Page 15 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

Elle

Foolish girl, the sorceress ordered. You must awaken.

Her voice was the only disruption in the calm darkness of my mind. My body floated far, far away, and with it, so did all my needless worries and fears. Rest was magnificent.

You aren’t safe here, the sorceress continued. You must listen to me.

I tried to shush her, but I couldn’t remember how to move my lips.

AWAKEN!

The sorceress’s voice rattled me, and my heart raced. It brought some of my senses back to awareness. My whole body ached with cold, and my head pounded. Rough sheets pressed against my skin. Voices murmured in my presence, but my thoughts were too muddled to decipher what they said.

Chimera, I command you to wake up.

You command me? I said. Haven’t you commanded enough?

I was trying to help you, she argued.

I scoffed. When you possessed me and made me attack Ryder?

I’m sorry, the sorceress spat, I assumed you would want the chance to see your parents again.

My heart skipped a beat.

What?

We can help each other, the sorceress promised. Her voice was fainter than before. I can help you find your parents, and you can help me achieve my goals. I’ll even let you keep your wolf.

My parents are dead.

I tried to drift back into the quiet.

Did you see them die? she argued.

Foolish hope sparked.

I didn’t reply. Taunting me with this was the most dangerous thing the sorceress had ever done to me. When she spoke again, the sorceress’s voice was even farther away.

They’re waiting for you, the sorceress said, and I can take you to them, but you can’t let these wolves drain you. You can’t let them steal our power…

Silence swallowed her voice, and I drifted into nothingness once more.

???

Ryder

I cocked my head at the Sovereign.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I found the ducts by myself. Kieran sure as hell wouldn’t help me.”

Lyall snorted. “While I appreciate this new brotherly love that has developed between you two, the vents blew your scent into the room immediately.”

Kieran cursed and swung himself out of the opening. When Melanie and Bo followed, he stepped in front of his friends.

“I only wanted to know what you were working on down here,” Kieran said. “I used my position as Heir and dragged Melanie and Bo into my plans. Whatever their punishment should be, I’ll bear it.”

Respect for my brother wormed its way into my heart. Lyall merely studied his son. For a moment, his patronizing mask slipped, and his gaze was predatory. In the next breath, he was a father sighing at his child .

“You could’ve asked,” Lyall argued. “I would’ve let you through the door. I’ve been waiting weeks for you to ask.”

Lyall and Kieran bickered, but my gaze drifted back to Elle. Sweat gleamed on her brow, but her heart beat steadily, and the hum of the sorceress’s magic was gone. Her expression had softened into one of contentment. The glowing light that seeped out of her veins had resorted to a mere trickle.

“What is that?” I asked Lyall. “And why the hell did you lock me out of the room from her?”

Lyall raised his hands in a ‘don’t shoot’ gesture.

“It was an oversight,” Lyall promised. “The twins felt the rush of the sorceress’s power and raced her into this lab where she’d be safe.”

The twins approached Lyall from behind and flanked him.

Mirroring each other perfectly, they crossed their arms and stared me down.

I snarled at them, and they averted their gazes.

Kieran, Bo, and Melanie crept closer to me in silent support.

In the blink of an eye, Elle had turned us from foes to unlikely allies.

“The door is spelled to lock automatically behind those with clearance,” Lyall continued. “I tried to let you in only a minute ago, but you had already journeyed into the ducts.”

His heartbeat stuttered ever so slightly, but I kept my face neutral, so he wouldn’t know I had caught him in a lie.

“And what.” I pointed at the light now lazily trekking out of Elle’s body. “Is that?”

“That,” Lyall said, “is your mate’s salvation.”

I growled. “I’m not in the mood for one of your well-crafted speeches. Tell me what you’ve done to her, or heads roll.”

“Oh shit,” Bo said under his breath.

“Don’t come between a wolf and his mate,” Melanie whispered.

“Quiet,” Kieran ordered his friends.

The twins growled and the scientists gasped, but I ignored all of them. My eyes remained trained on Lyall .

The Sovereign rubbed his furrowed brow. “We sedated her and drained her of magic.”

My wolf fought for control, and I took a menacing step toward Lyall.

“Her magic will regenerate,” Lyall promised, “but it’s the only way to quiet the sorceress in the meantime.”

“Sorceress?” Kieran said.

“How do you know it will regenerate?” I demanded.

Lyall answered me carefully, and I wondered if he understood just how close to the edge of my control I was at.

