Page 19 of His Sunshine Baby (The Silver City #2)

“No, well… I mean I need to go to them directly, okay?”

“Are you going to see an ex-boyfriend, Daniel? Because I’m still rooting for Boyan, you know.”

“I’m not!” he sighs. “I’m just going out, and I promise I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

I watch him leave in a hurry, still confused. What was that? And why is he acting so secretive suddenly? Except for a few of his shameful relationships, Daniel never hides anything from me! Why would he need to meet someone I don’t know about?

I sigh and go grab a change of clothes. Damn, I’m tired and hungry now. I head to the kitchen and grab some toast and cheese. I’m really starving! I eat three pieces of toasts, but I’d rather have Danny’s cooking, or Nate’s.

Damn, that idiot. I check my phone, but still nothing since last time. It’s tiring, how we keep fighting, getting back together, fighting again. I know it’s not good. Too reckless. I can’t afford that anymore. Especially when I think about whoever that bitch was at his place.

I decide to give Eric a call to ask him if he knows anything more, just because I need to keep myself busy. He only tells me that Nora was checked at the hospital, but now she’s back in the Blood Moon’s territory again. Crap, if she’s so heavily guarded, it’s going to be really, really hard…

Damn, I don’t even remember falling asleep. I called Eric, and then... nothing. It’s so dark in the apartment. Is Danny not back yet? I check my phone, but the battery died. Crap. I struggle to find my charger when someone bangs on our apartment door. What the heck?

“Elena! Open up, right now!”

Shit, what does my uncle want now? He never comes here!

I go to open the door, but Xavier barges in, literally furious. I don’t think I’ve seen my uncle mad like this in a while. He almost runs into me while heading to the middle of the living room, red with anger.

“What the hell, Xavier?”

“I should be the one saying that! What the fuck were you doing outside our border again?”

What the... I stare at my uncle, completely lost. Has he gone nuts? The only time I went outside was for Nora’s fight today!

“Are you kidding me? I had your fucking permission!”

“My permission, Elena? Seriously? To go out? When did I ever give you that?”

Oh Moon Goddess, is he fucking playing dumb on purpose?

“Iris called you! I was right there, Xavier, I heard you tell her it was fine for us to go!”

“I never said you could go anywhere! You disobeyed me on purpose! Are you trying to test my limits, Elena? I had told you if you left our territory again, there would be consequences!”

I can’t believe this man! Is he pretending it never happened just to rant at me? As if I didn’t have enough shit to deal with right now! How dare he pretend he never agreed to it? Is he just trying to screw me over for the pleasure of it? I can’t believe him!

“So that’s it? You found a way to fuck me over, Xavier? Really? I didn’t think you would stoop so low!”

“I agreed for Iris to go there, I never said you could go! Now if you blame this on my daughter this will really go bad for you, Elena!”

“Don’t you fucking threaten me on top of it!” I yell, my wolf growling.

He steps back, surprised at how I’m mad at him too. I can bear it when he’s angry at me for disobeying him, but this is fucking unfair! My wolf is furious, growling at my uncle and telling him to keep away. She’s mad and warning him to stay away from her for real. My aura is fuming, I’m so fucking mad at him!

But he suddenly comes back at me, growling even more furiously, gathering his Alpha Aura to growl back at me.

“You little bitch, how dare you rebel right in front of me! And disobey my order on purpose too! You really asked for it this time, Elena!”

He suddenly raises his hand.

“This time you’re going to–!”

But before he finishes his sentence, I see my uncle fall on the floor. I was prepared for the worst, for him to punch and fight me, but he just collapsed at my feet. What the heck?

“Hi, Elena.”

To my surprise, Sylviana is standing right there, perfectly calm. I was not ready for that. What is she doing at our place anyway? Daniel is right behind her, too, looking down at Xavier in horror.

“Oh Moon Goddess, Sylviana, please tell me you didn’t kill him!” he shrieks.

“What? Oh, of course not, I just made him sleep a little.”

Sleep? He looks like he’s in a freaking coma! My uncle is lying on the ground in a weird position, like an inanimate puppet. It’s disturbing. My eyes go from Danny to Sylviana, then to Danny again, who’s closing our door.

“Okay, is anyone going to explain to me what just happened?” I say, exhausted.

