The Secrets of the Panther
Chapter 65

IZZY

I am in complete darkness.

I look around—I’m all on my own.

No Puna.

I don’t even know where the hell I am.

I feel afraid of being on my own. I was used to it before on the run, but Puna was with me every time.

I look around, but there is a light coming from behind me. I turn around and notice a door there with light shining around it.

What the hell?

Where the hell did that come from?

I searched for the door handle and found it; I moved the handle down and opened the door. I shielded my eyes from the light as I walked into what seemed like a garden. The grass was soft on my bare feet. I look down and notice I’m in a silk dress, barefooted.

I stroll into the garden; the flowers are beautiful, butterflies flying around, and running water flowing somewhere in the distance, but this place was magical.

I looked around in amazement, but suddenly there was a growl coming from the side of me. I turn around, but I’m suddenly pounced on by something big and black with silky-like fur.

I’m pinned to the ground, staring up at a pair of green eyes looking down at me.

I know who it is instantly; I’m not scared of her. She is my savior, protector, friend, and family.

“Puna,” I whisper. She licks my face, which makes me gag. “EW,” I say loud but can’t help but laugh.

“Izzy,” she says as she looks down at me. “Where are we?”

She moves for me to get into a sitting position; I place my hand on her head to smooth her. “I now know what Allie was on about,” I say. “You feel so smooth.”

Puna purrs into my hand, but after a few moments, I slowly get up and look around. “I have no clue where we are,” I say to her. “What about you?”

She looks at me. “I don’t...” she says, but she growls, “We not alone here.”

I look to where Puna’s looking; a little path leads to a clearing over a slight hill.

“Shall we see what the hell is going on?” I ask her.

She nods.

We walk together up the slight hill. But as we got to the top, two women were standing in front of us. Puna and I looked at each other, but when we look back at the women, they both stare back, looking back at us with smiles on their faces.

Both women wore black clocks with hoods up, but you can tell they were wearing silk dresses like I am underneath them.

“You can come down, dear,” says one at me, who removes her hood. When she looks back at me, I’m startled.

She looks just like me, also like Allie and my mum.

What the hell?

“Who are you?” I ask as both Puna and I descend to them slowly.

When I get to the bottom, where they both stand a few feet away, the woman smiles at me. The other one removes her hood too, but she looks like someone more god-like, but she smiles at me, saying nothing.

I stare back at the woman with my features, who is smiling back at me. “I am sorry for the way you came here, but I needed to talk to you, my child,” she says. “My name is Clara. I am your great-great-great grandmother.”

I stare back in disbelief; she is a family member, but how is that even possible?

“How?” I breathe.

“Your mother mentioned that you would have loads of questions, but I will answer them, my child. But I need to know if you killed that evil vampire that tortured you,” she asks.

I nod. “I did, but I had to use my power to kill him; I just hope I sent him to hell,” I said.

“Oh, you did,” says the woman from the side and smiles at me. “It was amazing to see the state on him there.”

I stare back at her with wide eyes and slightly shocked, but the woman laughs. “I am sorry, child. I am Hecate. I’m the god for witches,” she says and holds her hand out for me to take, which I do.

“I am so happy that I got to meet you, my dear, but I am only here as I am waiting for two others to come, but I wanted to meet you,” she says. “Your power is known well amongst the gods, but out of all the women that had the power before you, you are by far the most powerful I have ever seen.”

She looks down at Puna. “And you young panther are amazing and every loyal to your human,” she says. She smooths Puna’s head, which makes her purr.

Hecate turns to Clara. “I think we will have to move to the courtyard. They should be there now,” she says.

Clara nods and points to the way we have to go. “Follow us, Izzy, and we will explain everything to you,” she says.

Hecate and Puna walk in front, while Clara and I walk behind them.

“You must have so many questions,” she asks.

I nod.

“I do,” I say. “Why do I look exactly like you?”

She laughs. “You are not the first one to ask that,” she says; she controls herself and looks at me with a small smile. “You are my descendant, Izzy.”

“Our family are the first panther shifters known in the world to survive a war, but everyone feared us. But when my family was killed, I lost it. I blocked all my emotions as I didn’t want to deal with it all,” she says.

I know those feelings very well.

“I held it in for so long that my emotions became powers; they saved people I classed as family, friends, and even my mate too,” she says and looks forward. “My panther was like Puna. She protected me every time she could, but it was hard as they lay doormat as they were such lazy cats,” she says, which a growl comes from the front of us.

I can’t help but smirk at Puna, glaring daggers at Clara. “We not all lazy,” she says.

Clara looks at her with a smile. “I didn’t mean it, Puna,” she says; Puna turns around and carries on walking with Hecate, who was smirking at her.

“Your panther went beyond the call of duty when it came to saving you, especially after the torture and rape you went through,” she says.

I looked ahead; the thought of the rape and torture felt like a distant memory here.

Suddenly Blake’s face came into my head, making the butterflies appear.

I can feel Clara staring at me. “You thinking about your mate, aren’t you?”

I turn to look at her, but stop. “I am, but what I went through was hard on me; I want to be with Blake, but what...” I say, but Clara stops me. “You are overthinking this; Blake is your destined mate,” she says and looks to Hecate, but I realize that we have walked into a courtyard.

“Where are we?” I asked her.

She could tell I wanted to change the subject quickly.

“This is the dream courtyard for guardians and gods to meet their chosen children to guide their shifters into the new world with the help of the gods,” she says as she places her hand in mine.

We walk into the courtyard, and I spot two figures with Hecate and Puna. One woman smoothes Puna’s head, but when she looks up, the face staring back stuns me into silence and makes me stop.

“Mum,” I whisper.