The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)

Chapter 74

I stayed silent while I stared at her with wide eyes while she did what she needed to do to help me, and a small tingling sensation went up my arm and went through my whole body. My heart skipped a beat before it started to pound hard and fast in my chest while I shivered, biting back a small gasp of shock.

The pain instantly went away as soon as my whole body grew warm and after that shiver, and my whole body slowly started to relax and sag with the relief when there was no other source of pain and discomfort that followed after it.

Poa smiled and blinked her eyes until they were back to their normal color before she bowed and pulled her hand from mine. "Do you feel better, Your Majesty?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes," I said with a small sigh of relief in my voice while I slowly nodded again. I cleared my throat and licked my lips while I shifted on the bed I had found myself on. "I do. Thank you, Poa."

Poa smiled and bowed, looking at the ground, even though she didn't need to. "Anytime, Your Majesty," she said before she cleared her throat and grew serious, shifting on her feet while she stood and placed her hands behind her back. "I am glad that I was able to help you feel better. If you need anything else, then let me know. I am at your service."

I nodded before I looked around the tent to see who was in there, now that I was not feeling any pain or in the dark space that I had found myself after I had stepped into the path of my uncle's dark spell to protect Ray.

"Ray?" I looked at her, breathing a small sigh of relief when I saw that she was standing beside her brother with her hand in his, but her whole body was shaking while she looked in my direction with tears filling her eyes.

"Ray," I said again before I shifted toward her, growing concerned for her because I had no idea what was wrong and why she was crying. I held out my hand for her to take, and she instantly made a small whimper type of noise before she practically ran over to my side, letting go of her brother's hand.

She hugged me tightly while she started to sob, and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from grunting in pain while I hugged my best friend closer to me. "I'm sorry, Kat," she sobbed while her whole body shook with each breath she took. "I am so, so sorry. I-I-"

"Hush, now," I softly scolded while I shook my head and held onto her tighter. I closed my eyes and rubbed her back while I gently rocked her back and forth, silently trying to soothe her. "It's not your fault, Ray. You didn't know that he could do that, and I didn't know either. That was a major curve ball but not something that we can't hit in the future."

Ray didn't say a word and hugged me tighter. Her whole body shook with each sob, and I rocked her back and forth, back and forth, gently soothing her in a way that I only knew how, even though I had no idea if I was doing anything to help her.

I looked at Ro, who was watching us with something in his eyes that I had no idea if I liked or not and slowly blinked. "I'm sorry," I said, linking only him, and my other best friend set his jaw and looked away from me. "I needed her help."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper with a small crack in his voice. "You should have told me."

"And you wouldn't have let her help me if I told you what I needed her to do, Ronan," I said and narrowed my eyes ever so slightly while I continued to stare at him, pressing my lips into a thin line. "We both know that."

Ro set his jaw tighter and looked at me. Pain and anger but also guilt filled his eyes, and he didn't say a word because he knew that what I had said was true.