The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)

Chapter 59

An older male walked toward us and bowed while he placed his hands behind his back, and we stopped before we ran to him. "Your Majesties," he said while he looked between us and then at Carver. "Carver."

"Derrick," Carver said while he nodded in greeting. "How are you?"

"I am good," he said before he looked at me, and I shifted a little to the side, feeling nervous but not nervous at the same time if that made sense. "How are you, Little One?" he asked while he dipped his head closer to his chest, his voice cracking for some reason.

"Good," I said and looked at Carver before I looked at him again. I grabbed my mate's hand tighter. "Nervous," I admitted, and Derrick chuckled and slowly nodded as if he understood what I meant.

"Of course," he said before he cleared his throat and grew serious while he studied me. "You don't remember me; do you?" He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied me further, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder in my chest because what he said was true.

I pressed my lips into a thin line and stayed silent because I didn't remember him, and I couldn't help but feel very guilty about it for some reason.

Derrick bit back a small chuckle while he slowly nodded, and a look of pain flashed through his eyes. "It's ok if you don't remember me, Your Majesty," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "You were a young girl while I worked at the palace with your family, and I had two real eyes instead of one."

He winked a little before he cleared his throat and touched his face where claw marks and a glass eye laid, grimacing.

I set my jaw and looked at his face before I met his gaze again, my heart skipping a beat before it started to pound harder in my chest. I didn't say a word while I stared at him, not knowing what to do or what to say.

"He's right, Kat," Trevor said softly while he tapped my elbow, and I turned to look at him with a blank look on my face. He smiled and bowed his head a little. "Your parents trusted him with their lives, and they trusted him a lot."

Derrick looked at Trevor and bit back a small chuckle, and a look of relief flashed across his face. "Too much sometimes," he said with a slow wink, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention while I slowly grew tense. "How have you been doing, Trevor?" he asked while he raised an eyebrow in question. "You don't look like a scrappy young boy any longer."

"And I have a mate," Trevor said while he folded his arms behind his back. He glanced at me before he looked at Derrick. "You might want to change your statement," he warned softly while he dipped his head closer to his chest, and Derrick raised an eyebrow in question. "About her parents trusting you a lot."

Derrick blinked and blinked again while he looked at me and then at Trevor again, confused. He didn't say a word while he looked at us, and I could tell that he didn't understand what Trevor meant by his comment.

"You told her that they trusted you a little too much, Derrick, and she is thinking that it shouldn't be that way," Ro said after he looked at me and then at Derrick with an amused smile on his face. "She thinks that you are going to be unfaithful to her and to the throne." He moved slightly closer to me and to my left while he stared at Derrick, and I could tell that he was worried about that, too, even though neither Carver nor Trevor were worried.

Derrick slowly blinked and looked between the two of us before his eyes grew wide. Realization dawned in his eyes, and his face grew pale. "Oh no," he said and shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Please, don't think like that, Your Majesty. That is not what I meant."