Page 24 of His Sunshine Baby (The Silver City #2)

Under the hot water, I can finally close my eyes and stop thinking.

The argument with Clark has left me exhausted. I’m sad, disappointed, and lost. And somewhat angry, too. How dare they decide on all these things for me? Isn’t it my life? They never bothered to ask what I wanted!

I don’t care about being a Royal, but I was glad to find out that I still have a blood relative that’s alive!

“ Elena? ”

I almost jump at Nora’s voice. Damn, I will never get used to that; our mind-link is so clear, it’s as if she is standing next to me.

“ Nora! What is it, too lazy to use the phone now? ”

I grab my bathrobe and put my hair in a towel while she answers.

“ I’m showering. Plus, Nate is right next door. You still don’t want the brothers to know we know each other, right? ”

How funny, we were doing the exact same thing. Did she know somehow? Is that why she thought of contacting me at the same time? Now that she said it and I’m focusing, I can almost feel the water running. I remember her question and shake my head.

“ No, no. Are you alright, Nora? Your wolf seems all shaken up.”

“ A lot of things have happened! Someone broke into my place, I mean, the apartment Damian arranged for me.”

“ What? Are you alright? ” I ask, worried.

I exit the bathroom to find Daniel and Levi chatting, but I ignore them and head to the kitchen to make myself some hot water with lemon while Nora keeps talking.

“ I’m fine, I was at work. But Damian is completely furious. Whoever did it left some sort of threat, he has the whole pack looking for the culprit. I’m with him right now, and Nate and Liam too.”

I bet he is. The King seems totally overprotective of Nora, but now that something like this has happened… Who could have done it? Is it the same person who was watching me? Or the one who assaulted her when they found her? Anyone who wanted to piss off the King could go after Nora, but this seems personal.

“ Any suspects? ” I ask.

“ We have some. But anyway, I’m fine. I wanted to tell you something else. You know, about the Royal blood? The results came in, Elena. My blood is 80% Royal! ”

Damn, that’s a whole lot!! I mean, not that much of a surprise, but still…

“ Nora, that’s a lot of information. I’m not so surprised about the blood results, to be honest, I always knew you were more… well, more Royal than I am. But what happened at your place? That’s really no good.”

“ I know, I’m totally freaked out too, though I don’t want to worry Damian.”

“ I understand. But stay close to your mate until they found this psychopath, okay? And you can talk to me if you need help, anytime.”

I can’t help but worry about her. She is going to be a target now that they are together for real.

“ Thank you, cousin.”

I chuckle.

“ Cousin? I don’t really like it. Let’s call each other sisters instead.”

I’ve already been calling her that in my head for a while now, though I didn’t want to admit it. It sounds a bit too cheesy.

“ Sister? … I like that.”

“ All right. I’m still the older sister, though.”

“ I’m fine with having an older sister! Anyway, Elena, how are you and… ”

I sigh. Nowhere! I’m still stuck at home and Nathaniel’s stuck with the Blood Moon clan. I try to change the topic instead.

“ How about you and the King instead? You didn’t even tell me how you made up.”

“ Oh… Well, we… discussed it, and sorted out our differences? ”

I can feel she’s blushing and acting all shy. My gosh, Nora is so freaking cute at times!

“ So, all good? ”

“ Um. I guess. He will cancel the engagement… and announce me as his mate… ”

“ Way to go, girl! Nora, I’m happy for you! ”

And jealous, too. Nora doesn’t have a whole clan holding her back from announcing her relationship to the world. I wish I could say the same.

Suddenly, the mind-link is cut, and I can tell she’s talking to someone else. I finish preparing my drink and go back to the salon where the boys are waiting for me, both visibly upset.

“Clark left,” says Danny, stating the obvious.

“He said he’s sorry, Elena. Also, he will talk to the elders, see if he can’t do anything. I think he’s really regretting what he said and did.”

I nod at Levi’s words, but I don’t have anything to add. This stupid fight has exhausted me, for real. The brothers exchange a look, unsure, until Daniel asks.

“Okay, babe, so, what’s next?”

“For now, I’ll wait and see until Clark officially kicks me out. I am not changing my mind. As soon as I can leave this house and move without risking my baby’s life, I’m talking to Nathaniel.”

“And Reagan?” asks Levi.

