His Blue Moon Princess
His Sunshine Baby Chapter 117

It has to be a nightmare...

We are all gathered in Nora's salon, trying to understand what the heck is going on. Liam is walking in circles like a lion trapped in a cage, while Sylviana is sitting, perfectly calm. I still don't understand. "It... can't be right," says Nora, translating my thoughts exactly.

Nothing makes sense about this. Damian and Nate, standing on the side, exchange looks. The King is carrying his newborn son, and he hasn't let go of baby William since he came back from the hospital. Next to me, Danny keeps shaking his head, unwilling to believe it. "Sylviana, there has to be something..."

"You can't do anything, Daniel. It's alright..."

"It's not f*****g alright!" Yells Liam.

The baby starts crying, and Damian glares at him, but the youngest Black brother obviously doesn't care much at this moment. He's the most agitated, legitimately. He walks towards Sylviana, crazy.

"You're not going to f*****g tell me to watch you die, Sylviana!"

"I'm sorry," replies the witch.

Moon Goddess... This situation makes no sense. We put the kids upstairs with Tiffany, Tonia, and Damian's Beta and his wife for now, but the situation here is unbelievable. I take a deep breath and turn to Sylviana. "Sylviana, if we take you to the hospital..."

"It won't do anything, Selena. At best, it will buy me a few minutes. I don't want to die in a cold hospital room with machines keeping me alive until they can't. I'm fine as long as I can be with you all." "You look fine," whispers Nora. "How can you say you're..."

"My organs are failing, Nora. You can't see it, but I'm... like a flower running out of sunshine and water. I've exhausted my magic way past what I could in that fight with Nephera. I... Even you can't save me, Nora. I condemned myself already." "There has to be something we can do..."

Sylviana shakes her head. How can she be so f*****g calm? She doesn't even look sick! Her skin is barely a bit whiter than usual! If it was anyone but her, I wouldn't even be willing to believe it. Announcing that she's dying as we're talking with her... I take a deep breath, I can't handle any more crying today. Next to me, Daniel stands up too, and walks to the kitchen, followed by Bobo... "H...How long?" I ask.

"I..."

But before she finishes her sentence, Sylviana suddenly coughs up blood. Holy s**t, this just got very real. Liam runs to her, completely shocked, but she calmly wipes it off, shaking her head. "Not that long, apparently..."

Her eyes lose focus for a moment, and she needs to hold on to Liam and Nora not to fall. We jump out from the couch, letting her lay down. Moon Goddess, she's really dying. Her face is going whiter, and... I can feel she's fading away from us. Sylviana is lying on the couch now, and Nora and I have given up, we are both sobbing, chocked. I feel Nate's hand on my shoulder. I'm trembling, and I step back, holding on to him. Nora is on her knees next to Sylviana, looking desperate. We all are. Liam is standing next to her, unable to say a word.

Moon Goddess, none of this can't be real. It doesn't feel real. A few minutes ago, everything was fine... Sylviana looks at us with that gentle smile she has, and for a second, she has the eyes of someone very, very old. Nora takes her hand, my cousin's eyes filled with

tears.

"It's fine, Nora. I had to do this. It had to be this way..."

"I don't get it... What do you mean?"

Sylviana shakes her head.

"I wanted to save her... To allow my sister to finally have the peace she needed. She had been suffering for so long, and I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't want her to hurt anyone... Silver City... I'm sorry..."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Asks Liam, desperate. "You could have...!"

"It wasn't about you, Liam. That hatred Nephera was carrying was a curse. Someone had to pay the price to break it, and I did. If only death could calm my sister down, then... I'm glad I could do that for her, even if it costs me my own life..." "But...!"

She shakes her head, and reaches out her hand. Liam falls on his knees, and she rubs his cheek gently.

"Liam, I had my mind set way before I even met you. You wouldn't have changed anything. I loved you, Liam, but my sister didn't deserve any of this. Silver City, our parents... Nephera was a victim too. She took the wrong path... Since I was born, I felt sorry for my older sister, for what she had gone through. For our mother parting with her, and later, when I discovered what she had endured... I was born to protect Eleanora and Selena, Liam."

"You can't sacrifice your life for this! You can't..."

"It's not a sacrifice. Liam, I am so, so lucky. I got to meet you, to have the life I wanted here... I even chose when and where I would die, Love. If I die for the people I love, surrounded by my loved one, I'm already so blessed... Not everyone gets to pick, but I do." Hearing her last words, Liam suddenly breaks into tears. His head down against her hand, he completely loses it, sobbing loudly, his shoulders shaking from the utter pain. I can't even begin to imagine the hell he's going through... "Eleanora, Selena?"

