Page 14 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

Ryder

Through the reflection of the bathroom mirror, Elle’s glowing red eyes met mine, and her face morphed. Her jaw extended to accommodate large, white teeth, and an inhuman smile stretched across her face. When she spoke, her voice rumbled with power.

“Hello there,” the sorceress purred.

Terror froze me in place. Elle’s eyes shined so brightly, they hurt to look at. Leathery wings sprouted from her shoulders and knocked me back a step. Magic buzzed in the air, and my wolf crawled under my skin. He was desperate to help his mate but unsure how to.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure how to help her either.

“Ellie,” I whispered, “you’ve gotta come back, okay? You can stop her.”

The sorceress threw her head back and cackled, then faced me. Arrogance and rage marred Elle’s lovely face.

“Do all wolves lie to their mates?” the sorceress asked.

Anger eclipsed my fear, and I snarled.

“What do you want?” I asked. “Why can’t you just leave her alone?”

“Leave her alone?” the sorceress repeated and scoffed. “She’s mine.”

With that, Elle—the sorceress—pivoted and hit me square in the chest with her bat-like wing. The bony ridge of it dug into my skin and threw me against the wall. As I fell to the floor, pain radiated through my back, and my ears rang. Despite the wooziness of my head, I forced myself to my feet.

The sorceress strolled calmly toward the door of our room.

Light danced off her skin like a visible aura.

It shined through her wings, so their grayish color turned red and highlighted every vein that trekked across their expanse.

Desperate to stop her, I lunged toward her, but, with a wave of her hand, light burst from the sorceress’s hand, and the magic sent me flying backward.

I crashed into the wall above the bed and landed on the mattress. As I blinked the light out of my eyes, the sorceress grinned smugly and threw open the door. She never saw the two werewolves there, dressed in hazmat suits, who thrust syringes into her delicate neck.

Before Elle’s unconscious body hit the ground, the werewolves hauled her out of the room.

I shouted and tried to stand, but with my swirling vision and the unstable mattress, I wobbled.

I forced myself off the giant bed and tumbled into the bookshelf with a grunt.

Every ounce of my concentration focused on Elle’s lilac and sandalwood scent, which moved farther and farther away.

Keep moving, I thought. Just keep moving.

As I lurched out of the room and down the hall, the dizziness churning my stomach and the pounding in my head fell to the background. I reached the staircase and half-fell down it then took a right and stormed through a nearly identical hall.

Unlike the other halls in the estate, this one led to only one white-painted metal door.

When I tried to open it, the handle refused.

I clenched the handle with all my strength, but it must’ve been reinforced with magic because it didn’t budge.

Elle’s scent grew fainter by the second, but I knew in my gut that she was beyond this door.

An animalistic roar climbed out of my throat.

“Ryder?” Kieran asked from behind me.

I faced my brother and pinned him against the wall. The plaster cracked around his shoulders.

“Where. Is. She.”

He furrowed his brow. “Who? Elle?”

“Yes.” My teeth ached with the need to shift, and I fought to hold the urge at bay. “Her powers got out of hand, and they took her—”

“Beyond that door?” Kieran asked.

I nodded, and he cursed.

“I can’t get in there,” he said. “I’m locked out, just like you.”

Kieran’s heartbeat remained steady, and his gaze never broke from mine. My grip on him slackened. Though he could’ve pushed me away, he didn’t. Lost in thought, he chewed on his lip. A small, hopeful smile lit his face.

“I think I know someone who can get us in,” he said, “but you’ll have to let go of me so I can call him.”

I released my brother but eyed him warily.

“Aren’t you going to tell me I shouldn’t worry?” I asked. “That I should trust the Sovereign?”

Kieran pulled out his phone and scoffed. “Would that line of bullshit make you feel better?”

For the first time, I considered that Elle was right.

Maybe I didn’t know my brother as well as I thought I did.

I shook my head, and whoever Kieran had called picked up.

The voice was male, but the reception down here was shitty, and I could barely make out what was said. The conversation didn’t last long.

“Let’s go,” Kieran said and turned back toward the stairs. “Bo and Melanie are meeting us there.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked. “Whatever is in there, your dear ole dad doesn’t want us to see. He won’t be happy if he finds out about our snooping.”

I didn’t give a rat’s ass if Lyall found out about me getting to my mate, but I wanted to understand why Kieran would risk such a thing.

“I don’t trust anyone except Bo and Melanie,” Kieran assured me, then added, “and Mom.”

“Yet you didn’t call her,” I noted.

Kieran didn’t respond.

We reached the stairs and took a left. The ceiling was low, and no artwork or wallpaper decorated the sterile hall.

Unlike the other hall on this floor, it was an endless maze of rooms, which reminded me far too much of the High Witch’s court.

I shuddered and checked one of the doors, but it was locked.

“There’s nothing in them,” Kieran told me. “Well, there’s only storage. This hall is a decoy for whatever they’re hiding behind that spelled door.”

“Have you ever been in there?” I asked.

Kieran shook his head. “No, but we’ve been trying for months.”

Tap. Tap.

Above us, a white-painted vent blended into the ceiling. I never would’ve noticed it if not for the tapping coming from within it.

“Took you long enough,” Melanie whispered.

“Hurry,” Bo added. “It’s only been five minutes, and I’m sick of being crammed in here.”

I blanched, and Kieran grinned. He looked so much like Mom, it hurt.

“You expect me.” I pointed at myself. “To fit up there?” I pointed at the vent.

Kieran reached onto his toes and dislodged it, which left a foot and a half wide hole in the ceiling. Melanie poked her head out and snickered.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Scared of tight spaces?”

