Page 9 of Panther Heart’s Secret Passion (Esoterra Shifters World #2)

Chapter Nine

Adrienne

I sat on the edge of the bed in the cabin’s small bedroom, my arms wrapped around myself, my heart still pounding from what I’d seen.

Allen, shifting from a panther to a man, his body rippling with muscle and fur, his green eyes glowing in the moonlight.

The image was burned into my mind, and I couldn’t shake it.

He’d called himself a shifter, from some hidden realm called Esoterra, but the words felt unreal, like something out of a story I’d write, not my life.

The bond between us, that warm pull in my chest, was still there, but now it scared me as much as it drew me in.

I didn’t know what to do with it, with him, with any of this.

But I couldn’t just sit here, hiding. I needed answers, and I wasn’t going to get them from him.

Not yet. I unlocked the bedroom door and stepped out, my voice cold and resolute.

“We’re going to Mistvale’s library. I need to look into something. ”

Allen was by the fireplace, his shoulders tense, his eyes flicking to me with a mix of relief and worry. “The library? Adrienne, it’s not safe out there. Those rogues, they’re still hunting you.”

I grabbed my jacket, avoiding his gaze. “I don’t care.

I saw that rune on your knife, and I’ve got this shard in my pocket.

I’m not sitting around waiting for you to decide what I can handle.

Either come with me, or I’m going alone.

” My words were sharp, cutting through the tension in the room, and I didn’t wait for his response, heading for the door.

He sighed, grabbing his keys. “Fine. But we stick together. No running off.” His voice was firm, but there was a plea in it, like he was afraid I’d bolt.

I didn’t answer, just walked to his truck, my body pressed against the passenger door as we drove to Mistvale.

The silence between us was heavy, my heart pounding with fear of what he was, of the dangers he kept hinting at.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his panther form, sleek and powerful, those glowing eyes staring into me.

I didn’t know if I could trust him, not after he’d hidden this from me.

The library was a squat brick building, its windows fogged with early morning mist. Inside, the air smelled of old paper and dust, the faint hum of fluorescent lights buzzing overhead.

I headed straight for the folklore section, pulling books from the towering shelves, their spines worn and faded.

Allen followed, keeping his distance, his boots quiet on the carpet.

I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn’t look up, my hands shaking as I opened a book on Pacific Northwest myths.

The pages were filled with tales of shape-changers, beings who could shift between human and animal, tied to a hidden world in the forest. One passage mentioned a “veil,” a magical barrier that kept their realm secret, protected by glowing artifacts.

My fingers brushed the shard in my pocket, its faint pulse warm against my thigh, and my stomach twisted.

This was real, and I was holding a piece of it.

“Find anything?” Allen’s voice was soft, cautious, from across the room. He was sitting at a table, his shoulders tense, his green eyes watching me with a mix of longing and dread, like he was bracing for me to run.

I kept my eyes on the book, my voice flat. “Just stories. Shape-changers, artifacts, some kind of veil. Sound familiar?” I didn’t look at him, but I could feel the weight of his silence, the way he shifted in his chair.

“Adrienne,” he started, his voice low. “I know you’re mad, and I don’t blame you. But you have to believe me, I’m trying to keep you safe. Those stories, they’re not just stories. They’re my world, and it’s dangerous.”

I slammed the book shut, my hands trembling as I finally looked at him.

“Your world? You mean the one you lied about? You let me think you were just some guide, Allen, but you’re…

something else. And those things that attacked me, they’re part of this too, aren’t they? Why can’t you just tell me everything?”

His jaw tightened, his eyes flickering with guilt. “Because the more you know, the more danger you’re in. Those rogues, they’re after the shard you have. They want to destroy the veil, and if you keep digging, they’ll come for you.”

I stood, my chair scraping the floor, my voice rising.

“Then help me understand! I’m not some kid you can just order around.

I saw you change, Allen. I saw your eyes glow, your body…

become something else. Do you know how terrifying that was?

And now you’re telling me there’s more out there, hunting me, and you still won’t give me the whole story? I deserve better than that.”

He stood too, his hands raised, his voice soft but firm. “You do. And I want to tell you, I swear. But right now, keeping you alive is more important than explaining everything. Please, just trust me a little longer.”

I shook my head, turning back to the books, my throat tight.

“Trust goes both ways, Allen.” I grabbed another volume, flipping through pages until I found a reference to a ritual, one meant to destroy a magical barrier by burning artifacts like the shard.

The book described sabotage, strange markings, and a leader named “the outcast,” which sounded too much like the claw-mark tattoos and the logging site damage.

My heart raced. This was about Morris, the rogues, and the shard in my pocket.

It was all connected, and I was closer to the truth than ever.

I glanced at Allen again, his eyes still on me, filled with that same mix of longing and fear.

It unsettled me, stirring guilt under my anger.

He looked like he was waiting for me to run, to reject him completely, and part of me wanted to, but that bond, that warmth in my chest, wouldn’t let me.

I pushed it down, focusing on the books, scribbling notes about the veil and the ritual.

I needed to follow this lead, to find out what Morris was planning, but I couldn’t do it here, not with Allen watching me like a hawk.

I stood, stuffing my notes into my bag, and headed for the door. “I need some air,” I said, my voice clipped. “I’ll be back.”

He was up in a second, blocking the door, his body tense but his voice soft. “Adrienne, you can’t go out there alone. Morris’s rogues are tracking you. They know you have the shard. You’re not safe without me.”

My fear spiked, my hand tightening on my bag.

“Tracking me? How do you even know that? What else aren’t you telling me?

” My voice shook, memories of those cloaked figures, their glowing eyes, flashing in my mind.

“I can’t just sit here, Allen. I need to figure this out, and I can’t do it with you hovering. ”

He stepped closer, his eyes pleading. “I get it, you’re scared. I’m scared too. But if you go out there alone, they’ll find you. Please, stay here. We’ll figure this out together.”

I shook my head, my chest tight. “Together means you start talking, Allen. Until then, I’m doing this my way.

” I turned back to the table, sitting as far from him as I could, my pen scratching as I copied more notes.

The silence between us was heavy, a barrier I didn’t know how to break.

I wanted to trust him, but his secrets, his glowing eyes, the panther I’d seen, they all kept me at a distance.

I focused on the books, my hands steadying as I wrote, determined to uncover the truth myself.

Hours passed, the library quiet except for the hum of the lights and the occasional rustle of pages.

I found more references to the veil, to artifacts that powered it, and to a ritual that could destroy it, plunging the hidden realm into chaos.

It was all tied to Morris, to the sabotage, to the shard I carried.

I was so deep in my notes I didn’t notice my bag had shifted until I reached for a pen and felt something crinkle.

I pulled out a folded note, written in red ink, the words chilling: “The truth will kill you both.”