Page 90 of So I Won a Werelion

“Will do.” Jenny kept her hand on my back as she led me into the living room, which doubled as the treatment area. Shelowered her voice. “Hugo was in rough shape when he came in. Head wounds bleed, and I’m pretty sure his body tried to shift, but his injury wouldn’t allow it. When he came to, he was in a lot of pain because he was stuck between his two forms. We brought him back to human, because he was more man than beast. The pain seems to be under control. We’ve given him herbs and fluids. I’d love it if he stayed here overnight—but you know how stubborn wolves can be. Maybe with your help, we can convince him to say.”

“Of course.”

Hugo’s face lit up when he saw me. His head was wrapped in a bandage, and a little bit of blood had leaked through. He’d been propped up with pillows, and he was shirtless under the quilt that had been draped over him. The room was only illuminated by candles. Evidence of the work Jenny had done remained in the form of tinctures and crystals.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” He squeezed my hand when I sat on the edge of the mattress. “I’m sorry that the catsuit is gone though. I liked that. A lot.”

“Someone’s bold when he’s a patient,” I teased.

“Tonight taught me that the future isn’t guaranteed. So when I got stuck in the middle of my shift, I vowed not to waste any more time. As a wolf or a man.”

That declaration made the butterflies in my belly dance.

“I heard Wendy had some trouble tonight too,” he added when I didn’t answer right away. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop it, Bibi. Maybe I’m not a good fit for Head of Security.”

“We can talk about that when you’re feeling better. If you decide to stay on the team, we need to give you more support. I underestimated the scope of the job. It’s not as simple as helping two people live their best lives.” Now was not the time for Hugo or anyone else to feel like a failure. “Can you tell me more about what happened?”

“Sure. I’ll tell you everything I remember. I’d done a lap of the block after you and Wendy entered the Orchid Lounge. I do that anytime you’re in a public place. Downtown, it’s a little harder to identify threats because the buildings are connected, and there are so many people around. But nothing looked out of place, so I went back to the van. On my laptop, I can access Bjorn’s footage, and tap into the bigger security network Austin set up, so I can get a feel for what’s going on in the region. I was aware of some protests at Wolf Rock and planned to check that out later on. It was a nice night, so I decided to keep the windows open, which apparently was a mistake, because Jenny said someone shot me in the head with what she thinks might have been a pellet gun.”

“Hugo’s lucky that bullet didn’t shatter his skull,” Jenny added. “None of it was embedded in his skin.”

“They didn’t want to kill you. They just wanted you out of commission.” It was a risky move. Had he been able to shift before he lost consciousness, they would’ve been in for a world of hurt. “It was Derek Jared, his wolf thugs, and some of the human locals who did this. The wolves didn’t have the balls to fight us once we found Wendy, and Jared himself is a weak wolf. Possibly a hybrid. He wasn’t able to shift when Gabe challenged him.”

“I’ve been working with Marissa. Reviewing this episode’s applications to see if we can validate Pedro’s claim a Montana wolf actually got on stage. It’s not easy because they’re not a real pack with roots.”

“Hey—I’m proud to say I’ve created my own little pack with outsiders and shifters that everyone else gave up on.”

“Right, but the shifters you chose to surround yourself with want something better. These guys are happy to burn it all down just because they can.” Hugo grunted. This conversation had tobe exhausting him. One of the reasons I had him in my circle was because the wolf was seriously dedicated.

And devastatingly handsome.

“We don’t have to talk about this tonight.” I put my hand on his arm. Electricity shot through my veins. “It can wait until you’re feeling better.”

“Someone used the address of Jared Associates on their application. And when we checked the footage, Shifter Number One looks an awful lot like a clean-shaven Derek Jared.”

My mouth dropped. “Shifter Number One was a complete dick.”

“Maybe he thought that was Wendy’s type.”

I rolled my eyes. “No more disguising our contestant’s voices on stage. So I haven’t been able to put all the pieces together yet, but this is my theory. He originally found those pieces of the Hudaknocker.”

“Hudaknocker?”

“Yes. It’s not the Sempiternal Scepter. It’s the Hudaknocker, which promotes fertility and would explain why everyone is feeling frisky once they come in contact with the relic.”

“It kinda looks like a dick, too.” Hugo grinned. “Anyway, back to Derek. I believe he did whatever research he could, because information is hard to come by, especially if you don’t run with an established pack. Came across Wendy’s work, as an archeologist and a realtor. I have a feeling Ranchero Hills had been in the works for years. He knew Wolf Rock should belong to the shifters. But when Wendy became a contestant onThe Mating Game, he thought he had a shot. And once he met her, he was pissed that she wasn’t interested in anything he had to offer.”

“It makes a lot of sense, but why would he go through all of that when he could have just asked her to do the work for him?”I asked. “Wendy would have jumped at the chance for another dig.”

“Didn’t you just say Derek was a weak wolf? Couldn’t shift? Maybe he thought finding the artifact would help him be more of a wolf. He could have just had shitty intentions, and not thought a straightforward offer was good enough.” Hugo shrugged.

“Do you think he’s the Montana wolf Pedro alluded to?”

“Might be too convenient to say yes, but he checks a lot of the boxes. Montana loves real estate, and showed up around the time Wendy got involved withThe Real Werewives, promising the Green Mountain pack all sorts of land and access when—if—we were able to help them take over Colorado Ranch. So it makes even more sense that Ranchero Hills blocks access to Green Mountain. We didn’t give them what they wanted.”

“I’d always thought they were looking for me.”I sighed.

Hugo raised a brow. “Is Bibi le Bonnet jealous that they were looking for Wendy instead?”

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