“Sorry, I’m not fond of violence,” Sylviana replies, going to our kitchen.

I look at her, completely stunned. This situation is surreal! She just had my uncle collapse out of the blue, and in front of my eyes too!

“You did something weird to me last time too!” I insist. “You were the one to give me that weird feeling the first time I met Nora!”

“Yes, I know.”

Is she going to keep talking in enigmas? Because this is frustrating! Danny walks to me with an apologetic look. He puts his hands on my shoulders and gently pushes me back to our couch. I notice his hair is still wet from the rain outside. Did he just go to get Sylviana and came back here?

“Sit down, babe. I have a couple of things I have to tell you, okay?”

“About your weird friend?”

I keep sending glances in Sylviana’s direction, unable to decide if she is supposed to be here or not. Daniel’s worried face is not making me feel better at all.

“She’s not weird,” he replies.

“She just made my uncle sleep like a baby!” I say, pointing at the evidence lying on the floor a few steps away.

My uncle is in a weird position, and lying in our living room! Tell me again that his friend is not weird! I look in her direction again, but the more I see of that red-haired girl, the more confused I feel.

Now that I’m looking at her more clearly, I can tell there’s something abnormal about her. My instincts tell me to stay away, there’s something wrong. Something not human. Sylviana pours herself a cup of lemon tea as if it was her house and comes to sit next to me on the couch. I can’t help but move farther away from her a little.

“Okay, if one of you doesn’t start talking now, I’m really going to be mad,” I warn them.

“Babe, Sylviana and I are university friends, you know that, right?”

I want to ask Danny why he is talking to me like I’m a child, but I don’t and just give him a pissed off look. He sighs.

“When I started working with Sylviana in Biology, I noticed she… was very good, extremely good, to be honest. Her experiments were going too well, our entire greenhouse was doing awesome compared to others. Eventually, Sylviana and I became closer, and we started talking. And she told me a secret I couldn’t tell anyone, not even you.”

“A secret?” I repeat, a bit lost.

Sylviana gives me a big smile.

“That’s right. Your instincts were right about me. I’m a witch, Elena.”

I look at them, annoyed.

“That’s a lame joke, Danny.”

“It’s not a joke, Elena.”

I hesitate for a second, looking at both of them, doubtful. But no… Moon Goddess, they are fucking serious!

“Babe, you need to breathe, you’re scaring me.”

“Breathe? Danny, we have a witch in our living room!” I yell.

Daniel and Sylviana exchange a look, but I’m just feeling completely astonished right now. A witch. My best friend, my childhood friend whom I thought I knew by heart, has a witch friend that I had no idea about and has been working with her for three years too!

“It’s normal to be shocked, Elena. Just don’t be mad at Daniel, I asked him to keep this a secret when he found out. It’s not easy to be a witch in a city full of humans and werewolves.”

“So… you’re not a bad witch?” I ask, a bit awkward.

Sylviana chuckles.

“No, Elena. I don’t turn people into frogs, I don’t eat children, and I’m not green, either. Just a good witch, minding her own business most of the time.”

“So, what do you do?” I ask. “I mean, no offense, but we don’t get a witch or vampire history class at school.”

She got up and walked across the room. Because I now know that she isn’t human, she feels even more eerie than usual. Her red, wavy hair, especially, and her green eyes are natural, right?

Sylviana checks one of our fanned plants. Danny grimaces, since it’s one of his. I guess he’s been lazy with gardening lately. But as soon as the witch’s fingers touch it, it immediately changes to a bright green, and a few flowers even bloom within seconds! I’m witnessing real-life magic! I’m speechless.

Sylviana smiles at me and comes back to sit.

“I am an Earth Witch. My main domains are plants, living creatures, wood… Basically anything linked to earth.”

“So, there are… other types of witches?” I ask, unsure.

She nods.

“For witches, the world is divided into three elements: Water, Earth, Fire, and all of that is in a cycle.”

“What about wind?”

“Different element, not for witches,” Sylviana simply answered. “Anyway, a witch gets her element from birth to death, we don’t change. I was born under the Earth element, and I’m able to learn and grow my powers within that element.”

“Okay, but… I mean, why Silver City? It’s packed with werewolves! And are you alone?” I ask

“I am alone now. Though it wasn’t always the case… You werewolves think you were here long before us, but it’s the other way around. Witches lived among the humans in Silver City, and probably in any other city, long before the wolves came to settle in cities. We just didn’t make ourselves known. I’m the only one left, though.”

