Chapter 3
THREE
JADE
The morning air carried a bite that had nothing to do with Wyoming's mountain chill.
Jade shifted her weight from foot to foot outside Murphy's Diner, her large duffel bag slung over one shoulder like armor against the unknown.
Restorative sleep had abandoned her sometime around midnight, chased away by dreams that made no sense—panthers with glowing eyes stalking through purple jungles, and her running through those same purple jungles being chased by something she couldn't see but could feel so vividly.
By four AM, she'd given up on rest entirely.
Two hours of brutal training in her home gym had burned through the restless energy coiling in her chest, followed by a scalding shower that did little to wash away the strange anticipation humming beneath her skin.
The hearty breakfast she'd forced down after that sat like lead in her stomach, though she knew she'd need the fuel for whatever waited ahead.
This is insane. The thought circled through her mind like a mantra. Tell Gerri to forget it. Go home. Teach your classes. Live your safe, predictable life.
But her feet remained planted on the cracked sidewalk, her grip tight on the duffel bag's strap. Something deeper than logic had driven her here—the same restless hunger that had been clawing at her for months, demanding more than the quiet existence she'd built in these mountains.
A flash of purple caught her eye, and Gerri emerged from a sleek rental car with the kind of confidence that belonged on runways, not small-town Wyoming streets.
Her designer pantsuit was an impossible shade of violet that somehow managed to look both elegant and slightly otherworldly, paired with heels that clicked against the pavement like punctuation marks.
"Good morning, darling!" Gerri's warm smile seemed to chase away the morning shadows, and despite every logical reason to be wary, Jade felt her shoulders relax slightly. There was something about this woman—an indefinable quality that invited trust even as it raised a dozen questions.
"Morning." Jade's voice came out rougher than intended, betraying the sleepless night. "I have to be honest, part of me wants to tell you to forget this whole thing."
Gerri's eyes—which seemed to shift between bright blue and gold in the morning light—sparkled with knowing amusement. "But you won't. Because your soul knows this is exactly what you need, even if your mind hasn't caught up yet."
The accuracy of that statement sent an uncomfortable shiver down Jade's spine. "You seem awfully certain about what I need."
"Honey, I've been doing this for longer than you might imagine.
Trust me when I say that sometimes the best opportunities come disguised as the scariest leaps.
" Gerri glanced at her designer watch, and her expression shifted to something more urgent.
"Speaking of which, we really must hurry.
General Raikar doesn't appreciate tardiness, and we need to get across town to the power plant. "
"Power plant?" Jade hefted her duffel bag higher on her shoulder, falling into step beside the smaller woman. "That's an odd place for interplanetary travel."
"Energy requirements, darling. Wormholes don't run on fairy dust and good intentions." Gerri's heels clicked a rapid rhythm toward the rental car. "Though I suppose they might, given how little we truly understand about the universe's more interesting mechanics."
Jade tossed her bag into the backseat and slid into the passenger seat, hyperaware of how bizarre this should feel—getting into a car with someone she'd met yesterday to travel to another planet. The leather seats smelled like vanilla and something electric, like the air before a storm.
"So tell me more about this General Raikar," she said as Gerri started the engine. The need for information gnawed at her—she'd never gone into any situation this blind, and it violated every instinct she'd honed through years of martial arts training.
Know your opponent. Know the terrain. Know the stakes.
Gerri navigated the quiet morning streets with practiced ease, though her gaze held a secretive quality. "He's very powerful, very capable. Don't be thrown off by his intense presence—it's just his alpha shifter nature. But it can be quite intimidating at first."
"I don't intimidate easily." The words came out flat, carrying the weight of truth earned through countless sparring sessions with opponents who'd underestimated her. "I've faced plenty of men bigger and stronger than me. Size doesn't equal skill."
"No," Gerri agreed, and something in her tone suggested she knew exactly how capable Jade was. "But this is different from anything you've encountered before. Panther shifters operate on instincts that humans don't always understand initially."
The power plant loomed ahead—a squat, industrial building that looked like every other utility facility Jade had ever seen. Nothing about it suggested interdimensional travel, which somehow made the whole situation more surreal.
