With terrible timing, Sable arrives at the Crossroads as the link to earth is cut and the steady attentions of a patient tiger help bring her back to reality. Rushed to a Crossroads transport far before her scheduled time, Sable finds herself in the portal as it collapses from an unseen force. Her soul is bleeding out, her body is weak and the Crossroads is untethered from earth so no help is coming. When she shifts to her feline form and back, something goes wrong and part of her gets stuck. A handsome man helps her back to the Open Heart, and he offers her patient companionship as she gets the first treatment for recovery. Warren has been waiting for days, but when he sees the cheetah streaking through the meadow, he kicks himself. He had shut his senses down to the point he couldn’t recognize his mate when she passed out in his arms. It was not a mistake he would make twice.