Page 33 of His Sunshine Baby (The Silver City #2)

I slowly wake up to that familiar feel of the sunshine on my skin. Where am I? I look around but nothing’s familiar. Shit, it’s painful. I look down at my arm, and remember. I am at Nate’s place, with Estelle. What time is it? I’m alone in the bed, but I’m pretty sure I fell asleep with both of them by my side.

I struggle to sit up, putting my sling in the most comfortable position possible. Shit, I really wish I could heal fast like a normal werewolf. Wait, I’m in my panties? Who the hell took my pants off? I growl, annoyed.

Why can’t I hear anything? It’s quiet in here, isn’t Estelle awake? She usually plays when she wakes up early.

I get up, and it takes me ages to put those damn jeans on. When I’m done, I’m exhausted, but still walk out of the room. Now that the door’s open, I do hear a bit of music… Disney again? I walk to the living room and, as expected, Estelle is quietly playing with some toy castle, humming to the Disney music. Looks like Nate managed to trade a movie for a playlist this morning.

“Good morning, Mommy!”

“Good morning, baby star. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes! Daddy said to let you sleep, but that we should go out later, so I am playing now!”

“Good girl.”

I give her a quick kiss and listen a bit to what she’s playing with before leaving her to head to the kitchen. I dangerously need coffee at such a time, though it’s probably later than usual. I freeze before I enter the kitchen, though.

Nathaniel is standing there, half-naked. How dare he be half-naked so early in the morning! He already had a nice body five years ago, but now, he looks like a damn model that just stepped out of a magazine. Who wears only jeans in a kitchen like some sexy movie! Gosh, I hate him. And his stupid abs. I close my eyes for a second. I need to adjust, or I’ll literally jump on him.

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

And his damn morning husky voice. I’m doomed.

“Hi,” I grumble, trying to evade him while grabbing the coffee pot.

Coffee, I need to wake up and drink that damn coffee. Don’t look, Elena. Don’t look at those abs.

“You slept well?”

“Fine… By the way, did you take my pants off?”

“Um, you asked for it. Around 2:00 a.m. You were groaning a lot and basically kicked me a couple of times, saying you wanted to… undress.”

Moon Goddess, if you’re there, please let me die. Like, right now.

I take a deep breath. He’s seen me naked hundreds of times anyway, right? No big deal that I was left in panties. Damn, what was I wearing again?

“I need to take a shower,” I suddenly declare, gulping down my coffee.

“Do you need help–”

“Nathaniel Black, you stay out of the damn bathroom, or I swear I’ll bite you.”

I hear him chuckle as I exit the kitchen, but I don’t care. He’s playing with my nerves!

Taking a shower with one arm injured is even harder than I thought. I struggle to undress, struggle to take that damn sling off and struggle to shower without soaking my bandages. What a mess. My legs still have scars too, so I guess it isn’t going to heal at all. I sigh. At least I’m alive and have all my limbs.

“Elena? Everything okay?” I hear him yell from behind the door.

“I’m fine!”

If he enters this room while I’m naked, I swear I’ll lose it. I hurry up, making sure to clean myself the best I can, and grab a towel to wrap myself in, and… Damn it. I forgot to bring in new clothes. They were delivered last night, but I left them in my room. Crap. I need to cross the hallway in that stupid towel.

It’s okay, he’s seen it all already anyway. Just act calm, Elena, you’ve been in worse situations than walking around half-naked in your ex’s apartment.

“Nice view.”

“Why are you behind this damn door, Nate?”

He chuckles, glancing over without mercy.

“I was wondering if you needed help.”

“Oh, shut up and let me through!”

I push him out of the way to get to the closet, torn between anger and embarrassment. I want to punch him, if only my arm was healed enough. I grab whatever clothes I can find in a hurry. Thank Moon Goddess, it’s the right fit, and Harry has good tastes. I find a black undergarment ensemble, and a comfy sleeveless jumpsuit from an Italian brand I don’t recognize. At least I don’t spend half an hour putting it on or taking it off, I can slide into it right away.

“Still don’t need help?”

“No!”

I hear him laugh and leave the room. He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he?

“… Elena?”

“I’m almost done, Nate, can’t you just…”

“No, I think you should come and… see.”

His voice changed, and I realize something’s wrong. He’s in the living room? What is it? Did Estelle do something? I hurry over, and I can’t see my daughter for a few seconds, making me panic. Until I realize Nate is behind the couch, looking down. Is she crouching?

I walk over, and stand there speechless. Oh, Moon Goddess. Nate looks at me, totally stunned too.