"How long will I be there?" Jade asked when Gerri finally pulled into a parking space and they climbed out of the car, the morning air carrying the faint hum of electrical equipment.
"That's not really up to me, darling." Gerri's non-answer sparked irritation in Jade's chest. "General Raikar will determine the length of your... assignment."
"Well then, where will I be staying?"
"I've arranged for you to stay with the most adorable twin sisters—Talia and Brenn. They're two of Raikar's warriors, so they can answer more questions than I really can. They'll help you acclimate to the territory and its customs."
More non-answers. Jade's jaw tightened as they approached the building's entrance. She'd built her entire adult life on control and information, and walking into this situation felt like stepping off a cliff blindfolded.
Within minutes, Jade found herself standing in an elevator as it descended with mechanical precision, the floor numbers ticking past in a way that defied the building's modest exterior.
Twenty floors. Forty. Sixty. The descent continued until Jade lost count, her ears popping from the pressure change.
"How far down are we going?"
"Far enough." Gerri's cryptic smile did nothing to ease the growing strangeness of the situation.
When the doors finally opened, Jade expected to see the industrial chaos of a power plant's lower levels—generators, control panels, technicians in hard hats.
Instead, she found herself facing a narrow hallway with a single door at the far end.
The space felt hollow, too quiet, like a stage set waiting for actors.
"This is... unexpected."
"Most of the interesting things in life are." Gerri's heels echoed in the confined space as they walked toward the door. "Just relax and think about all the adventure you're about to have."
Adventure.
The word sat strangely in Jade's mind. She'd never been someone who sought adventure.
But wasn't that exactly what she needed? Hadn't the safe, predictable rhythm of her Wyoming life been slowly suffocating her?
They finally reached the door, and there gleaming like a beacon was a simple gold nameplate reading G.
Wilder. Gerri opened the metal door to reveal a space that looked more like a temporary office than a portal to other worlds.
A simple desk, a chair, bare walls that suggested no one actually worked here regularly.
"This is just one of my many spots for interplanetary travel," Gerri explained, as if reading Jade's confusion. "I don't really stay in one place too long."
Gerri reached into her designer handbag and withdrew something that made Jade's breath catch—a small metal object shaped like an egg, its surface gleaming with an inner light that pulsed with its own rhythm.
"Stand back, darling."
Jade pressed herself against the wall as Gerri moved to the center of the room. Then the matchmaker whispered something to the egg—words too soft for human ears to catch—and the impossible began.
The egg lifted from Gerri's palm, hovering in the air before beginning to spin with increasing velocity. The room's atmosphere shifted, becoming charged with electricity that made Jade's hair stand on end. Her skin tingled as if lightning were about to strike, and then—
A perfect circle of blue light blazed to life in the center of the room.
Not just light—a window, a doorway, a glimpse into something beyond Earth's reality.
Through the portal, Jade could see a world that defied every natural law she understood.
Two suns blazed in an alien sky, one brilliant yellow, the other a smaller orb of blood orange.
Purple jungles stretched toward distant yellow mountains, and the very air seemed to shimmer with possibilities.
"This is a wormhole," Gerri said, her voice carrying a casual tone. "We're going to simply step into it and let the magic happen."
Jade's heart hammered. "What exactly will this magic do to me?"
"Everything will be just fine. I've done this countless times and I'm still in one piece, so don't worry.
We'll be on Nova Aurora in no time at all.
" Gerri moved toward the portal with complete confidence.
"It's not like a car or airplane where travel takes hours.
This only takes seconds, though inside the portal it may feel like forever and no time at all. "
Every rational instinct screamed at Jade to run. To flee this impossible situation and return to the safety of her known world. But her soul pulled her forward with relentless hunger.
"See you on the other side, darling. Just take a deep breath before you step through and enjoy the ride."
Gerri stepped into the blue light and vanished as if she'd never existed.
Jade stood alone in the small room, the portal humming with energy that seemed to call to her. Her knuckles whitened around her duffel bag's strap as she took a step forward, then another.
This is crazy.