Page 5 of So I Won a Werelion

The first contestant spoke up again, and his words reeked of stale cigarette smoke. “You’ll feel my beast vibrating through my skin any time I get to touch you. He can scent you from here. He wants you.”

Bibi and I shared a look.

Her mouth formed an ‘O’. It took a lot to render a fairy godmother speechless, but Shifter Number One could check that accomplishment off his bucket list.

“I’ll ask you to take me to all your favorite places around Sunset Springs.” Shifter Number Two saved us from having to dignify that with a response. “I want to know what you love about this town, and then we’ll make our own memories.”

“Awww.” I couldn’t help but press a hand to my heart.I wasn’t supposed to be choosing yet.

The crowd let out a collective sigh, like they agreed with me.

“I’ll take you on the wildest dates,” the third shifter bellowed. “Ones that get your blood pumping. And then I’ll bring you home and show you what it’s like to be claimed.”

“Forget Wendy. Claim me!” Someone from the crowd yelled.

I had to admit, the last part of his answer made me squirm in my seat. In a good way.

“Last question,” Bibi cooed. “And then you’ll choose which one of these magnificent beasts you want to spend forever with.”

This was it. My last chance to get a read on these three complete strangers before I invited one of them to claim me.

Had I picked the right questions? I doubted everything.

All I could do was lay my heart on the line. “Speaking of forever, tell me what that means to you. I want you to look into your crystal ball, if you have one, and tell me what our life will be like twenty years from now.”

“I love that question.” Bibi beamed. “Shifter Number One?”

“I live in the now, babe. Even when we’re mated, the future isn’t guaranteed for anyone.”

I looked skyward and shook my head. At least he was consistent.

“Shifter Number Two?” I prompted, bracing myself for another soul-destroying response.

“Hopefully, we’ll be sitting in front of a sweet cabin near one of these mountains, watching our kids go off to prom,” he said, and I swore I could hear a smile in his voice. He wasn’t saying this to impress me, he wanted it, too. “I hope that our house is the neighborhood hangout, and we can create memories that last much longer than us. We’ll travel the world, too, if that’s what you want. And I’ll make sure you know I want you as much as the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

Oh, wow.

The audience sighed with me. Shifter Number Two was definitely a favorite.

“We’ll start our own pack and live by our own rules,” Shifter Number Three boomed. “Our firstborn son will become alpha. And you’ll be my queen.”

That answer should have been romantic—it hit all the typical shifter notes— but nothing typically shifter ever worked in my favor.

“Thank you to our three magnificent shifters for answering Wendy’s questions.” Bibi turned to me. “Have you made your decision?”

I needed three thousand more questions.

Or did I?

No. I knew. “I think so.”

“Fabulous.” Bibi radiated anticipation. “How are you feeling?”

“Excited.” And absolutely terrified. What if my sister was right and I’d just made the world’s biggest fool out of myself? “And like I could throw up a little.”

“Gross.” I was pretty sure Shifter Number One said that, which was fine. The feeling was mutual.

“I hate this part.” Bibi made a sad face for the audience’s benefit. “We have to break the news to one of these shifters that he is not your fated mate. Which beast will we bid adieu?”

---