Page 14 of His Sunshine Baby (The Silver City #2)

“We need to talk.”

He looks at me with a confused expression. I was waiting for him to come home, and he probably didn’t expect that kind of greeting.

“Talk about what?”

“Nate, I… I won’t be coming back here.”

He frowns and I feel my heart waver a bit, but I can’t change my mind now. I have been gathering my courage all afternoon leading up to this point. I cross my arms around me, but I can’t bring myself to look him in the eye.

“What do you mean exactly?”

“I can’t come back to the Velvet Moon territory, Nate, I think we should stop seeing each other.”

“Why?”

He’s starting to sound upset now. Hang on, you expected this much. I shake my head, trying to keep in mind all the excuses I gathered these past few days.

“Nate, I shouldn’t be here in the first place and we both know it. Things have been going a bit too far these days. It’s not what we had agreed on.”

“Is that what it is? You’re afraid of what we have nowadays? Are you scared of my brother, or your pack? I can—”

“It’s not about any of that, Nate! It’s about us, about me. I… You remember, when we first talked? You said you wanted one night. After that, we said it would be a simple relationship, no feelings involved.”

“I also said we would play by your rules, Elena. That you get to decide.”

“That’s right. And right now, I decide that we should end this now before it gets too far. For the both of us.”

I know he won’t give up so easily. Not after all the amazing times we had together… So I have no choice but to do this. I take out that folder I found in his office. I’m genuinely annoyed about that one though, so it definitely helps. I see his blue eyes panic a bit as he recognizes it.

“Elena, that’s not—”

“I don’t give a damn, Nate. You had me investigated. I’m pretty sure you are using Boyan and Daniel too. I don’t care about your reasons; this is not what I wanted.”

He suddenly grabs it, throwing it in the trash bin before turning back to me, but I won’t give in.

“Elena, I didn’t want this. Damian and Isaac—”

“Nate, that’s exactly the problem! Even if you don’t want to, your whole pack is going to say no to me! And I don’t want to fight with my pack for that reason either! I don’t want a relationship where we have to investigate each other, sneak into each other’s places in private, or hide to call each other!”

“That’s how our relationship is, Elena! I decided I don’t care what everyone else thinks about me being with you, I—”

“I don’t want a relationship, Nate! I am not ready for that! My ex is coming back and this is going to be a hell of a mess already. I don’t want to have to deal with you and your surveillance too! I don’t want to deal with your brothers, your Beta, your exes!”

“What exes?” he frowns.

Shit, I shouldn’t have mentioned that… Whatever.

“Listen, I didn’t want to do it like this, okay? I just… I need to work on one problem at a time.”

“So, I’m a problem now? And I only come after your ex?” he groans.

“Don’t start, Nate. Maybe we’ll see each other again when I’m done dealing with Diego.”

“Oh, and I’m supposed to wait like a good boy for you to decide? What am I, a backup plan? I thought we had something serious going on. You know it.”

I glare at him. He’s making this harder than it needs to be!

“I thought we were supposed to be honest with each other, Nate.”

“Honest? You never talk to me!”

“I have a past, and you knew that! I was honest when I at least told you that, and why I wouldn’t want to get serious! Aren’t you the one who was being dishonest? How long has it been since you had me investigated? How long ago did you break our promise?”

His expression suddenly gets a lot colder, and I feel a wall building between us.

“I didn’t.”

This hits me in the gut. I hesitate for just a second before I drop the question.

“You don’t love me?”

“No.”

… Fucking liar. We both are, but this still hurts.

“Fine,” I mutter. “I guess we’re good then.”

I grab my stuff and leave before I change my mind and tell him the truth.

As agreed, Daniel is already waiting for me at the border. I get in the car and let out a big sigh. My best friend turns to me, worried.

“Are you sure?”

“I did what I had to, Danny. This is more important for now.”

I take out the letter I received this morning. Just a simple card, with a question. But this is Diego’s handwriting, no doubt. I crumple up the fucking "Missed me?" note that the bastard sent me. I don’t even have the words for how much I hate him.

“Why didn’t you just tell him?” asks Danny while starting the car.

But I shake my head. I already made my decision this morning. This past week with Nate was heaven. I lived without worries, with the best lover one could hope to wake up next to, every morning. I could have gotten seriously used to that, and easily too. But the longer I stayed, the more I felt like I was running away.

