“Your squirrel didn’t leave. He’s in a room down the hall.” He shut the door gently behind him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NICO
My anger and jealousy had gotten the best of me. After slamming the door behind me, I stopped and took a few steadying breaths.
Amari stood across the hall, as still as stone. Hell, hewasstone. He stared back at me with that knowing, judging look that made my skin crawl. The gargoyle had probably heard every word between Sammy and me.
I clenched my jaw so tight that my teeth ached. The pain was good—it distracted me from the hollow ache spreading through my chest.
“Fuck off,cat,” I growled.
I stalked down the hall, my footsteps echoing against the walls of this pretentious castle. This place wasn’t meant for someone like me. Sammy might have royal blood, but I was born in the dirt, and that’s where I belonged.
Not that it mattered. I couldn’t leave her unprotected, not with the two predators circling her like she was prey. What if she wandered into another storm? What if they used her and whatever magic she now possessed?
The guest room door creaked as I pushed it open. It wasthe same room I’d woken up in after the panther had tossed me around like a chew toy. The same panther who’d been inside Sammy last night.
I hurled my bag across the room, where it hit the wall with a satisfying thud before crumpling to the floor, its contents spilling out across the floor.
“Shit.”
I dropped to my knees, scrambling as my hip pouch opened and spilled, rolling under the bed and armoire. My precious collection of acorns from the eastern forests, rare black walnuts, and even a few star chestnuts I’d been saving for years were now scattered and lost.
Something inside me broke.
I grabbed at them desperately, my hands shaking as I tried to gather them. A low, keening sound escaped my throat.
Becca used to tease me about my collection. I could still hear her voice the day she’d found me cataloging them by nutrient density.
Becca appearedin the doorway of our tent, eyebrows raised. “I’m starting to think you love those nuts more than me.”
I laughed, setting a star chestnut down carefully. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You better love our kit just as much.”
My head snapped toward my mate, and fear churned in my stomach.
She took my hand and brought it to her lips. “I’m pregnant.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Pregnancies were risky for squirrel shifters. There was a fifty-percent chance of the woman surviving. I was convinced it was a curse on our kind.Something about our bodies rejected the process, as though the magic allowing our transformation from average-sized demons to small creatures couldn’t reconcile with creating new life.
Some elders whispered it was punishment for ancient transgressions, but I preferred to believe it was another fucked-up quirk of magic.
“Please tell me you’re happy about this… I want this. I’ve always wanted to be a mother.” She let out a sigh and dropped my hand.
“Becca, I can’t lose you.”
She smiled gently and put her hands on her belly. “I’ll be fine.”
“And if not?” Tears welled in my eyes from conflicting emotions.
She reached for my hand again, pulling me toward her. I knelt on the floor in front of her and brought my hands to her stomach. I couldn’t feel anything yet.
“Then you move on. You pick up your nuts, and you move on.”
