Page 43 of His Sunshine Baby

“I still think you made a mistake with Xavier,” growls Isabel.

Is she talking about how he chose my uncle Xavier instead of my father to be the head of the Opal Moon? But Clark rolls his eyes and ignores her.

“You’ve said it enough times already, Isa. And I had my reasons. Anyways...”

He massages his shoulders, looking tired. My godfather is already in his fifties, but despite this, he is still a handsome man, with his snow-white hair and beard, deep husky voice, and very muscular body. A lot of single ladies in the pack wish he wouldpick a new mate, but Clark doesn’t show any intent to, not since his wife passed.

“That was an interesting night,” he mutters.

“Right. You think they really are looking for someone?” Isabel asks.

“Probably. The description was odd, though. Sapphire-blue eyes. And the scar thing, too. Let’s just see if they do the same with the other clans.”

“I was surprised you accepted,” I say to Clark.

“I was curious to meet them, especially since they reached out to us. The Black brothers may have a shitty reputation, but we have to give it to them, Silver City has never been so peaceful since they got rid of their father.”

That’s true. I still remember how tense Silver City used to be back then. The Mad King was scaring everyone, and no clan, no territory was safe. He would go on crazy rampages and kill a lot of people. Moon Goddess help those who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was strong like no other alpha ever was. Strong enough to chase the remaining vampires of Silver City out. I was younger then, but I still vividly remember the dark days, when we couldn’t take a step out of our turf and strictly obeyed the curfew.

“True. They weren’t as complacent as I thought.”

I let them discuss the brothers’ actions a bit longer, but I’m eager to go home. At some point, Clark notices me and Chris standing there and sighs.

“Time to go home, kids.”

He walks up to me and gives me a kiss on the forehead, and Chris gets a little pat on his head, making him all proud. We bid them good night and start walking north side by side. Chris looks a bit awkward until he starts speaking.

“Sorry about my dad.”

“It’s okay, Chris.”

“You know, I think he’s afraid Clark will name you to replace him. He wants me to be the next Opal Moon Alpha so much.”

I had already kind of thought the same too. Xavier’s actions are too transparent, especially those towards me. Everyone knows how he felt about my dad too, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise that he sees me as a threat to his position.

“I don’t really feel like being the Alpha, you know. I know I’m not that strong.”

“You would do great, Chris. And you’ll keep growing and getting stronger too. Plus, you’re understanding and patient. Everyone in the packs likes you.”

I can’t say the same about his dad. Things would be different if Xavier’s jealousy wasn’t so obvious. Chris and I chat a bit longer until we finally part ways, him heading to his dad’s while I go to my apartment.

When I get there, it’s past midnight, the whole place is in the dark, and, as I suspected, Danny is snoring on the couch, the TV still on some sappy telenovela. I try to walk in silently and turn it off, but the sudden absence of sound actually wakes him up.

“Elena?”

“Yeah, I’m here, babe.”

He sits up drowsily, obviously still half asleep. I try to get him to go to bed, but Danny insists I tell him about the dinner. Finally, I give up and sit next to him. I tell him about everything the happened, including my time with Nate in the bathroom and Clark and Xavier’s dispute. Daniel listens, sleepy but all ears. He only interrupts me a couple of times to ask for details.

When I’m done, he shakes his head, and I’m surprised he’s not even mad about what happened with Nate. I realize it’s odd that he didn’t even react that badly.

“Danny, what is it?”

He sighs.

“Well, I know I should be scolding you, but…”

He suddenly looks for something under our pile of mini cushions, and finally finds his phone for me to take. I immediately see a bunch of notifications. Two missed calls from Boyan, and three times as many unread texts. I turn to him and notice his bitter expression. Oh, Danny.