From my pack, and my problems. I avoided Xavier, Reagan, even Clark and Isabella. I avoided the days passing and Diego’s return coming closer. Being with Nate was like a dream I didn’t want to wake up from. Diego’s message was a brutal fucking reminder. I have no idea how he knew where to send it to, or what his aim was, but it was a shock to me. No matter what, Diego was coming after me.

And I didn’t want to involve Nate in that.

“I still think this isn’t good, babe. To leave like that.”

“Nathaniel would never have stopped at that. He already asked me twice if I wanted him to ban or kill Diego, Danny. I know he would break the rules of both his pack and mine and I can’t let him do that for me. He’s the King’s brother, his position is too important to do that.”

“But still, starting a fight?”

“That was all I could think of for him to let me go. Thank Moon Goddess I found this stupid folder this morning, it helped me come up with an excuse.”

To be honest, I didn’t find it by accident. I was looking for something that would make our fight a bit more genuine, but I didn’t expect Nathaniel to keep a whole file on me and Diego. I still can’t believe he knew I went to jail and didn’t say anything about it. How long had he known for? He obviously read it, so does that mean he doesn’t care about living with a criminal? About the ghosts of my past?

The more time I spent with Nate, the more it became obvious to me that we were moving on to a new relationship, something that couldn't be seen as simply friends with benefits. We kissed a lot for no reason, cuddled whenever we felt like it, and did pretty much everything together every night this week. Even the sex was much sweeter and more romantic, despite our carnal desire for each other.

If it wasn’t for Diego, maybe I would have given us a chance, listened to our whims, and stayed longer at Nate’s place. Maybe a few more days, and we would have become lovers without saying it.

“He said he doesn’t love me.”

“Well, that guy is either completely blind or very stubborn,” replies Danny while turning left.

I chuckle. I know Nate was lying. He said what he thought would hold me back. Because that was the rule we had agreed on from the start.

But Moon Goddess, it’s too late, way too late. I fell for that man, hard. For his kindness, his disarming honesty and smiles, and his gentle, electric blue eyes. The way he doesn’t hesitate to caress or hug me, or how he kisses me softly. Damn, I already miss him.

I think about our argument again. What will he think? I purposely didn't give him the chance to speak as it was hard enough for me already. But even so, Nate still tried to make me stay, and that broke my heart. Because the truth is, I didn’t want to leave him or make him think I wanted to. If things had been different, I would have trusted him a lot more than that, enough to confide in him about my past and let him back me up against my ex. I couldn’t. Our relationship was too fresh for that, and I was scared that Diego would shatter it all before I had a chance to do anything. I was too afraid. I could stand to lose Nate because of our feelings, but if something happened to him because of my ex...

Daniel finally parks the car at our home an hour later. We stopped by the hospital to give flowers to my dad, but it’s pretty late now, and I’m exhausted.

“What about Bobo?” I ask as Daniel opens the door.

“Too busy. I think his brother is giving him more work to keep him away from our territory.”

For some reason, our apartment feels pretty lonely now. Damn, I didn’t realize I would miss Nate so much. I change into my nightgown and curl up in my bed. I haven’t slept here in a while. Has my room always been this cold and silent? I close my eyes, hoping everything will be fine. Between Nate and me, and tomorrow, too.

Tomorrow, the cursed day Diego is allowed back on our turf. I spend all night thinking about how to behave, what to say, and how I can ignore that bastard. The next morning, when I get up very early, I have a simple strategy in mind. It’s Sunday, and for once, I’m up before Danny. Hence, he is shocked to find me making coffee when he comes out of his room about half an hour later.

“Damn, someone fell out of her bed.”he whistles.

“More like I didn’t sleep a wink,” I sigh, going to the couch with my cup.

“Mmhmm. Bad thoughts?”

I nod with a frown before taking a sip. Daniel sighs before taking a cup for himself.

“What’s the battle plan?”

“There isn’t one, Danny. I’ve decided, I don’t care about this jerk. I don’t want anything to do with him, I’m done. He can do whatever the hell he wants as long as he stays the hell away from me.”

Daniel stays silent for a few seconds and eventually comes to sit next to me on the couch.

“You know it’s not going to be that easy, right, babe?”

“I know, but I’m not going to give in. I’m over whatever happened, Daniel, and that’s what I will stick to until he understands. I don’t want him back in my life. He had better stay the hell away, because I’m not going back to jail.”

My best friend sighs and gently brushes my hair with his fingers.

“All right, you’re the boss. Ignore the jackass until he gets bored. I bet Clark will give orders for the others to try and keep you two apart anyway. Okay, do you want some jam? Bonnie made a mean apricot jam.”

