Page 37 of His Sunshine Baby (The Silver City #2)

“Elena… Elena, are you okay?”

I growl, a bit annoyed. Why does he have to ask so much? And my head hurts, too. Like, a lot. I frown and struggle to sort out my left from my right. I hear him chuckling.

“Elena…” he calls me, almost singing into my ear.

I can feel his beard on my back, and his breath right against my skin.

“Stop it,” I grumble.

I kind of feel weird, but that feeling is familiar. Like, not the nice kind of familiar. A fucking hangover, and that headache that goes with it. I struggle, open my eyes, and sit up. I don’t recognize this place. Where the hell is this? The bed is too fancy for my taste, and there’s too much yellow. I’m not fond of yellow.

“Where are we?” I growl.

“I got us a room at a nearby hotel. You felt sick while I was trying to get us back to my place and kept asking me to stop the car.”

“Oh, Moon Goddess…” I sigh, feeling some blurry memories come back. “I drank, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yes,” he laughs.

It’s not funny! I haven’t drunk or gotten wasted to that extent in years, what was I thinking? I vaguely remember everyone trying to party with me after I became Alpha, to celebrate, but I can’t even count all the places I was taken to.

“Shit.”

“It’s not your fault, Elena, you really tried to stop,” he says while getting off the bed. “Even Danny and Levi asked people to stop giving you drinks. You looked fine until you suddenly growled at them and asked me to take you home.”

From the looks of it, I bet I didn’t ask nicely. More like I probably whined or bossed him around. Damn it, I feel really bad now. Did I trouble anyone besides Nate? He pours me a big glass of orange juice and brings it to me with a pill. I take it gratefully. Moon Goddess, that feels good. I take a few seconds to enjoy that and silently apologize to my liver.

“Where’s Estelle?”

“She slept at the Lewis’. Your friend Bonnie and her mother said they would take over to watch her when people started dragging you around. She’s fine, Daniel texted me a few minutes ago to let me know she’s still sleeping.”

I grab my phone, only to see I got the same text from him.

“I’m such a bad mother,” I whine. “I can’t believe I didn’t even look after her.”

He chuckles, sitting to face me on the mattress.

“You’ve been taking care of her for four years, Sunshine. You can take a break for once.”

I nod half-heartedly and drink some more juice. Truth is, I need to avoid his gaze.

What right does this idiot have to be so handsome so early in the morning? And half-naked again, of course. Not that I am going to complain though; that view is probably the best way to make me damn sober. Seriously, how could I drink so much?

“So? The man you love, huh?”

I almost spit out the damn juice. That idiot…! I’m as red as a beet, looking elsewhere, dead embarrassed. And it’s too late to act like I didn’t remember. I clumsily wipe off the juice from my chin. Crap… Why did I have to profess my love for him in front of the whole damn clan, anyway?

“Elena,” he calls me with that naughty smile.

“Oh, shut up,” I growl to hide my shame.

“My sunshine…”

Why does he have to stir me up on purpose! He takes the glass out of my hand, crawling closer to me on the bed. Oh, crap, I’m in real trouble.

“Elena, you said you love me.”

“So w… what if I did…” I mumble.

He chuckles again and goes down to kiss my thighs. Holy crap, how can he cheat like that. I gasp and look away, trying not to give in. Crap, where the heck is he kissing… His lips go higher and higher, and I blush uncontrollably. That’s…

Nathaniel keeps torturing me with that devilish mouth of his, and I bite my lip and close my eyes, unable to push him away. Moon Goddess, I forgot how good he can be at that too. I breathe louder and caress his hair, letting him play between my legs.

“Nate… Stop it…” I groan.

As if he’d listen. I take deep breaths, until he gets where he wants, and I can’t help but cry louder. A fire burns underneath, where he’s toying with me, and I lose all rational thought. It’s just so good… Nathaniel intensifies his tongue movements, going faster, deeper, sucking a bit harder, and making me moan for real. I grip his hair, my legs trembling, and gasp and moan until I can’t take it anymore. It bursts, exploding like fireworks and blowing my mind away.

All my extremities are tingling while I catch my breath. Damn it. I rest back on the cushions, and he leans over me with that annoying satisfied smile. Shit, why does he look happy like he’s the one who just went to heaven and back.

“Marry me,” he suddenly blurts out.

I roll my eyes.

“Nathaniel Black, are you thinking you can fucking buy me with a fucking orgasm?”

“… I could give you one any time you want,” he says with a smile, “if we were married.”

“You don’t need to put a ring on me to do that!”

“We can skip the ring part if you want.”

Moon Goddess, I am talking to a wall. I push him away, and stumble to the bathroom, hearing him laugh behind me. I let the cold water cascade over me, trying to get out of the post-coital daze. Damn it, he’s good. So annoying. I take deep breaths, staying under the water for a long time.

What a crazy time to be alive… I just became the White Moon’s Alpha, for real, and got myself drunk over it. Is this okay for an Alpha? I do remember seeing Clark drinking with everyone else.

