Page 18 of So I Won a Werelion

He handed it to me. If I could nonchalantly make a run for it right now, I would. But I had to play cool. This could very well be the piece we’d been looking for when we’d been kicked out ofthe forest on our last dig. The one the shifters threatened to kill us over if we got too close to it.

And it was in my hands.

Well, not all of it. It had been broken, but I’d stared at renderings of this artifact so many times I’d practically memorized it.I couldn’t say for sure that it was the Sempiternal Scepter, but it was pretty damn close.

Whatever it was, it radiated with power, like an animal on the verge of a shift.

“This is beautiful. I’d love to bring it to a local expert and have it checked out,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t ask for it back.

Ineededthis artifact.

Not that I planned to keep it—or did I? For so long I’d dreamed of finding it, and now I could not let it fall into the wrong hands.

No, I’d hand it over to one of the local packs and they could decide what to do with it.

Or I finally had a reason to call Gabe. I’d picked up the phone a million times to say I was sorry, but I’d choked on the fear that my apology wouldn’t be enough.

For all I knew, maybe he would be matched with the new contestant named Hannah.

But he said he was your mate…

“Looks like it might be worth quite a bit of coin.” The reporter managed to snatch the artifact back from me while I was in my Gabe-induced haze. They happened way too often for my own good. “Whatever it is, it will make a great story. I’m gonna do a little research.”

It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. I’d already done all the research. Well, what little was available to humans. There was so much shifter history that was on the verge of being lost forever because it had been orally passed from generationto generation. Some of the shifters running this forest probably didn’t even know the whole story about the Sempiternal Scepter.

And I couldn’t tell him any of that because the last thing I needed was to be identified as the anonymous source who blew the lid off the mystery of the Sempiternal Scepter to humans.

The reporter placed the ancient relic into his bag and patted it, like he could have any idea of what he’d discovered. My mind was racing. I had to get it back.

But he walked away before I came up with any way to do it.

Fuck.

“I’m in the mood to celebrate tonight.” Derek’s voice made me jump. There was something all too familiar about it. It had a make-the-little-hairs-on-the-back-of-my-neck-stand-up quality to it. “There’s a dinner tonight to celebrate the groundbreaking. I’d love to bring you as my guest.”

Not now, dude. “I appreciate the offer, but I have so much work to do.”

Not exactly a lie. I needed to check my notes on the research I’d done years ago, and see if it matched the piece that reporter held in his hands. And I was probably way behind on my real estate stuff too.

“There’s a lot of money to be made here. Lot of houses to be sold. We’re hoping to bring on an exclusive agent. This could be a very good arrangement for you.”

Ugh. A long hot shower might wash some of the dirt from that offer away. “I hope I’ll be considered on my sales record and reputation as an agent.”

“I am considering your reputation.” He grinned, but I had a feeling he wasn’t talking about houses. “We’ll have quite a successful future together.”

“Here’s to Ranchero Hills.” I gave him a tight smile and turned away from him. Wanda had been insistent on a Woodhead being present at the groundbreaking, and I’d checkedthat box. Someone else could deal with Derek Jared for the rest of the build.

I walked by the ever-growing pile of dirt one more time, kicking myself for not acting faster. For not being able to feel the vibration of that Scepter before a reporter got his hands on it. I was wasting time standing here, and probably giving Derek the wrong idea.

Sand slid down the hill, revealing another shiny object.Be cool, I told myself as I slipped another possible piece of the artifact into my purse.

Chapter

Five

Gabe

“There’s something about you Wylde boys. Must be a little bit of wolf in ya.” Lucy and I had grown up together. Now we found ourselves on opposing sides of our pride. “Always getting moon-eyed over those delicate girls—”

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