Page 5 of Stripe for the Picking (Paranormal Dating Agency #92)

THREE

WREN

T he green sundress had seemed like the perfect choice when Wren pulled it from her closet at dawn.

Now, standing outside the coffee shop with her heart hammering against her ribs, she wondered if she'd unconsciously chosen it to match her eyes—or if some deeper instinct had guided her selection for this life-altering morning.

Sleep had proved elusive last night. Every time she'd closed her eyes, visions of alien worlds and tiger shifters had danced behind her lids, sending pulses of excitement through her body that made rest impossible.

She'd spent hours pacing her apartment, alternating between packing and unpacking her suitcase, second-guessing every decision while simultaneously feeling more alive than she had in years.

This is insane, she thought, adjusting the strap of her backpack. Normal people don't just abandon their lives to follow mysterious women to alien planets.

But then again, she'd never been particularly normal.

The familiar aroma of roasted coffee beans drifted from the shop's open door, carrying hints of caramel and vanilla that usually brought comfort. Today, the scent felt like a farewell kiss from her old life—predictable, safe, and suddenly suffocating in its routine familiarity.

Her business would survive a few weeks without her.

Hell, she was overdue for a vacation anyway, and most of her clients preferred email communication over face-to-face meetings.

This morning before she'd left her apartment, she'd set up an 'out-of-office' alert and framed her absence as an extended vacation.

Wren assumed most of her clients would understand, and they would probably even be pleased that she was finally taking some time for herself.

Rationalize all you want, her inner voice whispered with amusement. You know this is about something bigger than vacation time.

The click of designer heels on concrete announced Gerri's arrival before Wren saw her.

The older woman appeared around the corner like a vision in red, her sleeveless dress hugging her petite frame with enviable sophistication.

Red heels added inches to her height while somehow making her movements appear effortless, as if she'd been born wearing stilettos.

"Did you pack light, darling?" Gerri's mischievous grin sparkled with secrets. "You'll need your wits more than your luggage."

Wren hefted her suitcase experimentally. "Define light. I may have overpacked on the tech gear side, but I figured alien planets might have different charging standards."

"Smart girl." Gerri's approval warmed something deep in Wren's chest. "Though I suspect you'll find Nova Aurora more accommodating than you expect."

Without further explanation, Gerri spun on her heel and began walking toward a building behind the coffee shop. The structure looked completely ordinary—gray brick and unremarkable windows, the kind of place people walked past without a second glance.

Wren's analytical mind cataloged every detail as they approached.

No obvious security features, no signs indicating the building's purpose, nothing to suggest it housed anything more exciting than accounting offices or storage units.

Yet something about the air around it felt charged, like the moment before lightning strikes.

The entrance opened to reveal a surprisingly elegant lobby with marble floors and subtle lighting that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves. An elevator waited with doors already parted, as if it had been expecting their arrival.

"After you," Gerri gestured with theatrical flourish.

The elevator interior defied physics as Wren understood it.

The walls seemed to shimmer with barely perceptible energy, and the control panel featured symbols that definitely weren't standard issue.

Her fingers itched to photograph everything, but something told her this wasn't the time for documentation.

The descent felt endless. Her ears popped repeatedly as they plunged deeper than any building foundation should reasonably extend. The elevator moved with whisper-quiet smoothness, but Wren's stomach insisted they were traveling at speeds that should have been terrifying.

Underground transportation system? she wondered. Secret government facility? Alien embassy basement?

Each possibility seemed more outlandish than the last, yet here she was, diving into the unknown with a woman she'd met yesterday and trusting every instinct that screamed this was exactly what needed to be done.

When the doors finally opened, they revealed a corridor that stretched toward a single door at the far end. The hallway's design spoke of understated elegance—polished stone floors, indirect lighting, and an atmosphere that whispered of important things happening in quiet spaces.

Gerri's heels created a rhythmic percussion against the stone as they walked, each step echoing with purpose. Halfway down the corridor, she leaned closer to Wren, her blue eyes sparkling with golden flecks that seemed to dance in the ambient light.

"Ready to meet your challenge, darling?" Her voice carried layers of meaning that made Wren's pulse quicken. "You're about to step into a whole new world filled with shifters and futuristic technology."

The words hit like electricity coursing through Wren's veins.

A planet full of shifters who used futuristic tech.

Real, actual shapeshifters who probably possessed strength and senses beyond human comprehension.

The rational part of her mind cataloged the impossibility while her heart raced with anticipation.

This is it, she realized. The adventure I've been craving. The chance to matter.

Her usual caution crumbled beneath waves of curiosity and exhilaration. For once in her carefully controlled life, she was about to dive headfirst into something that couldn't be researched, analyzed, or prepared for through conventional means.

They reached the door, and Wren's gaze fixed on the gold placard mounted beside the frame. "G. Wilder" appeared in elegant script that seemed to glow with its own inner light.

Gerri produced a key that looked like crystallized starlight and opened the door to reveal a surprisingly modest office.

A single desk occupied one corner, paired with a chair that looked both comfortable and expensive.

The room's simplicity felt almost anticlimactic after the dramatic journey to reach it.

"Welcome to my real office," Gerri announced, moving toward the desk with practiced familiarity.

She opened the top drawer and withdrew something that made Wren's breath catch.

