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

reaction even though she wasn’t sure of her own. His face had gone sheet white, and he looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

“A daughter,” he croaked. “Holy shit.”

Ella wasn’t sure if he was stunned because he had expected a boy, or because he was afraid karma for his own playboy ways was going to come back to him. Maybe a little of both.

Tessa ignored him, more focused on whatever she was seeing than she had been a moment ago. Her grip on Ella’s hands tightened, and she let out a sharp gasp.

“What is it?” Ella pressed.

The older woman’s brow knit in confusion as she slowly shook her head. “It’s not… I don’t understand.”

“Understand what?” Axel asked impatiently.

Tessa didn’t respond. Her eyelids twitched, as if she was looking every which way, and her body seemed stiff. Ella wondered if she was having a seizure and was about to tell someone to call for help when the priestess’s eyes flew open and she gave another sharp cry.

Ella managed to pull her hands from Tessa’s grasp, her head spinning and her heart pounding. “What is it? What did you see?”

Tessa looked at her for a few torturous seconds without responding. She seemed to collect herself quickly enough, but Ella found herself wondering if she was just hiding her true feelings.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, raising a hand to her temple as if she suddenly had a headache. “I think I’ve had too many late nights.”

Ella and Axel exchanged a wary look. As curious as Ella was, she was fearful of whatever answers Tessa might give her and more than eager to get out of the temple. The place hummed with some unseen force, like electricity in the air. Had it always been so sinister?

Axel took Ella’s arm and pulled her over to him, draping a sheltering arm around her. “We’re going,” he said gruffly, instantly going into protector mode.

To Ella’s surprise, Tessa didn’t try to stop them. Ella allowed Axel to lead her out to the car, only feeling like she could breathe when the cold night air surrounded her.

“What the hell was that about?” Axel growled, casting a furious glance back at the temple.

Ella shook her head, her hand traveling to her stomach. “I don’t know.”

But she was afraid it had something to do with being a feral.

Chapter 3

Ella

Ella had been back at school for a little over a month, but she still couldn’t get the bizarre reading out of her head. She had received her summons to the coronation that morning in the form of a wax sealed envelope, which reminded her of something Bishop would do.

She couldn’t stop thinking about him, either. She knew he was angry, but staying away this long… He had reason to be hurt, but she never imagined he would actually abandon her at such a perilous time.

The only explanation was that he was looking for his mother, and Ella could certainly understand that. She would’ve been out looking herself if she wasn’t under constant surveillance, but he didn’t need to disappear off the face of the earth entirely. A single text would’ve gone miles to reassure her that he was alive and not entirely done with her.

She couldn’t help but wonder if that was part of the reason she’d kept the pregnancy from him in the first place. No matter how much she wanted to trust him, there was always that small voice in the back of her mind saying he was holding something back. As quiet and reserved as Sterling was, Ella never felt like he was being someone he wasn’t with her. And of all Axel’s vices, being two-faced wasn’t one of them. What you saw was what you got with him, and that was remarkably comforting at a time like this.

Ella was used to getting stares and whispers whenever she walked down the hall, since her pregnancy announcement had dashed any sense of normalcy she’d gained since coming to the Academy. Those days, more often than not, they were whispering about Bishop rather than her directly.

That morning, the chatter was more animated than usual as she walked down the hall with Avery on one side and Axel on the other. Avery was talking excitedly about the coronation and what she was going to wear. Axel was clearly giving a valiant effort not to be rude, even if he couldn’t quite muster the strength to pretend he was listening.

“Ella?” Avery asked in a way that made Ella think it wasn’t the first