using the weapons I have. Just like you. Just like everyone."
She stopped in front of me.
"Now, sister. Time to choose. Join me and use your power to control this army. Together, we'll end the war and rule the gifted world."
"Or?"
"Or I kill everyone in this mansion, starting with your precious Alex."
She raised her hand, and all fifty prisoners raised their weapons.
Pointed at Alex's heart.
"So what's it going to be, Iris? Power or love? You can't have both."