Page 59 of So I Won a Werelion

Laura peered at the pages and shook her head.

“Had I gone to grad school, I would’ve loved to dive headfirst into ancient languages. But after my life got threatened, getting my real estate license seemed like a better idea.” I kept turning pages very carefully. Just because I couldn’t read the book, didn’t mean I wouldn’t be able to decipher some of the story. Many of these ancient tomes included illustrations.

“I can’t believe how colorful the pictures are. I would think they’d lose their vibrancy after so many centuries,” I added.

Laura frowned. “I must be tired. I don’t see any color.”

I looked at Bibi, hoping she could confirm.

“Would you like to go back to school?” Bibi asked. It wasn’t like her to change the subject.

“I’d love to finish what I started.”

I turned another page and gasped. There was a circular drawing that covered both pages, with characters arranged like they were on a dial. Power radiated from the image, transporting me back to another time. I was surrounded by shifters. Fire. Music. Gabe was there too… and he wanted to claim me.

A tiny cry rang out from the bassinet, and Laura’s gaze lingered on the image even as she rose to soothe her daughter.

“That is one powerful image,” Bibi said softly. At least this time, she saw it too. “I think it woke up the little one.”

“What do you see?”

“I feel like…” It wasn’t like my fairy dragmother to be at a loss for words. “It’s transporting me to another time.”

“Tell me more.” My heart thundered. If she saw the same thing that Gabe had described during the vision, that I had just seen…I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it meant something.

“I feel like I’m at some sort of celebration, or ritual.” She angled the book toward her. “There are handsome shifters everywhere, and it makes me want to do something very naughty.”

“What did you find?” Laura approached, bouncing little Pearla in her arms.

“Don’t come too close!” I snapped, and her mouth dropped. “This book has some sort of power, and I don’t want it to affect the baby.”

“What kind of power?”

“Bibi and I saw the same image and it’s the same thing that Gabe saw—”

“Wendy, Gabe isn’t here.” Laura’s brow furrowed with concern, and she took a couple of steps back, pressing her baby against her chest.

“He saw it when he held the Sempiternal Scepter.” I could barely breathe. “Which means we really found a piece of it.”

Bibi put her hand over mine and squeezed it.

“Is there anything that says it’s the Sempiternal Scepter? Or is it just the same as the artifact that you found?” Laura asked.

“No.” It was good to have someone else versed in research. In citing sources. “Whatever it is, it’s still charged after all this time. And it’s the same thing we found.”

The three of us jumped when the door opened. I almost slammed the book shut, but its power wouldn’t let me.

Thankfully, it was Gabe and Saint Lovell. They were followed by Hugo and a very tall man who certainly wasn’t human. I didn’t have time to worry about what he was—I would assume he was an ally.

“Find anything good?” Gabe asked as he strode over, looking more amazing than ever. How was that even possible? Every time I saw him, he made my mouth water. He wore a button-down shirt untucked, and another pair of sinfully worn jeans that I wanted to rip off him.

His mouth dropped when he saw the image. “Damn.”

“Whatever this is, this is what we’re looking for.”

Saint came closer, his lips parting when he saw the image. Hugo and his friend had a similar reaction.

“It transports you to another place,” I said.

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