Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 275

Chapter 275

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Stella calmly slid her slender wrist out from behind her back, then, right in front of everyone, snapped her wrist back into place like it was nothing. Her face was totally calm, not a hint of emotion. Everyone was left gaping in shock!

Allan didn’t know what to say.

Emily was left speechless.

Charles and Nathan were at a loss for words.

Emerson fell silent.

Ever since they landed in Farronia, it felt like they were stuck on a wild rollercoaster. Never knowing what kind of “surprise” was coming at them next.

They all went quiet, staring at the gangsters pointing their guns right at them. The gangsters stared right back.

Their eyes met.

Everyone was left speechless.

Yeah, nobody had anything to say.

Stella flexed her wrist a bit, then shot a lazy look at the gangster guarding them.

After thinking for a second, she said, half-jokingly, “You guys actually got us tied up pretty well.” She tilted her head and added, “But your skills are kinda sloppy.”

Sebastian added, “Yeah, pretty sloppy.”

With that, he just pulled his wrist free from behind his back.

The gangster was stunned.

‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ the gangster cursed inwardly.

‘We just spent ages tying them up!’ he thought, totally pissed.

He was just about to curse them out, but the moment he met Stella’s deep amber eyes.

He suddenly remembered how Uriah got the crap beaten out of him by her.

The gangster quickly looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes.

He was basically going for that whole “if I don’t see it, I won’t freak out” vibe.

Everyone was left speechless.

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‘Man, if you’d at least put up a fight, we’d actually think you had some guts, they all thought.

Everyone freed themselves.

Charles took a deep breath and said, “So, Ms. Carter, are you really Shark?”

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Charles couldn’t wrap his head around how the innocent-looking girl in front of him could be the legendary, eccentric top dog everyone talked about. The whole thing was seriously blowing his mind.

Stella was speechless!

She was getting pretty annoyed by all the questions. After untying Emily herself, she decided to roll down the

window.

It was the dry season out on the grasslands, and all they could see was endless stretches of dry, yellow grass.

The view just went on forever. nothing but prairie as far as the eye could see.

Sebastian leaned in closer.

He reached for Stella’s hand, and when he saw that the bandage on her wrist was bleeding again, his brows furrowed with worry.

Stella just rested her hand on the edge of the window, shooting him a casual glance. Her annoyance eased up a little.

Stella said, “I’m fine.”

“Vincent and the others are tailing us from the shadows,” Sebastian murmured in her ear.

It tickled a little.

Stella just gave a casual hum.

She already knew they’d been lurking in the shadows at the airport.

Noticing Sebastian still frowning, she tilted her head, her deep amber eyes seemed a bit dreamy in the sunlight.

“It’s been ages since I came here. Not sure if I’ll bump into any old friends,” Stella suddenly spoke up, her voice calm and detached.

“Old friends?” Emily picked up the plain plant and set it on her lap, her voice curious. “Who are they?”

Stella gave a small, indifferent smile and finally pulled out the little peregrine falcon that had been hiding in Sebastian’s pocket all this time. The fluffy bird, now free, was cradled in her slender hand as she casually held it out the car window.

“Go!” she said, flicking her hand upward.

The peregrine falcon shot into the sky, fast as lightning.

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Chapter 275

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It let out that sharp, piercing cry only a peregrine falcon could make, circling high above the Farronia grasslands.

At the same time, Stella pressed her finger to her lips and whistled. The sound blended with the falcon’s call.

The others just looked at each other, totally confused.

But in the very next moment, huge, hulking brown shapes started popping up from the dry, yellow grass all around them, like a bunch of giant hills suddenly rising out of nowhere.

The creatures all lifted their heads, gazing up at the sky.

Every single pair of eyes was fixated on the little peregrine falcon.

In the car, Stella seemed to sense something, a rogue, badass grin tugging at her lips..

The very next moment, roars exploded across the grasslands.

Even the ground trembled beneath their feet.

The gangster clutching his submachine gun, face pale with nerves, stuck his head out the window and suddenly shouted, “Oh shit!” His voice went all screechy as he yelled at the burly, bearded driver, “Step on it!”