I’m trying to figure out which bottle is the shampoo when I hear him sneak in behind me.

“This shower is busy, Mr. Black.”

“It has enough space for two, apparently.”

“Are you always going to have something smart and annoying to reply to everything I say?”

“Maybe. Or I can keep telling you I love you, if you’d rather.”

Grr, he’s so annoying. I ignore him and turn away, but he’s faster than me at grabbing the other bottle. He pours a bit of it in his hand, and gently starts washing my hair for me. Mmh… I could get used to that.

“Let’s leave Estelle with the Lewis’, today. We can stay here, just the two of us, all day,” he whispers.

“You’re already tired of your daughter?”

“Never. But I would like a bit of alone time with her mom… with the woman I love.”

I blush, and just when I’m about to hide it, he has me turn around and puts his arms around me, cornering me right there. His blue eyes are closer than I can bear, making me even redder. I really have no more defense against him.

Nathaniel smiles and softly kisses my lips. I miss a heartbeat and, slowly, answer him. I really need to work on my self-restraint with him. With the water still pouring over us, he keeps kissing me, leading this dance between our lips. It’s a wet kiss, and somewhat exciting. I remember now, our second time was in the shower too. Maybe it’s from the memory, but my body heats up even faster, and soon, I am the one craving for more. Our naked bodies against each other, our hands caressing our wet skin, his skillful fingers teasing me… It gets so hot, so humid in here. I need to hold on to his shoulder and the shower wall, because my legs are going numb as fast as I’m getting more and more aroused…

A couple of hours later, we are back on the bed, sweating, naked, and exhausted. Damn it. It’s like we are back in the good old days, having sex over and over again like animals. My body is so exhausted, I just decide to keep lying there. Nate pulls something over me, a bathrobe, I think. I sigh.

“I hate you and your damn stamina.”

“We can always work on improving yours,” he chuckles, giving me a kiss.

Thanks for reminding me how I didn’t train like him while raising our daughter. He is so fit, it’s almost too much to bear. And I probably took on some weight too.

“I hate you,” I grumble.

“Still no marriage?”

“No!”

“It’s fine. I can wait until after the war, at least. Estelle will be so pretty in her little dress…”

Why is he imagining it already! I give him a kick.

“You’re still not forgiven and nowhere near being forgiven enough, you jerk. I should have you on abstinence instead!”

For four years! That should teach him!

He frowns.

“I don’t think I can resist you for more than a week, Elena. Fine, I promise I’ll wait a bit longer for our wedding.”

“You don’t have a choice,” I remind him.

He sighs, laying next to me after grabbing the other bathrobe.

For a long while, neither of us speak again. We just lay still on the bed, a bit sleepy, me resting and Nathaniel gently caressing my shoulder. He looks lost in his thoughts. The room is so quiet. It feels like the calm before the storm, and I don’t want the storm to come any time soon.

Truth is, it might be our last weeks together. I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll lose him, Estelle and everyone I love. I don’t want to imagine, after the battle, all the corpses, and the silence. Even if I survive, who will I lose? Nathaniel will be on the front lines with me. Both of us might be among the first ones to die. Damian, too, or Liam or Sylviana. Even Danny, Levi, and Boyan. If we fall, Nora and the children will be next. Slowly, I recall all the faces of the people I love. So many faces, coming to my mind, haunting me. I buried my mother and father already. Eric and Reagan too. I don’t want to lose anyone else.

A cold shiver runs down my spine, and the fear and sadness bring me to the verge of tears. I turn to Nathaniel, suddenly snuggling against his torso.

He puts an arm around me, the other in my hair, soothing me calmly. His smell helps me calm down a bit, but my throat is still tight, and I want to cry.

“What is it…?” he whispers.

“I’m just… a bit scared,” I admit.

I hear him sigh shortly after, and he keeps caressing my hair and skin, gently. I try to calm down, letting his smell and skin surround me in a wave of warmth.

“Elena…”

“Hm…?”

“I want you to bite me.”

“Really?” I growl. “Of all times, do you have to be feeling kinky now?”

He laughs.

“No, my sunshine, I meant… bite me, as if to mark me.”

What the fucking hell.

I push him and sit away, completely taken by surprise.

“What did you just say?”

He sighs and sits up, facing me with a very serious expression.

“Elena, I want you to mark me as your mate. Your one, official mate.”

“Nate, I don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t trust me, and it will take a while longer to restore your faith in me because of how I ended things between us, of the mistakes I made before you came back.”

“You mean all the hoes you slept with.”

“Well, yeah,” he replies, a bit nervously. “I know the fact that I had a fated mate bothers you too.”

“I hope you’re going somewhere with this, talking about the other women you slept with and the one bitch that left you.”

I better never cross that one, because I swear I won’t leave her leave in one piece if I do. Nathaniel nods again.

