Page 44 of So I Won a Werelion

“Here’s the plan.” I smiled at her. “We’ll have you stay at the Chalet. That’s where the Werewives stayed, so you’re probably familiar with it. You’ll be free to enjoy the spa and the amenities. You’ll get to know the—”

“Her! That’s the fairy drag wolfthat abducted my sister.”

I turned around to find Wendy’s sister Wanda, flanked by police officers on either side of her, pointing her finger at me.

“It’s fairy dragmother, and I believe what actually happened is I rescued Wendy from dying of boredom in that cubicle farm you call an office.”

Wanda gasped, and one of the officers could barely contain his snicker. I winked at him.

“I’ll have you know that Wendy didn’t come home last night. Her car is still in the parking lot of Woodhead Family Realty. There were motorcycles in our neighborhood in the middle of the night.Motorcycles. The noise woke up my grandson. I seem to remember you arriving at my cubicle farm”—she made air quotes for those words— “on motorcycles. Do you still think this is something to joke about? Because these police officers don’t.”

“We can’t actually start looking for Wendy until she’s missing for twenty-four hours,” one of the officers clarified. “We’re here with Wanda because she thinks you might know where Wendy is. If you could save us an investigation, we’d appreciate that, Ms. le Bonnet.”

“I would never discount your concern.” But that office was tragic. If Wanda wasn’t so awful, I’d offer to give it a little sparkle. “Wanda, your sister is a forty-two-year-old woman. If she decides to spend the night away from her home, that’s her decision.”

I thanked the moon that Wanda was human and she wouldn’t sense my heart pounding. The details coming out about what Wendy and Gabe did after we left them last night were nothing short of concerning. We needed eyes on those two at all times, starting now.

As soon as we found them.

“So you’re saying you know where she is?”

“I’m saying that there’s no reason for concern.”

“One of us has to have Wendy’s best interest in mind.” She stepped closer, sizing me up. “If I don’t hear from my sister by noon, I will ruin this show.”

Chapter

Twelve

Wendy

“I found her!”

A little girl’s voice sent me a foot off the bed. I blinked rapidly, not remembering where I was.

Right, Gabe’s cousin’s house. Leo had three little kids. I’d seen them at shifter gatherings and in pictures Gabe had sent me, but this was the first time we’d ever come face to face.

And I was clearly at a disadvantage.

“Hi.” I propped my head up and immediately regretted it. Gabe and I had stayed up until the sun rose. My head was pounding and my leg from the knee down to the ankle was throbbing.

“Shh. You’re in danger,” the little girl whispered, concern plain on her face. “Bad wolves are coming for you.”

That declaration had me scrambling off the pillow. Sweet moon, was this a nightmare? “What do you know about bad wolves?”

Her eyes widened. “They’re coming for you. But don’t worry, if they get close my dad will roar!” She put her hands up in her best attempt to look fierce.

It was kind of adorable, but it didn’t stop her prediction from freaking me out.

“Layla.” Her mom Daphne appeared in the door. She was someone else I’d only seen around but had never talked to. Which made me a little nervous, since she was the alpha’s mate, and I was…me. “Apologize to Miss Wendy for waking her up.”

“But Mom, she’s—”

Daphne raised a brow at her daughter. They shared the same delicate doe features. This was the first time I’d been this close to deer shifters, and it was fascinating to see how different they were from the predatory animals I was used to.

I missed my formal shifter studies so much, even if they hadn’t prepared me for the realities of shifter life.

Layla turned to me. “Sorry, Miss Wendy.”

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