The thought galvanized her. Whatever waited on the other side of that portal, it had to be better than the alternative of failure and financial ruin. She grabbed her suitcase, took a deep breath that tasted of ozone and possibility, and stepped through.
The sensation defied description. Her body became weightless, but not in the way of zero gravity—more like she’d been dissolved into pure energy, every molecule vibrating at frequencies that shouldn’t have been survivable. Time stretched and compressed simultaneously, seconds feeling like hours while hours condensed into heartbeats. The wormhole seemed to recognize her cellular structure, cataloging and adjusting, making her compatible with whatever waited on the other side.
Rather than frightening, the experience felt rejuvenating. Energy coursed through her veins like liquid lightning, burning away fatigue and doubt and replacing them with crystalline focus. Her mind sharpened until she could feel every synapse firing, every neuron connecting with perfect clarity. By the time her boots touched solid ground, she felt more alive than she had in years.
Snow crunched under her feet—real snow, though bluer than what she was used to. The air bit her lungs with clean, sharp cold that carried scents of pine and something floral she couldn’t identify. Two suns hung in an alien sky, one bright yellow, the other smaller and tinged with blood orange, casting the landscape in light that felt both familiar and completely foreign.
“Welcome to Nova Aurora, dear.” Gerri stood nearby in her designer winter coat, looking completely unruffled by interdimensional travel. She held Tess’s smaller suitcase as if she’d been waiting patiently instead of traveling through a tear in spacetime. “Rather breathtaking, isn’t it?”
Tess looked down at herself—winter coat, black form-fitting slacks, and practical boots. They seemed woefully inadequatefor a world of bear shifters, but at least she wouldn’t freeze. Suddenly, the thought of meeting Prince Korran sent a flutter of nerves through her stomach.
Focus. You’re here to do a job.
Gerri stepped onto a neatly shoveled pathway that wound through what appeared to be a small town. Tess fell into step beside her, their footsteps muffled by fresh snow. The silence felt companionable rather than awkward, giving Tess time to absorb her surroundings.
The architecture blended rustic charm with obvious functionality—stone buildings with steep roofs designed to shed snow. But it was the people that caught her attention. They moved with a predatory grace that marked them as shifters, their builds more solid and powerful than humans. And their eyes—every gaze that fell on her carried a weight of assessment that made her skin prickle.
Human prejudice. Great.
She’d never had to deal with species discrimination before. On Earth, shifters integrated seamlessly into human society, but here she was clearly the outsider. The realization added another layer of complexity to an already challenging assignment.
They walked for what felt like half a mile through the town, then another half-mile beyond its borders. The landscape opened up, revealing their destination in all its imposing glory.
Gerri had called it an estate, but the word was laughably inadequate. The structure rising from the snow-covered ground was pure castle—granite towers and imposing walls that spoke of centuries of power and tradition. It should have intimidated her, should have made her feel small and insignificant. Instead, something deep in her chest responded with recognition so strong it nearly staggered her.
That’s impossible. I’ve never been here before.
But the feeling persisted, a sense of homecoming that made no rational sense. The castle called to something primal in her, something that had nothing to do with science or logic and everything to do with instinct she’d spent her adult life suppressing.
What the hell is happening?
“Come along,” Gerri said, picking up her pace as they reached the front steps. “We don’t want to keep the prince waiting any longer. I’m sure he’s very eager to meet you.”
Tess hurried to match her stride, her nerves ratcheting higher with each step. This was it—the most important assignment of her career. The chance to prove herself, to save a dying king, and to secure her future.
But why does it feel like so much more than that?
The massive wooden doors loomed ahead, carved with intricate bear motifs that seemed to watch their approach. Whatever waited beyond those doors would change her life—she could feel it in her bones, in the way her heart hammered against her ribs, and in the strange sense of destiny that had settled over her.
FOUR
KORRAN
The morning had stretched endlessly before Korran like a battlefield where he could only wait for the enemy to arrive. He’d worn a path in the Persian rug of his father’s office—his office now, though the transition felt more like theft than inheritance. Each measured step from the massive oak desk to the frost-etched windows had been punctuated by the same internal mantra.
She’s coming to save Father. Nothing more.
But his bear had prowled restlessly beneath his skin since dawn. The beast had been insisting all night that this woman—this human scientist—carried significance beyond her professional credentials. Korran had dismissed the feeling as desperation. Of course she was important. She represented his father’s potential salvation and Korran’s return to the research labs where he belonged, away from the suffocating weight of crown and council.
Five years.
Five years since he’d offered to shoulder his father’s duties so the king could focus on recovery. Five years of watching his father’s strength ebb like tide pulling away from shore, leaving behind only the stark bones of what had once been anunshakeable ruler. The treatments Varix administered—those yearly immunity boosters that provided brief, flickering hope—had become their lifeline. But his mother’s faith in the healer’s methods was cracking like ice under pressure.
That’s why she hired Gerri Wilder.
The legendary matchmaker’s reputation preceded her like thunder before lightning. Stories of her impossible successes, her uncanny ability to unite fated mates across galaxies, had reached even the Northern Dominion’s isolated peaks. But surely she agreed to help them purely for her connections, and her ability to locate the right specialist for an impossible case.
Suddenly, a scent drifted up from the grand foyer below, carried on the estate’s ancient ventilation system like smoke from a distant fire. Rose water and rain, clean and intoxicating and utterly human. Korran’s nostrils flared involuntarily, his bear pressing close to the surface with sudden, fierce attention.