“Sorry, I’ll… Let’s leave that out. Anyway, what I meant to say is… I love you, Elena… Selena. I love you. Not because you bore my child, or because the sex together is great, or because of our past together. I love the woman Selena Whitewood. The strong, independent woman that doesn’t let me get what I want, doesn’t fear anyone, and is the most beautiful person I know. I even love how we fight and bicker, how you get grumpy and will pull away from me when you’re upset, how jealous you get. I love how you’re effortlessly sexy no matter what you do or wear, I love how you’re both so strong and fragile. I love your fierce side, your caring side. I love your body, your skin, the taste of your lips, your amber eyes, your soft hair. But I love even more the woman inside. I’m crazy in love with you. I’ll die if we part again, for whatever reason it is. I have one certainty, Selena. If I live or die in this war, I want it to be with you. With the one woman I chose to be in love with. I want your face to be the last thing I’ll see if I die, and the first I’ll see once it’s over if we win. You’re absolutely everything I want and will be satisfied with. I don’t care who Moon Goddess said I had to be with. I don’t give a damn about fated mates. I want the one woman that I chose myself. My second chance woman, my sunshine.”

I… I’m sobbing already. How can he say such things… like that, just… taking me by surprise and not letting me prepare my heart beforehand?

He takes my hand, my shaking hand, looking at me right in the eyes.

“Selena, I know I want to spend whatever is left of my life with you. I don’t want anyone else, I swear. That’s why I want us to mate. I know a wedding is not something you’ll rely on to trust me. But if you mark me, I’ll be yours alone. I won’t be able to mate with another woman ever. You don’t even have to let me bite you if you want. I don’t care, I can wait. What I want is for you to trust me. I’ll do anything for that.”

“Are you sure?” I ask with a trembling voice. “There is no changing your mind, Nate. Even if I grow old and smelly and very wrinkly.”

“I know.”

“I might get disfigured in the war. Lose a limb or be disabled. You’ll be stuck with me all your life.”

“I’m fine with that.”

Damn it, why does he have to… to take me by surprise all the time? And with those kinds of big words, I don’t even know how to react aside from my crying and my heart going crazy. I can become his mate? For real? His one and only mate? I had never imagined it. My marking on his neck… He had lost his fated mate. Whatever led me to think he wouldn’t want to mate with anyone else? I see so many couples together without ever taking that one, scary step. For werewolves, marking each other is the most binding form of union. A wedding is something that can be ended by divorce. A werewolf’s marking on their partner will never, ever go away no matter what. And he wants me to mark him?

“Selena, please.”

“… Fine,” I stutter, “but I want you to mark me too. I don’t want it to be just one way.”

He can’t hide his surprise or his joy.

“Really? I can wait. I don’t want to force you.”

“After all those things you said?” I chuckle between my tears. “You think I’d ever find another idiot to love me like that?”

He laughs, and leans to kiss me.

“… I want to be the one and only very lucky idiot.”

“No, Damian, you need to… No, not that either! Did you get the parmesan? Yes, exactly! Now you just cut a few pieces and put it on top. Slices, not chunks!”

I can’t repress a laugh. Nate’s been on the phone for over half an hour, trying to guide his brother who’s making whatever crazy dish Nora is craving again. Apparently, the King’s only weakness is his non-existent cooking skills to satisfy his wife, though I have to admit Nora’s cravings are getting crazier every day. Moon Goddess, I wish I’d had that kind of pregnancy! With Estelle, I just felt sleepy all the time and unable to sleep when I was supposed to.

“Mommy? Can I put this one?”

“Try it, baby.”

Estelle has gotten into puzzles lately, so we just bought this new one for her yesterday, but she picked a big one. We had to install it in the living room, and we are both on the floor, trying to make those five hundred pieces fit together somehow while chatting about her first weeks of school.

It was a bit last-minute, but Nate used his connections to get Estelle into a nearby school right in time for September. So far, she likes it. She even became friends with a deaf-mute girl one year older, who she “plays” sign language with. Her teacher is a nice, old lady, and they even have a little school farm where Estelle can see a rabbit every day.

While she tries to fit another piece of the puzzle, I turn to watch my man, visibly desperate on the phone. Despite his shirt, I can see the marking on Nate’s neck, making me smile every time.

Nathaniel was right about one thing: I feel much closer to him now with that marking on both our necks. They finally went from pink, painful, and fresh to a proper scar. Truthfully, I didn’t think I could like a scar so much. It’s like I now have a special connection to him, something I can feel at all times, binding us together.

He feels my stare and turns to me with a smile as he hangs up and comes back to us.

“How are they doing?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t guarantee she will get her almond butter and four cheese lasagna, but I do hope my brother doesn’t burn it. When he hung up, I think I heard something about Nora trying to stab him with a spoon.”

Estelle and I exchange a look before bursting out in laughter. It’s just so funny to imagine the strongest Alpha of Silver City being subjected to his pregnant wife’s crazy whims. It reminds us that Nora’s delivery date is near though. I’m already glad that we finished the summer without any further incidents, but it won’t last.

More and more, the vampires are coming closer. At night, our patrols in the north spot them from afar, and Sylviana says she can sense them trying to break the protections she put in place too. They are roaming around, but too afraid to come close. No sign of the Dark Witch though, which is scary. Since she attacked me, that woman hasn’t appeared anywhere.

