The Lucan Marked Me - Novel Short

Ch. The Lucan Marked me 79 The Lucan Marked me 79

Chapter 79

Logan

I played an arm wrestling game with Elias as Sienna cleared the table. We’d just concluded breakfast and I was waiting for her to be done before Elias and I headed out on our tour around the pack. We’d offered to help her out with the dishes but she’d easily waved us off. Elias kept grumbling that I was letting him win/ and I couldn’t help my chuckle as I tried to let him know he would never win otherwise.

“Mom!” He called, wordlessly asking her to intervene after he’d gasped dramatically at my words.

Sienna’s laughter filled the house as she appeared back in the dining room. Much to Elias’s chagrin, she was only back to wipe the surface of the table, her laughter echoing behind her as she walked back to the kitchen. I turned my attention to Elias. “Alright, let’s wrestle for real this time,” I said to him, half meaning it. He was still trying to push my hand to the table when Sienna walked back out of the kitchen without

her apron.

An indication she was done with the dishes.

I stood to my feet, walking over to give her a kiss on the side of her head, letting my lips linger just a second longer than necessary. She turned her face slightly toward me, and I felt her breath catch. Get a grip, I warned myself sternly. I took a step away from her. “We’ll be back soon,” I murmured.

Eliasd jumped from his seat and bounced around. “Time for a tour!”

I chuckled, ruffling his already-messy curls. “Yep. Time for a tour.”

Sienna moved to smooth her hand through his hair before giving him a slight nudge in my direction and ásking him to not do anything that would get her upset with him. After Elias had given his mother a hug, we quickly set out, the morning sun still spilling across the pack grounds. It had rained the night before, and the earth was still damp, leaves glittering under the rising sun.

Elias skipped ahead a few steps, his small boots kicking up bits of gravel. He turned to look back at me every few seconds, needing to make sure I was still following behind him. “This way,” I told him, motioning down a path different from the one he’d been taking. “I want to show you something.”

We passed the training field first. A few warriors were already sparring despite how early in the morning it was, their wolves circling each other with their teeth bared. Elias watched with wide eyes. He liked physical

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Chapter 79

combat. I already knew it was going to be the part of his succession training he would enjoy the most.

always wondered if they fight for real,” He commented, turning to look at me. “Do they?”

“Sometimes,” I replied. “But mostly they train to protect. See that one?” I pointed to Kael where Kael stood

barking instructions at two younger wolves. “That’s the pack’s beta Kael. He helps keep everyone strong.

Elias nodded, even though I knew he might not understand fully. He’d had a class at the academy where

he’d been given a lecture on the pack’s ranking, but for his six year old mind, I knew it would be a little too

much for him to completely grasp.

We walked on. I showed him the greenhouse Livia had set up for the healers, where different plants grew in neat rows. Then the armory. Then the observation tower, which he begged to climb-only making it halfway before his little legs gave out and he demanded I carry him the rest. I hoisted him up easily, and

he leaned against me, surprisingly still.

“Why do we have so many places to fight?” he asked quietly.

“Because not everyone out there wants peace,” I responded after a bit. It was both the simplest and most honest response I could give. “And it’s my job to make sure this place stays safe. For you. For your mom.” I

added.

He was quiet for a while, then said, “You’re good at it.”

I blinked, a warm feeling immediately settling in my chest. I hadn’t been expecting that. I turned to look at him, but he was already walking ahead, oblivious to the weight of his words. We reached the main street, where some pack members were setting up for market day. Stalls of trinkets, charms, herbs, and food lined the walkways. A small store caught my eye-one I’d seen Sienna walking into when she’d been taking a

tour round the pack.

It was the same one I’d bought the bracelet I’d gifted her-which I was pleased she never took off. “Let’s stop here and get something for your mother,” I told Elias, before I had the chance to second guess my

decision. The inside of the shop smelled like cinnamon and old paper. The shopkeeper greeted us with a

knowing smile.

I wandered through the small aisles, looking for some other worthy item to gift Sienna. From a distance 1

spied the book I’d caught her reading on several occasions. My eyebrow arched when I realized it was a lore

romance novel. And all that time, I’d assumed she’d been reading Lycan history… I turned to the

shopkeeper, handing the book over to her. “Can I get books very similar to this?” I asked.

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Chapter 79

Elias watched our exchange with keen eyes ‘She does love reading,’ He stated, easily agreeing with my

decision.

I was suddenly very thankful I’d stopped at the shop. Lately, she’d started looking at me differently. Letting

her fingers brush mine when we passed each other in the hallway, letting her smile linger. It was small, but

I noticed. I noticed everything about her. Something had shifted since she returned from Mara’s pack, and

I’d decided I wasn’t going to question it. I was going to take any opening she gave me.

I might be grossly misunderstanding the situation, but I had a feeling she was deciding to let me in and

move on from the past-inch by slow inch. The shopkeeper handed me about five books and then Elias and

I were making our way back to the mansion.

Let them say the Lycan King didn’t know how to love.

I was going to prove them wrong.

One gesture at a time.

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The Lycan Marked Me and Walked Away

Chapter 80

Sienna

My visit to Mara had been more than uplifting.

I’d known she would have some solid advice for me, which was partly the reason I’d gone to talk to her in

the first place. I’d been honest with her about how much I was struggling to forgive Logan and move on

from the past, and at first she’d seemed a little… distracted-if not worried-by my admission.

The expression on her face had gone back to normal almost immediately, and I’d wondered if I hadn’t

imagined the whole thing. Either way, she’d asked me to see things from Logan’s perspective. Wasn’t his

commitment to his pack one of the things I admired about him? Right then I recalled him mentioning something to me about a prophecy of some sort-which Mara had advised I talk to him about at some

point.

I knew the conversation would possibly hurt me-if there was anything I’d gathered when he’d been talking

about the prophecy in the beginning, it was that he hadn’t believed the prophecy to be talking about me. It only went to show how weakly he thought of me in the beginning. Still, I’d decided Mara was right. I couldn’t blame him for turning me away to protect the pack he’d sworn his loyalty to. He hadn’t even

known I was pregnant.

And he hadn’t intended to mark me that night either.

I knew how explosive things were between us. One second we’d been having dinner, the next, he’d been

taking me against the wall. And then a hundred other places that had me blushing when I remembered

them. And if the table had been turned-if it had come to protecting Elias and rejecting him—wouldn’t I

have also done the same thing? Hell, hadn’t I already?

It was one of the reasons I’d been so skeptical about informing him of Elias’s existence. I’d wanted to

protect Elias at all costs. I hadn’t wanted him to get used to Logan’s presence only for Logan to decide he

didn’t want us in his life. I’d left Mara’s cabin deciding to give him a chance. My forgiveness didn’t have to

happen all at once, but maybe I could lower my guard around him. Maybe I could actually let myself feel

these feelings he so easily stirred up within me.

Plus, I still needed to come clean with him and mine and Elias’s powers.