Page 67 of So I Won a Werelion

He nodded. “She wasn’t immune.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sadness radiated from him. Maybe it was the sadness of this little cavern, with its tears constantly falling.

Bibi rose from the rock she’d been sitting on. “If Lars is willing to share what he knows with us, we can set up glamp for the night and soak in all the knowledge we can. Then we’ll use daylight to our advantage to conduct our search.”

He agreed, and we got to work setting up the tents. They were the fanciest tents I’d ever seen, with high ceilings, floors, battery packs for lamps, a pump for the air mattresses, and the softest blankets ever.

With all the shifters here, I felt pretty useless. They were stronger and faster than me. I worked on gathering wood for the fire, and Lars was the first one to join me by it.

“The spirits in the forest aren’t happy you’re here again,” he said. A strong breeze cut through the canyon. “They’ll whisper in the ears of their great, great, great-grandchildren. Pull them from their dreams. But they won’t know why they’re fighting.”

A chill ran down my spine that no flame could extinguish. “What am I doing to upset them?”

“Part of the curse was that shifters would never share the legends of the Scepter with outsiders. No one would miss their immortality because they wouldn’t remember it. But curses weaken over time. They’re fueled by emotion and belief. So slowly, the beasts began to remember, but they don’t have enough to put all the pieces together.”

I could barely breathe. “Are you telling me this because you want to make good on that promise those shifters made the last time I was here?”

He shook his head. “I’m just as interested in you as you are in me. I keep my distance from most humans. They’re loud, and for a long time, they stunk. Didn’t understand how to clean up after themselves.”

I laughed. “Thank goodness for modern plumbing.”

“You have no idea what it was like.” There was a grumble to his voice. “I’m fascinated by you, Wendy. Even more fascinated by your mate. Because he seems to have a pretty clear memory of this village.”

Gabe’s visions were real. I couldn’t freak out. “What do you think that means?”

“That he’s one powerful cat. I’m not surprised he had such a successful career in professional sports, or that he fought so fiercely against that human.”

Bibi, Hugo, Bjorn, and Marissa joined us. I was relieved that Bjorn had been too busy until now to set up the camera that now pointed at me—and Gabe, as he took the spot beside me. His hand was warm and strong on my back, and that vibration, that purring was there too.

“Can you tell us about the celebrations that happened here?” Gabe asked.

“Of course.” Lars sat with his long legs crossed and his hands resting palms up on his thighs, like he was channeling the spirits of these long-lost shifters that apparently hated my guts. “We worshiped nature because she brought us bounty. Our lives revolved around the cycle of the moon, and the seasons. Water was very important to us, because as much as it could bring us prosperity, it could destroy all our hard work. And as much as we tried to prepare, nature always had the final word.”

“When do you think the Scepter came into existence?” I asked.

“It always existed. It still does, as you’re just now becoming familiar with it. But a shifter with too much power thought he could punish his pack for not choosing him as alpha, and he vowed to get revenge. He destroyed the Scepter, and when the pack still didn’t give him what he wanted, he threw the Hudaknocker into the river.”

“Wait, there’s more than one relic?”

“There were many. The Sempiternal Scepter, The Hudaknocker, The Statue of Bounty, and many more. He wasn’t foolish enough to mess with The Statue of Bounty, but once the packs perished, fertile land turned to stone. Grass turned to sand. The earth reclaimed the statue.”

“Wow.” I hugged my knees to my chest and absorbed this information.

“Can you tell us about the celebrations that happened here? Were there any rituals?”Gabe asked.

Lars smiled. He didn’t exactly look human. He was tall and lean and there was something about him that could only be described asother. But he appeared to be about my age, with gorgeous, tanned skin, and thick, full hair. A healthy dusting of it covered his arms and stuck out of the collar of his camp shirt. And he looked like he was just as in awe of us as we were of him.

I wondered how long it had been since he’d been in such close contact with humans. If ever.

“On the nights of the full moon, we’d gather around a fire just like this one. There would be a feast, and music. Mostly percussion, rattles, and flutes. We’d eat and dance and make offerings to nature, thanking her for a good season and asking for another good one. And as the night went on, dancing would become more sensual, and the celebration would often turn into a mating ceremony. Very different than your modern ones. We mated as offerings to nature, to show her that we could be abundant as well.”

Gabe looked at me, and my breath caught in his chest. It was exactly what he’d described seeing when he held the Scepter.Heat radiated from his body.

And that vibration.

He told me he loved me. Finally. And in the excitement of all that happened, I hadn’t had a chance to let it sink into until now.

But I had to focus, because tonight all my dreams were coming true.

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