MARKED BY MY STEPBROTHER

Chapter Thirty Eight

Damon’s POV

The mansion had become a fortress overnight.

I carried Sophie’s unconscious body through the chaos, her head lolling against my shoulder. Blood from my own wounds was smeared across her clothes, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was getting her and Lucas to safety.

“Secure the perimeter!” I yelled at Marcus as I burst through the front doors. “Triple the guards on the basement. No one gets near my family!”

Warriors moved quickly, dragging the wounded inside and reinforcing every entrance. The Hollow Court had retreated for now, but their chilling presence still remained in the air like frost.

I took Sophie straight to our bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. Her breathing was shallow but steady. Golden energy flickered weakly across her skin, a sign she had pushed herself too far protecting Lucas. Probably to her extreme. I didn't know if she would come back from that.

“Sophie..” I whispered, using my finger to pull back damp hair from her face. “Come back to me.”

Lena brought Lucas in moments later. The baby was awake and fussing. The moment Lena placed him beside Sophie, Lucas reached out and touched his mother’s arm.

Almost immediately, Sophie’s eyelids fluttered then she gasped awake, eyes wide with panic.

“Lucas.. Damon!”

“I’m here,” I said, and pulled her into my arms. “We’re safe for now.”

She held on to me, her body shaking as if she was on the verge of crying. “They almost reached him. I felt them trying to pull at his power.”

I held her tighter, my heart still racing from the battle. The mating bond was still strong between us, feeding her strength. After a long moment, Sophie pulled back enough to look at me properly. She looked at my injuries, and a look of worry appeared on her forehead.

“You’re hurt," she observer.

“I’ll heal,” I said, “But you, you scared the hell out of me out there.”

She touched my face, her fingers tracing a deep cut along my jaw. “We can’t keep doing this, running from one threat to another. Lucas deserves better.”

I nodded. I was a leader here and I was also father, and the pressure of those two responsibilities was heavy on my shoulders. “We’ll find a way. But right now, you need rest.”

Sophie’s POV

Fuck that.

I didn’t want to rest. Not especially when danger was closing in.

After Lena took Lucas to the reinforced nursery for feeding and monitoring, Damon helped me into the shower. The hot water stung my bruises but soothed my exhausted muscles. Damon stepped in behind me, his large body shielding me from the spray as he gently washed the blood and dirt from my skin.

I needed that. I needed someone to look after me. Someone to take control of me. Just like Damon was already doing. I didn't even need to wash the dirt off my body, he did that for me.

And there were a lot of things that Damon wouldn't hesitate to do for me as well. After he was done washing me up, we stayed under the water for a long time, just holding each other, basking in the shower.

“I love you,” he said to me after a while. “And that's more than anything you know.”

Damon’s POV

Later that night, after Sophie had fallen asleep, I met with Marcus and Elowen in the war room.

“The Hollow Court is ancient,” Elowen explained. “They see Lucas as the key to reopening sealed gates of primordial power. If they take him, they could reshape the world, or they could destroy it.”

Marcus looked like he wanted to eat metal. “Our scouts say they’re gathering more forces. We have maybe a week before they attack in full strength.”

I slammed my fist on the table. “Then we prepare. We rain harder and we reach out to every ally we have. And we teach Lucas basic control as soon as possible.”

Elowen nodded. “My people can help with that. But he needs to stay close to both of you. I've noticed how your combined bond stabilizes his power.”

We didn't usually talk much just things that were arising and straight to the point.

“We’re going to be okay,” Marcus came to whisper to me after the meeting was done. “I swear it, Alpha.”

Sophie’s POV

The next few days had everyone as busy as a bee.

The training sessions with Elowen’s hybrids began immediately. I spent hours learning to better channel my golden energy while Damon worked with the warriors. Lucas showed good progress, already able to create small protective shields when he felt threatened.

But the threats always kept coming.

On the fifth night, another attack occurred, smaller this time, testing our defenses. We repelled them, but the cost of these skirmishes kept rising. Two of our wolves were badly injured. We weren't invincible after all.

That same night, after everything calmed down, Damon found me on the balcony staring at the dark forest.

He came up to join me, his heat chasing away the chilly night air. “You’re worried,” he said.

“Why wouldn't I be? I’m terrified,” I admitted. “For Lucas. For you. For us. The Hollow Court is getting closer and closer by the day, and the Hybrids think that we might not have a chance against them."

"Did Elowen tell you that herself?" Damon asked, giving me a look.

I shook my head, and replied,."Their body language says it all. They are training Lucas and I already but there is so much little time, and those shadow beasts aren't going to give us the opportunity for prep time."

"No, they won't," Damon said, came behind me and wrapped his arms in a strong cover.

"They crave power, we crave peace and the chance to live a better life. When we clash with them again, my love, we do well to remember that. We do well to believe in ourselves. You and Lucas together and powerful. If they need his power, then it means that we are more powerful than they are. So let's bank on that."

I believed him.

But what I was beginning to lose belief in was the fact that my son was going to start using his powers against malevolent evil as such a young age.

Would that make him the kind of son I wanted? Or would I lose Lucas to the darkness?

The Hollow Court was coming. I only had to wait to find out.