Page 295 of His Sunshine Baby

“What did you do?” I ask Sylviana.

“I put some sort of lock on Nora’s mind,” she admits. “I sealed her Royal power to a place deep inside her mind, where it wouldn’t awake unless she had a strong stimulus.”

“Let me guess… like meeting her fated mate?”

“Holy Moon Goddess. Nora meeting Damian was the trigger? No wonder she went from a kitty to a tiger after that!”

“It could have been the rape attempt too. She lost control when she was in the most danger. Or her first shape-shifting. Everyone felt her unique wolf’s Royal Aura after that.”

“I did feel something change after meeting Damian,”admits Nora, “but I– Ugh!”

“Are you doing okay, Nora?”

“Yeah, I’ll manage… Just… Please be safe.”

Be safe, she says. I want to cry internally. There’s no way she didn’t feel William’s passing, or all the others. And despite all the talking right now, this fight is still far from over, let’s face it.

“I hoped Nora would be hidden until she was old enough to defend herself,” continues Sylviana. “I stayed away from her, and secretly established myself, watching our surroundings.Since I was born, I had been told to watch out for people trying to attack the Royals, especially vampires. I met with Reagan on one of my trips to the outside a bit later. I was relieved you had survived, Selena, though I have no idea how that happened. But once again, I decided it would be better for me to stay away, and I knew Reagan was watching over you.”

“You did a pretty good job of hiding them. I would never have found them if it wasn’t for her child’s awakening.”

I was probably harder to find due to my human heritage too. My mom really protected me, even after her death. However, unlike Nora’s seal or my human blood, Estelle was born without anything to hide her inner wolf, so as we feared, as soon as her inner puppy awakened, she became another target. I exchange a glance with Nate. Only a few minutes have passed, but it’s enough for everyone to catch a little break. I don’t feel any bit rested though; this is just too much information at once. Who knew we were still missing such a big part of the story, and all this time it was Sylviana’s.

I need to keep her talking though. I don’t care what that woman went through, she’s still targeting us.

“The first attack was after Nora’s awakening, right?” I ask.

Nephera turns her eyes to me, and I realize their color is changing. Like Sylviana, her eyes can change between several shades depending on her emotions. That woman is so thin too, and her skin so pale, it’s like her big blue-gray eyes are the only color on her, making it even more obvious.

“When I realized you were in Silver City, I just… lost it. Of all places, in the city I should have been, I should have owned! It was painful to return, after all those years. I hated the idea of seeing Judah again, but as it turns out, that rotten man had already died, hadn’t he?”

She glares at all three brothers, who growl together, warning her.

“Oh, your auras are so much like his… I was speechless, but it added to the pleasure of attacking this wretched place. I led the vampires, telling them I wanted the Royal, not even knowing there were two of you!”

No wonder the blood-suckers targeted Nora specifically back then.

“Yet, I couldn’t enter. I attacked from afar, unsure about the whole situation. First, I didn’t expect Silver City’s packs to act altogether. But then, the real shock… The Earth Witch! Of all people, I sensed our family’s blood’s magic here, my own half-sister, suddenly protecting Silver City and running to the werewolves’ side! Now that was a big surprise!”

I bet. She probably had forgotten about her half-sister entirely. I don’t get how she recognized her sibling without even seeing her face to face, but I guess that’s another witch thing I’ll never understand.

“I admit, I lost that day. I left most of my vampires to die and ran away. I knew I couldn’t win against you, Sylviana. You had the stronger element, you were younger, more powerful, and you had years to extend your protection over Silver City. I underestimated you, Lilyan’s daughter, and those three. And you, Gabriel’s daughter, the one I couldn’t even detect. When I felt how strong you all were, and how the vampires couldn’t match, I decided to turn away.”

More like we kicked your ass and your damn vamps bad enough that you had to run away with your tail between your legs…

I glance at the brothers. They are growling, still tense. They know the fight can resume any minute now. I try to feel Nora, but she’s overwhelmed by the pain. Moon Goddess, I hope her baby will at least be born without complications. We really don’t need more problems…

Chapter 37

It feels a lot longer, but only a few minutes have passed since Nephera began her argument with Sylviana. I try to reach out to Nora, but she’s too caught up in the pain now. Somehow, I think that baby number two is in a hurry to come out. I already love that kid.

“Once again, I had to be patient. I knew you’d protect Silver City for as long as you could, and Judah and the twins’ little bastards too. I took my time, gathering even more vampires than before, after having their Vampire Queen acting like a puppet held by my strings. I didn’t notice one of them was gone for some time, but once I felt another Royal print, I rushed there.”

She killed Reagan but couldn’t get to Estelle or kill me. Sylviana arrived right in time to save me and make her run away. Nephera shrugs.

“I didn’t want to rush, anyway. I had an army almost ready, and I just wanted to destroy you all at once, along with Silver City. I waited patiently for this opportunity, until today. Now, finally, I’ll take back what is mine, and get rid of all of you!”

I growl, pissed off. This woman went from a martyr to a villain, but I just can’t listen to her bullshit any longer.

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