I think for a second. Sylviana said Reagan was back on the territory, and it’s high time we have a good talk.

I take a deep breath and use my wolf to focus on finding her. Reagan may be good at ignoring me, but she’s from my pack too, from the Blue Moon. She can’t hide forever or shut out my voice.

“ Reagan, we need to talk.”

“ Leave me alone, kid. I got bigger fish to– ”

“ More important than the Blue Moon clan? ”

There’s a long silence; she’s stopped answering. I can feel that she’s on the move. Is she finally coming? I can tell our mind-link is thin, she is probably still far up in the North Forest. After a long while, several hours later actually, we finally hear some loud knocking on the door. How far was she? I exchange a look with Daniel, who goes to open.

“Where the hell did you hear that name?” asks Reagan, visibly shocked and sweating.

“Why would I tell you? Do you ever tell me anything?” I reply back, pissed.

She growls.

“Don’t play with me, kid. Even Clark doesn’t know of that name, so how…”

Daniel hands her the tests he did on Nora’s blood and mine, showing both her name and our results. Reagan is left speechless, staring at the document as if she’s seen a ghost.

“She… she’s really… alive?”

“You know about her?” asks Daniel, surprised.

Reagan shakes her head.

“I… I figured there might have been another, but… I thought…”

“You thought she must have died with everyone else,” I finish for her.

Reagan slowly nods and lets herself fall on one of the stools, still visibly shaken. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this. My old mentor’s almost about to cry.

“Reagan. I need to know.”

“No, no, Elena, you don’t know what that means. If she’s alive…”

“The Royal line survived, right?”

She turns to me, shocked again. Then, she frowns, split between anger and defiance.

“How much do you know?”

“A lot. About Queen Diane, and the Blue Moon clan. Nora and I are… her relatives, right? I mean, if you know Nora is a Royal, you know who her… no, who our parents were. I will find the answers, Reagan, I have to know. Clark said you told him of my Royal blood, but I am not a Royal, right? Why am I different from Nora?”

“How do you even know about Queen Diane!” shouts Reagan, furious.

“I had to dig around for the answers, Reagan, since you wouldn’t talk! Why can’t I know about her! She was my family, wasn’t she? What was so secret about Queen Diane that you couldn’t tell me? Because she was a pure Royal?”

Reagan keeps shaking her head, horrified.

“Elena, shut up! Don’t you get it? This is how your parents got killed!”

What? I exchange a look with Daniel, taken by surprise. Reagan is acting like the world is about to end, and that’s really not good coming from her. Danny insists I sit back on the couch, putting me a good distance away from my mentor, and turns to her.

“Reagan, whether you like it or not, Elena has found out most of the truth. So I really, really suggest you start speaking now and let her know if there’s anything else that’s endangering her.”

The old she-wolf turns to me, her eyes suddenly looking very sad. She lets out a long sigh.

“Elena, I… All right, I’ll tell you. Just… just don’t judge me too harshly.”

I frown. Why? Why would I judge her?

“It’s true. The clan we were both born in was called the Blue Moon clan. And Diane was at its head. Queen Diane. She was an incredible woman. Since she was born, we knew she was different from us. Our Alphas had always been powerful, among the oldest, purest werewolf families. But Diane was different. Our people believed she was a reincarnation of the Moon Goddess herself, and honestly, I believed it too. She could do things that were like magic to us. I wonder if she didn’t have witch blood or something. She could communicate with any animal, not just wolves. She knew when disasters would happen, she was a seer… I even saw her heal dying people, and her aura was incredible…”

I keep thinking about Sylviana while Reagan talks, but this is even different from what Danny’s witch friend can do. I’ve never, ever heard about someone as powerful as that, even in our legends. I mean, the Royals were already strong and incredible, but this woman, as Reagan said, was more on the Goddess level!

And from what Sylviana said…

“She was… my grandmother?” I ask, a bit unsure.

Reagan nods.

“Our clan prospered for as long as she was there. When she was very young, Queen Diane gave birth to twins. I have no idea who the father was. Either she didn’t want to say it, or there wasn’t one, I honestly don’t care. If she said there wasn’t, we all believed her and didn’t ask.”

No father? This is crazy! More like she didn’t want to reveal who it was… But now, I’m more interested in the twins than their father. I glance at the blood test. Nora and I are cousins, so those twins must be…

“The twins’ birth was a big deal in the pack. A boy and a girl, born on the full moon. She named them Lilyan and Gabriel… Gabriel was your father.”

