Chapter 11

Stella

Awave of nausea hit me like a bear shifter after a pot of honey. I doubled over, dry-heaving the buttered avocado toast I"d had for breakfast. I"ve always hated portal travel. It was like being churned inside a cosmic blender. The world spun and tilted in impossible ways, leaving my stomach lurching in protest.

This time it wasn"t so bad, though. Likely because of the strong arms that were circled around me, holding the world together as I almost fell apart. I"d thought the portal opening was going to snatch my dreams from me. That had almost been my miscreant of an ex. Neither had managed to snatch me from my man"s arms.

And oh boy, did my man have a set of arms on him. They were strong and reassuring, steadying me as the world slowly righted itself. Thank God I didn"t heave on his boots. That would not have been a good look.

I leaned into his warmth, grateful for the solidity of his presence. His scent, a mix of forest and something distinctly him, enveloped me. It was a grounding force in the middle of my disorientation.

Finally, the world stopped spinning. We were somewhere new, safe from the immediate threats that had chased us. I gasped for air, my heart pounding not just from the portal"s disorienting effects but from the sheer exertion of running.

I was never one for physical activity. A laughable thought, considering I'd once used magic to cheat on a fitness challenge, making a treadmill seem like I was running on it while I wasn"t. My running shoes were probably still collecting dust somewhere in the back of my closet. My body, built for comfort and not for speed, had somehow carried me through life-or-death sprints.

Looking up at my unexpected protector in this whirlwind of madness, I saw concern and a depth of emotion in his gaze that took my breath away. There was an intensity there. A fierce protectiveness mingled with a gentleness that appeared at odds with his formidable presence. And man, was he in top form. He was breathtaking, his features striking in a way that transcended the conventional handsome. There was a raw, untamed beauty about him, as if he"d been carved from the very essence of the wild.

His eyes, dark and penetrating, saw right through to my soul, offering a sense of security I had been craving since my mother"s passing. The connection between us was palpable, a tether that pulled with a magnetic force. It was a strange, inexplicable trust, one that defied logic or reason. I didn"t even know his name. However, the bond I felt with him was as solid as the ground beneath my feet.

His lips parted, and he said something, but my brain was still ringing from the intradimensional opening and the portal travel. The world was still trying to right itself. Thankfully, he held on to me.

"It was real," I whispered, more to myself than to him. "Everything I saw in my vision." The vision of the portal"s opening in the Crossroads was not just a figment of my imagination.

"You have visions?" He let out a huff and looked away from me. "Just like him."

"Just like who?"

If he answered, I didn"t hear him.

Another vision hit me—a car hidden among the trees, a secret refuge for two teenagers caught in their own world. I saw the keys left in the ignition, a lifeline thrown to us as our pursuers closed in. The car was fueled by magic. I saw us taking it, leaving behind a story the teenagers would struggle to explain.

"Shift," came the deep, growling voice of my savior, my fated mate.

I realized this wasn"t the first time he"d said that. Earlier, I"d been too caught up in the sight of him. There was an elegance in his stance, a predatory grace that spoke of his strength and agility. Yet it was the softness in his eyes when he looked at me, the slight curve of his lips that hinted at a smile that truly mesmerized me. It was in that moment I understood the true power of a fated mate—not just a partner chosen by destiny, but a soul so perfectly aligned with one"s own that their mere presence brought a sense of peace to the plaguing chaos.

Yeah, my entire worldview had certainly shifted.

"We"re not out of danger. They"re still after us. We need to shift and run."

"Shift?" I echoed, puzzled. I was on the verge of mentioning the car I"d just envisioned when he dropped that bombshell that left me reeling.

Me? He wanted me to shift and run? But how did he know I was?—

"Into your panther," he said, discarding his leather jacket.

"How do you know I"m a panther?"

His gaze on me sharpened, as if he found my ignorance baffling. "We don"t have time for this, princess. We have to get back to King Dion."

"King?" The word felt foreign on my tongue. "Princess?"

