The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)

Chapter 90

My mother patted my hand and frowned, and a look of worry and concern filled her eyes. She didn't say a word that I could hear and looked at Carver before she looked at me, and I had a feeling that she had told him something that she wanted me to know.

Carver looked at her before he looked at me, and pain and worry filled his eyes while he studied my face. "Do you still want to have the conversation with your mother first before you take a shower and then a nap, or do you want to have that conversation tomorrow, too?"

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head, moving a hand through my hair and across my face before I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I think we will be able to have the conversation after all of this and before I take a nap," I said with a shake of my head, knowing full well that was what she would want, even though I wasn't sure if I wanted it or not. "Only Brody and you, Carver, will be with us when we talk."

My mother shook her head and patted my hand to get me to look at her, and I looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question, silently asking her what was wrong. She gestured toward Amity, silently indicating that Amity was going to be with us, and Amity grew tense and bowed her head, submitting to us ever so slightly with a small frown on her face.

I looked at Amity before I looked at her, furrowing my brows and biting back a small frown. "Are you saying that you want Amity to be with us, too?" I asked and cocked my head to the side while I studied her, and she nodded in confirmation. "Why?"

My mother looked at Amity and then looked at me. Her gaze grew softer, and a small smile appeared on her lips while she tucked her head closer to her chest. She didn't say a word and moved a hand through my hair and across my face, and I closed my eyes and buried my face closer to my hand, enjoying the warmth and comfort that she gave me.

"She will be able to help, Your Majesty," Carver said and bowed his head before he lifted his head, and I had to wrinkle my nose and purse my lips in annoyance. "You both can use her bond with you to help set up a familial bond between the two of you." He gestured toward my mother, and I looked at her before I looked at him with a blank look on my face.

A small smile appeared on his face while he bowed his head. "It'll be easier to show you than to tell you what's going to happen, Your Majesty," he said with a small chuckle in his voice.

"But that is if it will work," Amity said, and a look of pain and doubt flashed through her eyes. A small frown appeared on her face while she looked at me, and a look of sadness flashed through her eyes while she submitted to me. "I do not think th-"

"I hope you aren't questioning your abilities, Amity," I said, softly scolding and interrupting her while I shook my head. I scowled and narrowed my eyes at her, hating that she was doubting herself when it wasn't her fault that she hadn't been able to help heal me from that dark spell that almost took my life.

Amity's cheeks turned red, and she looked away from me, ashamed and feeling guilty. She didn't say a word, but she didn't need to because I knew that it meant she did think that she was weak and wouldn't be able to do anything with it.

"Ams," I said with a small groan in my voice. I held out my hand for her to take, and she looked at my hand before she looked at me with wide eyes filled with tears that didn't fall.

A look of pain and sadness filled her eyes while she looked at me, and she studied me with a small frown on her face and brows furrowed while she did so.

I offered her a small smile and tucked my head closer to my chest, and I held my hand higher, praying that she would take it before I commanded her to take it, which was something that I didn't want to do.

And thankfully, I didn't have to because she didn't fight me at all...

My mother moved out of her way as soon as Amity started to walk over to me with her hand out to take mine. She made sure that she was still near me by standing next to Brody, who had shifted away from me so that Amity could have space to check on me.

Amity took the spot that my mother once stood in, and more tears pricked the corner of her eyes and started to stream down her face while she took in the sight of me with the black mark on my chest. She grabbed my hand and grunted when I pulled her into a hug, and she instantly wrapped me into a warm hug without growing stiff like I thought she would.

"You are the most powerful witch that I know, Ams," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I moved my face closer to her ear so that only she could hear it, and Amity grew tense but relaxed again. "There is no doubt in my mind that if anyone can figure this shit out, then it will be you."

Amity gulped and closed her eyes tighter together, and I could feel some tears start to land on my shoulder while she cried. "But I wasn't able to figure out how to wake you up, Kat," she said, her voice cracking with her voice barely above a whisper. "We had a different person do that, and it wasn't me. You almost died because o-"

"Because of me, Ams," I said, interrupting her with a shake of my head. "I almost died because of me and my doings. I almost died because of what I wanted to do and had people follow those exact orders to make sure that they stayed safe, even if I didn't take myself or my life into consideration."

"Which is what you should have done anyway," Amity said with a soft scowl in her voice, and I couldn't help but shrug and grimace, pressing my lips into a thin line. She took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh, and more tears fell from her eyes. "They need you as their High Queen, even though some of your members do not agree with you being the right choice for the throne. This pack also needs you as their Luna."

"And as much as I am petrified of doing both of them at the same time, I will learn and do them both," I said. I rubbed her back and licked my lips, biting back a small snort when a thought occurred to me. "Also, cats have nine lives, so I still have seven lives left to fuck around and get into more trouble without the help of my friends or family."

Amity chuckled and shook her head, and more tears fell from her eyes and onto my shoulder. "I am sure that you have less lives than that, Kat," she teased and tapped my back with her finger. "However, I will do my best to keep you alive and well with those little lives you have left."

"Because you are the most powerful witch that you know?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, even though she wasn't able to see it.

Amity held back an eye roll and held onto me tighter in thanks. She took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh, trying to release some of the strain that she was under, which was something that she didn't seem she could do. "Because I am the most powerful witch that I know, second to only the king himself."

I rolled my eyes and bit back a small smile, feeling amused. I didn't like what she had said about her being second only to the king, but I knew that she didn't want to be thought of as a threat if whatever I had said was the actual truth.

Instead, I held onto her tighter and silently prayed that she would stop feeling that way because I needed her at her best if I had even the slightest chance to face my uncle and the person he sold his soul to.

Because if she wasn't, then I had no idea what I would do or who I would turn to next...