Rule of Claw (Paranormal Dating Agency #105)

Chapter 1

ONE

JADE

The late afternoon sun slanted through the tall windows of Jade's dojo, casting long shadows across the polished hardwood floor.

The scent of pine and leather mingled with the sharp tang of sweat—a combination that had become as familiar to her as breathing.

This converted barn in the foothills outside Jackson, Wyoming, had been her sanctuary for the past eight years, ever since she'd scraped together enough money to transform it from storage space into something worthy of the discipline she taught.

Mara Santos circled her with the fluid grace of a predator, her auburn hair pulled back in a braid that wouldn't give an opponent anything to grab.

At five-eight, she matched Jade nearly inch for inch, but where Jade moved with calculated precision, Mara carried the aggressive edge of someone who'd learned to fight hungry.

"Your left shoulder drops before you throw that cross," Jade observed, shifting her weight to her back foot. "Telegraph it any louder and you might as well send an invitation."

Mara's green eyes flashed with the kind of competitive fire Jade respected.

Without warning, she feinted high and drove a sharp uppercut toward Jade's ribs.

Jade twisted away, the punch whistling past her side by mere inches, and countered with a controlled hook that stopped just short of Mara's temple.

"Better. But you're still thinking too much," Jade said with a slight smile.

They'd been sparring for forty minutes, and Mara's technique had sharpened with each exchange.

This was why Jade had agreed to the private sessions with her—Mara possessed the rare combination of natural talent and relentless work ethic that reminded Jade of herself at that age.

The upcoming regional competition would be Mara's chance to prove she belonged among the elite fighters, and Jade intended to make sure she was ready.

"Again," Jade commanded, resetting her stance.

Mara launched into a combination—jab, cross, hook—each strike flowing into the next with increasing speed.

Jade deflected the first two, but as she prepared to counter the hook, her mind wandered to the familiar ache that had been growing stronger lately.

The restlessness that whispered she'd outgrown this small mountain town, that her adoptive parents' legacy of quiet contentment might not be enough for her anymore.

The hook connected with her ribs, a solid thud that drove the air from her lungs.

Mara stepped back immediately, concern replacing the fierce concentration on her face. "Sorry—normally you block those. You seem distracted all of a sudden."

Jade rolled her shoulder, working out the sting. The hit would leave a bruise, but she'd taken worse. Much worse. "It's nothing. Haven't been sleeping well with all the storms we've been having."

It wasn't entirely a lie. The thunderstorms had been rolling through the valley for weeks, but they weren't what kept her awake. It was the growing certainty that she'd built herself a beautiful cage—safe, controlled, and suffocating.

"Right." Mara's tone suggested she wasn't buying it. "Because Jade Moreno, who can fight through a concussion and three cracked ribs, gets thrown off by a little weather."

That had been three years ago, during a tournament in Denver.

Jade had won that tournament despite her injuries from the semi-final match.

The memory should have brought satisfaction—proof of her strength, her refusal to quit.

Instead, it felt like evidence of how alone she really was.

No one to celebrate her win afterward with her that day, the tournament happening shortly after her adoptive mother's funeral.

"You know what I think?" Mara continued, unwrapping the tape from her hands, clearly deciding to end their session early after landing that blow to Jade's ribs.

"I think you're too strong for this place.

Hell, you're too strong for most places.

The way you move, the way you read people—it's like you're operating on a completely different level. "

Jade forced herself to focus intently on cleaning up the space, and not the throb in her ribs. "I like the quiet life. This small town suits me."

The words came automatically, polished smooth from years of repetition.

Her parents had loved this valley—the way the morning mist clung to the mountainsides, the sense of community where everyone knew everyone.

They'd been in their fifties when they'd adopted her at ten, already settled in their ways, and they'd given her stability after years of bouncing between foster homes.

When they'd passed three years ago within months of each other, she'd inherited not just the house but their philosophy.

Contentment came from building something lasting in one place.

But lately, contentment felt more like stagnation.

"Come on, Jade." Mara's voice carried a note of frustration.

