Page 29 of His Sunshine Baby (The Silver City #2)

I double-check the recipe from the book, but it should be okay. A couple more minutes, and then I can add the veggies. I turn around, dancing to the soft jazz music coming from the old radio. It’s sunny outside, just how I like it. I sit down to check my texts when I hear running steps. I told her a billion times not to run…

Suddenly, two small hands cover my eyes.

“Guess who!”

I smile immediately. I start patting the little hands as if I was wondering.

“Hmm… Who could it be? Two small paws… The smell of wild berries… Is it a baby bear?”

I hear the cutest baby giggling.

“No! Guess again!”

“Really? Let’s see… Tiny fingers and small nails… Is it a baby monkey?”

“Hehe, you’re wrong! Try again!”

“Oh! I know that little laugh. Is it my baby star?”

“Yes!

She laughs and I grab her, sitting her on my lap to tickle her. She tries to evade me, but she is way too tiny to escape me! My daughter is the most adorable thing in the world, of course. When I finally stop torturing her, she is still laughing, pushing her honey-blonde hair back. She looks up at me, with her father’s sky-blue eyes.

“Mommy, I’m hungry. What are you making?”

“Your favorite Bolognese pasta, with Auntie Nora’s secret ingredient,” I answer while styling her hair into two little ponytails.

She turns her head toward the stove, but then, I see her frown.

“Carrots? But I hate carrots!”

“Baby, you need to eat your vegetables. And It’s just going to be tiny bits.”

She frowns, but she is eyeing the carrots with suspicion, thinking it over.

“You will make them super tiny?” she asks me.

“Super, super tiny, I promise. So tiny you won’t see them.”

“Okay, then.”

She is still pouting a bit. Moon Goddess, she is so cute I want to eat her all up instead of the pasta! I kiss her chubby cheek, making her chuckle again, and she immediately wraps her tiny arms around my neck to kiss me back.

“What did you do this morning, my little star?”

“I draw bunnies! Wait here, Mommy, I will show you!”

And off she goes again, jumping off my knees to run and grab her drawing from wherever she left it. She probably played in the garden too, seeing how the bottom of her denim jumper is all dirty. When she comes back, she proudly shows me her drawing and starts explaining the names she gave to each of her colored bunnies.

“Stella, baby, you remember how to say bunny with your hands?”

“Yes!”

She brings two fingers from each hand up her head, mimicking a bunny’s ears. I clap and do it too.

“That’s right, baby!”

“Mommy, I’m better than you at talking with my hands!” she says, acting all proud. “Look, I can do a lot of animals too!”

We start having a little contest, but indeed, she is even better than I am at sign language now. When she gets tired of it, she runs off again to grab her coloring pencils. Dad told me that I was a little energy pill when I was young too, so I guess she gets that from me, but Estelle is a well-disciplined kid. She very rarely throws tantrums, and she doesn’t really argue when I ask her to do something, even if she dislikes it.

The only thing I’m worried about is her insecurity issues. Sometimes, she asks for hugs all of a sudden and asks if I will leave her. I have no idea where she gets that from. Is it because she doesn’t have a father? She asks about him sometimes. She has a photo of Nathaniel, one she loved from my phone, so I had it printed for her to keep. I didn’t want to lie to her and tell her she doesn’t have a dad.

“Mommy! Is it ready? I’m really, really hungry now!”

“Yes, yes. Go wash your hands and we can eat!”

“Okay!” she says, running off to the bathroom.

While I’m busy grabbing our plates, my phone rings. Before I can even move, Estelle is running over to grab it. She is too young to read, but she recognizes the picture.

“It’s Dada! Hi, Dada!”

She starts happily chatting with her godfather, telling him all about her day. She has never met him physically yet, but they talk so often it doesn’t really make any difference. Daniel is crazy about my little star. Every time he calls, he asks when I am coming back to Silver City with Estelle.

I don’t know if I’m ready yet. I miss Daniel a lot, and all of my friends too. I miss Silver City, the Arts District, the Latin neighborhood. I know Nora woke up two years after I had gone, but I wasn’t ready to go back. Going back would mean seeing Estelle’s father again, and I don’t know if I can handle that. She looks so much like him, I guess he’ll finally believe me once they meet.