The good thing is that we didn’t think we would have so much time left, and got ready as soon as we could. There were several Alpha gatherings between the few clans that had not yet fused.

The Sapphire Moon clan, the White Moon clan, and the Violet Moon clan were the last three. For a few weeks, Nora, the Black brothers, the Mura siblings, and I worked together to convince every pack to rally our cause. Truth is, I was surprised about how quickly my new position was accepted by other packs. The Sea Moon wolves even ended up rallying with my pack, unexpectedly. Arthur Seaver wasn’t too fond of the Sapphire or Violet Moon, but their pack had a debt to Nora and I since the last battle, almost five years ago. Hence, after further discussions, he finally agreed to submit to me and use his Alpha position to lead his pack into the war.

The Rising Moon, after protesting a lot, wasn’t given much choice. Every pack still resented them for their betrayal four years ago, and Damian Black made sure they would regret it if their Alpha didn’t purely and simply renounce her position. When she was given a choice to fight against him or submit to him, she chose the option that would let her live.

Finally, once our cousin William Blue gave Nora the leadership of the Sapphire Moon as promised, only the stubborn Lysandra Jones was left. That was a very different battle, and one we didn’t expect to last this long. The Violet Moon is the proudest pack, and despite Tonia being her partner, Lysandra refused to submit to Damian, Nora, or me until the very end.

This is the only issue we still have today. After many, many attempts to discuss this, Lysandra sort of agreed that she could potentially submit to Damian, but only when the Dark Witch would attack, not anytime before… which makes the situation more complicated, as we have to prepare a battle plan while continuously arguing with her.

“My sunshine, my little star, I have to go.”

“Daddy? You’re going to work?” asks Estelle, looking disappointed.

He gets on his knees and gives her a kiss on her forehead.

“Sorry, my princess, but your uncle Damian needs to stay home with Auntie Nora, so I need to take care of the company.”

“With Uncle Isaac too?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Can I come with you?” she asks with that cute pout.

Damn, I need to intervene before Nate loses again against our baby girl’s ultimate cuteness attack. I chuckle and caress her chubby cheek.

“We’re going to see Auntie Sylviana and your Uncle Liam today, remember? You’ll see Daddy tonight, baby.”

“Okay, then…”

He smiles and hugs her once more, before giving me a long goodbye kiss.

I watch him leave with a light heart. Moon Goddess. I still can’t believe this is my new daily life, with Nate and Estelle, in his penthouse. I wake up by his side, usually with a bit of delightful morning bed action, and let him make breakfast while I wake up our daughter, and all three of us eat together. Estelle goes to school, he goes to work, and I study or go to the White Moon territory for my Alpha duties. I still don’t really know how we make it work, but with Nate, everything happens so naturally, it feels like I don’t have to worry about anything but the war that’s coming at us.

And it is coming. I’m satisfied with each day that we go through without incident, but my first worry in the morning is will it be today? I have never been patient, but Moon Goddess, this is utter torture.

Once again, I try to chase all the gloom away while getting ready. My little baby sunshine helps a lot with that too. She is happy with whatever it is we do, and today she is ecstatic about going to see Sylviana and Liam.

We arrive in the large garden, but as usual, I feel like I’m entering some wild, unique tropical forest. There’s green everywhere, and flowers of all colors sprouting randomly here and there. The ivy is covering most of the house; I wouldn’t even be able to tell what color her walls are. I can feel the wildlife too, notably the butterflies busy living their lives from one flower to another. Estelle immediately runs to play with them, excited. There is something really special about walking into a witch’s lair. I can’t quite describe it, but my instincts are never fully trusting. There’s a tingling at the back of my mind that keeps me restless.

“Good morning.”

Sylviana’s pretty voice welcomes us, and Estelle runs into her flowery dress.

“Auntie Sylviana, good morning!”

“How are you, little star?”

“I’m fine! Mommy and I made a puzzle today!”

“Did you?” asks Sylviana, looking at me with a gentle smile.

“She loves it,” I answer. “How are you, Syl?”

“A bit busy, as usual. Have you had breakfast yet? I was making waffles.”

I suspect Liam is the main reason Sylviana always has some delicious food ready whenever we arrive. He comes out of the house behind her, greeting us and immediately playing with his niece. I’m surprised at how good Liam is with children; James and Estelle absolutely adore him.

“What’s up, Selena?” he asks with his usual bratty attitude.

“The usual,” I sigh. “You know, training, family time, waiting…”

He nods and lets Estelle follow Sylviana inside her house to talk with me, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I hate the wait too. I am not used to not doing anything.”

“Your brother still makes you patrol at the border?”

“Every day, three or four times a day. He’s as restless as us. Nora can give birth anytime now. It’s making everyone crazy. To be honest…”

He sighs a bit, taking a glance at the house. From the kitchen’s window, we can see Estelle and Sylviana chatting and smiling happily, playing with fruits.

Liam shakes his head, frowning.

