Chapter 35

Stella

Ken"s hands clamped down on my arms, his grip iron-tight and unyielding. I struggled against him, trying to pull away, but his strength was overpowering. The smell of his cologne, once familiar and now repulsive, filled my nostrils.

I needed both my hands to conjure my tailoring spell. Not that it would"ve done much good on him. His clothes were already too tight. Even if I squeezed the crotch of his pants, it wouldn't do much to disturb his little dick.

With my free hand, I reached into the purse that was still slung across my shoulder. There were two weapons in there. I grabbed for the first and slammed it with all my might into Ken"s chest. Unfortunately, the broken heel wasn"t sharp enough to pierce the empty cavern of his heart. All I got for my efforts was a snort from him.

"Let go of me, Ken." Anger clawed at me from the inside.

"Don"t be like that, babe. Remember how good we were together?"

"Good? You cheated on me."

"I never cheated on you." He laughed, a cold, hollow sound that echoed through the trees. He twisted my arm. I pressed closer to him in search of relief. "You were always the other woman, Stella."

How had I not noticed how greasy his hair was? How had I missed the plastic look of his brows, like he"d had an old-fashioned human surgery to even out wrinkles? How had I not realized his skin looked sunburned, even though he was a hundred-year-old vampire who stayed out of sunlight?

"Now that I know the real value of your blood, you"re going to be working for me in a... different capacity."

His glance went over my head. Oz was fighting a vicious battle against three vampires. He was holding his own, but there were another three vamps surrounding the fight. He wasn"t going to last long.

Ken"s laughter was maniacal, like a villain in a bad movie. I shuddered at the sound, my skin crawling at his touch. How could I have ever thought I loved this vile creature?

"At least now Uziah won"t make me fuck you to get you to comply. That"ll keep Peaches happy."

Peaches? The hairy Neanderthal? It was the thought of that woman"s hairy hoo-ha more than anything that made me snap. And by snap, I meant bones and muscles and tendons.

Ken must have heard it, too. He let go of my arm. His eyes went huge as he took a step back from me.

The other vamps jerked like they'd heard a dog whistle. All of their gazes snapped to Ken, and then to me. I was elated, as this would give Oz the advantage. But Oz held still, his gaze transfixed on me as well.

It was then I thought it prudent to focus on myself as well. Because something was happening to me.

It began with a sensation of nausea swirling in the pit of my belly. I heaved, my body convulsing with the effort to vomit up the overwhelming force building within me. I regained my composure, only to be struck by another wave of intense discomfort. Doubling over, I clutched my stomach.

Through the haze of pain, I felt more than heard Oz"s growl of concern behind me. I tried to open my mouth to reassure him, but the words caught in my throat. Something was happening to my mouth. Something was happening to my hands, to my legs, to my whole body.

"Let it happen, goddess."

That was Oz"s voice in my head. I heard him clearly. Logically, I knew he hadn"t spoken those words out loud. He was in his panther form.

My bones broke and bent. Muscles twisted and reformed. Each movement was accompanied by an agony that threatened to consume me whole. It was as if my very essence was being torn apart and remolded into something new, something wild.

The pain reached a fever pitch. And then, as swiftly as it had begun, it was over. In its wake, I was disoriented. I lifted my gaze, and the world didn"t look the same.

The forest was no longer green. Everything looked gray. Except for the tops of the wildflowers sprinkled around the clearing. Those were the most vibrant yellow I"d ever seen in my life. The sky above was bluer than I had ever known it to be, even though it was the moon that was high and not the sun. The canopy of trees was all shadows and light, its intricate patterns woven in shades of charcoal and slate. The ground beneath my paws was a patchwork of earthy browns and soft, sandy yellows, punctuated by the occasional splash of gray from fallen leaves and branches.

Wait. Paws? Yup, those were paws on my feet. My hands, too. All around me, my pink outfit lay in tattered shreds. I doubted my magic could put that back together.

She was finally here. My cat. I saw the golden sheen of my fur. But I couldn"t make out any spots. Shouldn"t I have black spots? My mother had told me my father"s animal form had both gold and black spots.

I wanted a mirror. I wanted to run to the lake I could scent in the distance. I wanted to see all of me. Of course I did. I was still vain when it came to appearances. But there was still the matter of the battle going on around me.

It had paused for my transformation. Now that my jaguar was out, the vamps were shaking off their shock and reforming their ranks.

I wasn"t a fighter. At least I hadn"t been before that portal had opened and wreaked havoc on my world. Ken had taken my self-worth from me, but I"d be damned if he would take my fated mate.

I sprang forward, testing my new form. All I felt was strength and power coursing through my muscles as I easily took down one of the vamps who had been moving in on Oz. My second kill was done with the same fluid grace, each movement instinctual and precise. This was easy, the fighting as well as the killing.

From my peripheral, I saw that Oz had stepped back, letting me take down each and every vamp. His maw looked like it was stretched into a feline grin of pride as he watched. Then his paw struck out. He caught Ken by the shirt tails as he tried to run. With one massive paw, Oz pinned the coward in place until I was ready for him.

The forest, once filled with the sounds of confrontation, now echoed with their retreating footsteps and panicked breaths of the one who got away. That one was not Ken.

I prowled up to my former lover. He pleaded with his eyes, with his voice. None of it penetrated to the woman inside my beast"s belly.

In the end, I did show mercy. I made it quick.