Nora and I step a bit closer. Sylviana gently smiles at us.

"I am so glad I got to see you both grow up and become Lunas... My mother was always too busy to take care of me, but Anthea and Lilyan would always be there. You look like them so much, in so many ways... You're like little sisters to me. It was hard to watch you grow for afar."

"Sylviana..."

I already cried so much today... How is this happening? How can she even be smiling...? I don't get it...

She caresses Nora's head with her other hand, while I'm standing there, helpless, sad beyond repair. I don't want to go through this, lose someone again today... "It's okay... Everything will be okay...

For the first time, Sylviana lets out a tear, and her smile breaks a little. She's getting weaker... Her lips are losing their color, her cheeks too... Moon Goddess, no, no... "Nora, you have to..."

"Liam, I can't heal that," sobs my cousin. "I... I'm sorry I can't..."

Damian walks up to her to hold her and comfort her.

I don't know if Sylviana doesn't have the strength to, but she just looks at us without adding a word. For a long while, we stay there, sobbing silently, waiting. Waiting.

It's... I close my eyes, and take deep breaths. I know she wanted us with her, but... It's hard. I can even hear Danny crying from the kitchen. The house gets awfully quiet, and somehow, I know she's gone. Sylviana is gone.

Liam's crying gets even louder and more erratic, and Nora gently shifts her position to hug him. I can't deal with that. I turn and cry against Nate's shoulder, unable to hold back. Moon Goddess, why? Why Sylviana, of all people? She did nothing but protect us!

I can't take it. I can't stay here, with everyone crying around her body. I need some air. I run out of the house, in the garden, to take deep breaths. My head is spinning, but I'm just trying to calm down, calm down my frenetic sobs, and breathe. Breathe, just breathe... "Sunshine..."

Nate comes and hugs me, trying to comfort me. I'm so f*****g tired... Tired of crying, tired of losing people... If it wasn't for my mate, my daughter, my family being here, I know I'd be a f*****g mess... I'd collapse and crumble. I hear him sigh against my ear. "It's a f*****g long day..."

I nod. When will this be behind us? I feel like the end of the world is just taking forever...

"Boyan?"

We turn around, and, standing at the entrance of Nora's house, Boyan is standing, carrying Sylviana's body... What the f**k is going on now? He just walks out, looking determined. Daniel and Nora come out from the house behind him, both as confused as I am. "What's he doing?" I ask.

"I... I don't know..." sobs Danny. "He just said he had to do something, and he..."

Whatever it is, Boyan is walking away from us, and we need to get moving if we want to follow him wherever he's headed. Liam and Damian soon come out too, rushing behind us. It takes a while, but Boyan keeps walking, deaf to all our questions. Daniel is freaking out, and Liam doesn't even say anything, Damian almost has to support him...

Boyan takes us to the border, another part of the City. Where the hell are we? This is such a desert part of our territory, why would he take Sylviana's body all the way here? He suddenly puts her down, on the ground. This makes no sense... We all stare at each other, confused, but Boyan retreats and opens his arms to push us to retreat too. What's going on...

Suddenly, something happens with Sylviana. Her butterfly! I had forgotten about her pet thing... It comes out of her chest, or maybe an inside pocket I didn't see. Is it supposed to survive its owner?

The butterfly flies above her, and I realize that thing is getting bigger. Much bigger. Under our shocked eyes, it grows until its wings are as wide as a human being. Some strange dust is coming out of it at each flap, too, almost shining. Is that some witchcraft... magic? I exchange a look with Nora, but we are both lost.

"Look."

Nate points to the ground, and I realize the butterfly's dust is not simply falling, it's... moving to some specific spots. The dust pilling up is slowly starting to write some enigmatic scriptures on the ground. I have no idea what that writing is, but it's like gathering into shapes and circles around Sylviana's body, and lightening up. Something really strange is going on...

"Since when was that here..."

"Sylviana did it," suddenly says Boyan.

"And how the f**k do you know?"Growls Liam.

"I just... remembered."

Actually, Boyan looks confused, like he's half-awake. Did she do something to him? How did he forget she did that thing? I stare at the strange scene, and suddenly, the soil under Sylviana starts moving. It's trembling like there's something underneath. What the heck is that! "Step back," orders Damian, pulling Nora and Liam away from it.

N ate has me retreat too, and Daniel pushes Boyan. Every part of the soil that was touched or inside the strange scriptures is moving, and suddenly, Sylviana's body starts being engulfed by it too. "Sylviana!" Yells Liam.

"Liam, no!"