“I feel like she isn’t telling me everything,” he says. “I mean, she never really does, but… About the witch, I feel like she has something she won’t tell me.”

“Sylviana’s always a mystery to everyone, you know. She knew about my link to Nora, about my parents’ death. She’s different from us. Being a witch probably has its perks, but also some issues, I guess.”

I wonder what it feels like, to be the only one of your own kind. I never stopped to really think about it. I’ve always lived surrounded by wolves. Silver City is this strange, somewhat functioning cohabitation between humans and werewolves. After all, both kinds have a lot in common. I’m living proof of how close they can be, actually. My hybrid status was never really an issue, whereas Sylviana doesn’t seem to know any other witch. I know she said something about how she learned from her mother, but apart from her family, how did she grow up without ever interacting with other people her kind? She never mentioned any other witches.

I notice Liam seems to be lost deep in his thoughts too. I give him a little elbow bump.

“What is it?”

“I’m going to propose again, after the battle is over,” he says.

I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“What is it with you guys and weddings? Damian got engaged to a bitch and then to Nora when she was in a coma, Nate is asking every damn day. and now you too?”

Liam laughs.

“Hey, for the record, Sylviana and I have been together since way before you and Nate, okay? Also, this is my fifth time asking.”

“Well,” I sigh, “at least you’re persistent. What’s her excuse for saying no, by the way? I mean, I know I’m also making Nate wait, but…”

“Oh, that idiot brother of mine deserves to wait, I support you fully on that one.”

“Thanks. But?”

“But,” he says, “Sylviana says I should wait to be sure.”

“Be sure of what?” I ask, confused.

“She thinks I’m too young, that I should at least wait until after the war. I think she’s afraid, since she can’t see past the war. She says there are too many futures pending.”

“It’s terrifying. If not even Sylviana can see what will happen in the war…”

Liam nods, scratching his head.

“Yep, tell me about it. Truth is, she’s good about the past, but the future is always some blurry, changing sequence. I mean, that’s what she says, maybe we’re all going to die and she just won’t say it.”

“Thanks, Liam, a very heartwarming forecast.”

“You’re welcome. I bet it’s going to be a downpour too, like in one of those super epic battle movie scenes.”

“Against a Water Witch. Sounds awesome.”

He realizes what a horrible situation that would be and makes a grimace.

“Okay, never mind that. Anyway, when will I get to call you sister-in-law?”

“No idea. I don’t trust you to shut up, anyway, so I wouldn’t tell you.”

I leave him with his shocked expression and walk inside the house, hearing him shout behind me.

“That is so not nice, Selena! Really, I can’t believe you don’t trust me!”

I’m still laughing when I walk into the house to join my daughter and Sylviana, who are making some flower crowns together. Just like her garden, walking into Sylviana’s house is like walking into an indoor garden. There are random plants in pots on about every piece of furniture available, some even hanging from the ceiling, and, especially for a werewolf, it smells so, so fresh and good, like a forest.

“Is it okay if she plucks out flowers?” I ask with a frown while taking a seat on the couch.

“Of course, I can always grow more,” replies Sylviana with a smile. “Right, little princess?”

“Look, Mommy! Uncle Liam, can I make you one too?”

“I would love one!”

Half an hour later, Liam’s head is covered in flowers, and Sylviana and I are watching him make some hot chocolate for his niece from the couch, laughing.

“I can’t believe she is so big already,” sighs Sylviana. “I still remember the day you gave birth to her.”

“You’re the first being she saw,” I remind her. “No wonder she loves you so much.”

“She still secretly calls me her fairy godmother,” she whispers with a smile.

“Is that a compliment for a witch?”

“Of course! I even taught her a few tricks.”

I can’t help but frown a bit. What the heck did she possibly teach my daughter when I wasn’t looking? I’ll have to ask Estelle later. I love Sylviana, but sometimes she’s a bit scary and unpredictable. I don’t want a jungle to sprout in the middle of Estelle’s bedroom or a butterfly invasion.

She chuckles, seeing my baffled expression.

“Liam told me you’re making him wait,” I whisper.

“The brothers and their attachment issues,” she sighs.

“I know!”

“I love Liam, but he’s still too young. And witches don’t exactly make the best housewives.”

“You do know Nora and Liam are the same age, right? And she’s on her second pregnancy.”

Sylviana laughs again, though quieter because Liam is listening, thinking we can’t see his ears moving a bit or the glances he sends us from time to time.

“Nora matured faster, and she’s found her fated mate. Liam and I… It’s different. Sometimes, two stars don’t align perfectly, but it still works.”

“I think I know what you mean, but my parents were from different species too. And as a reminder, it saved my life.”

She shakes her head, looking at Liam and Estelle fooling around with that lonely expression of hers.

“We’ll see. After the war, things will be clearer, I hope. Oh, that reminds me, I need to make some more almond butter for Nora. Do you want some too?”

“Yeah, I guess!”

So this is where Nora’s crazy infatuation with almond butter comes from. I’m about to follow Sylviana in the kitchen when I feel another wolf looking for me.

