MARKED BY MY STEPBROTHER

Chapter Thirty

Sophie’s POV

News of Victor’s death had spread like wildfire through the pack. Some wolves celebrated. Others watched us with suspicion, unsure what to expect from the new Alpha and his stepsister Luna.

I was pretty sure that they didn't like the combination. They didn't know exactly why Damon would choose his stepsister as his Luna. Such a thing had never happened before probably.

I stood in the nursery, rocking Lucas gently in my arms. He was growing faster than any normal baby, already lifting his head and watching everything with those interesting silver eyes. His tiny fist clutched my finger as golden sparks occasionally moved across his skin.

Damon entered quietly, freshly showered, wearing a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The sight of him still made my heart skip a beat.

“How is he?” he asked, voice soft as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around us both.

“Perfect,” I whispered. “And hungry. Again.”

Damon chuckled and kissed the side of my neck. “Just like his father.”

We stood there for a long moment, the three of us, enjoying the quietude that came with it. Well, we had worked for it. So there was every reason to enjoy it while it lasted.

After everything we’d survived, these small moments felt sacred and very important too.

But peace never lasted for too long.

A knock sounded on the door and Marcus entered with a serious look on that face of his. It could only mean one thing. Trouble.

“Alpha. Luna. We have visitors at the gate. Three elders from neutral territories. They heard about Victor’s death and want to speak with you.”

“I see. Set up the meeting room. We’ll be down shortly.”

Damon’s POV

The three elders sat across from us in the formal meeting room. They were older, and experienced wolves who had stayed out of Victor’s conflicts until now.

“Damon Blackthorn,” the eldest, a woman named Elara, spoke first. “Word travels fast. You killed your father and claimed the title of Alpha. There are some who would call it justice. And there are others who would call it patricide.”

I kept my voice calm and steady. “Victor betrayed the pack. He tried to enslave my mate and use our son as a weapon. I did what any true Alpha would do. I did what any father would do."

Sophie sat beside me, she didn't say anything yet. Lucas was sleeping in a bassinet nearby, watched over by Lena.

Elara’s gaze moved to Sophie. “And you, the Luna-blooded girl. Many fear what your child will become. Power like that can destabilize entire regions.”

Sophie lifted her chin. “Our son will be raised with love and control, not as a weapon. We want peace, not conquest.”

The elders looked at themselves.

One of the males leaned forward. “The Shadow Pack is mobilizing. They see this transition as weakness. If you want our support and neutrality, prove you can lead. Secure your borders, control the boy’s power, and.. formalize your union.”

What the hell did that even mean?

I raised an eyebrow. “Formalize?”

“A public mating ceremony and bonding ritual,” Elara clarified. “To show the pack and outsiders that your.. unconventional relationship is blessed and stable.”

Sophie’s hand tightened in mine under the table.

I looked at her, then back at the elders. “We’ll consider it. But we won’t be forced into anything. This pack is changing. We do things differently now.”

The meeting ended with a cautious agreement, which meant that the elders would observe us for now.

Sophie’s POV

Later that afternoon, Damon found me in the garden behind the mansion. I was sitting on a stone bench, watching Lucas play with a soft toy on a blanket.

He sat beside me and took my hand.

“You’ve been quiet since the meeting,” he said.

I leaned my head on his shoulder. “A public ceremony, with everyone watching us again. After everything they forced us to do in that glass room..”

“I know,” he murmured, kissing my temple. “We don’t have to do it their way. But it might help stabilize the pack. Show them we’re united.”

I turned to look at him. “Would you want that? A real ceremony?”

Damon’s silver eyes softened. “I want you as my mate in every possible way. Whether publicly or privately. Forever.”

He pulled me onto his lap and kissed me deeply, hands sliding up my back. For a few precious minutes, we forgot about politics, threats, and ceremonies.

Until Lucas let out a happy squeal, breaking the moment.

We both laughed.

Damon rested his forehead against mine. “Whatever we decide, we do it together. As a family.”

Damon’s POV

That night, after putting Lucas to bed, I took Sophie to our room and made slow and tender love to her. There was no heat, no desperation. Just us.

As we lay close together afterward, her head on my chest, I made a silent vow.

I would protect them with everything I had.

Even if it meant going to war with the Shadow Pack, even if it meant facing more challenges from within our own pack, which I was sure would soon come. Based on what the elders had said, calling what I did a p*******e, it was clear that there would be factions and disagreements soon. The problem was how soon and how much of a problem wouldn't be.

One would thing that the elders were neutral in their words, and that was the case. But what they were doing, they were also making room for a breakout and dissatisfaction.

Sophie was mine. Lucas was ours.

And no one, not even Victor’s ghost, not even Seraphina’s shadow, not even the Shadow Pack, would take them from me.