I take a deep breath in.

Moon Goddess, that’s a lot to take in. It’s like a whole new world just exploded in front of me. As a werewolf, I always knew about witches and that they existed somehow. As pups, we were always told stories about the bad witches who come and take the bad pups away, but I never thought I would meet one in real life!

I still think it’s hard to believe a witch has been freely living in Silver City all this time. Half the population here is werewolf, and witches are our natural predators. It’s all about the food chain, or its supernatural equivalent, the one we heard about from our parents. Werewolves chase vampires. Vampires feed on humans. Humans hunt witches. And witches attack werewolves. Sure, it has evolved a lot since then, but…

“So, you don’t use werewolves for secret potions and stuff like that?”

Yeah, I know how stupid and childish that sounds. No need to give me that look, Danny. To my relief however, Sylviana takes my question very seriously.

“No, I’m not a witch who does that, to anyone. I tend to like werewolves and live in peace with them. It’s true that some witches use werewolves for bad things, though.”

Great, I’m not sure I was ready to hear that, but whatever. It’s not like we have other witches waiting around in gingerbread houses anyway. I sigh and grab my cup of lemon tea to try and calm myself down. That’s a lot of emotions for today.

I look at my uncle, lying on the floor, and point at him with my index finger.

“Should I be worried about that?”

“Oh, it’s not like I can do that to anyone. It only works on weak minds, whether it’s humans or werewolves. You do not have a weak mind,” she says with a big smile, “but don’t worry, he won’t remember what happened when he wakes up.”

“When will he wake up?”

“Hmm... In an hour or so?”

I sigh. Well, frankly I’m not too sorry for him, and at least I get an extra hour of peace. For now, I turn to Danny, who looks half worried and half sorry.

“Are you mad?”

“I’m not sure,” I answer. “Sylviana asked you to not say anything, right?”

“Well, it took me a while to figure it out and a bit more to confirm, and you kind of already had a lot going on, babe.”

“You’re not wrong, but… Oh, well, fine, I get it. You had reasons. Now, why are you guys telling me all this now?”

Daniel turned to Sylviana.

“Can you tell her?”

Sylviana sighed, and after a while, spoke in a very calm voice.

“Daniel knows I have another power. Like most witches, I’m a seer.”

“You can see the future?”

“The future, the past, the present. I get a glimpse of each if I focus on something. It’s like looking into a very, very large and complex picture looking for a grain of sand. I need to know what I’m looking for exactly.”

I exchange a look with Daniel and understand. Sylviana could know more about my past, about my family! I turn to her.

“How does it work?”

“The more I know, the better.”

I nod and take out my sun necklace, to show it to her. I start explaining to her how I got to the White Moon clan, my adoption, and everything Reagan told me so far.

“Lately, she told me something else. She said her and I were born in an old pack, one far in the north. According to her, it was so big it had over a thousand members, and there was a Luna Queen. From what Reagan said, she must have been damn powerful because she didn’t have a mate and still ruled. But Reagan told me our pack had been killed, and she had brought me here while trying to find the other half of the pack, a group that had parted with their clan decades before. She said she didn’t know what had attacked our previous pack.”

Sylviana listened to my story in silence, not acting surprised or anything. I hesitate a bit, and resume talking, Danny’s hand on my knee to encourage me.

“Reagan said my parents were dead, and she is very unwilling to talk about that former pack, or why I’m stronger, different from other wolves. But…”

“You do not believe her,” said Sylviana.

I nod.

“I just know when she lies or hides things. She’s bad at lying but good at keeping secrets. And recently, there was this girl.”

“You met Nora Bluemoon.”

I look up at Sylviana, shocked. How the hell does she know Nora? Did she see something about her somehow? It’s so intriguing to talk to her, I can’t tell what she thinks or how much she knows!

She smiles gently.

“I’ve had my eyes on Nora for a while. She’s the King’s fated mate after all. And she’s somewhat special.”

“I’ve seen her wolf, too. She’s white like snow, and her eyes are…”

Sylviana nods enigmatically, but she doesn’t answer me, and grabs her cup of lemon tea to drink a bit. I sigh and understand there are some things I should focus on first, starting with my theories.