Was this a term of endearment or an actual title? Was I, by some twist of fate, a princess from another realm? The timing of his arrival, coinciding with the portal"s opening, hinted at a reality far beyond my imagination.

It all made sense. I hadn"t come from the Crossroads. I"d never believed I belonged there, having never quite fit in. And my father and my animal had both been kept secret from me my whole life.

A crown and a mate in one day, and it wasn"t even my birthday.

"They"re coming. You need to shift now. Shift into your panther."

Shame enveloped me, the realization of my inability to shift into my animal form exposed in the most vulnerable manner. I"d never managed to shift, a failure that haunted me, now laid bare before him. He was tugging at the back of his shirt, about to do one of those one-handed tugs to pull it over his head. It was one of those things I loved watching a man do, so I was surprised I found my tongue instead of watching the free show.

"I don"t even know your name," I managed to say, an attempt to deflect from my inner turmoil.

"It"s Oz," he revealed, his identity adding another layer to himself as well as a new layer of skin. "I"m the panther king"s second."

"Nice to meet you, Oz. I"m Stella, your fated mate."

His reaction was not what I expected. He visibly clenched his jaw. The lines of tension etched across his features felt like the prelude to my greatest fear being realized.

A wave of icy dread washed over me. My heart thudded painfully, the sensation echoing against my ribs. I wanted to take a step back, to head back through that portal right back to the Crossroads, and back under Ken"s thumb, than face this possibility.

Was I about to be rejected?

Oz"s rigid stance, the set of his shoulders, every minute signal from his body screamed a warning. He was going to do it.

He was going to reject me as his fated mate.

I was about to be cast aside, deemed unworthy by the one person who had awakened a sliver of hope in my battered heart. All because I was defective. Because I couldn"t shift.

Then it crashed over me, a vision so sudden and forceful it took my breath away. I was about to get whiplash from all of these visions. I had never had so many in the same day.

This time the vision was of me and Oz. We were standing in a grand palace, surrounded by statues of panthers, jaguars, leopards, and cheetahs watching us with their stone eyes. I was draped in an exquisite gown, the fabric flowing around me like water. Oz stood beside me in military regalia, every inch the warrior prince. But he wasn"t smiling. He looked so sad, so dejected.

That look twisted into a grimace of rejection as he turned away from me. The pain that shot through me was so sharp, so bitter, it sent me tumbling to my knees back in reality.

I didn"t hit the ground. Oz caught me. Somehow, I knew he would.

I fought for breath, each gasp a battle against the despair clawing at my insides. The vision clung to me, a cruel reminder of my deepest fear. Rejection. It had always been my companion, a constant in a life filled with fleeting shadows.

Oz"s arms encircled me, his embrace a fortress in the midst of the storm inside me. Within the safety of his hold, the world"s chaos dimmed, even as the earth trembled with the opening of the portal.

"Please?"

"Tell me, princess. Anything you need, I"ll make it happen. Just say the word."

"Please," I repeated, my voice a fragile whisper. "Don"t reject me."

My hands shook as they clutched at him. Even as I sought to anchor myself to him, the vision"s shadow loomed, a relentless reminder of a possible future filled with pain.

"My job is to keep you safe. I will not fail you."

"You"ll keep me?"

He bit at his lower lip, like he was holding in a lie. I"d seen Ken do that. All of my other boyfriends, too. Oz was struggling to hold on to the truth.

"Just give me a chance," I begged. "Please."

"Know this, Stella; I would give my life for you."

It was a vow, a vow I believed. Still, I wasn"t sure he was promising me what I wanted.

"If it were up to me, I would tear out the throat of that blond bastard that dared to hurt you."

More truths. Nothing but the truth. And the violence of those facts was turning me on.

"I will always protect you. But right now, I need you to shift so that we can run."

"I can"t." The truth spilled from me, a confession I"d never dared voice. Because no one ever knew to ask about the animal hidden inside of me. "I can"t shift. I"ve never been able to."

The words hung between us, bright light of revelation shone on my darkest inadequacy.