I laugh and nod. Like any Sunday, Danny and I have breakfast together, chatting about our week with our respective lovers. To be honest, I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever, and it’s good to spend time with just the two of us. I’m happy to hear his relationship with Bobo is going smoothly, despite the hardships that come from being from different packs. Seems like neither of them has talked to anyone else about this, not even their siblings. I remember Bobo’s sister from the dinner, Tonia, and his older brother who is the King’s Beta, such an important member of their pack.

“You think Levi knows?” I ask, taking a bite out of my bread.

“I bet he’s too smart not to have caught on to something. He is always watching your back; it would be funny if he let me be. He argued a lot with Clark about Diego, you know. Those two better not meet either.”

“Shit. I don’t want to have Levi involved too.”

His overprotective brother would definitely take my side and still hates Diego for what happened back then. Daniel licks the jam off his fingers, frowning a bit.

“He will get involved. You know Levi. Aside from being a beta to the bone, he has some feelings for you.”

“Oh, shut up Danny, I am not talking about that.”

“As you wish.”

I am not blind to Levi’s feelings for me, but I’ve become good at pretending. I already have enough to deal with in the love department nowadays. I finish my breakfast and head to the bathroom first, changing into a comfortable workout outfit: leggings and an oversized crop top.

“Whoa, that’s one hot babe ready to do some punching.”

“Come with me, Danny, you need to exercise sometimes.”

He growls a bit.

“Are you hinting at something?”

“Yes, you’re getting skinnier and losing muscle. Now get up and come train with me. I need someone who can keep up.”

Daniel rolls his eyes but takes the rest of the breakfast dishes to the kitchen.

“Oh well, I guess it can’t hurt from time to time.”

Indeed, two hours later, we are just finishing the first round. Daniel is now growling at me, annoyed. Maybe because I won another match, the sixth in a row. I try to play innocent while grabbing some water.

“You agreed to train with me, babe,” I remind him.

“I agreed to do training, not a beating you brute! Look at that! I’m going to have bruises all over! Bruises are not sexy, Whitewood.”

I laugh a bit while he’s still examining himself. Even if he complains, Daniel is a decent fighter. He may not be a match for me but having Levi or me as his training partner has shaped him into a good fighter. I’m kind of proud.

“Come on, babe, one more round?”

“You can have more rounds with the boxing sack, I’m done with you kicking my ass for today.”

“Your scrawny ass.”

“My perfect ass, if you want to ask my handsome and adorable boyfriend.”

There he goes again, bragging about Boyan. At least he’s not complaining anymore. I let him keep talking while I drink more water and go grab a towel, wiping off my sweat. A good sparring does make me feel a lot better. I have been lazy about training these days, but if I’m not seeing Nate anymore, I should probably focus on something else.

I check my phone, but nothing from him. Of course. He’s probably still mad or at least perplexed by our fight from last night. No matter what, I hope this will be over soon, and I can go back to him. It may be a bit shameless to hope Nate will be that patient with me, but I somewhat believe he will be. I know what we had together was fucking good and real.

“Elena.”

I turn to Daniel, wondering why he called me by my name all of sudden, but his eyes are set on the dojo’s entrance. My wolf instantly starts growling. Damn.

Standing nonchalantly at the door, a tall silhouette with their arms crossed is staring right at us with a smile. I would recognize it anywhere. It’s been five years and that asshole has barely changed. His black hair and dark skin. How he moves like a predator. He has a new scar on his face, across his left cheek, and a large tribal tattoo I had never seen before on his torso. He’s only wearing ragged jeans, walking barefooted on the tatami.

Daniel moves to stand between me and him, but I gently stop my best friend. I don’t care if he comes close. Diego walks up to us with an annoying smirk stuck on his face. Moon Goddess, how in the world did I ever fall for such a jerk like him. When he’s a few steps away, he smiles at me, acting like a good guy.

“ Te extrané, mi amor .”

“Fuck off, Diego.”

No matter how much you prepare yourself, I guess you can’t do much against your worst nightmare. Strangely, reality is very different from the mess I had imagined. I didn’t think I could stay so composed, or even stand being in the same room as him. I thought maybe I would go insane, scream, or jump at him to kill him.

But I don’t feel any of that right now. Seeing my ex standing there in front of me, smiling at me as if nothing had happened, fucking disgusts me, and my wolf is growling loudly too, but there isn’t much more. I realize it now.

