All Chapters of MARKED BY MY STEPBROTHER : Chapter 61 - Chapter 69

Chapter 61 Sophie’s POV The training grounds near the eastern ridge had become our second home over the past three weeks. The air always carried the scent of pine and ozone from the constant use of ancient energies. Lucas, now eight months old and crawling with surprising speed, sat in the center of a protective circle while Elowen guided me through another exercise. “Focus on the thread between you and the child,” Elowen said calmly, those violet colored eyes of hers watching my every movement. “Don’t force it. Let the bond flow naturally.” I closed my eyes and reached for Lucas through our family connection. His power responded, a warm, bright spark. A small orb of light formed between my hands, stable for the first time in days. “Good,” Elowen said, in manner of praising me. “Now try to hold it while walking.” I took a step forward. The orb seemed like it would go out but stayed intact. Lucas clapped his hands excitedly when this happened. He was so ignorant to think that this

Sophie’s POVThe training grounds with buzzing energy the next morning. Lucas sat in the center of the protective circle, his small hands raised as he tried to make a ball of golden-red light float. At eight months, he already understood more than any child should. His eyes seemed focused on what he was doing. And I was proud of it all. Regardless of the dangers that were coming anyway. “Easy, sweetheart,” I said softly, kneeling outside the circle. “Don’t force it. Let it flow like the river Elowen showed you.”The orb bounced around a bit, then stabilized. Lucas clapped his hands, sending the light spinning in a perfect circle. “Mommy, see? I did it!”“That’s my boy," Damon said. "Strong and smart.”Elowen watched with careful eyes. “He’s progressing faster than any recorded case. The Spark inside him is awakening naturally but with the Convergence only two months away, we must accelerate the shielding training. He needs to learn how to hide his signature completely.”I didn’t like

Sophie’s POVThe Convergence began at midnight, and it coincided with something that Thorne had warned earlier. Wasn't surprised he seemed to know exactly when they would begin. The sky above the mountains split open with unnatural light, streaks of silver and black tearing through the stars like cracks. I stood on the highest balcony of the mansion with Damon on one side and Lucas in my arms. Our son stared at the sky with wide silver eyes, his small hands glowing as if answering the call.“It’s starting,” I whispered, fear and awe colliding in my chest. “He feels it.”“Seems to me like there's no more waiting," Damon said to me. Marcus burst onto the balcony, breathing hard as if he had been running a marathon. “Alpha, the old bloodlines are converging at the sacred ridge. The Forgotten, The Eternal Watch, and The Silent Veil, they’ve all arrived. And something else is coming from the deep chasms. The Devourer is rising again, stronger than before.”“Stars are angry, Mommy," Luca

Sophie’s POVThe sacred temple ruins stood silent under a blood-red moon as we arrived at the heart of the Convergence. The old bloodlines had gathered in their numbers, hundreds of figures from The Forgotten, The Eternal Watch, The Silent Veil, and newer factions who felt like they should matter. Well, to me they didn't matter. They had come for my son, something that I didn't want happening. So why the fuck should they even matter to me? Their energies were all over the place, in the air like storm clouds, violet, silver, and black like void swirling together in uncomfortable alliance.Was pretty sure they didn't like themselves, but just because they all wanted the same thing, they'd have to play ball. Lucas clung to my neck, his small body was shaking against me. I knew he didn't like the setting and didn't want to be here, close to all these things. That was something that I could relate to as well. At ten months old, he understood far too much. “Mommy, they want me,” he whisper

Sophie’s POV The sacred ridge was strangely quiet in the after it was all over. I laid on the broken stone altar, my body feeling like some empty vessel, as if a piece of my soul had been taken right out of me. The Devourer had taken something important, a fragment of my golden essence, and the loss was so loud through the bond like a missing limb. Lucas was still close to me, and his small fingers ever finding their way around my shirt. “Mommy.. hurt?” he said sotto voce. A faint golden-red spark tried to flow from him into me, but it was weak and unstable. I brushed his dark curls back, and forced a tired smile. “Mommy’s okay, baby. Just tired. You were so brave.” Damon knelt beside us, his large hand covering both of ours. I could see that he felt guilty of what has just happened. “Sophie, you shouldn’t have done that. You gave up too much.” I reached up and touched his