“Her last name is Bluemoon, and when I met her, I felt we were connected, like wolves of a same pack or family.”

“You want to know if Nora is part of a Blue Moon clan you would have belonged to as well.”

I slowly nod.

“Reagan said everyone but her and I had died. If Nora is really one of my kin, and alive, maybe…” I say, with hope.

But Sylviana shakes her head.

“I’m sorry, Elena. But your family, your parents really are dead, like Reagan said.”

I feel my heart drop, like something very, very heavy just crushed it. It’s hard to hear. I knew it was only a faint hope, but... I gulp down and try to repress a tear.

“How do you know?” I ask.

“I know.”

I frown. So, she’s just going to answer by enigmas, too? But to my surprise, Sylviana sighs and puts her cup down.

“Witches, werewolves, and vampires are children of the Moon Goddess. We are all different but connected. So, when a Luna as powerful as Queen Diane emerged and passed, there was no way I wasn’t aware as well. Every witch around felt it.”

I almost choke. Queen Diane? I’ve never heard of that name!

“Was that the Luna?”

“She was the Luna of that former pack, that’s right. The Blue Moon pack had a Luna so powerful, she was filled with the Moon Goddess’ power, and was a Royal werewolf so pure, like no one had seen for years.”

“Wow, wait a second, Syl,” said Daniel. “A Royal? We’re talking about the real thing, a Royal werewolf? Like the legends?”

Daniel is right, this is insane! The Royal werewolves are no more! Long ago, the purest, strongest of our species were called the Royals, because they were like royalty to us: so strong, so wise, and pure-blooded they radiated with Alpha Auras.

But that was centuries ago! Now, we have mixed our blood with humans for so many generations, the Royals eventually became regular werewolves and just disappeared. But for one to come back, they would have to be a reincarnation of the Moon Goddess, like Queen Diane.

An image comes to my mind, something I couldn’t forget even if I tried.

“Nora’s wolf was white and sapphire-eyed, like the legends,” I whisper, still in shock.

“She could be that woman’s descendant,” says Danny. “Right? Could she be that Queen Diane’s child or…”

“Grand-child,” said Sylviana. “Queen Diane died fifty years ago. If she had a child, it could be Nora’s relative, yes. Possibly.”

“You can’t make sure?” I ask her, febrile.

Sylviana shakes her head.

“My power has its limits. There was no way for me to ignore Queen Diane’s existence, since all witches knew such a woman existed. My mother told me about her, and even I felt the remnants of her power despite her death. But if Nora is linked to her, it is for her to uncover the truth.”

I sigh. Moon Goddess, I thought we were making progress, but it turns out we have even more to uncover.

“So, that Royal family is…”

“Dead, yes. Reagan told the truth.”

“But Nora!”

“Reagan couldn’t have known of a child born after she had left the pack,” suddenly said Danny. “Babe, think about it. The Black brothers said the girl was seventeen, right? If we believe Reagan, she had left the Blue Moon pack before that! If when she got back, someone else had taken Nora or whatever, it could explain why you had no idea about each other! I bet she has no idea another child survived, and you were too young to know. If that’s what happened.”

I stay silent for a while, trying to digest all of this.

The Blue Moon clan, and a Luna Queen, Diane.

Nora Bluemoon, who might be a Royal’s grandchild, and a relative of mine.

My parents, dead for real.

Danny puts an arm around me, trying to soothe me.

“You okay, babe? That was a lot.”

“I just... I really need to talk to Nora again, Danny. She needs to know, and I need to know more.”

“About your pack?”

I turn to Sylviana again, frowning, remembering what Reagan had told me.

“When Reagan mentioned she had found me in the middle of the slaughter, she said something… She didn’t really know what had attacked them. Something she couldn’t understand. I know my mentor, and she’s seen a lot of things. She would recognize a vampire’s doing, or even another werewolf pack. So, what attacked them?”

Sylviana nodded, glancing down.

“That’s another issue to solve, I fear. You should handle one problem at a time, Elena.”

“Right. Thanks, Sylviana, that’s still a lot more than what I had gathered in all these years!”

“Babe, I still think you should talk to Reagan,” says Daniel.

“Why?”

“This is her story as much as yours. And since you know so much now, maybe she’ll talk more. I still don’t get why she was not willing to talk, but…”

“Reagan is trying to protect you, Elena. And she still feels guilty about what happened,” explained Sylviana.