"You've got students begging to train with you, fighters from three states away asking for private sessions, and you turn most of them down.

And when's the last time you competed? When's the last time you pushed yourself instead of just pushing everyone else? "

The questions hit closer to home than Jade cared to admit.

She'd stopped competing two years ago, telling herself she had nothing left to prove.

The truth was more complicated—without the structure of training for her own fights, the restlessness had room to grow.

And with it came thoughts she'd rather not examine too closely, like how empty her house felt at night, or how she'd sabotaged things with Ben the moment he'd started talking about marriage and children.

She'd told herself she preferred being alone. It was safer that way, more controllable. No one could leave if she never let them get close enough to matter.

"I have everything I need and proved myself enough," Jade said, but the words felt hollow even to her own ears.

Mara was about to respond when the dojo's front door opened with a soft chime. Both women turned toward the entrance, and Jade felt her eyebrows rise.

The woman who stepped inside looked like she'd wandered out of a high-end boutique and gotten lost on the way to a board meeting.

Petite—barely five feet tall—but carrying herself with confidence that commanded attention.

Her snow-white bob was perfectly styled, paired with statement diamond earrings and a designer pantsuit in bold emerald green.

But it was her eyes that caught Jade's attention. They seemed to shift between bright blue and something that looked almost golden, and they were fixed on Jade with a piercing intensity that felt like being studied under a microscope.

"Maybe she's looking to take some lessons?" Mara suggested quietly.

Jade doubted it. This woman's manicured appearance and designer clothes screamed city sophistication, not small-town martial arts. The woman crossed the dojo floor with purposeful strides, her assessment never wavering.

"Can I help you?" Jade asked, wiping sweat from her forehead with a towel.

The woman's smile was warm but carried an undercurrent of mischief. "Oh yes, I saw your advertisement in the restaurant window down the street. I thought I'd swing by and see if you were as fierce in person as your picture and advertisement suggested."

Jade frowned. The flyer she'd posted at Murphy's Diner was basic—a picture of her executing a side kick to an invisible opponent, her dojo's name, class schedules, and contact information.

Nothing personal or boastful. Certainly nothing that would give this stranger insight into her fighting ability.

"Well, are you looking to sign up for a class or a private lesson? Both options are available."

"Oh no, dear." The woman waved a perfectly manicured hand. "I'm just passing through town. But I may have a unique opportunity for you. Something a woman of your caliber might find challenging and intriguing."

Every instinct Jade had developed over years of reading opponents told her this conversation was heading somewhere unexpected. "What kind of opportunity?"

The woman's eyes definitely flashed gold this time, though it happened so quickly Jade almost convinced herself she'd imagined it. "There's a man on the planet Nova Aurora looking for a strong warrior to train and help with some local missions. Temporary, of course."

Jade blinked, certain she'd misheard. "I'm sorry, did you say—"

"Yes, an alien planet called Nova Aurora. Their jungle territory can be quite dangerous, and General Raikar is in need of a strong warrior. He specifically requested someone with exceptional skill."

The words hung in the air, impossible and yet spoken with such casual certainty that Jade found herself taking them seriously. "Why wouldn't he just find someone there? Seems much more convenient."

"Sure, General Raikar is a panther shifter who has plenty of options on Nova Aurora," the woman continued as if discussing the weather.

"But he's looking for true strength paired with dedication and competence.

So he reached out to me to help recruit here on Earth.

He said if I found a suitable candidate, I should bring them to Nova Aurora immediately. "

Panther shifter.

The words should have sounded insane, but something deep in Jade responded to them with recognition rather than disbelief. As if part of her had been waiting her entire life to hear something exactly like this.

Mara's eyes lit up. "Jade, this is exactly what you need right now. This sounds like the kind of challenge that could actually push you. Life-changing doesn't even begin to cover it."

Jade shook her head, though the motion felt automatic rather than decisively dismissive. "My life and my dojo are here. I can't just abandon everything to train with some panther shifter and help with missions on another planet."