I feel my heart beat a bit faster in my chest.

Gabriel. My father was Gabriel Bluemoon. I grab my necklace between my fingers. It was signed G. G for Gabriel… Daniel puts a hand on my knee while Reagan keeps talking, lost in her memories.

“He was the bravest fighter I’ve ever seen in my life. So strong, he could fight ten wolves by himself. His sister Lilyan was a gentle soul, so sweet. She used the healing power she had inherited from Queen Diane to help others, even injured people from other packs. Anyway, those two grew up happy and cherished, like blessed children. But Queen Diane knew their Royal power would make them targets for dark forces, like witches or necromancers.”

Sylviana said so, too, that Royals would be targets.

“So, Queen Diane sent her younger sister, Cynthia to find somewhere else to settle, somewhere safe. She wanted a place where werewolves could help each other against any threat, and our clan wouldn’t be by itself like it was at the time. Cynthia wasn’t filled with Royal power like Queen Diane was, but she was very smart, and a great leader too. So, she left, with a smaller portion of our pack. However, even after many years, she never returned. It broke Queen Diane’s heart.”

What happened to her younger sister? Did she get… killed? It doesn’t sound like Cynthia had Royal blood like Diane, though. Did she end up a victim anyway? Why would someone attack her?

I can’t even begin to imagine how heartbroken Queen Diane must have been. To lose her sister without knowing what happened to her… Or not even know if she was alive. How long did she wait for a sign, for anything?

“So, as it became clear Cynthia wasn’t coming back, Queen Diane was left alone to protect her children… She decided to confine our territory behind some magic barrier she made, with the help of a good witch, and forbade everyone from talking about their Royal blood.”

I exchange a look with Daniel. A good witch? Sylviana wasn’t even born at that time, but could she know which witch it was?

“It was to be kept a secret, to protect her children. We lived like that for many, many years. I kept going in and out to find Cynthia, without luck. Life went on, and your father, Gabriel, was betrothed to another warrior she-wolf in the pack, while Lilyan still dedicated her life to others. Things could have probably gone on like that forever, until one day, a young group of humans walked onto our territory by mere chance.”

“Wait, humans? How did they break the witch and Queen Diane’s barrier?” asks Danny, surprised.

“Because Queen Diane wanted to prevent any danger from intruding. But Lilyan had convinced her to have this magic allow people who proved themselves harmless in. Those humans weren’t a danger, they were totally harmless. Just a group of travelers, gypsies. The kind that didn’t even know about werewolves' existence.”

“What happened?” I ask, a bit lost.

How could a mere group of humans, apparently harmless, cause trouble? Reagan looks down, and I feel like she’s holding back her tears. When she looks up again, she’s looking at me.

“You happened… Your birth mother, Elena. She was one of them.”

Moon Goddess…

“Wait. My mother was… a human?”

Reagan nods.

“A simple human woman… Her name was Althea.”

She points at the necklace around my neck.

“That necklace was hers… Your father gave it to her.”

“The Sunshine…” whispers Daniel. “Your mother was human, so she was…”

“A Daughter of the Sun,” I finish.

I take a while to think about it. With my hands shaking, I undo my necklace, looking at the engraving again. “ To my Sunshine, G. ”

For some reason, I always thought this memento and that nickname were meant for me. Yet it never made sense. I am a daughter of the Moon Goddess, a werewolf. I never imagined my mother could be any different.

“Damn, a lot of things make sense now,” says Daniel. “This is what Sylviana meant when she said you were shielding your baby and hiding her power. She-”

“What! Whose baby? What are you talking about?” asks Reagan.

Oh, right, she hadn’t heard yet. She was probably away from the pack, and unsociable as she is, there was no way she had heard the rumors.

“I’m pregnant, Reagan,” I simply admit.

She looks at me, completely stunned.

“What? But I thought…”

“Yeah, we thought it would be hard for Elena to conceive again, but it happened, and it’s confirmed,” explains Daniel.

Reagan looks at him, suspicious, then turns to me.

“Don’t tell me you’re having a kid with this shrimp.”

“What? Ew!” says Daniel. “Are you crazy, old hag!”

“Of course, it’s not Daniel’s, Reagan,” I sigh.