Guilty for what? I know she couldn’t find her pack, but why would she feel responsible for what happened, and hide everything from me? Moon Goddess, I’m tired of all the lies, and secrets. I show my necklace to Sylviana.

“Do you know anything about this? About the sun?”

She barely looks at it.

“Danny is right, Elena. You should talk to Reagan.”

I sigh and look at my necklace, that little, mysterious sunshine.

“Okay, I’ll just ask Reagan. As soon as I find her, I guess.”

“She’s in the north-east forest, Elena, but she’ll be back soon,” says Sylviana.

I nod. Well, at least I finally got to know where my mentor is hiding! I get up and head to the kitchen, exhausted.

“Babe?”

“I need a drink, after all this. Sylviana, do you drink wine?”

“I do, but you really shouldn’t drink, Elena.”

I frown while taking the bottle of white wine.

“Why not?”

I mean, I could really use a drink. Sylviana sighs.

“Elena, you can’t drink. You are pregnant.”

The bottle of wine drops and breaks at my feet. I don’t even care. I’m staring at Sylviana, still unable to process what she just said. I blink a couple of times. I try to breathe.

“Sorry, you… What?”

“You’re pregnant, Elena.”

Moon Goddess, no, no. I smile nervously, but there’s nothing joyous about it. I shake my head, unable to hear it. She’s wrong, she’s got to be wrong. It can’t be. How would she even know? I see Daniel, next to her, in the same state as me, his eyes going between Sylviana and me.

“I’m not pregnant. I’m not,” I just mutter.

“I’m sure. You are pregnant.”

“I’m not pregnant!” I yell.

I feel the tears before they even come out. My crying gets intense, erratic, loud. Daniel almost runs to me to try and help me calm down.

“Hey, babe, calm down, calm down.”

“I’m not pregnant, Danny, it can’t be, I’m…”

How could I be pregnant? I lost a baby before! I don’t even know if I can have another baby! I don’t feel pregnant at all, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel!

Daniel hugs me, patting my back and holding me against him.

“Danny, I can’t.”

“It’s okay, babe, I’m here, I’m here. Breathe. Calm down, Elena, it’s okay, babe. It’s okay…”

It takes a while for me to actually calm down. I cry, a lot. Because it’s too sudden, because I don’t, I can’t, hear about a pregnancy now. I’m not ready at all. I just freaking broke up with Nathaniel! How can I be pregnant now?

I listen to Danny’s voice for a while, trying to take deep breaths and slow down my weeping. I ruined his shirt with my tears and snot, but Moon Goddess, I don’t care. Danny holds me for a long time, caressing my hair and soothing me until I can sit down and breathe without choking up.

I look at Sylviana, almost mad at her for telling me right now. I don’t even know if she’s right, and I’m not sure I want to confirm it.

“Syl, are you sure?” asks Danny.

She nods.

“If a witch says you’re expecting, you are, Elena. You’re about ten, no, almost eleven weeks.”

“Eleven weeks!”

That’s nearly 3 months! Moon Goddess, I can’t have been pregnant and not noticed a thing, it’s not possible! I can’t possibly…

“Babe, when was your last period?” asks Daniel.

I glare at him. Really, now? But I still sigh and make the effort to try and remember.

“Probably… when Nate came over and made me pizza.”

“Elena, that was in September, 3 months ago! Are you kidding me?”

“You know my period is irregular! And with everything that’s been going on, I just didn’t pay attention to that.”

“That’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to pay attention to, babe, especially if you have sex with you-know-who!”

I sigh. I know, it was stupid of me to not check earlier about my period! I turn to Sylviana, trying to understand.

“I’m on the pill, how can it…”

“Pills are not completely effective, even more so with alpha werewolves, Elena. I wouldn’t rely on it as contraception. In your case, well, you have proof now.”

My gosh, I don’t know if I want to scream or slam something. Worse thing is, I’m pretty sure I might have forgotten the pill a couple of times back when I was living with Nate. No way I’m letting Danny know about that, though.

I can’t believe this is really happening. Moon Goddess, if I really am pregnant with Nate’s baby…

“Daniel, I need to check. I’m sorry Sylviana, I’m not saying you’re lying, but…”

“It’s all right, I understand,” she says with a soft smile.

