Page 77 of So I Won a Werelion

Twenty-Five

Wendy

I jolted awake, surprised to find myself in Bibi’s spare boudoir, surrounded by sequins and wigs.I’d been having vivid dreams ever since we explored the ancient dwellings.

Most of the dreams had been of Gabe and me, which I could now confirm were mind-blowingly accurate. Some of them were at those wild parties by the fire, in others, we were alone in what appeared to be our home, and others were against that rock. I wasn’t sure if those were flashbacks or just a replay of the other morning.

But this morning’s dream was totally different. Gabe was nowhere to be found. I was being chased by a mixed pack of animals through the mountain terrain. I was barefoot, and kept twisting my ankles and losing my footing, but if I fell, I would die.

I woke up as I had been about to eat shit. My heart pounded, and I had a bad feeling about the way things would’ve ended had I stayed asleep. Waking up hadn’t been enough to stop the dream, vision, whatever, when I closed my eyes again.

I needed to write my own ending to this one.

“Good morning!” Bibi was already fully coiffed when I padded into the kitchen. Today she wore her bright pink beehive wig. She’d taken an affinity to leopard print since we started filming our episode. Reppin’ the big cats, I guess. “I have great news. I talked to Saint Lovell this morning and he thinks we have enough evidence that Ranchero Hills is ancient shifter land to extend the work stoppage.”

“How? We haven’t found any more pieces.”

“Saint might have given the town council a little more info about what was at stake.” Bibi took a sip of her tea. “Whatever he did, it worked.”

“Lars said it wasn’t a good idea to tell humans about the artifacts.” He made it sound like mere mortals wouldn’t be able to be able to wrap their heads around the concept. But I could, because I was a shifter’s mate.

I needed to get back to the library with this new information. Maybe compare notes with Laura when she wasn’t distracted by her baby. She fell under Lars’ exemption too, a human with a shifter mate. Maybe we could ask Marissa to look at things and compare notes on what she saw.

She was human…but she had been affected too.

Bibi waved her hand. “I’m not sure what Saint told them. My guess is, exactly what they needed to know. Nothing more, nothing less. He’s an influential wolf that can make things happen around here.”

“Oh, I know.” I’d been caught in his crosshairs before. And my sister hated him. Wanda would lose her mind if this project got postponed again. I hadn’t heard from her since she’d told the reporter I’d been abducted, which was how I knew she was big mad. She confused radio silence with punishment. “Speaking of that, I’d love to swing by my house and find out what’s missing from my research materials. Some of those are irreplaceable, my own handwritten notes about my studies, and they containinformation that might fill in some blanks for us. By this point, the reporters have surely gotten bored waiting for me to come home and moved on to another story.”

There was no other excuse to go home—Bibi had a whole new wardrobe delivered to her cabin for me, and someone onThe Mating Gamecrew had rescued my plants and brought them here.

“Hugo and I can bring you. Do you feel like you’re close to making a breakthrough?”

“I’ve found more information in the last week than I did in four years of college. But now there are so many new questions.” Gabe and I hadn’t had a chance to break away and do research because I was under constant surveillance.

Hugo, Lars, or one of the other guys on the security team was always with us.

Lars thought I had something to prove, and I was ready, willing, and hopefully able to do it, provided I still had access to all my research.

Bibi smiled. “Good, because I really want the two of you to go on another fun date. One that has nothing to do with things that happened a thousand years ago. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fascinating, but the viewers want sexy stuff. And I do, too.”

If the viewers had seen what had happened against that rock, they would not be complaining. My cheeks burned thinking about the whole world seeing Gabe and me in action.

“So we’ve already kind of done the lap dance thing.” I drummed my fingers against the table. “I’m not sure that will give the wow factor that we’re looking for.”

“Then we need to up the ante,” she said without missing a beat. “You seemed to like that idea, and I’ve already ordered some outfits for the occasion. Gabriel will enjoy them very much.” She tapped her finger against her chin. “What about pole dancing?”

“Not sure I can get this ass on a pole.”

“Nonsense. I’ve seen people of all sizes and ages do it at Orchid Lounge. It’ll take a little practice, but I think you’d enjoy reaping the rewards of your work.”

I could only imagine what these outfits were since the ones she’d bought me for everyday were much fancier than mine. Once I returned to my boudoir, I pulled on shiny leggings and a long lacy top. I had to admit, it looked pretty badass compared to my old real estate agent wardrobe.

I looked one more time at the relief of the wall carving I’d made.

I’d seen these letters before, and not in a textbook. I closed my eyes, trying to will the meaning to come back to me, but all it felt like was a giant door slamming shut.

My old neighborhood was quiet midmorning. Everyone was at school or work, and I was relieved I wouldn’t have to face my sister, especially if that work stoppage got approved. She’d do something outrageous to retaliate.

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