Page 309 of His Sunshine Baby

She fights Nora’s command and I feel her move her wrist, turning the blade in my injury. Shit… I clench my fangs, enduring the pain.

“I hope you like silver, you little–”

I growl furiously, not intimidated by her.

“I may be a Royal, but my mother was human, you bitch. I don’t give a shit about your silver!”

I furiously bite her throat, deeper. Her scream pierces my ears, but I keep going. I ignore the pain, the fatigue, the dizziness, and just keep biting, again and again. I need to end this. This madness has to stop. Everything she did, all the deaths, all the pain. It has to stop. I need to keep biting, ignore the pain, hold on, hold on for everyone’s sake. I need to hold on until… until Nephera stops moving.

“Selena…”

My head is spinning. I feel someone’s arms around me, pulling me back, and I finally let go. My legs give up under me. Is it over…?

The water sounds stop around us. The rain stops, leaving us drenched and exhausted. Moon Goddess… I lie next to my cousin, whose trembling hands are holding on to my fur. Nora cries silently, I don’t know if she’s exhausted or just overwhelmed. Nephera’s body next to us makes horrible, erratic sounds. Her hissing breath is dying. I bit her throat so deep, she’s drowning in her own blood.

Someone silently walks past us. Sylviana bends over her sister, crying. She’s trembling, looking terribly sad. The witch sits next to her sister, taking Nephera’s hand.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Nephera,” she mutters.

I fight to not close my eyes and pass out. Nora and I silently watch the two witches, in a weird silence. Echoes of the ending battle are heard from some far away area, but here, it’s a mausoleum. It’s too quiet.

We stay a long time, listening to Sylviana’s cries for her sister. She apologizes, over and over. Nephera’s agony is horribly long and slow. I keep staring, like an invisible audience to this heart-wrenching scene. The black spots slowly retreat from the witch’s skin, fading to white. Nephera’s throat stops bleeding. For a second, the remains of my conscience are worried. She’s healing. She’s…

But Sylviana raises a little dagger, and ends it all.

Chapter 39

A long silence follows. There is always this strange numbness after a battle, as if what had happened was too much of a nightmare for anyone to process it. But no one is going to wake up, this wasn’t a dream. There is no end to this, just that horrible feeling that, somehow, we need to move on.

Nora and I lay together for a long moment. I’m too tired to move, but too shaken up to collapse. I feel horrible.

After the witch’s death, the word must have spread around quite quickly. The remaining battles, even from farther away, die down. Either the vampires all died or some ran away, I don’t know, I don’t care. I just feel the fights stopping, and this strange silence spreads wider on the battlefield. I feel Nora’s aura, spreading like fresh snow around my injury, helping me heal. I hold on to that sensation, trying not to give in to the darkness that calls me. I feel so numb. I just want to lie there and sleep. But we can’t…

Finally, Nora somehow manages to get up, and she walks away from me. I know exactly where she is going. My own mate is coming up to me. I shape-shift back, and soon feel Nate’s fur against my skin as he lies down next to me. This contact is what finally frees me.

I start crying. I release all of my feelings, my pain, this bottomless despair. Moon Goddess, what happened to us? I’m even too scared to mind-link anyone, to find another one of my friends dead. I just curl up against my mate, looking for any bit of comfort I can grasp. I can’t believe it. Levi… The reality that one of my best friends died hits me brutally. Chris, William, and so many more from my pack… Even Iris… I’m overwhelmed by the sadness. I know I need to pull myself together, but… I just need a minute. A minute to pour out the sadness filling my heart. I can’t be a warrior right now. I’m just heartbroken.

Nate patiently waits for me to calm down in silence.

His presence is the one thing I need right now. To know my mate is here, my mate is fine. I selfishly hold onto that one thought. I take a deep breath, and struggle to get up. Even after this, there is so much to do.

It’s a wreck around me. I spot Nora, a bit farther away, her hands on Damian’s fur, looking concerned. Her white hair is glowing but, to my surprise, the tips are starting to turn back to their black color. Moon Goddess, the sunrise…?

I can’t believe it. It’s really dawn. Far behind the trees, the sky is starting to show some dark purple tones. It’s just the beginning, but… I try to remember the whole fight, or how long Nora and I stayed lying down. It felt like eternity went by without us knowing. We really made this fight drag on until the last minute… No wonder we are all so exhausted, we fought for several hours straight.

“Damn, I fucking love summer.”

I chuckle nervously at Liam’s words. He’s standing, walking slowly to Damian’s side. Nate and I walk up to them too.

“Are you okay…?”

“He has several broken bones,” sighs Nora. “I’ll do my best, but…”

“Nora, save it for other people. I’ll heal this by myself.”

I can tell she wants to save her mate first, but the King is right. There are a lot of people who need her healing aura more than Damian right now. I share some of my aura with Nora, giving her a bit more strength as she goes on to heal other people.

I walk up to Danny and Bobo, a bit farther, both wolves resting together on one side of the battlefield. They are both drenched, and Daniel is whimpering.

---