I watch my little star, on the phone. I wonder what my life would be like without her. Estelle is so well-behaved, sometimes I wonder if I really raised her alone. Well, Reagan comes often, too. My mentor never stays around, but she’s never too far away either. She drops by whenever she feels like it and lives her life as a wolf most of the time.

We live in a large forest, miles away from Silver City. I can’t remember how long we had walked until we got here. Sylviana knew about this old abandoned house, and in a few days of work between the three of us, it became perfectly fine for us to live in. It’s even a bit too big for just a woman and child.

“Mommy, it smells bad again.”

Holy shit! I turn around and jump on the casserole. Damn it, I let it burn again. How come I can never get even the simplest of dishes right? Estelle walks up to me and frowns, looking at my half-burned Bolognese.

“Sorry, baby. Don’t worry, Mommy will eat the burnt parts.”

“It’s okay, Mommy, I like the crunchy parts!”

Moon Goddess, I love this child of mine. She even loves my burnt pasta. She sits down to eat, grabbing her fork and eagerly waiting. Like any werewolf kid, she’s an energy pill and a big eater. I fill her plate, but everything’s gone in a few minutes, and she smiles, satisfied, licking the leftover tomato sauce off her lips.

“Mommy, can I have a magic cake for dessert? The one with pink sprinkles!”

I smile. The only thing I never fail at: her favorite magic cake.

“Okay, baby, but…”

I stop talking, uneasy.

I have an odd feeling. My wolf is unsettled too, looking around for a threat.

“Mommy?”

After a few seconds of complete silence, the branches from the trees on the terrace all begin crackling at once. Holy crap!

“Estelle, come!”

I grab my daughter and run across the house, grabbing her little backpack from our room.

“Mommy, what is it? Mommy!”

I don’t have time to explain. We need to leave this place and run.

It’s Sylviana’s signal. She said the trees would do this if the Dark Witch was near! I didn’t think she would really find us! Estelle is scared and struggles to keep up with me, but I keep running until we’re out of the house, a few feet away, and get on one knee in front of her to help her put her backpack on.

“Stella, listen to Mommy very carefully. We need to leave the house and run, baby. We are going to run very, very fast to the east, okay? We don’t make noise, and we keep running until Mommy says stop.”

“Mommy, why are we running? Why are we leaving home? Mommy, I’m scared.”

Seeing the tears in my daughter’s scared eyes breaks my heart, but I really don’t have time to explain! Every second matters now. I shake my head.

“Estelle, don’t cry, baby, okay? Just trust Mommy, you will be okay. You run very, very fast, like we did with Reagan, okay?”

She nods, a bit distraught, and I encourage her with a little smile.

“Alright, let’s go, baby.”

I start running and Estelle does her best to run after me. She’s fast, for a four-year-old, but after a while, I have no choice but to carry her to keep up the pace. I hear her cry silently against my neck. My poor baby… I can’t stop and comfort her, though. I know we don’t have much time, and we absolutely can’t stop if I want to outrun the Dark Witch, or at least reach Silver City in time.

I can feel her. It’s like a dark shadow, some evil presence behind us. A cold wind chasing my every step. As I keep running through the trees, I also see her water streaming nearby. I need to avoid sources of water while heading east.

My wolf wants to shape-shift, but if I do, I won’t be able to carry Estelle! I keep running, trying to think of what to do, how to get out of here. I still can’t see Silver City, how far away are we? I feel like I’ve been running for hours!

I try to focus and reach out to Nora, my cousin. She would be the first one that I could reach out to as soon as I’m close enough… Back then, she could mind-link people from miles away. I really hope it works the other way too. I keep calling out to her with my wolf while holding on tightly to Estelle, running and watching out for nearby water sources.

“ Elena! ”

Finally! She heard me. We are close enough.

Right when I think things are getting better, I feel a sudden rumbling on my left. Crap, crap. The witch is catching up to us! If only Sylviana was here, or at least Reagan so I could give her my daughter! Where could she be at a time like this? I stop, looking around.

“Mommy?”

I finally find it.

A little opening in a large tree, just big enough for Estelle to hide. I take her there and have her sit inside the trunk. She is terrified, but I take her hand. We don’t have much time.