“I can call the clinic,” says Danny, grabbing his phone.

“Daniel, I’m pregnant with Nathaniel Black’s baby! I can’t just walk into the White Moon clan’s clinic. Everyone will wonder what the hell I’m doing at OB-GYN!”

Moon Goddess, Xavier and Clark will kill me if they find out. Daniel nods.

“It’s all right, we can ask Iris and Mom to help, they both work there, and we can trust them, okay?”

“Okay.”

He sighs and turns to Sylviana.

“Girl, you can’t drop bombs like that.”

“Daniel, she’s nearly three months. I thought she knew.”

She does look a bit sorry, but honestly, I don’t really care about being mad at her right now. I’m still in shock.

Nate’s baby. I might be pregnant with Nathaniel’s baby. I turn to Sylviana, a bit intrigued. Without thinking about it, I already have a hand on my tummy.

“How can you tell?”

“I told you, it’s a witch thing. We are good midwives. I can tell you more if you want to hear it.”

“More?”

“Your baby’s health, the gender.”

What the heck, she can already tell my baby’s gender? He or she is only 11 weeks old! Does it even have a gender yet at that stage? I sigh and sit back down. I forgot about that stupid wine I spilled on the floor, but Danny is already taking care of it. Moon Goddess, I love my best friend.

“I want to know!” says Danny from the kitchen.

Sylviana smiles at him, but I know she’s waiting for me. My gosh, I can barely believe I’m having a baby right now, do I really want the specifics? Moon Goddess, I can feel my wolf is anxious for her pup and urges me to ask the witch. Is that why she wasn’t allowing me to shape-shift lately? Because she knew by instinct?

I nod.

“All right, well, first, you’re expecting a girl. But Elena, you have to know, irregular periods are a sign of a weak uterus. Your chances of miscarriage are high.”

Oh Moon Goddess, no. I turn to Daniel, but he already knows. I’m not losing another baby again, and certainly not Nate’s baby. No fucking way.

“Don’t worry Elena, I’ll help you out. You want this baby, don’t you?”

I slowly nod. I know I already love this baby of mine, even if I say I don’t really believe Sylviana’s words yet. Moon Goddess, there better be a child in there. I’ll break that witch’s neck if she gives me false hope like that.

“No more caffeine, alcohol, or shape-shifting for you. Only lots of rest and no stress, Elena.”

That’s going to be hard. And how will I hide my pregnancy? If the pack members don’t see me shape-shifting for training and all, people will start asking questions. Moreover, how do I even hide a pregnancy? I mean, there’s about 5 months of tummy growing left, and after that, I supposedly will have a whole baby! I turn to Danny, a bit panicked.

“Danny, if anyone knows who the dad is...”

“I know. It’s okay, we’ll come up with something. But you’re going to tell him, right?”

Tell him. Oh, Moon Goddess, I didn’t even think about that! Damn, how will I even tell Nate? The timing couldn’t be worse! Hey, I know we fought about you having a mistress behind my back, but guess what? I’m pregnant with your baby! Oh, damn.

I have no idea how he will react. And there’s the King, too! Holy crap, what did I get myself into now. I sigh, and Sylviana pushes my cup of tea towards me with a warm smile.

“I guess that means tea is fine?”

“It is.”

I sigh and grab my cup, getting the hot drink down my throat. The lemon helps me calm down a bit, but it’s a drop in the ocean. Danny just finished cleaning my mess and joins us, sitting next to me again.

“Babe, we have another problem.”

“I know.”

Diego.

If that butthole knows about me being pregnant, I have no idea what he’ll do, but it’s going to be bad. He is the last person I want to know about my child, my daughter. I get the chills just thinking about it. Remembering how I lost Angel… No way I’m losing another baby. I wouldn’t survive this pain a second time.

Moon Goddess, that’s a lot to think about.

“So, we need to hide the real father from the pack, and ideally, hide this pregnancy as long as possible so your ex doesn’t go nuts. All that added to our secret meeting with Nora.”

“I can help with that,” said Sylviana.

I turn to her, intrigued.

“Nora? You know how to contact her?”

“Not yet,” she says with a smile, “but I know someone on the inside.”

“So do we,” sighs Danny. “I mean, if we can persuade Bobo.”

