Chapter 32

Oz

My fingers trailed along the frigid, metallic surface of the Pegasus flying contraption. I"d hoped the metal would ground me. It didn"t. My panther remained close to the surface.

It didn"t feel the need to stalk Stella at the moment. She stood chatting with the human inventor. I had to acknowledge that the man was smarter than he looked. First with the metallic panther security system then to the flying horse that would carry us away shortly. What clinched Perseus"s intelligence for me was the distance he kept between himself and Stella. Though only human, apparently the man knew a shifter male in the throes of the mating dance when he saw it. Plus, I could still snap his neck with little effort, if necessary.

No, the panther was on edge because of the calm that had settled over me. Less than an hour ago, I"d been resigned to slaughter my king, my best friend, as I thought he prowled toward me and what was mine. Even after I"d seen it wasn"t Dion, I still felt no remorse for my intended actions.

For the second time in as many days, Stella had saved me. If I were keeping score, we were even. She was the only other person in this universe who had stuck her neck out for me.

And now, in just a few days' time, I would be delivering this bright treasure into the careless arms of a man I knew would break her heart. That would be, once Dion emerged from his slumber, likely entangled with the women who shared his bed for that night.

That was why I felt no remorse, I told myself. Dion was going to hurt Stella. He would be another in the line of men who had cheated on her, lied to her, and used her.

Inside my belly, my panther growled low. I hung my head, knowing the meaning of that growl. I was lying to her right now by omission.

What if that truth never got to see the light of day? What if I could keep her to myself? It was devotion she wanted. I seriously doubted my king could give that to her. I knew with a certainty that I could. That I would.

"You two are lucky to have made it out of the Crossroads when you did," Perseus was saying. "The seal to Tartarus was breached."

Tartarus was the home of Pandora"s Prison, where shadow shifters resided. If the shadow kind had come into this world, then Earth had a whole new slew of problems to contend with. Maybe Arcadia was safest for Stella after all.

"I heard that shadow shifters flooded into the Crossroads. Those who were present at the time of the portal"s opening, they… changed. Humans and supernaturals alike developed abilities with death-related powers. Some supernaturals found their existing powers heightened beyond what they were born to do."

The implications of Perseus"s words sank in like a lead weight. We had been there just as the portal had opened. I doubted any of the magic had touched me. But Stella had said her visions were stronger.

She sauntered toward me now. I allowed my gaze to linger over each of her curves. As always, she was polished and pristine, as though she"d stepped right out of my dreams. When she reached me, she put her hand to my chest. My fool heart leaped toward her, as was now its custom.

The organ had shifted from a blood pumping mechanism into a dog. I was Stella"s pet, wagging its tail excitedly for any morsel of attention.

She rose on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss at the corner of my mouth. It took everything in me not to sink my claws into her and pull her closer. I wanted to—needed to—devour her.

"Perseus said there are snacks inside the shop. You want something?"

I shook my head. She pressed another kiss to my mouth and then disappeared into the shop, leaving me alone with Perseus and the looming contraption that was going to carry us to Chicago. The inventor bustled around the Pegasus, his hands moving deftly as he made last-minute adjustments. The metallic beast loomed over us, its gears whirring like a conspirator in my and Stella"s escape plan. As it looked down at me with glass eyes, I got the sense it knew of the alterations I was making to that plan.

"What do you know about the House of Earth and Emerald?" I aimed for a disinterested tone, but any shifter could"ve scented my urgency at the inquiry. Luckily, Perseus was human.

"The House of Earth and Emerald? It"s a sanctuary of sorts, hidden away from prying eyes. Mostly made up of shifters. More independent than pack mentality. They only unite for big things and won"t take on people who"ll cause problems. It"s popular for its lack of rules or restraints."

I didn"t miss how he emphasized problems. It was clear, looking at the two of us, that Stella and I were running from something. We were actually running from a number of somethings.

I didn"t want Stella to spend the rest of her life running. I wanted her to have the house she"d dreamed of. It wouldn"t be a palace. She"d said she"d stay in the shack with me. I could offer her more than a shack. First I had to find a House that would take us in.

"The female chancellor that presides has three mates," Perseus continued. "The House is headquartered near New York City. Not too far off from Chicago for Peggy to get you there. For a slightly higher price, of course."

Of course. No matter where I was in this universe, there was always a price to be paid. If that was all it took to keep my mate safe and by my side, I"d pay it.

I was protecting not only my mate"s physical safety; I was protecting her heart, too. If we disappeared into another House, we would have protection from Ken and his vamps. But we would also have sanctuary from the panther king.