I’m furious at him, and Moon Goddess, I still hate him to the core. But some of that hate has been subdued and forgotten by now. I am not the same helpless, idiotic teenage girl I was back then. I’m older. I have moved on. I found a new love.

Diego hasn’t.

I turn around to ignore him and signal to Daniel that I want us to spar again. My best friend understands, and we exchange a few hits.

Honestly, I knew it wouldn’t be enough to drive Diego away. Instead, he stays on the side of the ring.

“What? I don’t even get a welcome kiss?”

I ignore him. Daniel throws a punch at me, and I manage to avoid it, sending back an uppercut. He growls a bit and kicks back. Maybe because of Diego’s presence, Danny is angry, and his punches are fiercer.

“Elena, I’m talking to you.”

Well, I don’t give a damn. I keep ignoring him, even after he calls me one more time. I focus on my fight with Danny instead, and my best friend manages to keep me busy for a while. That is until Diego jumps on the ring to get in between us, dangerously close to me. I step back as a reflex. My wolf is furious. She doesn’t want him near us, not after what he did to our baby.

“I said, I am talking to you,” he growls.

“And I said fuck. Off.”

I repeated that slowly, glaring right at him, showing him that he doesn’t have any fucking right to order me around. He frowns, visibly a bit surprised. Seriously, what in the world did he expect? For me to be happy about his return? Really? After all that shit I went through five years ago?

“Five years without seeing me, and that’s what I get? Fuck off, really? Estás enojado conmigo, amor ?”

“Last time, Diego. You get the fuck out of my ring and out of my dojo,” I warn him.

He seems shocked to see me standing my ground. I’m proud of myself. I don’t even let him see how angry I really am and stand my ground without fail. Even I didn’t think I could control my emotions so well.

Diego seems to hesitate a bit and slowly takes a few steps back. I can tell he is re-evaluating me, changing his attitude upon seeing my reaction.

“We are not done talking,” he growls.

I watch him leave without answering, but I make sure to glare his way and let my wolf growl with all her might until he’s out of sight. As soon as he’s exited the dojo, I take a deep breath again.

“What a son of a dog, are you okay, babe? Damn, I don’t think your Alpha Aura has ever felt that scary! If you were growling at me, I swear my pants wouldn’t be dry right now!”

I chuckle. Only Danny can crack jokes at times like these. I sigh and rest my arms on the ropes of the ring, gazing in the direction Diego went. Around us, the few people who listened are sending glances my way, but I ignore them to talk to Daniel.

“He’s going to be pissed now.”

“You think?”

“I’m sure. He will be mad that I ignored him; that’s the worst for him. I made him understand he won’t be able to control me like before and he will not like it.”

“Whatever. If he’s unhappy, it’s his problem. Come on, I’m done getting my butt kicked. Lunch is on me today.”

I wish it was that easy. I know Diego won’t let it slide. Nevertheless, I grab my bag and follow Daniel. Just as we exit the gym, my cousin Iris suddenly walks up to us.

“Elena! I’m so sorry I couldn’t let you know earlier, Diego is back,” she says, out of breath.

“I know. He was here just a minute ago. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Really? I asked Dad to not let him back into the pack, but–”

“I’m fine, Iris. Xavier can decide whatever he wants,” I reply.

“Come on, sweetheart, we were about to go get lunch. Are you joining us?” asks Daniel with a smile.

“Sure! Should I call Chris too?”

It’s been a while since I ate with my cousins. For some reason, I have never gotten very close to them. Maybe because their dad never really liked me. However, Iris is only a few months younger than me, and Chris loves training with me.

They join me and Daniel for lunch, and we decide to go to George’s. Because of their Sunday brunch, the place is crowded, and we have to wait at the entrance for a table to become available.

“Danny! Elena!”

We turn our heads. Across the restaurant, Levi is waving at us. He is at a large table with three other guys from the pack, including Orpheus. Danny gives me a little poke.

“Here’s our entrance ticket! Come on, Iris, Chris!”

We skip the line to join their table, and Daniel’s older brother and his friends welcome us with a big smile.

“I guess we had the same idea!”

“This is the only place that is almost as good as Mom’s brunch,” says Daniel.

“Hi, Elena, princess!”

Orpheus gives me a hug, and the two other guys, Jace and Kentin, greet me too before welcoming my cousins. They scoot over a bit on the leather bench and find a couple more chairs so we can all sit together.

“We just ordered, too!” says Jace. “You can just add whatever you want, Orpheus is buying lunch today.”

“Seriously? What bet did you lose?” asks Chris with a smirk.

