The Alion King: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 6) (3 page)

FIVE

Bella glanced at the passing scenery with excitement. Gerri explained that when she opened a portal, it sucked nearby energy. She didn’t want any undue attention, so they’d go to a friend who worked at a power plant, and it wouldn’t be so weird.

The power plant was far out of the city in a place surrounded by deserted warehouses.

“Do you know if it's going to be cold?” Bella asked.

Gerri grinned. “You're fine. You remind me of a little kid going to a fair.”

She felt like it. She was going to another planet. The idea had yet to settle in her mind. Thank goodness for Charlotte, who would take care of Princess and her bills and apartment.

“Am I dressed okay?”

Gerri nodded, glancing out the other passenger window. Their driver hadn’t said anything since they’d gotten in the car. “In the northern forest, the temperature is great and stays in the eighties. Even though there are two suns, you'll feel a lot cooler than a summer on the East Coast.”

The car wound through a long dirt road leading up to the power plant.
When they arrived, the driver opened their doors, and both women got out. Gerri wore a long peasant skirt in sky blue that matched her eyes. Her white top was flowy and made out of a stretchy material.

Bella debated for a while before ending up in a pair of loose sweatpants made out of thin cotton and a tank top that read “Curvy Girls Cuddle Better.” The tank showed off the brand-new flower tattoo on her shoulder. She'd gotten it as a gift for her last birthday a few weeks back. A way to celebrate being where she could finally say ‘fuck you, world’ and not care what others thought of her. She'd finally stopped being afraid of trying something new. At thirty-five, she wanted to try new things and stop worrying about consequences so much.

A tall, handsome man came out of the power plant with a huge grin.

“Gerri,” he greeted with a sigh. He lifted Gerri’s hand to his lips and gave her a kiss. “Looking beautiful as usual.”

“Steven, stop,” Gerri laughed. “You do this every time I come.”

“I can't help it. You look beautiful every time I see you.”

Gerri shook her head and turned to face Bella. “Steven, this is my assistant, Bella.”

Steven winked and offered a hand. Bella shook it and smiled. “Welcome, Bella. I assure you that you’ll have a wonderful time on your trip.”

She could tell Steven was used to seeing people come and go all the time from the ease with which he greeted her. “Thank you,” Bella said. “It’s nice to meet you, Steven. And I definitely look forward to seeing new things.”

“Wonderful. I’m glad you’re excited. Aurora is a fantastic place,” he said then glanced down at her shirt. “That shirt is absolutely correct.”

She grinned and nodded. “I know.”

“All right, Steven. Let's do this,” Gerri said.

Steven led them around the power plant. He pressed something, and the ground lifted and an elevator opened. The three went inside. The elevator zoomed downward. For a second, Bella thought she might be motion sick from how fast it was going.

“How far down are we?” Bella asked, feeling her heart in her throat. 

“About a thousand feet underground,” Steven replied as the elevator stopped. Another button lit up, and a hallway flooded with lights.

She was amazed at the setup—so sleek and well done. How in the world did the government not know about this place? These guys had to be good about keeping their privacy.

They walked down the hallway to a door with Gerri's name. Bella blinked and glanced at Gerri.

“I travel back and forth a lot,” Gerri said at the surprise on Bella face.

Gerri turned to Steven. “Okay, darling. See you in a few weeks.”

Steven pressed a button and locked them in a room. “See you soon. Good luck with the king.”

He spoke from the other side of the door, but they were able to hear him through speakers.

Gerri snorted. “The one who needs luck is Alyx.”

Gerri pulled a small, round metal egg out of her pocket. Bella stared. There was nothing else for her to do.

Gerri whispered at the egg and let it go. It floated to the center of the room. A bright-blue glow started from the egg and grew into a giant circle. It looked like a free-standing pool of clear water.

On the other side of the water, she could see a forest in colors she’d never seen before. She blinked and stared in awe.

“Ready?” Gerri grabbed her hand and walked toward the big puddle.

“Um, Gerri. I'm not going to drown, am I?”

“No. It’ll feel like being in an elevator going really fast, but moving forward instead of up. No water is involved. You might get queasy, but that’s normal.” They stopped right in front of the circle. Do you get motion sickness?” 

“Yes,” she said, her stomach already churning with fear.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be over before you know it.”