“Then who?”

I exchange a look with Daniel. Well, Clark knows, and it is very likely that the rest of the pack will know soon, so… As I said, no more hiding.

“Nathaniel Black.”

Reagan frowns, but before she asks, I sigh and reply.

“Yes, the King’s brother. I met him last summer, we hit it off, kept this relationship going, not seriously until recently, and now I’m pregnant.”

“He doesn’t know yet,” adds Daniel. “Clark asked Elena to... consider her options.”

“You are not aborting?” asked Reagan, suddenly unhappy.

“I have no intention to, and I’m pretty sure it’s too late anyway. Moreover, I’m already having a hard time keeping her as it is…”

“What? What do you mean?”

Daniel takes over in explaining everything to her again, on how we found out and what followed, including my threatened miscarriage recently and how I have to rest. Somehow, he goes on to tell her how we found out about Nora and the Blue Moon clan too. To our surprise, Reagan doesn’t seem very surprised to hear about Sylviana’s existence.

“Queen Diane’s friend was a good witch, too… Though she wasn’t an Earth Witch. But I know what kind of women they are… The werewolves of Silver City aren’t used to witches, but the Blue Moon clan was.”

That’s a bit surprising to hear, coming from Reagan.

“What about the Dark Witch, then? Do you think it could be…?”

Reagan nods.

“From the moment I heard about the vampire attack, I thought the same. Water attacking wolves… I don’t know what else it could be. What does Sylviana think?”

Daniel frowns a bit as we exchange a look. Sylviana thought the same…

“She said that the Dark Witch is most likely after Nora’s power… and my baby.”

Reagan sighs, looking at me, shaking her head.

“It’s the same thing all over again.”

“You didn’t tell us why Nora and Elena were separated from their parents,” notes Daniel.

Reagan looks down, appearing a bit lost for a while. I try to help her resume her talking.

“You said my mother was among the humans that came to the clan.”

“Her name was Althea. She was a very pretty and bright woman. You look a lot like her. She had honey blonde hair, dark skin, and brown eyes. But you have Gabriel’s eyes. Your father’s eyes were golden.”

“Not blue?” I ask, a bit surprised.

For some reason, I figured both twins would have the Royals’ blue eyes, but Reagan shakes her head.

“No. Only Lilyan inherited Queen Diane’s blue eyes. For some reason, your father’s were gold. But Queen Diane’s father had gold eyes too, so maybe it’s a female thing.”

It feels good to finally hear about my parents. What they looked like, what kind of people they were… It’s like my own story is being completed, filling in the gaps I’ve been trying to fill my whole life.

“Althea was a dancer. She was young when we met her. Your father knew she was his mate right away. She was human, so she had no idea what that meant, but they fell in love anyway.”

“My parents were fated mates?”

“Yes,” nods Reagan, “and very much in love. Your father broke his engagement to be with Althea. She was younger, so they decided to wait a couple of years before getting married. Her family was supposed to leave, too… It took her a while to make up her mind, but she couldn’t leave your father, so she parted with her group and stayed among us. Not too long after, she got pregnant with you.”

“What about Nora’s mom?”

“I don’t really know. She must have met her mate one of the times I was gone. After Althea’s pregnancy was announced, I left our clan more and more often to find Cynthia’s pack. I couldn’t…”

“You were the fiancée, weren’t you?”

Daniel’s sudden words surprise both of us. I turn to Reagan. My father’s fiancée? She mentioned a warrior she-wolf. Judging from Reagan’s reaction, Daniel is right. My gosh… Reagan used to be engaged to my father?? I never paid attention, but generation-wise, Reagan could have been my mom. give or take a few years. And if Althea, I mean my mom, was younger than my dad, it makes sense.

“Yes. Gabriel was a wonderful man, and I admired his strength. We were childhood friends and started dating. I won’t go into the details. But yes, I was engaged and loved your father. When your mother came, and I understood he was leaving me, I was heartbroken. I didn’t understand what a fated mate bond was, even less with a human…”

Moon Goddess. I’m feeling so sorry for Reagan right now.

