Luca's POV
Kai is six months old when it happens.
I'm feeding him breakfast when he starts fussing. Not normal crying—something different.
"Rian!" I call, concerned.
He appears instantly. "What's wrong?"
"He's—" Kai's crying intensifies. Then his body starts changing.
Tiny bones shifting. Fur sprouting. Golden eyes glowing brighter.
"Oh god, he's shifting!" I panic.
"It's okay. It's normal." Rian's beside us, calm despite my terror. "First shifts are spontaneous. Usually triggered by strong emotion."
Kai completes the shift—a tiny black wolf pup, fluffy and adorable, still crying.
"He's so small," I breathe, reaching for him carefully.
The wolf pup—our son—nuzzles into my hand, whimpering.
"Hi, baby boy," I coo. "It's okay. We're here."
Rian shifts too, his massive wolf dwarfing our tiny son. He nuzzles Kai gently, making comforting sounds.
Kai calms, recognizing his father. They communicate somehow—wolf to wolf, father to son.
After a few minutes, Kai shifts back—naked, crying, confused.
I scoop him up immediately, holding him close. "It's okay. You're okay. That was scary, huh?"
Rian shifts back, wrapping around both of us. "First shift is always frightening. But he did perfect."
"Will it happen again?"
"Randomly for a while. Until he learns control." He kisses Kai's forehead. "Usually around age five or six for full control."
"So we're dealing with spontaneous shifting for years?" I'm overwhelmed.
"We'll figure it out. Together." He takes Kai, who's calmed now, looking curiously at his own tiny hands. "You're part wolf, little one. Just like daddy."
"And part human, like papa," I add, touching his chubby cheek. "Best of both worlds."
That evening, I'm still processing. My son is a werewolf. An actual shapeshifter.
"You okay?" Rian asks, finding me staring at sleeping Kai.
"Just... it's real. He's really a wolf. Our baby is a wolf."
"Half wolf. Half you." He wraps his arms around me. "Does it change how you feel about him?"
"No. God, no." I turn in his embrace. "I love him completely. Just... adjusting."
"I know. It's a lot." He kisses my forehead. "But you're doing amazing. He's lucky to have you as his papa."
"And you as his dad." I lean into him. "We're really doing this. Raising a werewolf child."
"We really are." His smile is warm. "And we're going to be great at it."
That night, Kai shifts twice more in his sleep—wolf, human, wolf, human. Each time we're there, comforting him through the transition.
"This is our life now," I observe, holding our wolf pup son.
"This is our family," Rian corrects. "Perfect and complicated and ours."
"Ours," I agree, watching Kai shift back to human and immediately fall asleep. "Our perfect, complicated everything."