“What’s going on outside?” Emily had no idea what was happening.

She instinctively glanced at Stella, who had just finished whistling and was now back to her lazy pose, resting her head on one hand. When Stella noticed Emily looking, she quietly raised an eyebrow, totally relaxed.

Stella’s pretty face looked innocent and harmless.

Emily was left speechless.

Just as she was about to speak, Emily’s gaze shifted behind Stella. Her eyes went wide, and without thinking, she pointed at whatever was behind her.

Suddenly, a huge lion came charging alongside the car like a hurricane, its golden-brown mane flying wild in the wind as it let out a mighty roar that screamed pure authority.

But one lion roared, and a hundred more answered back!

Thunderous roars exploded from every direction around the car!

Then, one, two, three, four… Dozens of lions, male and female, appeared in their line of sight, closing in on both sides of the tricked-out jeep.

Allan panicked.

Emily was momentarily at a loss for words.

Charles and Nathan opened their mouths, but no words came out.

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Emerson stared at the lions in disbelief.

They all turned, staring at Stella in a daze. They thought they’d just gotten their minds blown, but Stella was constantly dropping new shocks on them before they could even catch their breath.

Allan gave Stella a look that was somewhere between speechless and totally overwhelmed. He said, “Stella,

you…

Stella, still propping her head up with one hand, glanced over at him. She lazily raised her other hand, letting the little peregrine falcon that had just swooped back perch right on her wrist. Behind her, the massive lion loomed, regal and imposing.

Everyone’s eyes flicked between Stella and the king of beasts behind her, completely stunned.

Finally, Allan couldn’t hold back a soul-deep sigh. “Man, our Sebastian is seriously out of his league here.”

Sebastian was speechless.

Stella lifted her wrist, and the little peregrine falcon instantly hopped onto Sebastian’s shoulder. All that fierce, sky-conquering energy from before? Gone. Now it just looked like a little dork.

Not paying any attention to Allan’s muttering, Stella turned to Sebastian. Ever since she set foot in Farronia, she’d stopped hiding her bold and rebellious streak. She reached up and lightly brushed his ear. “Out of his league? Please, I don’t see it that way.”

Emily was left speechless.

‘Stella, that move was so alpha!’ Emily thought.

‘You even made Mr. Gray look like a total sweetheart!’ she added to herself.

Sebastian turned his head to look at Stella, that cold, drop-dead gorgeous face half-shadowed by the shifting sunlight. His eyes were so deep, like he was lost in some old memory, and he had that harmless, boyish allure that just drew you in.

He pulled up one long leg, and even in the cramped car, he was practically glued to her side.

It was like he was born to stick to her.

Sebastian reached out and wrapped her playful little hand in his big palm. He looked totally calm, but his ears still went red, totally betraying him.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to the most extensive military base in western Farronia.

At the camp entrance, the old man was stunned.

He stood there in silence, staring at the entrance to his own camp.

Behind him, his men were on full alert, ready for anything.

Every single one of them was gripping a submachine gun.

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But even with all that firepower, their hands were shaking like crazy.

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Outside, hundreds of lions, male and female, were sprawled out, and right at the front, Simba, easily as tall as a grown man, crouched low, staring the old man down.

Its eyes were fierce and full of authority.

This was the kind of scene they couldn’t even imagine in their wildest dreams.

The old man absently touched his arm.

There, running the length of his arm, was a gnarly, deep scar. The mark left by Simba.

He knew better than anyone just how fierce and powerful it was.

Simba was the true ruler of these lands for hundreds of miles. Wherever it went, every lion in the area would answer its call.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, another pack of lions came charging in, automatically merging with the pride and squaring off against the humans.

Simba kept letting out low, rumbling growls from deep in its throat, like it was warning them to back off.

This was the kind of scene one’d only see once in a hundred years.

The tricked-out jeep screeched to a halt right at the camp entrance.

The pride of lions all lifted their heads, eyes locked on the scene.

