Page 213 of His Sunshine Baby

“Nate!”

Isaac is standing a few steps away, in front of a large tree with something like a large crack in the trunk. I walk up to him, my heart beating like crazy, my hands shaking.

My heart stops. Curled up there, looking at us with her eyes full of tears, a little girl is hidden. Moon Goddess. My wolf is going nuts, and I just lose the ability to think. She’s… she’s so like her mom. Golden blonde hair, slightly gold skin, and a little mouth and nose; her daughter is only a bit chubbier than Elena. But her eyes… She has my mother’s eyes. This vivid shade of sky-blue. The exact same eyes as mine.

She’s undoubtedly my daughter. The truth hits me harder than I ever expected. This little girl is the perfect mix between me and her mother. I recognize so much of myself in her, and my wolf is restless in front of his pup too. I… How…

“… Daddy?”

It’s like an electric shock when she calls to me with her little voice. She knows I’m her father? How would she…? I exchange aglance with Isaac, but I’m the one she’s staring at, with her eyes full of worry and hope.

“Moon Goddess, Nate, she’s really your spitting image…” whispers Isaac.

She looks terrified, waiting for an answer.

I’m overwhelmed with emotions right now, but my instincts take over. I kneel and open my arms to her.

“It… It’s okay. You can…”

Before I finish my sentence, she runs to me, burying her face in my torso and crying loudly.

“I want Mommy… Mommy left… and we left the house… and we ran fast… Daddy… Mommy… I’m really, really scared…”

Hearing her cry like this, I can’t take it anymore. I hug her back and get up, carrying my daughter in my arms. My daughter. Moon Goddess, this is so crazy. I turn to Isaac, restless. I have Estelle now, but what about her mom? How do we find her if we can’t mind-link her?

“Isaac, call…”

“Nate! We found Elena!”

I turn around, following my brother’s wolf’s voice. From the panic in his voice, I can tell something’s wrong. I run, holding Estelle tight. What happened to Elena? Why would she leave her daughter alone in such a place? I keep running, she was so far away from Estelle!

When I get there, I spot Sylviana first, making a sour face. She’s leaning over a dead wolf’s body. Moon Goddess, no, no.

“That’s…” starts Isaac, just when I’m too frightened to ask.

“Reagan,” says Sylviana. “She was Elena’s mentor.”

Yeah, I remember that woman. She is the one I had met at the border. Now that I’m thinking it over, this wolf’s fur is silver gray; Elena said hers was cream white. Then, where… I see Liam, back in his human form a few feet behind them, leaning over another wolf. Damn it, that’s Elena!

I rush to his side, making sure Estelle’s face stays against my shoulder so she doesn’t look. There’s so much blood. My heart goes cold. I can tell she’s barely breathing, and her shoulder looks severely injured!

“We need to get her to a hospital, and quick,” says Liam. “Sylviana, can you do something?”

His girlfriend is still by the dead wolf’s side, her eyes red with sadness and anger. It takes her a couple more seconds before she leaves her side and rushes to Elena. She inspects her injury, frowning.

“I’ll do what I can, but we need to hurry.”

Immediately, she grabs some of the soil, pouring it over Elena’s injury. What the heck? Will this do any good? I want to protest, but before I can, something happens. A lot of little red flowers suddenly bloom all over Elena’s injury.

“Mommy? Grandma Reagan?”

“No, no, Estelle, don’t look,” says Isaac, worried.

She’s struggling in my arms, trying to see her mother. Crap, she probably sensed she was close. How can her wolf be awake already? She is, what, four years old now? Isn’t she too young for her wolf to be awake? I didn’t even think about it, but she did mind-link me.

“Isaac, take her.”

I hand my daughter to him, and rush to pick up and carry Elena. Damn it, I haven’t seen her in over four years and now this… She is so light. Did she change much during all this time?

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