Page 36 of So I Won a Werelion

Gabe’s hands were on my waist. He lifted me like I weighed nothing, putting me on the other side of the links. He looped his legs over the top effortlessly and hopped down.

“Where did you find the Scepter?” he asked.

“Near the bulldozer. I think. Everything looks different in the dark.”

Gabe put his hand on the small of my back, a move that sent shivers up my spine, and steadied me as we navigated the uneven terrain. Lions had amazing night vision, and I’d left my readers at the office.

A light snapped on as we got closer to the construction equipment.

I froze. “Gabe.”

“It’s all right,” he said softly. “It’s just to scare us away.”

It was working. “What if they have surveillance cameras?”

“We’ll be gone by the time anyone looks at it. Do you want someone else to get their hands on the Scepter?”

“No, but I don’t want to end this date in handcuffs.”

The grin he gave me was incendiary. “Good to know.”

He surveyed the worksite, prowling like the cat he was. I followed along, hoping I’d see something that would help us get the hell out of here.

“Look.” He pointed to a spot. I squinted, and finally saw what looked like the same lettering from the Scepter shining in the surveillance light. “Is there any protocol for taking this out of the ground?”

I knelt beside the artifact and brushed my fingertips against it. This piece was different from the ones found earlier today. The part that was sticking out of the ground looked like some sort of vessel. It was dark red, whereas the Scepter was a terracotta color. But they shared a similar golden pattern. On the Scepter, I thought the pattern was letters. Now I wasn’t so sure. Power surged through me. When I found the first piece, I chalked this feeling up to adrenaline. As the security light blazed above us, I was having a repeat of that feeling. But there was no denying the Scepter had some serious power. It was strong enough to possess Gabe and freak out Bibi.

“I keep a dig kit in the back of my car in case I ever find anything really cool.” I wrapped my fingers around it. A buzzy feeling took over my arm, making me feel lightheaded. Just like the Scepter. “This is something else. But it has the same energy as the other piece.”

Gabe’s eyes widened. “Bibi thought these might have been planted, but what if this equipment is digging up something important?”

“It’s possible.” My heart pounded. If that was really happening, this could be an important find. There was no guarantee it was a shifter village, but given the location, it madea lot of sense. This used to be Colorado Ranch pack land. These artifacts could belong to them. “No matter what’s happening, it’s fucking exciting. I went on digs and we were lucky if we found a broken utensil. Usually, once we got it back to the university, we’d find that it wasn’t even what we thought it was. To find pieces this big and in this good shape is remarkable.”

Historic, game-changing…so many things I couldn’t wrap my head around right now.

I gave the vessel a tug, cringing at myself. This was not proper archeological procedure by any means. The next time I came back, I’d have my dig kit. Tonight was all about getting in and out of here as quickly as possible.

In my excitement, I was a little too forceful and almost fell on my ass.

The vessel was half the size of my forearm, and mostly intact. A piece was missing from its voluptuous base. Crap, was that my fault?

I brushed away loose dirt from the hole it had come out of, hoping that I’d find something, and at the same time praying I wouldn’t. If I’d destroyed something so ancient—so powerful—I’d never forgive myself.

There was nothing there.

“Was this the area you studied with the university?”

I shook my head. “We were deeper in the mountains. Anytime I got too close, I got a stern talking to from the council shifters, warning me to mind my own human business.”

Gabe smirked. “Did you?”

“You should know me better than to even have to ask.” I studied the bowl. It had a curve in the top of the pattern, and I realized it mimicked the shape of a woman’s body. It was a gorgeous piece. “There’s so much I don’t know. I knew more than my professors just from talking to you.”

“That’s how we like it.” The rumble was back in his voice.

“But now that humans are finding pieces of the relic, things could go sideways.” My head was spinning. If we’d found this many artifacts this fast after nothing for centuries, we were either sitting on a goldmine or we’d been set up. Either way, we had to find a way to protect this site from the developers that had descended upon it. “We can’t keep this a secret much longer, Gabe. We have no idea what else we’ll find.”

He ran his hand over his beard. The movement made my mouth water. “I’ll talk to my pride in the morning.”

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