Ch. The Lucan Marked me 23 The Lucan Marked me 23

Chapter 23 

Sienna 

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Elias’s fingers curled around mine, as I walked him to the academy. It was almost like he could 

tell I needed something to hold on to, as my reality kept dawning on me a little more each 

day. Who would have thought after I’d run from my birth pack that I would end up having to 

raise a kid on my own. It was still early in the morning, so the one was already out and 

steadily getting hotter. 

We were almost halfway to the academy when I realized I hadn’t said a word, which was unlike 

me whenever I walked Elias to school. Fortunately for me, he didn’t seem to mind. He filled 

the silence in the way only kids could-talking about how their instructor had told them 

stories of what their first shifts would be like, how one of his friends had bet he could climb 

the courtyard fence faster than anyone, and how he planned to prove him wrong by lunchtime. 

I nodded when it felt right, smiled when he looked up for approval, even though my thoughts were distant. Anchored somewhere between my conversation with Mara and the sleepless night that had followed. Elias didn’t notice though. He just kept walking, humming something under his breath, kicking the occasional stone off the dirt path like it was part of a game only he understood. His occasional laugh was loud and unburdened, and it reminded me of Logan. 

He’d laughed like that-just once-on the night we had made love. 

I didn’t realize how tightly I’d been holding Elias’s hand until he let go, racing ahead to join a cluster of pups outside the academy gates. A lump formed in my throat as I watched him-his shoulders square, his smile easy, the way the others moved instinctively toward him like he was a sun they couldn’t help but orbit. I couldn’t hold back the small smile that played at the corner of my lips. He was becoming his own person. 

And even though he carried pieces of me, there were parts of him that were entirely Logan. Not just in his face or his voice, but in the way he took up space without trying. In how his 

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Chapter 23 

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presence felt… known. It was bittersweet because I both loved and hated how much I 

noticed.BAnd I hated even more that I missed Logan for it. 

“He’s yours, isn’t she?” 

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The voice startled me. Barely managing to not give that away, I turned to find a woman 

standing beside me. She had warm brown eyes and small tired lines on her face. Her auburn 

hair was tied back in a loose knot, and she clutched a travel mug like it was the only thing 

tethering her to consciousness. I blinked. “I-yes. He’s mine.” 

She smiled. “He’s sweet with the others. My daughter talks about him all the time. Says he 

shares his snacks and never lets anyone eat alone.” 

A strange kind of pride bloomed in my chest. I hadn’t taught him that. Not really. That was 

just how he was. “He’s… good,” I murmured. “Too good for the world he’s in.” I couldn’t help 

but add, remembering how much everyone would turn against him if they knew of his powers. 

Or worse. 

The woman didn’t respond right away. She followed my gaze back to the pups. “Kids like 

that…you don’t raise them, not completely. You just do your best not to ruin what they come 

with.” 

That got a soft chuckle out of me. It felt foreign in my mouth. The front doors of the academy swing open and a woman I noticed as his instructor stepped out. Her voice cut through the chatter as she waved the pups in. Elias turned, searching for me. When our eyes met, his face lit up. I crouched down as he ran over, brushing the hair from his forehead before pressing a kiss there. “Be good, okay?” His head bobbed in a way that made me laugh. “You haven’t forgotten what I always say, have you?” He shook his head no. I pushed his hair away from his 

eyes. “And what’s that?” 

His eyes flickered with an expression that should never be seen in a child’s eyes. My throat tightened as he responded lowly. “No one can know.” My eyes stung, but I forced myself to keep the tears at bay, hating the condition we were in. The condition we were forced to leave 

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Chapter 23 

1. Mustering a smile just for him, I nodded my head. 

“Exactly. You’re a good boy, Elias.” 

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He nodded solemnly, hugging me tightly before pulling back. “Bye Mama!” He yelled, taking 

off to join his other classmates. I noticed his instructor staring at me, but she didn’t come 

over to say hi. I stayed there long after the doors closed behind him, long after the other 

parents had disappeared. I inhaled a deep breath, just as that familiar ache returned. The one 

that had never really left. The one that whispered how wrong it was-how deeply wrong—that 

I was doing all of this alone. 

That Logan wasn’t here to see his son smile like that. 

To hear his laughter. 

To shoulder some of the lies I was forced to tell. 

I turned away from the academy and started the walk home, swallowing around the lump in 

my throat. Some days, I told myself he didn’t deserve to be here. That he didn’t earn the right 

to be Elias’s father. Other days-like today–I wondered if the goddess was punishing him, in 

her own cruel, silent way, for choosing wrong, for walking away, for breaking what we could’ve 

had before it even began. But then I’d look at Elias, the only reason I had to continue living… 

And I’d hope that the goddess never stopped punishing him. 

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The Lycan Marked Me and Walked Away