Page 44 of Relics of the Wolf

“We’ll find out.”

13

Twilight foundme in the leasing office with my finger poised over the computer’s enter key. I’d uploaded pictures of my fake artifact, showing the wolf head and the glowing rune, and used my limited photo-manipulation skills in an attempt to make the 3D-printed toy look more realistic.Usually, those skills went toward making the units for rent appear as appealing as possible.

“I feel like I’m using my talents for evil instead of good,” I muttered, twitching when someone peered in the window.

Duncan waved and held up a glass storage container with something in it. Meat?

Remembering his brisket made my mouth water. Maybe he had leftovers.

I waved for him to come in and was about to hit enter and tab to another screen so he wouldn’t see evidence of my scheme, but I paused. After hearing him speak with Chad again, did I truly think he was still working for my ex? I didn’t, but… did I want to trust him with this? I’d hoped to find and recover the artifact on my own, in case Duncan was still angling for it. It was hard to believe he was hanging around and putting this much effort into helping me all because he felt guilty over his involvement with Chad and felt heowedme.

It was possible that romantic interest, and a lack of a career that meant he had other places to be, might have him lingering, but I wasn’t arrogant enough to think I was so amazingly hot that I could motivate men to risk their lives—and deal with my belligerent family—on my behalf.

When Duncan opened the door, I hit enter on the ad I’d created. It said I would sell the supposed artifact for a hundred dollars and shared a story of how I’d inherited it from a grandparent. Once the post went live, I tabbed to another window before Duncan could see the screen.

“What’s that?” He walked in with the container and nodded toward the desk.

I snorted with the realization that even though I’d hidden the window on the monitor, the faux artifact rested next to the keyboard.

“An invaluable druidic werewolf artifact imbued with powerful magic,” I said, though the bottom of the stump only glowed for a few seconds after being touched, so it looked like a plastic toy at the moment. A polylactic-whatever toy.

Duncan picked it up. “Did it come out of a cereal box?”

My nostrils caught whiffs of meat. Not only brisket but… “Are there smoked sausages in there?”

“Andouille and chorizo. Take your pick.” Duncan put down the toy and peeled back the plastic lid.

My mouth started watering in earnest. “Those are way better than Pop-Tarts.”

“I’m going to say yes, though I don’t know what a Pop-Tart is.”

“They don’t have frosted toaster pastries in Europe?”

“They may. My werewolf genes don’t prompt me to seek out such things.”

“They crave brisket and sausages instead.”

“Certainly, my lady. Don’t yours?”

“Yeah.”

When he offered the container, the hot meats wafting their delicious scents into the air, I plucked out an entire sausage, hardly caring that I didn’t have plates or silverware in the office. Therewerenapkins leftover from a tenant bringing a birthday cake by that summer. I grabbed some of those for each of us and waved Duncan to a seat. He perched on the edge of the other office chair while eyeing the toy.

I took a bite of the andouille, and juices ran down my chin. Delicious.

“I have a plan,” I admitted, my taste buds moving me to honesty. It was possible I was far too easily swayed by delicious meat. A werewolf failing. There was a reason salami bribes worked to win over young relatives.

“Is it better than the plan I had to run my smoker all afternoon to entice you with its scintillating smells to visit me? Because that didn’t work.”

“I don’t know if anything will come of my plan either. It’s possibly more of a scheme.”

“I was visited by three homeless people and a bunch of your tenants.”

“Did you share with them?”

“I felt obligated. There used to be a lot more sausages. What’s your plan? I assume that factors in?” Duncan waved to the toy. “Icanactually sense that there’s very slight druid magic about it.”

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