Her insult grated my already frayed nerves.

“Just move out of the way,” I grumbled. “I’m coming up.”

Kieran fought back laughter. Because I wasn’t about to ask my kid brother for a leg up, I crouched then threw my momentum up and caught myself on the edges of the opening.

Melanie and Bo, who were nearly shrouded by darkness, scooted backward. I maneuvered myself into the space the she-wolf vacated. As soon as I was out of the way, Kieran threw himself into the vent and crawled in front of me.

“Follow me,” Kieran ordered and crawled forward.

I did as he asked and carefully avoided falling through the hole in the duct.

The farther and farther we got from the opening, the darker the duct became.

Only flickers of light crept through the sparse vents.

Calling on my wolf, I sharpened my eyesight so I could see more clearly in the shadows and tried not to think about how tightly the walls pressed against my shoulders.

“So,” I said, “how do you know this is going to get us to Elle?”

“We don’t,” Melanie replied.

“We’ve tried every other possible duct,” Kieran quickly added. “Bo’s been mapping out the routes to track our work. This has to be the one that goes into that hall.”

All I heard was that they had never made it into the spelled room.

“Great,” I muttered. “This is a huge waste of time.”

“Do you have a better plan?” Bo asked calmly.

“Beat the shit out of Lyall,” I said, “and make him take me to her.”

“Are you ready to officially challenge him?” Kieran countered. “Because that’s what it’ll lead to. All the while, Elle would be held out of your grasp.”

Because he was right, and I hated it, I cursed under my breath.

“Watch out,” Kieran said, “sharp left up here.”

“Why are you helping me anyway?” I asked.

“We were planning on exploring this duct next,” Melanie answered. “You just upped our schedule, but with Elle’s… episode , we figured Lyall’s security will be thoroughly distracted. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

I appreciated the she-wolf’s honesty. It settled my nerves more than any bullshit, self-sacrificing excuse could’ve .

“Besides,” Kieran said, “I want to know what he wants with Elle. And I want to make sure she’s okay.”

For some reason, I did believe Kieran. Despite our lack of affection for each other, he had been nothing but kind to Elle. It was hard not to be kind to her.

“How long have you been spying on your dad?” I asked.

The scuttle of bodies was the only reply. I wasn’t surprised. Spying on the Sovereign was a serious crime.

“Why can’t Elle control her powers?” Bo asked.

Touché.

Though I desperately wanted to understand what would drive the prodigal son toward treason, Elle’s secrets weren’t mine to share. I wouldn’t bargain them for information.

“There’s another turn,” Kieran whispered excitedly. “It’s in the direction of the blocked-off wing.”

“Do you hear that?” Melanie replied.

I held my breath and concentrated on listening. Nearby, voices murmured data in low tones, and feet padded across tiled floor.

A woman whimpered in pain.

Elle.

Hair sprouted from my arms, and a sharp slice of pain in my jaw indicated that my wolfish canines had extended. My body pressed tighter and tighter against the duct.

“Shit,” Kieran whispered. “Dude, you have to calm down.”

“Shifting isn’t going to help her,” Bo said. “Staying in your human form and staying calm will.”

“If you get any bigger.” Melanie took a deep breath. “Any heavier, this duct is going to collapse, and you’re not going to get to her.”

As their logic cleared my panicked mind, I counted back from ten and forced my heart rate to slow with deep, steady breaths. When my fur receded, and my teeth were dull against my tongue, I spoke.

“Okay,” I said. “I can keep it together. Let’s move. ”

I followed Kieran around the right turn of the duct and hated how slow our progress was.

My wolf writhed under my skin, but I reminded him that every inch of progress brought us closer to Elle, whose groans of pain rang in my ears.

The voices of other werewolves became clearer, and a heart monitor beeped.

“Her vitals are strong,” a female wolf said, “and the magic is being steadily transferred. It’s working.”

I crawled faster.

“Excellent,” Lyall answered.

My stomach dropped. I hadn’t expected the Sovereign to be so closely involved in whatever they were doing to Elle.

“Dad,” Elle whispered.

Panic wobbled in a male wolf’s voice. “She’s waking up.”

“I’m upping her sedation,” the female wolf said.

“She’s already capping out at what a wolf can safely take,” the male wolf argued.

“She’s not a wolf,” Lyall snapped. “Give her more. We can’t risk her waking.”

I fought the urge to growl. Though I was grateful they’d found a way to quiet the sorceress, I didn’t trust Lyall to value Elle’s wellbeing above whatever his ulterior motive was.

Kieran reached a vent, stopped, and pointed down.

They’re right below me, he mouthed.

Intent on reaching Elle, I inched backward toward the vent I had just passed. Kieran waved his hand and shook his head.

Too risky, he mouthed.

For Lyall, I thought.

I had played the part of a well-mannered guest and attended his ridiculous imitation of a family dinner. I had come to the estate, against my better judgment.

He had already stolen my family.

He would not steal my mate.

I tore the vent open and leaped from the ceiling.

In front of me, Elle lay in narrow white bed.

Needles were embedded into her wrists. One of them led to a tube of blinding light, which funneled into an obsidian container.

The other connected to an IV bag of clear, chemical-smelling liquid.

Two werewolves—a female with a slick bun and a male with an oddly narrow frame—stood at her sides and stared at me in shock.

Lyall sighed. He stood in the doorway of the small, sterile room.

“Hello there,” the Sovereign greeted. “You can tell my son and his friends they can come down from the ducts as well. I’ve been wondering how long it would take them to find this place.”