Gerri took a step into the opening and pulled her along. Suddenly, a blast of cool air surrounded her, followed by a hard, suckling motion. She gasped, almost afraid to take a breath. Everything swirled around in high speed. Her heartbeat sped up. It was hard to get air into her lungs. Gerri continued to pull, but her legs felt weighed down by lead.

The forest zoomed in. That didn’t matter. She couldn’t get oxygen. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. It felt as if her airways had closed up. Fear clawed at her gut. She fell to her knees and yanked out of Gerri's hold, trying hard to get a breath.

The thick, airless sensation left, and she sucked in oxygen hard. 

She was on the ground, shaking and gasping for air.

Gerri kneeled next to her, taking ahold of Bella’s overnight bag. “Are you okay? I didn't realize you suffered from panic attacks. If I’d known, I would have given you something to help with the trauma of your first transport.”

“What?” She lifted her head from the ground and took a shaky breath. Her lungs burned from the oxygen deprivation.

“I haven’t had a panic attack since high school,” she mumbled, trying to get back on her feet. Gerri grabbed her by the arm and helped her stand. Her legs wobbled in her trainers.

“Well, you just had one, darling.” Gerri lifted most of Bella’s weight as if she was light as a feather and moved along with her toward a rock for Bella to sit on. “What caused the one in high school?”

Bella clenched and unclenched her hands into fists, trying to bring back the circulation into her fingers and stop the tingling. “Some guy invited me to the prom.”

Gerri grinned and pushed Bella’s long curls away from her face. “Honey, a date for the prom isn’t usually a reason to have a panic attack.”

Bella’s shoulders felt weighed down by emotions she hadn’t experienced in far too long. “It wasn’t the fact he asked me to the prom that gave me an attack.”

She glanced around, her mind still a whirlwind of confusion, but with every breath she took, the fear she’d experienced slowly dissipated.

“Then what was it?” Gerri asked.

“He showed up at my house with a limo full of his friends,” she said, hating the reliving of the story. Why had Gerri gotten stuck on it? “I was impatient and ran out of the house, not giving him a chance to come and knock at my door.” She bit her lip. “Not sure if he would have, but anyway. I got to the front, and all my neighbors were out taking photos of their kids getting ready to leave. He popped half his body out of the limo and threw a balloon full of green paint on me.”

SIX

Gerri gasped. “Oh, honey. That’s horrible!”

Not as horrible as living through it. “It stained my new, gold dress.” She gulped back at the renewed dryness in her throat. “I stood there. In shock. Watching him laugh and yell at me over how I could think he would really want to go anywhere with a fat girl.”

“That son of a bitch!” Gerri growled. “I swear, kids are assholes.”

She shrugged and let out a slow breath. “I know.”

“What did you do?”

She glanced up at Gerri and met the other woman’s concerned gaze. “I ran for the limo, yanked him out of it by his tux, gave him a bloody nose, and then proceeded to have a panic attack.”

“That’s the fighter in you. I’m glad you didn’t let him get away with it.”

“I couldn’t even if I’d wanted to. The anger and hurt I felt were too great.” She pushed the painful memories away and cleared her throat. Her gaze roamed the trees surrounding them. “There’s so much color in this forest.”

Gerri laughed. “Bet you never thought you’d see a purple forest, did you?”

Not in this lifetime. “Let’s just say, I have imagined a lot of things, but never this. All these different shades of purple and fuchsia are so awesome!”

“You think you can walk, or do you need help?” Gerri stood and offered her a pale hand. “We’re not far from the main gate.”

Bella tested her feet. It was as if someone had attached weights to them, but she could walk without the wet-noodle sensation. “I think I’m good.”

“All right. We’ll take you straight to your room, so you can rest and allow your body to adjust. I’ll have someone bring you tea, and later we can explore the library.” Gerri’s enthusiasm came through with her smile.

“Is it a cool library?” she asked, following Gerri through a myriad of branches full of pale-purple baby flowers.

“Honey, it’s an unbelievable library. Full of so many amazing books and artworks. You’d be a fool to pass it up. And I know you like books.”

“I love books,” she said, excited.

“Exactly. So you’ll definitely enjoy this. Alyx’s desk and chair have been passed down through multiple generations of his family.”

She lost her words when they saw a massive rock wall in front of them. “Do we have to climb?”