Damian and Boyan both hold him back. Aren't we supposed to do anything? I know Sylviana planted this, but... Slowly, the soil recovers her, digging under her and swallowing her in. Moon Goddess... Soon, her face is the last thing that we see, and she disappears underneath the ground. I can't believe what just happened, but it's not over. The soil is still moving. No, actually, it's shaking even more.

Something suddenly breaks out from the ground. A tree! A gigantic tree sprouts without warning, in accelerated motion, growing from a little twig into a majestic tree under our eyes. I... I'm speechless. The roots grow in all directions, while the tree keeps getting bigger, much bigger than a normal tree.

It suddenly stops, but for a long while, no one dares to say a word.

It's... beautiful. It's a giant white oak. Its trunk is very pale, and I recognize some of the earlier scripting imprinted into its bark. The leaves, thousands of them, are all of an eerie green, almost shining. Somehow, I feel like I'm watching Sylviana when I look at this tree... It has her print all over it, I don't even know how. Moreover, I feel its magic, so mighty, pure, and powerful... It's spread all through the branches and beyond. I look down, but even the roots are reeling of that magic, and I can feel it running underground, too, extended further than what we see.

I turn to Nora, knowing we both can feel the same thing.

"It's a..."

"...defensive barrier."

We nod along, convinced. So that's what Sylviana had been secretly preparing... Another barrier, for when she couldn't be here to hold on anymore.

She really knew all this time... She knew she wasn't going to make it. Maybe she had been lying all this time about being stronger than Nephera. I don't know. She really did her best until the end, only thinking of protecting us.

I keep staring at that tree, and for a while, I feel a bit calmer. That's what she wanted. She did this for us... I nod and sigh, taking a step back to get in Nate's embrace.

For a long, long while, all of us stay here. I close my eyes.

I listen to the wind in the leaves, the familiar sounds of the City, and Liam's crying...

***

6 Months Later.

"Moon Goddess, why does this have to be so f*****g tight..."

I try to adjust it, but no matter what I do, my dress is barely letting me breathe. Why did my breasts have to get so big already? Like, seriously! This dress is a nightmare. I hear a chuckle behind me, and Nora and Bonnie both come to my rescue, frowning and trying to adjust the white lace in my back.

"I think we can make it a bit looser, it should be fine. We can replace a shawl to cover your cleavage..."

"Forget the shawl and enjoy it, babe, it's the only wedding where the bridesmaids can be sexier than the bride!"

I roll my eyes and turn to Danny.

"Very funny, Daniel."

"Come on, I'm not the one who got pregnant two months before my wedding."

I sigh. I did not plan to be pregnant that fast! The Alphas compatibility is really scary, I need to be careful in the future... I hear Nora chuckle.

"Can't you at least be on my side?" I sigh.

"Sorry, Elena, but... It's so cute... I know you and Nate were trying, but still... Right away..."

Well, I did insist a bit on giving a younger sibling to Estelle. Nathaniel was the one who was against it. Not that he didn't want more kids, but my two previous pregnancies didn't turn out so great... Since he heard how much I struggled while I was pregnant with Estelle, he became so against it, we fought a lot on the matter. Thank Moon Goddess, Estelle actually started asking for a younger sibling too, and he still can't say no to our baby star.

"I can't wait for you to be tired with baby number two," says Danny. "This way I get to babysit Estelle all I want."

"You already see her twice a week!" I protest.

"You can babysit James if you want," says Nora. "Between all the work with the packs and Will who still doesn't sleep a full night, I feel like Boyan's been seeing my baby more than me..." That's right, Silver City has changed a lot...

With Arthur Seaver and William Blue gone, and so many werewolves dead, all the packs were at a loss for a while. Damian, Nora, Nate, and I had to work like crazy to put everything back on track, even with the humans. Once the funerals were over, we had to re- organize the packs.

While Damian is still, of course, the werewolf King of Silver City, Nora and I have agreed to share the position of Silver City's Luna. After Clark gave me full control of the North and retired, Nora took over the South, including the now Alpha-less Saphir and Sea Moon Clans. The only two other Clans remaining are the Pearl Moon and Purple Moon Lysandra and Tiffany are still in charge of, and that's fine with us as it is.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Nora. Your baby is cute in pictures, but in the flesh? He's genetically linked with a chainsaw. Did you see the state of my rug? And Boyan's ear? His ear!"

Bonnie and I snort while Nora blushes, a bit embarrassed. James started shape-shifting last month, and pups chew everything, as we recently found out with poor Bobo... "Sorry..."

"Alright, we'll talk about the little monsters later. Daniel, are you ready or not?"