The object resembled an egg, but its surface gleamed with metallic perfection while pulsing with soft, rhythmic light.

The glow shifted through colors that had no names, creating patterns that seemed to respond to Gerri's touch.

"What exactly is that?" Wren whispered, her scientific mind cataloging impossible properties while her intuition recognized something far beyond Earth's technology.

Gerri's smile held mysteries that could unravel worlds. "This little beauty is our travel device." Gerri's voice danced with mischief as she cradled the metallic egg. "Spaceships are so terribly outdated, don't you think? This method is far more exciting—a wormhole portal to Nova Aurora."

A wormhole? Wren's logical mind reeled while her heart skipped a beat. The impossibility of it crashed against her intellect like waves against stone. She clutched her suitcase handle until her knuckles went white, and the familiar weight of her backpack suddenly felt like an anchor to reality.

Maybe I'm having some kind of elaborate lucid dream. Maybe I never left my apartment this morning.

But the cool metal of her suitcase handle felt real enough, and the strange energy humming through the air made her skin tingle with electric awareness.

"Come here, darling." Gerri beckoned her toward the center of the room. "Time to see what adventure really looks like."

Wren's feet moved without conscious permission, drawn by curiosity stronger than caution. She watched, mesmerized, as Gerri raised the egg to her lips and whispered words that sounded like music made of starlight.

The device responded instantly, floating from Gerri's palm to hover in the air between them. Light erupted from its surface—not the harsh glare of artificial illumination, but something deeper and more alive. The brilliance expanded into a perfect circle that revealed impossible vistas beyond.

Oh my God.

Purple forests stretched endlessly beneath twin suns, their trees shimmering in shades of amethyst and lavender that had no names in any Earth language.

An ocean the color of cotton candy lapped against beaches of pale yellow sand, while jagged mountains rose like golden spears against an alien sky.

"That's..." Wren's voice cracked. "That's actually Nova Aurora."

"In all its glory." Gerri's smile could have powered cities. "After you, brilliant one."

This is crazy. This is impossible. This is exactly what I've been waiting for my entire life.

Wren stepped forward, her suitcase bumping against her leg as she crossed the threshold.

The world dissolved around her—reality becoming fluid, malleable, a kaleidoscope of sensation that defied every law of physics she'd ever studied.

Light and energy rushed past her consciousness like cosmic wind, carrying her across impossible distances in heartbeats.

Then solid ground met her feet with jarring suddenness, and twin suns bathed her face in warmth that felt like liquid gold.

She stumbled slightly, her human equilibrium struggling to adjust, but managed to keep her footing. The air hit her lungs with unexpected sweetness—cleaner than anything she'd ever breathed, charged with ozone and possibilities.

I'm actually standing on an alien planet.

The thought ricocheted through her mind while her senses cataloged everything at once.

Metallic sap from towering flora created an almost musical scent, while the distant aroma of floating cafés serving unknown delicacies made her stomach rumble with curiosity.

Something deep in her soul recognized this place, as if she'd been homesick for somewhere she'd never been.

"Welcome to your new reality." Gerri appeared beside her, not even slightly disheveled by interdimensional travel. "Ready to meet the special tiger shifter you'll help? He's anxiously waiting for you."

Tiger shifter. Right. The reason I'm here on this beautiful planet.

"By the way, this is Nexus—the capital city of Nova Aurora. Central hub for the shifters of this amazing planet." Gerri gestured toward towering structures that defied architectural convention. "And you'll soon see why your skills are desperately needed to protect them."

Wren's analytical brain kicked into overdrive, processing the futuristic technology that surrounded them.

Holographic patrol drones glided through the air with silent precision, their movements coordinated by AI systems that made Earth's most advanced computers look like pocket calculators.

The very ground beneath her feet hummed with energy networks that her genius-level IQ somehow instinctively understood with startling clarity.

How is this possible? How am I understanding any of this?

"Nova Aurora is more than a planet, dear," Gerri stated thoughtfully. "It's a testament to intellect, courage, and heart. And you are integral to it all—your expertise, your mind, and your instincts will make the difference."

The massive glass-and-metal Defense Nexus building rose before them like a monument to impossible technology. Its surfaces reflected the twin suns in patterns that seemed almost alive, while energy signatures that Wren couldn't name but somehow recognized pulsed through its foundations.

The full scope of what I've gotten myself into is finally hitting me.

Holographic maps flickered in windows high above, displaying tactical information that her brain began parsing automatically.

AI-controlled patrols moved with mechanical precision through corridors she couldn't see but somehow sensed.

The building itself seemed to breathe with technological consciousness.

"Remember, your tiger needs you." Gerri's playful tone carried steel underneath. "Protect his mind, help him win the annual Protocol Trials, and keep Nova Aurora safe. And, darling, try not to get eaten."

Wren's nervous laughter escaped before she could stop it. "No pressure, right?"

"Oh, there's plenty of pressure. But that's what makes it fun." Gerri's eyes sparkled with golden mischief as they reached the front doors. "And now... let's meet the man who's been waiting just for you."

Her stomach performed acrobatics that would have impressed Olympic gymnasts. Anticipation, excitement, and the faintest thread of fear wound together in her chest as she stepped through the doors into her new reality.

This is the beginning of what promises to be an epic adventure.