MARKED BY MY STEPBROTHER

Chapter Twenty Nine

Sophie’s POV

Seraphina’s final blast of golden energy slammed into my shield like a bullet train.

I screamed, pouring every ounce of power I had into protecting Lucas. The force pushed me backward across the temple floor, my feet sliding on ancient stone. Pain exploded through my body as the shield cracked.

“Sophie!” Damon shouted my name.

He was suddenly there, throwing himself in front of us. The remaining energy hit him hard in the chest, reopening wounds and sending him crashing into a broken pillar.

Seraphina laughed weakly, blood trickling from her mouth. “You can’t win. The power is mine by right.”

I felt Lucas’s tiny body trembling against me. His power came alive again, that beautiful mix of gold and red, and this time I didn’t hold it back. I channeled it through myself, focusing everything on Seraphina.

“No,” I said, voice steady despite the exhaustion. “It was never yours.”

I released the energy.

A brilliant golden-red wave burst from me and Lucas, and headed straight for Seraphina. She tried to block it, but the force was too much. She screamed as the power took over her, cracking the stolen energy she had taken from me and my mother. Her body convulsed, then went still.

She collapsed beside Victor’s body, eyes open but filled with nothing but emptiness.

The temple fell silent except for the sounds of the remaining fighting outside.

Damon’s POV

I pushed myself up, ignoring the burning pain in my chest. Sophie stood in the center of the temple like a goddess, glowing softly, while Lucas was cradled safely against her. Seraphina and Victor lay dead at her feet.

Dead.

I was proud and I was relieved at the same time that I almost dropped to my knees.

I limped over to her and pulled both her and Lucas into my arms. “It’s over,” I whispered against her hair. “They’re gone.”

Sophie trembled as I held her close, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Is it really?”

Marcus entered the temple, bloodied but he wasn't dead at least. “The last of men loyal to Victor are surrendering or fleeing. The Shadow Pack is retreating, they don’t want to fight a unified pack under a new Alpha.”

He knelt before me. “Alpha Damon.”

The other wolves who had followed us into the temple knelt as well.

I helped Sophie steady herself and looked at the wolves around us. “This pack has suffered under Victor’s rule for too long. Tonight, we begin again. No more experiments, no more forced bonds. From now on, we protect our families. No one excluded.”

Sophie’s POV

Three days later

The main Blackthorn mansion felt different now.

We had returned after securing the territory. Many of Victor’s old loyalists had fled or been exiled. The remaining pack members were slowly adjusting to Damon as the new Alpha.

Up till now, there hadn't been problems. Everyone seemed comfortable with the fact that son had killed his father and taken the Alpha position. Sometimes, that kind of situation was hard to get staunch loyal ones from the previous rule.

Regardless, it was going to be one hell of a journey. And one that I was willing to take with Damon, no matter what.

I stood on the balcony of our bedroom, the same one where I had first seen Damon’s wolf, my eyes watching the forest. Lucas slept peacefully in his crib inside, guarded by Lena.

Damon stepped up behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my waist. His chin rested on my shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

“Tired,” I admitted. “But hopeful.”

He turned me in his arms and kissed me gently. The bond we shared was now alive by choice and not by some mating bond. Not by some twisted reason, like the kind Victor and Seraphina portrayed.

“The elders want a formal ceremony next week,” he said. “To recognize you as Luna and Lucas as the future heir.”

I smiled and said, “Only if it’s on our terms.”

Damon chuckled. “Always.”

We stood together in comfortable silence, watching the sun set over the mountains that had nearly destroyed us.

But not everything was peaceful.

A scout arrived at the mansion gates just before nightfall. Marcus brought the news to us personally.

“Shadow Pack isn’t done,” he said grimly. “They’re gathering allies from the north. They see our transition as weakness. They want revenge for their losses, and they want the child too.”

Of course, they would want my child. They had probably seen what my Lucas was capable of and they wanted his power. They wanted to use him for reasons best known to them. And that was the problem with people who always wanted power, who were hungry for power. They just didn't get enough of it.

When there was an opportunity, they would try to take it. No matter the cost.

But I wondered if they hadn't learned from their mistakes already. Didn't they see that even Victor and Seraphina, as powerful as they were, couldn't get hold of Luca's. They couldn't defeat us. So what chance do these wannabes have against us?

We already had Damon as Alpha and the pack was united again. I didn't think that they even stood a chance. But they could try if they wanted. I could only be hopeful for the best.

Damon’s expression went hard at once. He looked at me, then at the sleeping Lucas through the glass doors.

I reached for Damon’s hand, and squeezed it tightly.

“We’ve come too far to lose now,” I said.

Damon nodded his agreement.

“Then we prepare,” he said. “This time, we don’t just survive.”

He pulled me close again, and kissed the top of my head.

“Together.”