He smiles, perfect in his black tuxedo. If I ever knew I'd see Daniel Lewis wear a tuxedo... I've never seen him so elegant. Bonnie looks proud of him, too, helping him adjust the bowtie. Tonia appears at the door with a big smile.

"I think you should get going now," she says.

"Babe?" He says, giving me his arm.

I grab the flowers, and we leave the room.

Somehow, holding a wedding now was a bit of a crazy thought at first, but after thinking about it twice, everyone agreed it was the best way to show a new sign of hope. It's been six months, and life has to go on in Silver City. We survived. We lost people, but for those who remain, life can go on...

We arrive in front of the entrance, and meet with the two groomsmen. Nora is all happy to replace Damian. With a big smile, Ben takes his spot next to his twin sister, and all six of us wait for the music to start. I glance at my flowers. If only she could be here... And

Levi...

"Hey."

Daniel caught my glance and frowns.

"Chin up, young lady. Don't you dare think about unhappy things today. It's okay, babe. They would be happy for us."

"...I know."

I take a deep breath. That's right. Today is a wedding, a happy day. I smile at Daniel, and he kisses my cheek. I chuckle.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be going up with... your mom? Or your dad?"

"Babe, I want my best friend with me. All the way. You're my family."

Oh s**t, he's going to make me cry.

"Selena Whitewood, I swear if you cry, I'll s***k you right here."

I chuckle and manage to hold it in. The music finally starts, and we walk in. It's a little, private wedding. Only close family and friends, not even thirty people inside. Daniel and I slowly walk up to the aisle, all eyes on us.

I see Boyan, absolutely gorgeous in his white tuxedo, waiting nervously for us, his brother gives him a little pat on the shoulder. I hear Daniel gasp. Yes, our Bobo is that handsome. We finally reach the aisle, and Bobo gives me a hug, before I go to the side, as the maid of honor, listening to the vows.

I love how they kept it simple... It's touching, very sweet and with a hint of humor. They mention their first meeting in that club, Bobo's smooth dancing moves, and even their love spats... I can't resist shedding a little tear, and I see Abigail in the same state on the front bench.

Finally, Estelle walks up, holding the ring, and Danny gives his goddaughter a little kiss. My daughter walks up to her dad and uncle, on the other side. I wasn't sure Liam would show up, but apparently, they convinced him...

A lot of chuckles and a kiss later, they are pronounced husband and husband, and exchange a wild kiss that definitely wouldn't have been possible in church! A lot of cheers and a wave of applauds take over the room, and, after a few more hugs, I step to the side to let Danny and Boyan's families come and congratulate them.

That's right... We can be happy again. The nightmare is finally over, new dawn as come. No more threat, no more fear of the next day. Silver City is living anew, with a new, fresh heart beating. Werewolves and Humans are at peace. A real, long-lasting peace. As long as Nora and I are here, with our mates, our families, this peace will remain. We can finally breathe freely. No more fear. We're free to focus on love, on our families, in the future.

There's still this sadness, in our hearts, this scar that will remain. But we can heal from it. Accept it, not hold on to the pain and move on. I've buried Levi, in my heart, somewhere where he'll remain. Somewhere I can see him if I close my eyes and remember. It's okay... I'll cherish those memories. The memory of my friends, my family, my loved ones. I'll accept them, I'll grow with them and get stronger. I'll carry this bittersweet pain with me, and when it becomes too hard, I'll breathe. I will take a deep breath, until my lungs are painful. Until I remember. A breath to remind myself I'm there. I'm alive. It's okay to hurt, it's okay as long as I remember I'm there. I'm okay. We're okay...

A familiar arm surrounds me, and Nate gives my shoulder a tender kiss.

"Damn, Daniel managed to make me jealous again..." He growls.

"Yeah, I think Boyan is definitely taken now... Damn. Are you that sad?"

"Very funny... I was talking about our wedding, miss Whitewood. When will I finally get to call you my wife?"

I chuckle and turn around to kiss him. My man, my mate... I don't think I'll ever get tired of his lips, his taste, his sexy body... Of course, Nate answers my wild kiss, but I can tell my little distraction doesn't work long. He frowns and steps back, staring at me with his gorgeous blue eyes.

"Seriously, why won't you say yes?"

"Maybe because if I said yes, I wouldn't get to hear you ask anymore..."

He smiles.

"Alright, I guess I can keep asking a bit longer... I'll only be patient until my new Sunshine comes."

It's my turn to frown.

"Your new Sunshine?"

Nate chuckles and puts a hand on my tummy.

"Yes. My Sunshine Baby..."

...The End.