The car doors swung open. The “hostages” who were supposed to be tied up just strolled out, totally relaxed. Stella, wearing her baseball cap, looked so chill, like she was coming home, not like she’d just been kidnapped.

Her whole ‘I’m running the show now’ vibe actually made the old man let out a laugh, half-annoyed, half- impressed.

‘Does she seriously not see all these lions everywhere?’ he thought, exasperated.

‘Isn’t she worried these beasts might eat her alive?’ he wondered, still in disbelief.

‘If things go south, there’s no way I’m sending anyone to bail her out!’ he told himself, not budging an inch.

‘Doesn’t matter if she’s Shark or not!’ he thought, totally unfazed by her reputation.

Just as he was thinking that, Simba suddenly moved!

It came barreling toward Stella, fast as a bullet.

Its gaping, blood-red maw opened wide.

But in the very next instant, the old man’s grin got stuck awkwardly on his face.

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The old man froze.

Everyone behind him at the camp stared at her in disbelief.

Everyone was momentarily at a loss for words.

They started to wonder if there was something wrong with their eyes.

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Otherwise, why would Simba, instead of taking a bite out of the girl’s head, act like some dumb puppy? It was rubbing up against her, then flopping right down at her feet and exposing its most vulnerable belly, begging for attention.

This scene was every bit as shocking as if their camp had just been ambushed!

The rest of the pride followed the king’s lead!

The rest of the lions started rolling around on the ground too, tumbling and playing like a bunch of giant house cats!

Allan was speechless.

Emily didn’t know what to say.

Charles and Nathan were at a loss for words.

Emerson fell silent.

The group that had just climbed out of the car was every bit as shocked as their enemies. Honestly, they were starting to wonder if they’d somehow stumbled into a giant lion cuddle-fest, like a cat café, but for big cats.

“Simba, that’s enough,” Stella murmured, her eyes lowered, a lazy, teasing smile playing on her lips. Her slender fingers were buried deep in the lion king’s rough, shaggy mane.

Simba thought, ‘Nope. I want more.

‘Cuddle time!

‘I just wanna cuddle!’

Stella paused for a second, then turned to Sebastian, whose eyes were dark as midnight. “Give me your hand,” she said.

Sebastian obediently held out his hand.

“This is Simba,” Stella said, all serious, introducing the lion king to Sebastian.

Then she glanced at the lion king and added with a straight face, “And this one’s Sebastian.”

Sebastian was speechless.

Simba didn’t know what to say.

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The two of them locked eyes.

The lion king narrowed its eyes, sizing Sebastian up.

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Sebastian just stared back, his gaze icy and unflinching, a quiet, commanding presence radiating from him.

Stella took his hand and placed it right back on Simba’s shaggy, furry head.

Stella gave Simba a good scratch.

The lion king let out a happy, rumbling roar.

‘Heaven! Absolute bliss!’ Simba thought, totally stunned by how good it felt.

Its roar thundered across the land!

With one mighty call, the whole pride answered back, their deafening roars shaking the earth.

Allan stared at her in disbelief.

Emily didn’t know what to say.

Charles and Nathan were at a loss for words.

Emerson fell silent.

The old man was stunned.

Everyone behind him at the camp froze.

By now, they were so stunned they were basically numb. couldn’t even feel a thing.

The old man just heard Stella say to the lion king, “We’re going inside now,” as if she were chatting about the weather.

It made his skin crawl.

The old man watched in silence as the lions automatically split to the sides, clearing a path for Stella, Sebastian, and the rest of their crew. Emily, still clutching the plain plant, looked the most dazed of all.

Emily forced out a dry laugh.

Her smile was stuck awkwardly on her face.

‘Stella’s old friends… Emily was still reeling.

‘Now that’s what you call special!’ she thought to herself.

Soon enough, Stella walked right up to the old man. He was still strapped with that belt of explosives, detonator in hand, but he and his men, led by him, were all standing there, totally shell-shocked by what they’d just seen.

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“Not feeling weighed down?” Stella shot him a meaningful look, eyebrow raised.

The old man froze.

Sebastian said, “If it’s just for show, take it off.”