“ Selena? ”

“ What is it, Levi? ”

“ Damn, this new link is kind of weird, I have a hard time getting a hang of it. Anyway, where are you? Everything okay? ”

“ At Sylviana’s house, why? ”

“ Oh, the witch? Okay, um, well something happened here. ”

I freeze immediately, turning to Sylviana. She would have felt it if something had happened, right?

“ Levi, what is it? What happened? ”

“ It’s Iris. She disappeared. ”

“ What the fuck do you mean she disappeared? ”

“ Her cell was open and empty, and we couldn’t find her anywhere. We have two dozen wolves looking for her, but they’ve found absolutely no trace of her. ”

Fuck. How the hell did she break out of her cell? To go where?

“ Elena, we know how she got out. ”

“ What? How? ”

“ I just checked the CCTV. It’s Chris. He opened her cell, and… he’s missing too. ”

I can’t believe it! I keep watching it over and over, but it’s the same. The video in black and white, despite the poor quality, clearly shows Chris and Iris talking for a long time, before he opens her cell door, and they both flee out of the camera’s range. I nervously bite my lip, annoyed.

Why the fuck would you do that, Chris? Why? Why now? My anger is so palpable, everyone is keeping a safe zone of a few steps away from me.

“How come no one was able to fucking track them?” I growl.

“I sent people, Elena, but they crossed the border right away, we had just noticed they were gone. By the time the clinic told me, and I told the patrol, they were already way ahead of us. I did send some people after them, but you don’t want anyone stepping outside our territory, so…”

I sigh.

Our protective measures are made so that no one would get caught and killed outside of the protective barrier, but I didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to go past it and run away! I don’t understand what could have happened. My cousins’ whereabouts are unknown, and I hate it. I can see why Iris would escape and leave, but Chris? Did she persuade him? Despite him finally agreeing to talk with her, I didn’t feel their relationship improved much. Why would he follow her? He was reluctant to go and see her again but still went. So, what happened?

“Do we send people after them?” asks Levi, the only non-alpha not terrorized by my fuming aura.

“No. I stand by my words, no one goes out.”

We don’t need more people getting killed by venturing outside. It may look like everything is peaceful, but I’m pretty sure some damn blood-suckers are just waiting for our kind to step outside of Sylviana’s protective barrier.

Next to me, Liam, who came along, takes out his phone with a frown, and lets Sylviana know about the events in a few sentences. When he hangs up, he looks annoyed.

“Yeah, no good at all. She can’t do anything about people leaving, and more worrying, her barrier keeps vampires and witches from crossing over. Werewolves are free to go in and out though. And she did feel your cousins run outside a few minutes ago.”

He scratches his head, looking at the screen.

“Sorry, Elena, but… your cousins are on their own.”

Which means they could get killed at any minute! I take a deep breath. If they are not too far away yet, I still have a chance to mind-link them.

“ Chris? Chris! Iris! ”

I can feel both of them. It’s faint, but I feel my cousins, in their wolf forms, far away from me. However, they either can’t hear me or won’t listen, as neither respond at all, no matter how much I try to call them. I keep forcing it, to the point I’m really growling, and other people in the room have to look down.

Then, I lose all contact. I can’t feel them anymore. Either they are now really too far, or…

“Elena?” asks Liam, visibly worried.

“I need to talk to Nora and Damian,” I growl. “Nate, too.”

He nods and follows me outside of the building. We hurry. This is not good, and we need to sort this mess out quickly.

“Elena! What do we do?” asks Levi, coming out the doors behind us.

“Nothing!”

I climb behind Liam on his bike, and we ride out of the White Moon territory. Why do I have such a bad feeling about this? Something’s wrong. Not just my cousin’s sudden departure, but my werewolf instincts are going crazy.

Suddenly, Liam stops the bike, in the middle of several buildings, on the side of a large crossroad, taking off his helmet.

“Liam, what’s wrong?”

“You don’t smell that?” he asks.

Smell? Holy crap, he’s right. I didn’t notice because I had the helmet on, but the air reeks of blood! We both get off his bike, looking for the scent’s origin. The smell is so strong, it’s horrible, and even worse to imagine where it is coming from. We keep looking around until I have had enough. I try to find any nearby wolves to reach out to. We can’t possibly be the only ones smelling that.

“ White Luna! ” several voices answer.

“ Do you smell that? ”

“ It’s the river! ”

The river? The river runs from the north into our territory, crossing Silver City in the west to go down to the sea. I turn around and run towards the former Sea Moon wolves’ territory, close to the seafront. Liam’s right behind me, keeping up with my speed until we get there. Neither of us bothers to shape-shift; we are fast enough and unsure about the situation too. We finally stop, and Moon Goddess, the smell is even worse here. Both Liam and I cover our noses in the same movement.

“Mother Moon Goddess. Oh, that’s so bad,” gasps Liam.

No kidding. It’s worse than bad, that’s… A dozen werewolves and humans are just like us, staring in utter shock and disgust at the river, just a couple of feet beneath our level.