Gerri shook her head. She pressed her palm into the rock, and it reshaped to Gerri’s hand. Then, the area disappeared before them.

“Holy shit!” she screamed. “That’s some serious alien stuff you just did.”

Gerri chuckled and led her through the opening. “Come on. This is the back of the castle. We’ll go straight to your room, so you can relax.”

If she weren’t so tired, she’d check out the rest of the place right now. As it was, she followed Gerri down a hallway covered in silk. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear she was in a women’s wing. They didn’t encounter any staff, which was weird.

“I know you’re probably wondering where everyone is, but it’s dinner time, and everyone is ensuring Alyx and his guests are taken care of.”

“Does he entertain often?” she asked, going up a flight of stone stairs. The combination of stone, metal, and wood in every place she looked caught her attention. She hadn’t been to a building boasting those elements working so seamlessly in design. It appeared the shifters in Aurora had not just bred with humans. They had given them designs for the castles and temples many archeologists dug up from prior civilizations.

In one hallway, things looked straight out of medieval times. They turned a corner, and it was like blasting into the future: all metal and sleek lines. “This place is amazing.”

Another corner and a set of stairs, and they were now in a massive hallway that appeared out of what she imaged Cinderella’s castle must look like. Giant gold-trimmed portraits lined the walls, a man and a woman in one. There was no need for crowns. She knew those were the king and queen. The golden eyes spoke for them.

“Wow.”

They stopped in the center of the hallway, and Gerri opened a door, ushering Bella inside. “Okay, this is your room.”

Bella gaped at the room that had to be twice the size of her house. It was massive. A white rug covered the floor, and the walls appeared to be letting off a soft-blue hue. While she stared, they changed color to a white that matched the carpet. “Oh my god! Did the walls just change color?”

She glanced at the massive bed in the center of the room. It was decorated in a white and blue trim comforter and more pillows than she’d ever seen.

“Yes. They’re mood walls. They sense your need to relax, so they’ve adjusted to a color you find comforting. It seems white is the one for you.”

She blinked. This was way too much weird so early in the day. “Wait. Didn’t you say it was dinner time? Didn’t we leave in the morning?”

Gerri nodded and put Bella’s bag on a fainting chair. She hadn’t seen one of those since she’d been at her grandmother’s house.

“We did leave this morning, but this is another galaxy, Bella. I know it’s going to take you time to adjust, but we have a lot of work, so get some rest.”

Bella nodded. “I’ll just take a nap; that should help.”

“Good. I’ll search for the king and let him know we’re here.” Gerri frowned. “I might be caught up for a while. If you’re in the mood, you should check out the library. No one usually goes there when the king has guests. It’s only one level down. In fact…” Gerri grinned. “It’s right below this room.” She headed for the door. “If that doesn’t interest you, maybe take a stroll through the gardens.”

“Oh, no! I’m so checking out that library the moment I wake up.” She headed for her overnight bag. “Unless you need me for something else?”

Gerri’s smile grew. “Darling, you seeing that library is just as important as anything I’m here for.”

“Thank you.”

Gerri opened the door and stopped. “Oh, before I go. There’re clothes in the closet for you. Feel free to wear whatever you want. They were made for you.”

She widened her eyes. “Really?”

“Yes. Everything is in there or in the drawers. Have a nice nap.”

Once Gerri left, she rummaged through the clothes and found a pair of shorts and tank top made out of the softest material she’d ever touched in her life, like cotton, but even softer. She couldn’t stop touching it.

It was like the first time she got a Brazilian wax. She couldn’t stop petting her crotch. It made for an interesting walk down the middle of a busy street. Some people didn’t think it was a good idea, but what the hell? She was soft as silk down there. Too bad she didn’t have a man who could appreciate it.

There was a note in the bathroom. Everything was voice and mood commanded. She wanted a bath, but decided on a shower. Apparently, the bathroom figured her need for a bath was greater, because the tub was full of warm water and a scented lavender mist that made her want to fall asleep then and there.

“This is too cool.”

The bath helped to ease some of the panic from the transport, but now she felt exhausted. She wondered why Gerri had been so great with the whole thing. She guessed it was because she was a shifter and stronger. Plus, Gerri did that transport thing all the time from the looks of it. Bella had been on a plane a handful of times, and each time she ended up with swollen feet and needing a nap after.