Chapter 1

Stella

"It"s not what it looks like."

What it looked like was my boyfriend"s dick inside another woman"s unshaven poonanny while her finger was lodged in his ass. I don"t know what shocked me more, her lack of grooming or the back door entrance.

The door to Ken"s apartment was ajar when I arrived. There"d been a sliver of light cutting through the dim hallway. I"d thought he"d anticipated my arrival. My heart had raced with anticipation, eager for the comfort of his embrace. I needed some cuddles after the day I"d had.

Lately, my visions had become clouded. My foresight had gone murky like a fogged mirror. Ken"s touch, his affection always cleared the haze, sharpening my foresight. But the scene that greeted me was a gut punch, a brutal unraveling of my na?ve hopes.

"You"re in bed with another woman, Ken." My voice was sharp, a blade forged in the fire of betrayal. The room spun, a whirlpool of emotions—anger, hurt, disbelief.

"What? Like she didn"t see this coming?" drawled the naked Neanderthaless.

My foresight didn"t work like that. I didn"t see the people in my life. What I saw helped business decisions, trade, commerce. It was like being privy to a one-way mirror of economic fates, seeing how one move in the market could ripple out and affect a myriad of others.

When I concentrate, I can see the patterns of supply and demand shifting, like waves on a vast ocean. It was like watching the gears of a giant clock, seeing how one cog turning can affect the entire mechanism. I can sense market shifts, anticipate economic trends, and identify the best paths for financial and commercial success. Which made me a hot commodity in the Crossroads, but not so much in my boyfriend"s heart. Or his bed.

Ken reached for me, his eyes wide with desperation. "Stella, please, let me explain."

I stepped back, repulsion and pain mingling in a bitter cocktail at the back of my throat. I tried to swallow and found it hard.

"Explain? What"s there to explain? That you"re a cheat? That I was a fool for trusting you?"

"It"s not what it looks like."

"How stupid do you think I am? What? Did you slip and fall?"

"Yes, that"s what happened. It was an accident."

"Your dick is dripping wet from being inside of me, babe," said the hairy skank, not even bothering to cover up.

We all looked down at Ken"s dick, which was surprisingly still hard. Ken did like to be the center of attention. His dick rose a bit higher and pointed at me, as though asking if it had next.

I did not. I had at least some self-respect. Even though all of my girlfriends had warned me away from Ken. But that was before the first time he"d cheated. By the third time that I"d complained of his wayward eyes or the lipstick I"d found on his collar or the phone number scribbled on the back of a business card in pink ink, they"d stopped voicing their opinions.

"Stella, you"ve got to believe me. I love you," Ken pleaded, his voice cracking under the strain. "This... this was a mistake. I don"t even know what I was thinking."

"You call this a mistake? I call it a choice, Ken. You chose her over me."

People thought they had no choices in the Crossroads, where there were no Houses of protection. But that wasn"t the truth. Every day was made up of little choices. Those choices could shape the direction of the world. It"s what gave me a headache in my daily work. It"s why I"d come here after watching waves crashing on the psychic plane.

Inside my belly, I heard the slightest snarl. The animal that slept inside me shifted in its slumber, as though it sensed my pain and wanted me to lash out. The magic within me swirled and churned like a tempest fueled by my chaotic emotions. My ability to see into the future, once a gift, now felt like a curse.

Had I seen this coming? Had I chosen to ignore the signs, the whispers of doubt that my friends had stopped trying to get me to see?

I stormed out of Ken"s apartment. The door slammed shut behind me with a finality that echoed my shattered heart. The flickering lights of the dimly lit hallway cast long, dancing shadows that mocked my turmoil. The cool night air hit my face like a splash of icy water.

"Stella, wait! Please!" Ken"s voice was desperate and pleading as he chased after me. I didn"t have to look back to know he was following in nothing but his boxer shorts, his dignity as tattered as my trust in him.

