Queen (Cats of Felidae Academy #4) - River Ramsey Page 0,36

thoughts. "I can't leave. I belong here, not out there."

A low snarl rumbled in Axel's chest, but rather than respond, he remained silent. He continued trying the keys until he finally fit one into the lock.

Bishop took a step back as Axel pushed the cell door open and stalked in until he was toe-to-toe with the other tom. "Listen, because I'm only gonna say this once," he said, jabbing Bishop in the chest with his finger hard enough to send him back a step. "If it was up to me, you'd be fish food in that river, but it's not. For whatever reason, Ella loves you, and because she is everything good and kind and loving that I don't deserve, and you especially don’t, that hasn't changed. She still loves you, and she's a lovesick idiot, so she’s probably gonna keep loving you until the day she dies. I’m not dumb enough to think otherwise.”

Bishop stared into the darkness until he was able to make out the faint outline of the other tom's face. "Even if I deserved to be at her side, after what I did, the colony would never accept it."

"The colony," Axel spat. "It’s not about what you deserve. Like I said from the beginning, you didn't deserve her then and you don't deserve her now, but what she wants is what she gets, and right now, what she wants is you. What she needs is you. So I'm giving you a choice, and it's the only one you’re ever going to get. Either you get your shit together, swallow the self-pity, and start acting like a decent mate even if you have to fake it for the next seventy years, or you walk out that door right now and you never come back. And I mean ever. Simple enough for you to understand?"

Bishop didn't respond for a few moments. He knew Axel meant his words, and it was a choice he didn't deserve. Nonetheless, it was a difficult one to make. Wouldn't Ella be better off without him? After what he had done, she could never forgive him, no matter what Axel thought.

Yet the thought of leaving, even if it meant freedom, felt like a far worse fate.

Maybe it was selfish. Maybe he hadn't changed at all, but as the words left his mouth, he knew he had made his decision as soon as the option presented itself.

"Alright. I'll come back with you."

Axel snorted. It was almost a sound of approval. "Come on, before all those guys I knocked out wake up."

"And if I’m seen?"

"You’ll be with me. No one’s gonna question it."

As Bishop followed him down the cellblock and toward the stairs, he was tempted to ask if Axel was kidding, but decided against it. Some questions were better left unanswered.

Chapter 18

Ella

"What's taking him so long?" Ella asked, gritting her teeth through another contraction. Emily was a pain in the ass, but it shouldn't have taken Axel this long to deal with her.

"I'm sure he’ll be back any moment," Sterling said in a gentle tone she usually found soothing, but right now, it just made her want to bite something.

Actually, everything did. The lights, the beep of the heart monitor, the unique blend of dull cramps and piercing pain that came with every contraction. She didn't realize she was gripping his hand hard enough to dig her nails in until she felt the trickle of blood under her fingertips.

Ella immediately released his hand, gasping. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," Sterling said with a chuckle. "That's what I'm here for." He took out a handkerchief he always had on hand and used it to dab the blood off before he stroked a strand of hair behind her ear. She had to look at least half as bad as she felt, but he was gazing at her as if she were a princess in a ball gown.

As the contraction finally subsided, she sank back against the pillows and took a deep breath. "I think it's happening soon."

If Axel missed the birth of their baby, she was never going to let him live it down. Just as she was thinking about asking Sterling what the ethics of sending out the royal guard to drag Axel back would be, he appeared in the doorway.

Anger and relief welled up in her, but the relief won out as he came over and kissed her hard.

"Where were you?" she demanded, pushing him away once she remembered how pissed she was.

"I was out getting