Page 269 of His Sunshine Baby

“Mommy! You were so cool!”

Estelle runs to me, her little eyes sparkling. I smile and open up my arms, satisfied.

“Are you okay, Tonia?” I ask, while standing up with my baby girl in my arms.

She’s still laying on the floor with a sour expression.

“Don’t ask,” she growls.

Truth be told, I can’t really blame her. After she insisted on a fifth fight, I couldn’t go easy on her, and went all out. Tonia is a very, very good fighter, I cannot lie about that, but she relies a bit too much on her strength and is stubborn. Once I analyzed her strengths and weaknesses properly, I found the key to beating her. She has great adaptability, though, and gave me quite a challenge. I’m sweating and a bit out of breath.

Our small audience is amazed. We picked one of the dojos near the Blood Moon’s Headquarters, but after the first three days of watching Tonia and I fight for hours, only Liam, Nate, and Estelle are still here to watch, and some young ones from the Blood Moon and Purple Moon packs.

Damian is concerned about Nora’s health, as she’s been tired lately. The Luna is resting at her house, but it seems that, since we officially entered my new name into the city’s registry yesterday, I’ve inherited a new nickname I didn’t expect.

“White Luna! Can you show us how you did that move? The one with your leg and bam!”

I sigh at the sight of half a dozen young werewolves crowding around me with their eyes filled with expectations. That’s right, they have been calling me the White Luna, while Nora somehow became the Black or Blood Luna. I still can’t say how I feel about that.

“You little punks! Why don’t you ask me!” growls Tonia while getting back up.

Seeing her come our way, the kids run away laughing. I can’t help but chuckle too.

“They’re cheeky, aren’t they?”

“Tell me about it,” she sighs. “The ones from the Violet clan are the worst, I swear. They are not afraid to tackle the older ones and have been groomed for fighting since they were pups. I often fight with Lysandra about their excitement. They think this damn war is going to be fun. Fun, for Moon Goddess’ sake!”

I understand her concerns. It’s hard to explain to the children what’s at stake, and that they might be the first ones to die. I kiss my daughter’s forehead and stare in the direction they left, Nate joining my side.

“Do you think we will be ready?” I ask.

“In all honesty, I don’t know,” replies Tonia. “If I knew how many vampires are coming or what kind of witch we will be dealing with, I could, but no. It’s just as bad as it sounds, Elena. I am glad your plan with Nora is working fine and it’s a good one, awesome even, but it really might not be enough.”

Sadly, I know Tonia’s pessimism is justified. We could really be wiped out in a few weeks’ time.

I take a deep breath. I’ve trained enough. No matter how I look at it, I am in shape and ready. My injury’s completely healed, thank Moon Goddess, even my fights with Tonia didn’t cause any issues with my scar. It’s ugly and it will remain, but it’s healed. That’s all I ask, and luckily, Nate doesn’t seem to give a shit about it. I turn to him.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Sure,” I say with a nod. “Nate, I want to change at your place and then go.”

He seems a bit surprised, but he knows what I mean, and nods with a determined expression. I chat with Tonia a bit longer before we part, and Estelle bids her a shy goodbye too. It’s funny how she bonded with her more easily than with Boyan, whom all the kids seem to love. Maybe she reminds her of Reagan?

I take a quick shower at Nate’s place, and get dressed again in dark pants, a tank top, and a white leather jacket. I put my hair in a ponytail, almost ready for a fight. It’s a different kind of fight that awaits me, though.

Nate drives us to the White Moon territory, and I’m nervous all the way there, despite chatting with Estelle. My daughter is excited to finally see the pack I grew up in, but I can’t shake off that nervous feeling inside me. For some reason, I’ve always been so careful to keep her and Nate away from my clan; now that we’re going there as a family, it’s very strange and nerve-racking.

As previously planned, Nate carefully parks close to Clark’s house, right after sunset, and we walk up to the clan’s gathering point.

Everyone’s here. A lot of people are glaring at Nathaniel, wary of the Black brother walking on our territory. He is a stranger, and a damn strong Alpha. A lot of our people have shape-shifted already, either out of fear or just to feel safer. Maybe some want to show they don’t trust him or his brothers either. However, since he’s holding Estelle’s hand, the most adorable little girl in the world with her floral white dress and cute ponytails, I can also see a lot of smiles and amazed eyes. Yeah, that’s my baby, she looks just like me. I walk up to my godfather, who gives me a hug before his eyes land on Nathaniel. He sighs.

“If they had told me I would one day welcome one of the Black brothers on my territory…”

Nathaniel can’t repress his smirk.

“Don’t worry. I don’t bite.”

They both chuckle, and after a few seconds, finally shake hands, making everyone around relax a bit. As soon as they are done, Clark’s eyes go down to Estelle.

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