Too bad the sun had set. I wondered if he would have run into the sunlight after me. He was still a relatively young vampire, thus allergic to the most visible star in the sky. Which was funny, since that"s what my name meant.

I stood there, torn between the remnants of what we had and the bitter taste of betrayal that lingered in my mouth. My heart ached, a mix of anger and sorrow colliding within me.

"Stella, please, just hear me out. I promise, it was a one-time mistake. I love you." His words almost had me teetering on the edge of forgiveness.

He looked so sad, so forlorn. There was a wrinkle between his brows. My fingers itched to reach up and smooth it out. His boxers were rumpled, the fabric bunched up. Was he still hard?

My need to straighten things out almost had me reaching for the waistband and rearranging his clothing. A few people were well off enough in the Crossroads to have their clothing tailored. No one had their underwear fitted. Well, no one but me, my girlfriends, and my boyfriend. In addition to making predictions, my magic was good for one other thing. I had the ability to make people look good. I was excellent at giving makeovers. Externally, that is.

Maybe, just maybe, people could change their insides as easily as they changed their?—

"Hey, Ken," a sultry voice cooed from down the way.

My eyes flickered to the source—an attractive fairy with a knowing smile walked past us. She was familiar. She had been standing a little too close to Ken last month when I"d met him outside of where he worked. And then when he"d come home, I"d seen her cheap brand of lipstick on his collar. Now she tossed her hair over her shoulder, her gaze lingering on Ken for just a moment too long.

Ken"s reaction was immediate and telling. His eyes trailed over her, a grin spreading across his face. All of a sudden, he was no longer the remorseful, pleading man, but someone unrecognizable. Or maybe he was recognizable.

This wasn"t the first time I"d been cheated on. Not the second or third. Every boyfriend I"d ever had strayed at some point. Why would I think Ken would be different?

Because I was a hopeless romantic, that"s why. Because I was a woman worthy of sometimes-love, that"s why. Because I deserved more than someone who appraised another woman with a lewd gaze as he begged for my forgiveness.

The sight of it—the raw, undisguised lust in his eyes—was a slap to my own face. My hand moved before I could even think. My palm connected with his cheek with a resounding smack. The sound reverberated in the narrow hallway, a sharp punctuation to the chaos of my emotions.

"You"ll never change, Ken. You"re a cheat, and you always will be."

His hand flew to his cheek, his eyes wide in shock. But there was no remorse there, no understanding of the pain he had caused. Just the sting of my rejection.

I turned on my heel, leaving him standing there in his wrinkled boxer shorts, a symbol of the farce our relationship had been. Tears blurred my vision as I walked away. They ran down my cheeks, bringing with them some of my mascara. That would not do.

With a wave of my hand, I conjured a spell to dry the teardrops away. With a wiggle of my fingers, I fixed my makeup, removing the puffiness of disappointment from beneath my eyes and adding a dab of gold sparkle at the corners to brighten the night.

It worked.

On the outside.

Because outside it was dark.

I halted for a moment, glancing at my reflection in a dimly lit store window. My golden hair, with its ombre of black at the roots, framed my face perfectly. It was an homage to the cat trapped inside of me, hidden beneath my flawless exterior. Every curve of my body was adorned with care. My outfit showcased my assets in the most appealing way. On the surface, I was stunning: a picture of confidence and allure.

The mirror reflected only the outer shell. Inside, I felt ugly, tainted by the betrayal of the man I had thought loved me. I saw the echo of the ones who"d come before him, promising me forever and stealing away moments of my life. The dissonance between my exterior and my inner turmoil was jarring.

A deep breath steadied my quivering emotions. The world would see the exterior, the image I projected. But I couldn"t hide the pain entirely.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled to our group chat. I"m in desperate need of a girls' night in. Ken is officially out of my life for good.

The texts were hesitant, but my girls came through. Especially after I texted what I was bringing to the party.