The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)

Chapter 73

"Poa," Stephen said, biting back a tired sigh while he moved a hand through his hair and across his face. He shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin line, but there was a look of amusement in his eyes that I caught before he grew serious.

"I do agree with her, though," I said and bit back a small smile while I looked between the two of them, even though it looked more like a grimace than a smile. "It would have been better if we had met on better terms than this." I tried to gesture toward my body and couldn't help the grimace that came on my face.

"Tigress?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, and I couldn't help but silently pray that she would be there and not hidden like she had been after I was transported to Amity, my mom, uncle, and aunt. "Are you there?"

My tiger form growled tiredly and from being in pain, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief when she growled and shifted in my mind. "I am here," she said, and pain filled her voice. "Do you know what happened to us?"

"No," I said and bit the inside of my lip while I furrowed my brows and tried to think of what had happened and why we were in such pain. "All I remember is that Romanov had sent a spell toward Ray and that I blocked it because it would have killed her."

"Your Majesty?" the red haired female, Poa as the Jaguar Prince called her, asked. She furrowed her brows and cocked her head while she looked at me with soft blue eyes and a sad smile on her face.

I wrinkled my nose and pursed my lips in annoyance when she called me by my title while I turned to look at her. "Kat," I said and shook my head. "Please, call me Kat, both of you. I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me "Your Majesty," Poa, when my title isn't needed."

The Jaguar prince and princess looked at each other before they looked at me with a blank look on my face, and I had a feeling that they were talking with each other through a bond that they shared.

Stephen cleared his throat and shifted on his feet while he looked at me, breaking eye contact with his mate. "Unfortunately, that will not be the case, Your Majesty," he said and offered me a tight smile while his eyes flashed with guilt and pain. "I would appreciate it if you allowed us to continue to call you "Your Majesty," even if you do not like it."

I bit back a tired sigh and slowly nodded, having a feeling that they were going to be like Cornelius and would only call me "Your Majesty" as a way to let me know that they respected me and would follow me instead of Stephen's father. "Then can I ask that you call me Kat when everything is finished, please?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

Stephen and Poa looked at each other before they looked at me. They didn't say a word, and I had a feeling that they were talking to each other again.

"Please?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper while I looked between the two of them before I looked solely at Stephen. "We will be at the same level even with me being the High Queen as soon as everything is taken care of and both threats are eliminated."

Stephen cleared his throat and stood taller, clasping his hands behind his back while he pressed his lips into a thin line. "Can we discuss this later, Your Majesty, please?" he asked and cocked his head while he studied me. He hesitated and bowed his head, looking at me through his eyelashes. "I believe that it is something that we should discuss in private."

I bit back a tired sigh and relented, nodding. "Ok," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on the bed I was put on. I tried but failed to bite back a small groan of pain when I shifted before I looked at Poa "Now, how are you able to help me, Poa?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Do you have something, or are you able to get something, or..?"

Poa bit back a small smile and bowed her head before she cleared her throat and took a step closer to us. She held out her hand for me to take, and I looked at her hand before I looked at her, raising an eyebrow in question. "Well," she said, "I can help after you look in my eyes and take my hand, Your Majesty."

I hesitated before I pressed my lips into a thin line, but I didn't put my hand into hers. "What are you going to do?" I asked while I cocked my head to the side and raised an eyebrow in question. "Or do you have to do it first and then explain it to me?"

Poa bowed and licked her lips, hesitating ever so slightly. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, bowing her head and not looking at me. "I would appreciate it if I did it first before I explain everything to you, Your Majesty," she said and looked at me again. "You also need to check on your group and see how they are feeling and what happened to them." She gestured toward Amity, Ray, and Ro, and I looked at them before I looked at her again.

"She's right," Tigress said, her voice barely above a whisper and pain filled her voice, even though she was trying to hide it. "Take her hand so that she can help us and make whatever pain we are in go away."

I bit back a tired sigh and mentally nodded, pressing my lips into a thin line. "Ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I will put my hand in hers and then we have to check in with everyone, especially Ray."

My cat breathed a small sigh of relief and mentally nodded, and I could tell that she was grateful that I was not going to push Poa to tell me what she wanted to do to us to help take away the pain we were in.

I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh before I placed my hand in Poa's hand, silently praying that whatever she would do would help me in the long run and not hurt me afterward. "I trust you, Poa," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I looked at her. "You are able to do whatever you need to do to me."

Poa's smile grew wider, and she slowly nodded. She breathed a small sigh of relief, and her whole body seemed to grow relaxed when I said that while she squeezed my hand reassuringly, silently telling me that I would be ok, and I couldn't help but believe her.

She took a deep breath before she released it with another small whoosh, closing her eyes while she tapped into her powers. Her whole body grew tense, and she grabbed my hand tighter but not tight enough to hurt me. "Then, please, look into my eyes and let your cat come forward, too, Your Majesty," she said and opened her eyes while she looked at me, her blue eyes glowing with traces of gold filling them. "And everything will be alright in the end. You have my word."