But Orpheus blushes a bit and refuses to answer, so Jace does in his stead.

“That idiot bet he could beat Eric!”

“You should have bet on hunting instead,” sighs Daniel. “Eric is good at fighting but he’s too clumsy to hunt anything.”

“I thought this time I could do it!” insists Orpheus.

“No one can beat Eric, aside from Elena, you dummy.”

“I’ll beat him soon!” exclaims Chris, full of confidence.

I chuckle and ruffle his hair a bit.

“You need a bit more muscle and training before that happens, kid.”

“At this rate, Xavier will pick Elena as his heir before that happens!” says Jace with a smirk.

“ Uh oh. Hey, babe. ”

“ What? ”

“ Look at Iris. ”

I follow Daniel’s little chin movement to look at my cousin Iris, sitting next to Levi. She is glaring at Jace, looking pissed. Is it because he’s making fun of her little brother? I didn’t think she would get mad at such a lousy joke. Jace notices too and stops laughing.

“Sorry, sorry, I was just kidding, heh? Come on, I’ll pay for the drinks.”

Since Iris is an alpha too, he probably couldn’t stand being glared at. But she soon calms down and sighs.

“That’s fine.”

I smile a bit. I forgot Iris is always a bit uptight about the pack’s rules. The guys move on to discuss the last fights that happened within the pack, joking about who is making progress or not. Meanwhile, George spots us and comes to take our orders, adding a freebie for Daniel. Those two are super close after all. When he leaves, Jace turns to me.

“By the way, Elena, I heard Diego’s back?”

He immediately gets a lot of glares and goes white. I sigh.

“Yes, he is.”

“I can’t believe Xavier let that fucker back in,” growls Orpheus.

“It's a difficult situation. He belongs to our pack and is a good fighter too,” says Iris, trying to defend her father’s decision.

“Come on, Iris, don’t defend that asshole. Everyone knows what an asshole he was to Elena,” growls her brother.

“But--”

“Elena, if you’re looking for a new boyfriend just to piss him off, I’m available!” says Jace with a little wink.

Daniel rolls his eyes.

“Moon Goddess, Jace, that is so uncalled for, dude. Get off your high horse a little, will ya? There’s a whole line waiting to date my babe, and you’re at the bottom. The very bottom, Jace.”

“I don’t wanna get anywhere near your bottom, Danny,” mumbles Jace.

Levi and Orpheus, who are sitting on each side of that idiot, immediately smack him behind the head at the same time.

“Ouch! What the hell?”

“Thank you,” says Daniel with a satisfied smile.

Iris and I laugh, almost spitting out our coffees. Damn, Jace is an idiot but a funny one. Levi growls at him when he protests again, putting an end to his childishness.

“But seriously, Elena, we got your back,” says Orpheus to me.

I smile at him.

“Thanks.”

They all give me some word or gesture to say they are on my side no matter what. I wish things had been this way back then. But the truth is, no one knew exactly what was going on between me and Diego.

Like Danny and I, Diego was some sort of pariah among the pack. His father was on bad terms with the Alpha and was always training him to become stronger. He had a rough, violent upbringing. His father justified anything with the werewolf condition. As an alpha, he had to be strong, to be tough, and not show his weakness. But Diego did end up showing his one weakness: me. I was the only girl he got along with, the only one he really liked. We fell in love like any other teens would have had they hung out together every day for years. We had grown up together. There wasn’t anything we hid from one another, same with Danny.

He was my teenage crush, as well as my rival. We fought a lot. Because we were alphas, we fought seriously every time. But as I learned later, being an alpha doesn’t justify violence. Diego didn’t learn that. He fought with anyone in the pack, weaker or stronger than him, and there weren’t many people who could stand up to him aside from me. As the years went by, his tendency to violence got worse. He injured several people in the pack under the pretense of “serious training,” including Danny. The Alpha got mad, but I would always find excuses for his behavior.

I was an idiot in love, and I didn’t know any better.

“Elena, babe?”

I return to reality when Danny puts his hand on my knee.

“Sorry, Danny, you were saying?”

“Your phone. It’s vibrating in your bag. You might want to check it.”

I almost jump down to grab the bag at my feet and take out my phone. It’s a text from Nate. I smile but then worry. Is he mad about yesterday? What is this about? Did he believe me? Or not? I’m not sure what I want… I mumble some excuse about going to the bathroom and take my phone with me. Danny gives me a little wink. I take a deep breath in the unisex restroom and open Nate’s text.