“Estelle, listen to Mommy very carefully. You stay here, and you stay hidden, baby, okay?”

“Why?”

“Mommy has to go a different way, but don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone, okay? I will be back. Estelle, you remember how to talk with your wolf, right, baby?”

She nods, her eyes still teary. Thank Moon Goddess she’s already been able to mind-link for a couple of months now. Maybe it’s her Royal blood, but she’s a precocious one. I see her frown a bit, and I finally feel her inner wolf, like it’s waking up.

“ Yes, Mommy.”

“ Good girl. Now I want you to not talk, Estelle, not at all. Just use your wolf’s voice, like Mommy, and call Auntie Nora.”

“ Auntie Nora? ”

“ That’s right, baby. You call Auntie Nora with all your heart, okay? ”

“ Can I call Dada too? ”

I shake my head, desperate. Estelle doesn’t belong to the White Moon clan; she doesn’t belong to any clan! I don’t think she can mind-link other alphas or wolves like Nora and I can, she can only call her kin… Oh Moon Goddess, I didn’t even think of it earlier!

“ Baby, you call Auntie Nora or Daddy with all your puppy heart, okay? ”

“ Daddy too? ”

“ Yes, baby ,” I tell her while putting my jacket around her. “ You call Nora and Daddy with your wolf until Mommy comes to get you, okay? ”

“ Why can’t I call you, Mommy? ”

Oh, Moon Goddess, how do I explain to her? I need to get away, this might be the only chance to lure that witch away from her!

“Mommy knows where you are, baby. I have to go away, but… it will be okay, just promise me you will stay here, okay? You’ll be a good girl and stay here, right?”

“I promise…” she whispers.

I take a deep breath and hold my daughter one last time, very tight against my heart. Moon Goddess, I love her so, so much. We are both crying silently. She’s four years old and a bright girl, but I don’t know how much of this she really understands.

With a heavy heart, I give her one last glance and run in the opposite direction, towards the north. I stop calling Nora for help, and pray to Moon Goddess that she can find my daughter instead.

I head west, shape-shifting as soon as I can. I’m faster, and letting my Alpha Aura out, hoping the Dark Witch will take the bait.

Finally, I hear it. A rumbling coming after me. That’s right, bitch, follow me. Let’s see how fast your damned water can be. I run faster, trying to mind-link Reagan at the same time.

“ Kid! Where are you! ”

“ Headed north, Reagan! ”

“ Okay, I feel you! On my way! ”

I keep running, praying for my baby to be okay. Nora will find you, baby, don’t worry.

Suddenly, a sharp pain strikes me. I’m thrown several yards to my left, before violently hitting a tree. Holy shit, it hurts. I’m dizzy from the shock, but my shoulder is painful as fuck. I look, and my fur is covered in red. Damn it.

“Are you done running, dog?”

I turn my head, but my vision is all red and blurry. The woman walks up to me, I can hear her annoying laugh. Damn her.

“You… You’re not the one I want. What are you, a halfling? Interesting. I’ve never seen a half-werewolf before…”

I feel her walk up to me and grab my neck. I try to bite her, and she takes her hand off.

“Feisty. But lucky for you, I need you alive so you can tell me where you left your offspring.”

There’s a sharp pain again in my shoulder, as she steps on it.

“Where is it? Where is the Royal?”

“ Fuck you! ” I growl back.

“ Elena! ”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the old gray wolf jump in, and the witch screeches. I hear something like a fight, but I struggle to get back on my feet and retreat. I can’t stay here. I’m too injured to fight. If only I could…

“Enough!”

I hear a yap, and a wolf’s body falls in front of me, inert. No, no, no, not Reagan.

I’m suddenly dragged from behind while I struggle to stay with my mentor. I feel trapped, a weight on my body like a huge rock.

“I’ll make you talk, wolf. You’ll talk!”

A horrible pain pierces my legs, something sharp pinning them to the ground. I growl, furious and blinded by the pain. Moon Goddess, I swear she could kill me a hundred times, I’d never, ever give my daughter to that bitch!

“You damn stubborn…! Fine! I don’t need you anyway, I only need the child…”