I still vividly remember the pain I was in when Nathaniel mentioned he had met his fated mate. I can’t imagine what Reagan went through. Falling in love, your happiness being so close to perfect when you’re engaged, and all of a sudden, a woman appears and everything collapses. I know the said-woman was my mom and wasn’t to blame, but…

“I kept leaving the clan, under the pretense of looking for Cynthia. Truth is, I was running away from the pain. Seeing your parents happy together made it feel worse every time I came back. I left for longer and longer periods of time. I would go farther, trying to forget my pain and focus on something else. Even Queen Diane asked me to stop and relax, but I couldn’t. I just… wanted the whole pack to forget me. I was the poor girl Gabriel had thrown away for a human. Lilyan was nice to me though; she kept trying to console me, even introduced me to other men. I never really listened to her. I probably should have…”

I can’t help but feel so, so sad when listening to her.

No wonder Reagan became so lonely and bitter. I see my mentor in a different light now. She was always that strong, fighting woman to me. I never realized she carried her own emotional baggage and scars. This explains why she never wanted to talk about the past with me. I probably wouldn’t feel like sharing my story with a child my ex conceived after leaving me for another, either.

“What happened, then? You made it sound like the attack was your fault,” says Daniel.

“It was more complicated than that. We knew vampires clans were watching us, but the barrier always protected us. We thought they wouldn’t attack our clan, big and powerful as it was. And we had a witch on our side, just that was enough to keep them at bay. Until one day, I couldn’t cross the barrier anymore.”

“What?”

Reagan nods, frowning.

“I don’t know what changed. It just became impossible, it kept rejecting me. I thought… maybe I had come to hate your mother too much, and that was why.”

Something just doesn’t feel right about this. It was her own pack, they shouldn’t have shut her out… What kind of barrier was it? Reagan said it kept people with bad intentions out, but it doesn’t seem like she fit into that category.

“So you were shut out?”

“It lasted for days and then weeks. I didn’t know what I had done wrong. I even left a few times, thinking it would be better if I calmed down. At some point, Lilyan talked to her mother, asking her to put the barrier down to let me in. Queen Diane and Denica, the witch, were reluctant though. That barrier had protected us for years.”

“But they did, didn’t they?”

“Yes. Anytime I came back, they would temporarily take down the barrier for me.”

“Is that how they were attacked, then?” I ask.

Now it makes sense. If they took the barrier down, that explains how the clan was wiped out even despite the Queen’s efforts. Reagan sighs and nods.

“I believe so. It happened right after I had left again. I had a big fight with Queen Diane, who was reluctant on letting me go. Once again, Lilyan helped me convince her. They lifted the barrier for me to leave, and that was the last time I saw the clan alive. When I got back, the barrier was gone. And they were…”

She doesn’t need to finish her sentence. I sigh.

Reagan wasn’t responsible, she just… triggered things, I guess. Whoever attacked them was probably lurking and waiting for a long time.

“So you don’t know who did it?”

“At first I thought it was vampires. From the fighting, many vampire bodies were left. But there was something odd.”

“My mother was alive,” I suddenly realize.

Right. If it was a vampire attack, why would my mom have survived? Of all people, she was the only human! It doesn’t make any sense.

“Exactly. As soon as I saw the first bodies, I headed for the castle, where your family and Queen Diane should have been. The only person left was your mother… and you. You were both alive, but your mom was badly injured. She managed to hide somehow, but she had been injured by some debris. She begged me to take you away. She made me swear to protect you and leave. She died right after I left.”

“What about the others?” asks Danny

“I never found their bodies. My guess is… they might have been burned.”

“Burned?”

“The Good Witch that was on our side was a Fire Witch. There were burnt corpses in the castle when I got there, some of them that could very well have been your father, aunt, and grandmother. I spent a long time thinking about it. If the attack wasn’t really the doing of vampires…”

“A Dark Witch might have been behind it. Like the one we had here in Silver City.”

“Exactly. And if she was after the Royals, Denica, our witch, might have burned their bodies to keep her from using them against others. Denica’s body was the only one I found.”

“And if she didn’t find what she wanted back then, because Denica burnt the Royals’ bodies…”

“She might try somewhere else. Like Silver City,” I whisper.

That’s why we were attacked.

Nora is slowly unveiling her wolf’s power, and that Dark Witch was probably waiting for an event like this to happen. If she is still looking for Royals, Nora’s power must be attracting her to Silver City like a firework in the night sky. This vampire attack was probably only the beginning.

Moon Goddess, and I am pregnant with another possible Royal baby…