Page 17 of So I Won a Werelion

I wasn’t. I wished everyone the best.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that a door had just slammed shut in my face.

As promised, there were Wanda-approved reporters at Ranchero Hills. Groundbreaking on a new housing development was anything but exciting. The developers were making an awfully big deal out of this.

Wolf Rock stood proudly, howling silently in protest, with construction vehicles at its base.

“Wendy!”

This time, I waved and kept walking.

“You’re awfully popular.” A man in a plaid shirt and a pair of tight, stiff jeans tipped his cowboy hat to me. “These reporterscalled you the Runaway Mate. Said you were in the market for a husband.”

The way he raked his gaze over my body made it clear that he was interested in applying for the position. Maybe he’d been expecting a carbon copy of Wanda. I’d worn dress pants and a sweater. Nothing exciting, but still a far cry from my sister’s ensembles that included mock turtlenecks and pantyhose.

“She’s looking for a mate,” one of the reporters corrected. “Are you a shapeshifter, Mr. Jared?”

“You can call me Derek,” he said to me before turning to the throng of reporters. “I’m a businessman. I guess you could say I’m just as hungry.”

Gross.

“I’m concentrating on my career right now.” I smiled at the reporters, but my remark was definitely meant for Mr. Jared, or Derek, whatever. “Speaking of, today is a very exciting day.”

He smiled and surveyed the site. “We’ve had plans for this land for a long time. It’ll be satisfying to see them come to fruition.”

“Have you talked to the local shifters about your plans?” I asked.

He bristled. “Why would I do that?”

“Because their land is right there.” I pointed in the direction of Colorado Ranch. “And this development restricts access to Green Mountain village. It took them a long time to upgrade their infrastructure.”

“We’ve made the plans public. If any of them have a problem, they’re welcome to come talk to me.”

It didn’t sound like a threat. Maybe he really was oblivious to the issues. I wasn’t about to start a pack-human war by pushing the issue.SinceThe Mating Gamewas moving on without me, I needed this job.

It would take a while to recover from that punch in the gut.

Derek turned back to the reporters. I might have been the reality show dropout, but he didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the cameras. “Today we’ll be breaking ground on the clubhouse. We hope for this to be the hub of the community at Ranchero Hills, with a pool, tennis court, open space and trails, and a nine-hole golf course available to our residents. After that, the first phase of our build will start. We have seventy houses planned for phase one, and we’ll evaluate future growth based on the community’s needs.”

A few people on the edge of the work site clapped, and the workers looked eager to get to work.

Derek waved his hand, garnering even more applause from his construction groupies. “Let’s do this thing.”

A bulldozer pushed earth aside, garnering another round of cheers. I had no idea how long I was supposed to stay and watch.

The bulldozer made several passes, and the path had already gotten pretty deep. A little hill of dirt formed at the edge of the work area.

A shiny object rolled down the newly made mound. One of the reporters walked over and picked it up, looking at it with wonder. A few of his colleagues joined him.

My archeology loving heart had to go over and find out what it was.

“Have you ever seen anything like this? It looks ancient.” He held the item out so I could see it.

My body went numb. The piece the reporter was holding looked like it had been broken off the holy grail of shifter artifacts.

Was that…the Sempiternal Scepter?No. Freaking. Way.

“Can I hold it?”

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