“Nora’s birthday is coming up the day after tomorrow,” says Sylviana. “They will most likely take her out at that time.”

“Okay, so we know when to strike! You can mind-harass my boyfriend to know where, Elena.”

I nod. Seems like we are getting somewhere, after all.

I look down at my uncle still lying there.

“What do we do about him?” I sigh. “I don’t want to continue where we left off, to be honest.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just have him forget what happened and go home. He’ll be confused for a while but at least he will leave you alone.”

“Great. Daniel Lewis, if you have other witch friends I need to know about, you better tell me now.”

He chuckles.

“Sorry, babe.”

We wait for another half-hour for my uncle to wake up. As Sylviana said, he was very confused, almost like he was drunk, and left without complaints or any memory of why he had come here.

Good grief, I can use one less thing to worry about. Sylviana leaves right after him, though I apparently can ask her for help anytime if I need to. Looks like I got a midwife out of the blue. It’s late when I’m finally alone with Danny.

I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep and forget about how complicated my life has become for a while. Danny comes to sit beside me, putting my legs on his. He smiles at me.

“What?”

“You’re having a baby.”

I nod, still kind of in a weird state from hearing that.

“I still want to confirm, Danny.”

“I know. But I believe Sylviana. She’s weird but she’s great.”

“So, I can say she’s weird now?”

“You know what I mean. She’s the witchy kind of weird. It’s cool.”

We both laugh a bit, more to release all the nervousness than from anything funny. It’s been a freaking weird day today.

“So many things happened today,” I sigh, “and now it turns out I’m pregnant with that jerk’s baby.”

“You have to tell him, Elena. I know you still love him, too.”

I glare at him. Why does Danny have to be so good at reading my emotions?

Yes, I won’t ever say it, but I do love Nate, despite him being a two-timing jackass. I still have such vivid memories of that woman on his doorstep. Fuck him. I sigh and think about my child, our child. Damn, someone is going to get a rough wake-up call.

“I want to wait until I get medical confirmation, Danny.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to Mom tomorrow, okay? I’m sure she can help us check your condition in secret or something like that.”

“She’s going to ask who the father is. Iris, too.”

Daniel nods and seems to think about it for a few seconds.

“My mom won’t believe us if we tell her it’s Levi, but I think she won’t push it if you just tell her you don’t want to talk about it. She’s good with people’s privacy. And Iris, well, we’ll see if she asks, okay?”

“Iris will think Levi is the father, Danny. I’ve been pretending to date him for three months; everyone is going to think the baby’s his. I can’t push that onto your brother.”

“You know what? Let’s invite Levi for breakfast tomorrow morning and let him know first, okay? This way, he can voice his opinion, and we can discuss a plan together. But I doubt anyone’s going to notice for a while, Elena. You’re not showing, and you always wear baggy clothes. I’m your best friend and even I didn’t have a clue. I mean, the coffee part was suspicious, but…”

“Your coffee really is disgusting, Danny!”

“Yeah, whatever, you’re banned from drinking it for five months anyway so shut up about my coffee. Just concentrate on harassing my boyfriend so we can get some time with Nora in two days while I call my family.”

He grabs his phone and calls the Lewis family house, while I resume trying to mind-link Boyan again. It’s not easy, he’s super far. And it’s much harder to mind-link a Beta. It’s like trying to find someone whispering in the middle of the crowd.

As usual, Daniel chats about trivial stuff with his mother, and I have plenty of time to think about random stuff while trying to contact his boyfriend. Seriously, I wish Bobo carried his own phone for once.

Meanwhile, my mind can’t help but wander somewhere else. To my tummy, to be precise. A baby. I can’t believe I’m pregnant with Nate’s baby. This is so unreal. I didn’t even dare to hope I could ever get pregnant again, after what had happened with Diego. The doctors had told me my miscarriage had reduced my chances drastically to ever conceive again. With the grief of losing my unborn child, I just never processed the thought of ever becoming a mother again.

My wolf is in protective mode. She doesn’t want to lose her pup. She already knew, and I had no idea. This is so strange. No wonder she didn’t want me to shape-shift. I take a second and a deep breath. I need to be careful. I can’t lose this baby, my baby. No matter what, I’ll protect him. I mean, her. Even if my clan disapproves, or Nate is against me having his child. I already know I don’t care.

My child comes first.