The water turned red and dark. So thick and red… The smell of blood covers any other smell, even that of the sea nearby, and it’s reeking. Even worse, we quickly spot corpses floating by down the stream. Someone pukes on the other side of the river, not making it any better. I can’t blame them, it’s the most horrifying scene I’ve ever seen in my life. How many dead bodies does it take to fill a river with that amount of blood?

Liam and I both look upstream of the river; it’s coming from the north.

“I think that’s one nasty warning,” mutters Liam, as shocked as I am.

“Grab them!” I yell to the men present.

Humans and werewolves look at me as if I was crazy, but as soon as they see me extend my arm towards the river, start obeying.

“Why are we getting them, exactly?” asks Liam, helping me pull the closest body we could grab out of the river.

“We need to know where they came from,” I say, “and to see if they…”

I get my answer before I can finish my question. Liam, too, has a disgusted face. The poor man we grabbed and rolled over has his neck open wide, the flesh ripped open.

“If they were killed by vampires?” sighs Liam. “Yeah, guess they were.”

“That can’t be good,” I growl.

I stand up, trying to look and think about what to do next, but I’m really clueless at this point. The men keep pulling the bodies out of the water, despite being grossed out by their state. Are those blood-suckers toying with us? Or getting ready for battle? Liam takes out his phone once again, calling Sylviana, but I need to get this across the quickest way possible.

“ Damian, Nora, Nate, we just found human corpses in the river. ”

“ What? Humans? ”

“ Yeah, a lot. I mean we found… five, no, six bodies so far, but judging by the amount of blood, there’s at least four or five times that. It reeks, it’s horrible. The river turned red. ”

“ Moon Goddess. ”

“ Your cousins flee Silver City, and now corpses in the river? ” says Nate. “ That’s a lot for one day.”

“ I know, it’s not good, really not good. ”

“ I’m coming, ” says Damian.

“ Liam, what is Sylviana saying? ” asks Nora.

“ She’s just as shocked . Blood in the river is not good for the Water Witch, so actually, the vampires might have done this without her consent. ”

“ What? I thought she controlled them? ”

“ Yeah, well, maybe she needs to work on her taming thing. ”

I can’t believe he still manages to come up with some sarcasm in such a situation. We pull three more bodies out of the water by the time Sylviana and Damian arrive on the scene. The witch is absolutely horrified.

“Where is Estelle?” I ask.

“I left her with Nora,” explains Sylviana. “By the Mother Earth, those poor people.”

She sits next to the closest corpse, checking their injuries. The blood that immediately stains her hands and dress doesn’t seem to worry her one bit. She keeps frowning and patting them here and there for a while.

“Sylviana?” asks Liam, making a disgusted face at whatever she is doing.

“Definitely a vampire attack,” she says. “They didn’t completely empty them of their blood though, which is odd considering the size of these bite marks. It’s like they were in a rage, not hungry.”

“Is this some sort of warning?” I ask.

She stays silent for a while, looking at the red river with an indecipherable look in her eyes.

“I think… she might be losing control over them. If they had attacked to feed themselves, they wouldn’t have made such a mess of it. And if they had wanted to scare us, they wouldn’t have left the bodies intact either.”

“Nice thought of them,” growled Liam, disgusted.

“What do you mean, losing control over them?”

“Maybe those vampires aren’t willing to help her like the previous ones did.”

“You’re saying she’s… forcing them?”

Sylviana sighs and gets up.

“A mind-control spell on so many vampires isn’t realistic, but Water Witches are good at illusions. If she’s controlling them in some sort of way, after all this time, maybe she has difficulties controlling how they hunt too. I’m not sure.”

“Wait, illusions? How come you never told us about this?” asks Liam.

“I didn’t think she was powerful enough for that. Each type of witch has their own set of skills that evolve depending on their own crafts, and I have never heard of a Water Witch attaining such a level. But I might need to reconsider now.”

“Can you do something about it?”

I’m worried now. I don’t remember hearing about any illusions while we were fighting five years ago! Did that damn witch improve so much? If we have to add this…

Sylviana doesn’t seem worried, though.

“She won’t be able to use it on us. Controlling the vampires must take everything she has already if they are uncooperative. I’m sure she won’t be able to use illusions again, not on our people.”

“What’s your top skill?” asks Liam, curious.

Sylviana chuckles.

“That’s a secret for now.”

“What was that, then?” I ask. “They just… attacked those humans without reason?”

“They might have lost control, or she might have told them to feed without really measuring the mess they’d make.”

I’m not sure calling it a mess is the appropriate language. This is a slaughter. Damian and I exchange a look, disgusted as more bodies float downstream. Crap, I don’t want to spend my evening pulling damn bodies out of the river.

“I’ll go upstream,” I sigh. “If more bodies show up, I’d rather not have them go all the way through Silver City and freak everyone out. And the more we gather, the better idea we’ll have of how many vampires are in her army.”

“Good luck with that,” replies Liam. “It’s just so gross, I am not pulling another one of–”

“Liam, you stay with Sylviana and you help her check the bodies,” growls Damian.