“I think we have a problem,” he says.

I nod. Estelle is there. But not as a human.

My daughter turned into an adorable wolf pup, with perfectly white fur and big, blue eyes.

Oh, Moon Goddess. She looks like a mini-Nora. Like, a perfect Royal. White as snow, literally, and blue eyes like her dad. Holy Moon Goddess. Nathaniel is as helpless as I am, staring at her, not knowing what to do. I don’t know either.

“Estelle, baby.”

“ Mommy! ”

The puppy turns and throttles to me, all excited. How did she shape-shift? How can she even shape-shift when she’s not even five years old yet! I kneel to her height. What am I supposed to say? I’ve never dealt with a werewolf cub, not one so young! Is it dangerous if she stays like that? I turn to Nathaniel, but he’s already taken out his phone.

“Damian? It’s Nate, um… We have a little bit of an issue here. Estelle shape-shifted. Yes, I know, but I swear, Damian, she’s right in front of me, and she’s a pup. No… Yes, yes, okay. I’ll do that. Can you… Yes, please. Thanks. See you later.”

He hangs up.

“What did he say?”

“He said to bring her over. He’ll call Tonia so she can check.”

“Check what? Tonia is…”

“A nurse now. And she knows a lot about shape-shifting and all that; Boyan was a super precocious one too.”

He grabs his car keys, turns off the TV, and I see him run to the bedroom. What did he grab? Oh, a change of clothes. I feel totally useless, but my daughter looks fine, playing around in front of me and nibbling some toy. Is this okay?

“Elena?”

Nathaniel walks up to us, carrying a backpack. He crouches down, smiling confidently to our daughter.

“Let’s go see Auntie Nora, baby. And your uncles?”

“ Now? Are we going now, Daddy? ”

“Yes. Come here.”

He carries her in his arms, while I’m still completely at a loss. Nate notices my expression and takes my hand.

“Come on, let’s go. It’s okay, Elena.”

I nod, but really, is it okay? We leave his apartment and get in the car, but while Nathaniel drives, I can’t settle down. What does that mean? Won’t the Dark Witch sense Estelle more easily now? Is she in danger? How can she already shape-shift, she’s four years old! I have so many questions, I just can’t calm down.

Next to me, Nathaniel is acting confident, talking to Estelle, who sat down behind us, looking out the window.

“Do you want some music, baby?”

“ Yes! ”

He puts on the same playlist from earlier on his phone, aiming the speakers toward the back seat. I let out a deep sigh. Before I can react, Nate puts a hand on my knee, whispering so she can’t hear us above the music.

“It will be okay, Elena.”

“She’s just four! How can she…?”

“You know it happens. It’s fine. Tonia will just make sure she’s fine, but she doesn’t seem to be in any pain, and nothing about her werewolf aura has changed. It’s okay.”

“When Nora shape-shifted, I felt it. ”

“You weren’t there when Nora shape-shifted for the first time. You probably only felt something because you were close, and her kin. Calm down, it’s going to be okay. In any case, Sylviana can probably do something.”

“Do what? We can’t forbid our daughter from shape-shifting! She probably doesn’t even know the difference!”

He sighs but doesn’t answer. Meanwhile, I can’t stop glancing at the puppy behind us, who’s happily nodding to the tune. At least she doesn’t seem too disturbed.

Nathaniel finally parks in front of Damian and Nora’s house. They are both waiting for us on the porch. Nora opens her mouth wide, seeing Estelle confidently jump out of the car.

“Moon Goddess… She’s so cute!”

Is that all she’s thinking? Am I the only one literally freaking out? Damian seems to notice my expression and walks up to me.

“It’s okay. Come on in.”

We sit in their living room, and Boyan walks in carrying James. Of course, the two-year-old is overjoyed when seeing the puppy and runs to her. The two kids start playing a game of tag, while I sit next to my cousin, anxious.

“How come she shape-shifted? She’s too young to shape-shift!”

“It’s okay, Elena. Bobo shape-shifted for the first time when he was about her age too. And she is a Royal; she might be a precocious one because of that.”

“I don’t want her to be precocious, Nora! Look at her, anyone can tell she’s a Royal like you!”

“I can barely feel the change in her aura, Elena, calm down. We called Tonia and Sylviana, they’ll be here any minute, okay? Let’s have some tea.”

Nora gets up to pour some tea, kicking Damian out of the kitchen in the meantime. I can’t calm down though. Boyan is watching over the two kids running around in the living room, laughing so much while chasing each other. Neither of them seems disturbed by the fact that my daughter is a white pup.

