BROCK POV
I threw myself in front of Lily and baby Hope just as the first shadow creatures started pouring through the dimensional cracks. My fighter instincts screamed that this was it - the fight I'd been training my whole life for.
"Stay behind me!" I roared, my muscles shifting as I prepared to face an army of fears.
Through the spreading tears in reality, thousands of shadow versions spilled into our world. Shadow-Brock after Shadow-Brock, each one bigger and meaner than the last. Shadow-Aiden with eyes like black holes. Shadow-Lily bringing darkness instead of healing. And worst of all, tiny Shadow-Hope crawling through the cracks with power that felt cold and wrong.
But I wasn't backing down. Not when my family needed me.
"Brock, there are too many!" Aiden shouted from somewhere behind me. "We need a plan!"
"My plan is simple," I growled, grabbing the nearest Shadow-Brock and throwing him back through a dimensional crack. "Nothing gets past me to hurt Hope."
