Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 92

Chapter 92

“Hello, Stella!” Blake’s voice was bursting with energy on the other end of the phone.

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Stella glanced down at Lucas, who was busy digging little holes. “Hi.” She didn’t notice Snowball lazily wriggling his way into the mountain of unopened boxes.

Blake called out, “Come over for lunch!”

His voice was so loud that Lucas looked up, tilted his head, looked adorably confused, and blinked.

“Got it,” Stella replied coolly.

The stack of boxes piled up nearby crashed to the floor. Allan, waving his little red maraca, was about to get up and help, but suddenly froze, like someone had hit his pause button.

“Sebastian,” After a long moment, Allan finally found his voice. “Did I just imagine that?”

Sebastian sat in his wheelchair, face blank, clearly not interested in answering

Allan swallowed hard.

Diamonds spilled everywhere across the floor where the boxes had fallen.

Bathed in sunlight, they dazzled, white, pink, blue, purple, every shade imaginable. Some were even bigger than pigeon eggs, and the smallest ones looked at least two carats.

Stella looked up and met Allan’s dazed gaze.

“It’s all fake. Cubic zirconia,” she said with a straight face, totally unfazed..

‘Is she seriously treating me like an idiot? The evidence is literally everywhere, he thought.

‘If these are really cubic zirconia, I’ll rip my own head off and let Stella kick it around like a soccer ball!’ he fumed inwardly.

Before Allan could snap out of it, another loud crash

rang out.

He watched, stone-faced, as a bunch of emeralds scattered all over the floor, so green and glossy, you could tell at a glance these were the real deal, super rare stuff.

“Yeah, right, these are fake, too?” Allan said, full of sarcasm.

Stella kept her cool. “Just glass. Green glass, to be exact.”

Allan froze.

“Don’t bother picking me up. Just text me the address, and I’ll head over myself. Hanging up now,” Stella said.

She glanced at the pile of boxes, spotting the tip of Snowball’s tail poking out, completely oblivious to the chaos he’d just unleashed.

Snowball wondered, ‘Eggie! I can smell the delicious scent of Eggie!’

Snowball kept nosing around, pushing boxes with its snout.

One box after another tumbled to the floor.

John and Jake were drawn over by the commotion.

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Chapter 92

They stood there, stunned, staring at the glittering chaos all over the floor.

Stella rolled her eyes.

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“Snowball!” Stella raised an eyebrow. A big, round, white head slowly emerged from behind the boxes, beady red eyes blinking with an innocent expression.

“Uh-oh?” Lucas’s eyes went wide, his little dirt-smudged finger pointing right at Snowball’s mouth.

Everyone followed Lucas’s finger and looked over.

Stella, Sebastian, Allan, John, and Jake just stared, speechless.

Big Ben exclaimed, “Uh-oh?”

Snowball had a white, oval egg in its mouth, with half of it poking out.

‘An egg?’ Stella squinted, thinking, ‘How on earth did an egg end up inside a box? But here’s the real kicker. Why does this egg look so familiar?’

Snowball wondered, ‘Did they just catch me swiping the egg? If they freeze, I freeze. Maybe if I pretend to be invisible, they

won’t see me’

Snowball froze in place, half an egg still sticking out of his mouth.

There was dead silence.

Suddenly, a tiny crackling sound came from Snowball’s mouth, and right on that pure white egg, a jagged crack split across the shell like a bolt of lightning. The egg cracked open!

Stella, Sebastian, Allan, John, Jake, and Big Ben were all stunned.

Snowball went cross-eyed in shock, its jaws locked around the egg.

Lucas scampered over on his stubby legs, eyes blinking wide, his mouth silently mouthing wow.

A fluffy little creature poked its head out, a tiny piece of white eggshell still stuck on top.

As something wriggled in its mouth, Snowball broke out in a cold sweat, beads running down its big head.

‘Oh no, somebody save me!’ Snowball panicked inwardly.

Allan said, “What the heck is that?”

It peeped.

Stella replied, “It’s a peregrine falcon.”

Allan exclaimed, “W-What?”

Stella rolled her eyes.

Big Ben, the super-smart robot, piped up, “That’s a peregrine falcon, a medium-sized raptor. In human speak, it’s crazy fierce and super loyal, the kind of bird that’ll fight for its owner no matter what!”

‘Thanks a lot!’ Allan thought, rolling his eyes.

It kept peeping!

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Chapter 92

‘Mommy?’ the little thing chirped, looking around.

Snowball wondered, ‘Save me! Please! I swear I’ll never stuff my face again!’

Numbly, Snowball turned its head toward Stella, its beady red eyes swimming with tears.

Everyone else went quiet and turned to look at Stella, too.

Stella rolled her eyes.

She walked up to Snowball, face unreadable, and said, “Open your mouth.”

Snowball did as it was told.

Stella wondered, ‘No need to go that dramatic. Just a little is fine.’

Stella reached in and gently scooped out the tiny peregrine falcon chick, eggshell still clinging to its head.

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Lucas instantly hopped up, tiptoeing closer, eyes wide and sparkling as he gazed in wonder at the fluffy little creature nestled in Stella’s palm.

“Seriously, this thing is ugly as sin!” Allan blurted out, poking at it.

The little chick, still shaky on its feet, plopped right back down into Stella’s palm with a soft thud.

Stella turned her head, expressionless.

Lucas puffed up his cheeks and shot Allan a pouty look.

Allan wondered, ‘I didn’t mean it.’

It peeped again. Its sparkling eyes locked onto Snowball, staring at it without blinking.

Snowball was stunned for a moment.

Stella let out a sigh and said to Snowball, “Congrats, you’re a daddy now.”

As soon as she finished, the fluffy chick flapped its tiny wings with all its might, then plopped right onto Snowball’s big white

head.

The little thing nuzzled it, rubbing its little black head against Snowball affectionately.

Everyone just stared, speechless.

Snowball wondered, ‘Wait, what?’

Big Ben snorted, “Calling the thief dad!”

The fluffy chick answered with a string of happy peeps.

*****

After planting seedlings and scooping up all those emeralds and diamonds, everyone sat together under the eaves, enjoying popsicles.

Serpentina: [I knew there was an egg missing from the nest! Stella, you’d better take good care of my little peregrine falcon! Love you!]

Stella stared at the message, face blank, crunching on her ice pop.

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Chapter 92

7

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“So, what should we name it?” Allan asked idly, leaning back on the steps as he watched the fluffy chick snoozing on Snowball’s head.

Snowball heard the commotion and lifted its head, looking like it had just lost all will to live.

“Ugly thing?” Allan teased with a mischievous grin.

Lucas protested, checks puffed out as he chomped on his ice pop.

Stella glanced up at Sebastian. He looked like he’d never had an ice pop before, staring at it with a deadpan expression, as if he were handling a multi-million-dollar deal.

It was kind of cute.

“Hey?” Lucas reached up and poked Stella’s cheek, his little hand soft and insistent. ‘Why isn’t Stella paying attention to Lucas?’ he pouted inside.

“Hmm?” Stella raised an eyebrow.

Lucas was about to tap his watch, but then remembered that Sebastian had swiped it!

His checks puffed out again.

“Lucas wants to know what you’re gonna name it,” Allan said, craning his neck, his curiosity clearly more focused on the pile of unopened boxes.

‘Seriously, I bet there are even more wild secrets stashed in those boxes, Allan thought.

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