When Tonia finally arrives, I almost jump on her, but she frowns and gestures for me to shut up.

“No, don’t start. First of all, yes, werewolves can shape-shift that young. No, she doesn’t have any health-related issues because of that, and yes, she is fine. Okay, now you can ask.”

“How can that happen?”

“Like any werewolf kid! Excitement, anger, any strong emotion can trigger our first shape-shift, Elena! The only problem with Estelle is that she is too young to even realize she shape-shifted! It’s so natural to her, she doesn’t care much about it. So chill, mama, she’s fine, okay? Now, where are the brats…”

Tonia dismisses me and walks in, grabbing Estelle by her neck when she runs close to her. I don’t like seeing my baby manipulated like that, even if she’s in her puppy form. Right away, Tonia starts inspecting her, ignoring my daughter’s annoyed growls.

“She’s a normal size. With those paws, she’ll grow to be your size, I’d say. Good fangs. Hey, don’t bite or I’ll bite you back. Her eyes are fine too. Her tail’s a bit short but that’s okay. Fine, you can go now.”

She lets Estelle go and my daughter runs back to play with her cousin. At least she’s okay. I let out a long sigh, and Nathaniel comes to sit next to me, putting his arm around me. I finally accept Nora’s tea and, for a few minutes, we just watch the kids play.

“I wonder if James will be all white too, or jet-black like you,” whispers Nora to Damian, who’s caressing her big belly.

“Definitely white,” replies Tonia. “His Royal aura is even stronger than Estelle’s. There’s no way he will have black fur.”

“Too bad… Well, white is cute.”

Damian chuckles.

“Nora, you should–”

“If you tell me to rest again, Damian Black, I’ll kick you. I’m pregnant, not disabled.”

It’s my turn to chuckle. I can’t pick sides on this one, Damian looks genuinely worried for his wife. Nora is almost seven months along now. Werewolf pregnancies are a bit shorter, so my cousin might give birth within the next two months.

“Good morning, everyone!”

Sylviana just walked in, followed by a tall black wolf. Did Liam Black get bigger? He’s lost all his teenage attitude. Immediately, both James and Estelle run to them, excited by the presence of another wolf. Damn, it’s going to be crazy in here if we have more pups that can shape-shift, starting with Nora’s next baby. I notice Damian’s frowning a bit too, probably thinking the same as me. How many werewolf pups can we handle at the same time? Those two have been running around for twenty minutes straight!

Sylviana smiles and sits on the floor to hug James, who’s apparently very familiar with the witch, and Estelle is happily playing with her too.

“Elena freaked out,” says Tonia right away.

“It’s fine,” whispers the witch.

“She will feel it, won’t she?” asks Nathaniel before I do.

Sylviana nods.

“Yeah. Estelle’s Royal Aura just increased; she won’t miss something like that. She is probably waiting for the right moment, though.”

“What is the right moment?” I ask. “Why would she delay her attack?”

The witch stays silent for a while, and Liam takes over playing with the kids, pushing Estelle around and letting James chase him. Sylviana stands up, crossing her arms.

“I’ve been thinking about what a good time would be. I think she’s scared of Nora, mostly.”

“Scared of me?” says my cousin. “I’ve never fought her.”

“No, but she has experience with Royals. With your family. I was wondering why she hasn’t attacked sooner. First, I thought the Black brothers had scared her after pushing all the vampires away four years ago, but… I think that now, you’re the one she’s scared of. Nora, you’re probably as powerful as your grandmother was, and the Dark Witch was never able to attack until Diane made a mistake.”

“You mean when she lifted the barrier for Reagan?”

“I think so. I think she is probably sensing that Nora is protecting Silver City in her own way. And Damian protects Nora, and all the packs protect them. She doesn’t want to make any mistakes this time, so she’ll wait until Nora is vulnerable to attack her.”

“Define vulnerable?” says Nate, frowning and glancing at my cousin.

“The one moment Nora won’t be able to fight her off…”

Nora is frowning, confused, but next to her, her husband’s eyes are already murderous. He understood, too.

“… She’s waiting for Nora to go into labor.”

Nathaniel shakes his head, confused.

“Wait a second. If that’s the case, why didn’t she… Why didn’t that witch attack when James was born?”

“I’m not sure. She might have missed her chance. Nora’s power was even stronger while she was asleep, remember? Her aura could be felt all the time, and even stronger at night.”

“When her hair turned white,” whispers Tonia.

“That’s right. And it was not that long after the vampire attack, which you decimated.”

“She probably didn’t have any army to attack with, even if it had been two years,” I say.