“What!”

But another growl from his older brother has him finally shutting up, and nodding despite his obvious disgust.

“ Luna, we caught a woman in the river! ”

“ I know, just get the body out of– ”

“ No, this one is alive! ”

They left one alive? I relay the information immediately to the Black brothers, including Nate who just arrived at the scene, and they are all as surprised as I am.

“Go,” says Damian. “I’ll coordinate with Lysandra to see if anything happened on their territory.”

I nod, and both Nate and I turn around, taking his car to go back to the north. What a crazy day this is!

“How’s your day going, my sunshine?” he sighs in the car.

“I did not expect to find dead humans in the river or to be faced with my cousins’ little escapade,” I growl.

Moreover, I’m ruining his car with my pants and shoes covered in blood and water, and my hands are no better. I’m in no mood to joke either, and everyone is shocked by my appearance when I arrive back to the former White Moon territory. My best friend shakes his head, seeing me arrive in front of the White Moon Clinic, as per the information I got meanwhile.

“You look like–”

“Please, Danny,” I sigh, “Not today. You found one alive, you say?”

“Yeah,” he says as we keep walking. “We took her to the ER right away, she was bleeding a lot, and having trouble breathing. A middle-aged female, human. She was still conscious when we brought her here.”

He guides us inside the clinic to the room where a woman, sobbing loudly and visibly terrorized, is cornered on one end of the bed. She’s still soaked despite the hospital gown they put her in, and very, very thin. She looks sick: her eyes too big for her face and her dark hair is a mess.

“Leave me alone, you dogs!” she yells at the closest nurse, which happens to be Daniel’s mom, Abigail.

“Who are you,” I ask her, holding her wrist as she’s about to hit.

“Let me go! Let me go, I don’t want to be near those dogs!!”

“Dogs?” I repeat, confused.

What the heck is wrong with that woman? Now that I notice it, she’s only glaring, and apparently afraid, of the werewolves present. One of our nurses is human, and the only one she lets approach.

“You hate werewolves?” I ask.

“You’re just talking dogs! I hate you! Let me go back to my master!”

“Your master… You’re a vampire’s property?” I suddenly realize, shocked.

“I only belong to my master! He’s my everything!”

She keeps screaming, and it’s so annoying, I have a hard time not slapping her. Nathaniel has to intervene to help the nurses put her in the shackles as I step back, letting them handle it while I think. Daniel and I exchange a look, shocked.

I had heard that vampires keep some humans like pets so they can toy with them and, most importantly, feed on them. To those humans, from what I had heard previously, the blood sucking thing is addicting, almost turning them into some creepy junkies. Now that I look at her, that woman has numerous bite marks on her neck and shoulders. The other bodies had their throats too damaged and ripped open to make a difference, but…

“What happened?” I ask her, once they had her shackled to her bed.

“I am not answering a filthy dog! You bit–”

Nathaniel is about to jump at her, but I hold his arm, and step forward, staring at that woman, and, without thinking, using all of my Alpha Aura. There is something strange happening with my wolf, too. She’s… I don’t know, it’s like some warm halo around her presence, different from the usual feeling. I don’t have the luxury to study that now though.

“Answer me!” I growl furiously.

Suddenly, the look in that woman’s eyes changes from anger to fear. She looks at me like I’m some monster, a terrifying monster. She stutters a bit, shivering.

“I… My… master… attacked us…”

“Why? What happened?”

“The Master… he wasn’t feeding… he was hungry… A lot of vampires were hungry… And the woman in the black dress was waiting…”

“The woman in the black dress?”

“Y… Yes. She came to the Masters a while ago, and… she did something to them… They don’t like her… but they have to listen… So they didn’t feed for a very long time, longer than they usually wait… and then, she told them to eat, and they attacked us… but it wasn’t normal, they didn’t control themselves… They killed… killed a lot of us.”

“How did you make it? What about the bodies in the river?”

“We ran, because the woman in the dark dress said to kill us all. So… our masters tried not to, but they still attacked… They were hungry, it wasn’t their fault…”

Moon Goddess, I’m going to be sick if I listen to more of their sick vampire shit. Daniel is a bit green, too, but Nathaniel steps next to me.

“How many vampires are there? Why do they listen to the witch?”

“She made them drink something… I’m not sure, but… The… The woman said she would give them a city, with new humans to eat… But our masters loved us, they loved us, they didn’t want to change. So, the woman got mad, and she gave them this strange water to drink… After that, they couldn’t disobey her, they became crazy… They didn’t want to attack us… Oh, my poor master…”

Sylviana was right. The vampires aren’t doing this of their own volition; she found a way to control them somehow. Moon Goddess, this is sickening enough as it is… Did she tell them to get rid of their humans so they would have no choice but to attack us? To get the ones in Silver City?

“How many? How many vampires are out there?” asks Nathaniel, angry.

The woman suddenly spits in his direction.

“Thousands! Thousands of our masters will gather and attack you! And get rid of you, dirty dogs! My master will come and find me!”