Page 96 of So I Won a Werelion

“You saw that too?”

She pressed her lips together and emotion glistened in her eyes. “I kept seeing it over and over—especially after I got abducted. And I got scared that it wasn’t a flashback. I worried that it was a premonition. That those wolves would come for me again. And I was terrified to take the stage. I thought you might tell everyone you didn’t make the same mistake twice.”

“The only mistake I ever made when it came to you is not claiming you when we were teenagers,” I growled.

“The king spelled the village,” Lars said. “He made the mountains look like giant walls to any human, and forbid us from having any contact with your kind ever again. And then he took the icons and smashed them, threw them over the wall of spells so if one of us dared to bring a human into our pack again, it couldn’t last forever, and they wouldn’t be able to mate. The king was a fool for many reasons. But the biggest one was that when he tossed our icons into the abyss, we became mortal.”

Bibi put her gloved hand over her mouth. “That answers a lot of questions in modern times. The unusual mate pairings in the pride, and the inability for so many shifters to find their mates with their own species.”

“Don’t worry, Bibi. The discovery of the Hudaknocker won’t put you out of business.”Lars’ cheeks pinked. “If anything, it will bring more interest.”

“Nothing can stopThe Mating Game.” She waved her hand. “It’s not only about the pairings. It’s the promise of a whole new life.”

Wendy turned to me. “Why do you think we were brought together again?”

I’d been thinking about that too. “You were the one to find these artifacts for a reason. Any other human at that worksite wouldn’t have known what it was. Nobody else had spent their life researching the Scepter. We’d forgotten about it.”

“And you told me about it that night we couldn’t be together,” she said.

“The ancients must have been whispering in your ear.” Lars grinned. The big guy had to be happy to finally have someone to reminisce about the good old days with.

And I was more than happy to do it. Wendy wasn’t just my mate in this lifetime. She had been mine forever.

Maybe Lars and I had been friends all those years ago.

“But why me?” Wendy wondered.

Bibi put her hand on Wendy’s shoulder. “Because you were meant to be brave and to change the status quo. When you couldn’t do it the first time, the universe gave you another chance. And I demand that you embrace this knowledge and make the most of it.”

Wendy beamed at Bibi. “I won’t let you down.”

I leaned in and kissed her. “I meant what I said on the stage. I’m your plus one in this and every lifetime. And I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Chapter

Thirty-Three

Wendy

“Will you at least tell me where we’re going?” Everything started off normal. Well, as normal as can be when the plan for the day is to promise yourself to the hottest lion in this or any other lifetime in front of a live audience. I visited the hair and makeup trailer for the works, loving that they’d weaved flowers and rhinestones into my loosely French braided hair.

They’d angled the braid over one shoulder—the one without the mark, of course—and it was the perfect complement to my mating ceremony dress. It had a lace overlay, and hugged my curves until it flared out softly at my thighs. The V-neck showed the right amount of cleavage, and the thick straps balanced everything out—but in the back, they were just pearl strings so everyone could see I belonged to Gabe.

But instead of heading to the stage, I was whisked to a limo that had all its windows blacked out. Instead of a gaggle of bridesmaids waiting for me inside, I hadThe Mating Gamecrew.

“Somebody’s impatient.” Bibi tsked. She looked amazing with her baby pink wig, styled to look like a pinup girl. To go withit, she’d chosen a baby pink pants suit and a sparkly camisole. “Tell me how you’re feeling.”

“A little frustrated that I feel like we’re going around in circles. But really excited.”

“Do you remember if you had a mating ceremony the first time Gabe claimed you?”

The visions were getting clearer now that I understood them. Gabe and I had taken Lars out for a few dinners, asking him questions about what we had seen. I had a feeling it was the first time Lars had ever been in a restaurant. He was super patient with us, even when I got the notebook and quizzed him on all the things I’d learned in my studies. He loved sharing stories about the old days, and I even remembered some of the shifters he told us about.

I couldn’t wait to learn more.

“Yes, it was the first vision we both saw. We’d gathered at night around a fire, and everyone was dancing, and doing more than dancing. There was food and drink and I just remember feeling so free.”

But what he’d done had shocked everyone in attendance. The humans were meant to be toys, considered inferior. To be played with and cast away when they were done.

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