Sylviana sighs.

“She’s just like me. A woman, even if she’s a witch, all on her own. I don’t know how she can compel vampires to do her bidding, but if it were me, I would have taken my time to gather a new army, and focused on improving my magic too. Since she was beaten once and aware of the fact that I’m here, she wouldn’t attack blindly a second time.”

“You’re still stronger than her, right?” asks Tonia, concerned.

After a few seconds, Sylviana sighs.

“I’m not sure these days. She’s getting closer, and whatever I try to do, I’m barely slowing her down. I only win over her by a bit because of our elements.”

“Because of what you explained to me?” asks Nora. “The cycle? Water beats fire, fire beats earth and…”

“Earth overpowers water. It’s a very simplistic way to put it, but yes. But there’s a lot more than that to take into consideration. Our race doesn’t function like humans, even less like werewolves. We can change a lot in a few years’ time. I’ve put all the defenses I can around Silver City, but without Nora…”

“Okay, time out,” I exclaim, standing up. “Can someone explain to me what is Nora’s superpower? Because I’m feeling like I really missed a chapter here. Her hair glows white, and she’s got a big, mean, supersized Royal Aura. What else?”

Nora blushes a bit, and I frown. What now? My cousin turns to me, hesitating a bit.

“I have some sort of power that makes people listen to me.”

“That’s part of the aura thing.”

“No, not just that,” says my cousin, shaking her head. “I noticed it a few months after I woke up. It had happened before, but I can give orders, and people can’t fight it.”

I’m about to say something, but Damian puts his hand around her with a little smile.

“Even I can’t say no when she gets mad.”

Even the King? Okay, that’s a bit weird. I turn to Sylviana. The witch is fidgeting, maybe for the first time since we’ve met her. She’s brushing her long red hair, frowning, visibly thinking deep about all of this.

“You’re going to tell us that’s not… part of the aura thing?”

“Oh, it is. But just imagine it as Nora having an unfightable willpower. It’s as if the Moon Goddess herself spoke. No werewolf can fight her, not even her own mate, or any alpha out there.”

I shake my head. I’m getting very confused here. I had noticed that Nora’s aura had gotten crazy strong, stronger than before, but it’s not nearly as aggressive and scary as her husband’s. She’s like a calm force… It would be like comparing a small flurry of fresh white snow to a dark stormy hurricane. I can’t even picture her making her husband submit to her.

“I know,” says Sylviana, “but it’s the truth. No living night creature in Silver City can refuse Nora. Even a human would feel something.”

I chuckle nervously, as I start to understand.

“Wait, you’re telling me Nora could potentially control that Dark Witch? For real?”

“I can’t guarantee her aura is strong enough, but we are creatures under the Moon Goddess’ power, just like you. If Nora ordered me to go and hang myself right now, I’d probably have a hard time ignoring her.”

I stay speechless.

This is huge. My cousin’s superpower is to give orders? Unrefusable orders? Like a… a Werewolf Queen, for Moon Goddess’ sake. Even stronger than a Luna. I laugh nervously, but there’s really nothing funny about it. I turn to Nathaniel, who’s frowning, visibly confused too. I eventually turn to Nora.

“Why don’t we just end it now? We could just find that witch, and if you–”

Next to her, Damian growls at me immediately.

“Nora is pregnant, she’s not taking one step outside Silver City.”

His murderous glare is convincing. I look down, reminding myself he’s still the King.

“Even if she could potentially fight off that witch, there’s still the vampires,” says Tonia. “Her main problem is that, while she is pregnant, if she gets bitten just once…”

“She could die,” whispers Nathaniel, bitter.

Why do I feel like this is a taboo subject here? I shake my head, annoyed. I can’t believe we’re stuck. On one hand, that witch is too scared of Nora’s power to attack, and on the other, Nora can’t risk a vampire bite.

I hate this. I hate not being able to do anything, waiting for something to happen in this stupid climate of fear. Nate walks up to me, putting his arms around me to try and comfort me, but I keep shaking my head. Why do I even feel like crying?

“Elena.”

Here we go, I’m crying. I’m so fucking tired of crying these days! But I can’t stop it, neither can I stop Nathaniel from hugging me, though he’s careful not to hurt my arm. I hear Nora growl behind me, pissed too. She suddenly stands up.

“I’m not waiting and doing nothing. I want all the Alphas to gather tomorrow. Let’s explain this to them. If hell must break loose when this baby decides to come out, I’d rather be ready. Sylviana, you too, please.”

“Of course.”

“I’m coming too,” I declare, sniffling, but Nora shakes her head.