“The sorceress,” Lyall said, “though we can’t speak her name, is of godly heritage. It’s why she couldn’t be fully killed. Her power is too great to destroy completely, and as long as Elle’s lifeforce remains strong, her magic will regenerate in her because she is the current chimera.”

“I’m so lost,” Melanie whispered.

Bo shushed her.

I glared at Lyall for another heartbeat then walked to Elle’s side. In the process, I turned my back on the Sovereign, which was a huge demonstration of disrespect and one I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for. The lanky, male wolf in the lab coat quickly cleared out of my path.

“She’ll be okay,” the female wolf promised.

I prayed she was right.

As I stared down at my sleeping mate, I considered my options. I had no idea how to safely disconnect Elle from the machines they had hooked her to. If I managed to untangle her from the needles, wires, and machines, I remained powerless to stop the sorceress.

My hands were tied.

I glared at Lyall, but, as if he could read my mind, he grinned.

?? ?

Elle

When I drifted back to consciousness, the first things I noticed were the unbearable cold and the dreadfully bright overhead light. I brought my knees to my chest and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Elle?” a concerned, male voice said.

“Ryder?” I croaked.

My mouth was dryer than sand. I coughed, and Ryder frowned.

“Water?” he demanded.

A werewolf with mossy brown, slicked back hair hurried to my side. As she handed me a glass of ice water, her expression was pensive, but her eyes were kind. I shuddered at the cold glass in my hand but gratefully took a swig of water.

“Is something wrong with your eyes?” Ryder asked. “You’re squinting.”

I shook my head. “It’s just so bright. And so cold.”

This time, all it took was Ryder’s glare, and the she-wolf brought me a warm blanket. I wrapped myself in it with a contented sigh. As the throbbing of my head eased, and I was able to bear the light, memories filtered back to me.

Drunk, I remembered. Like an idiot, I got drunk.

I glanced around the sterile, white room in confusion. I lay in a narrow bed under florescent light, next to metallic cabinetry. A frosted glass door was beside it, and another door faced us.

“Am I in the hospital?” I asked. “How drunk did I get?”

Ryder frowned. “You don’t remember what happened?”

He clutched my hand.

“Do you remember me?” he continued. “Do you remember your name?”

I thought about messing with him and saying no, but the worry that creased his brow stopped me. I squeezed his hand.

“You’re Ryder,” I said, “and I’m Elle. What I don’t know is why I’m here.”

“The sorceress,” he whispered. My stomach dropped. “After dinner, she possessed you.”

Fear stole my breath.

“Did I—” I choked on the words. “Did I hurt anyone?”

He shook his head. “No, Ellie. You didn’t hurt anybody. I’m worried about you being hurt.”

“Why?” I asked. “How did you stop me—her?”

“I didn’t,” he said flatly. “The Sovereign did.”

As Ryder explained the procedure the Sovereign’s wolves had performed on me, something still niggled in my mind. I had forgotten something crucial.

I just couldn’t remember what it was.

“I’m happy to no longer be possessed,” I said in a low voice, “but I don’t trust this.”

“Neither do I,” Ryder grumbled. “I didn’t want to leave your side, but I’m interested to hear what Kieran has to say about all this.”

Despite what I had experienced in the last twenty-four hours, I smiled smugly.

“Really?” I asked.

Ryder rolled his eyes. “He’s not as far up his dad’s ass as I thought, okay? He’s still annoying as hell, but he might have an idea about why Lyall brought us here and what he gains from helping you.”

“He’s a nice kid,” I said. “Just admit it.”

“He was useful,” Ryder conceded.

“Let’s go see if he can be useful again,” I said and swung my leg over the mattress.

Black spots danced in my vision, and the room spun. I clutched the scratchy sheets to keep from falling over, and Ryder steadied me with a gentle grip on my shoulders.

“Easy there,” he told me. “You need to rest before you can talk to anyone.”

“Can I at least rest somewhere else?” I asked. “Being in here makes me feel like a lab rat. ”

As I sat there, I blinked away my lingering dizziness and gestured at the sterility of the room. The ceiling hung far too low, disinfectant scented the air, and the only other furniture aside from the bed was the metal chair Ryder had occupied.

“Yes please,” Ryder agreed and wrinkled his nose. “This place gives me the creeps.”

Though we could leave the sterile room, we were still trapped on the estate. Guilt squeezed my heart.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured.

Ryder frowned. “For what?”

“How are we going to leave now?” I whispered. “We can’t risk unleashing me on the public if the sorceress can possess me whenever my magic comes back.”

Ryder twisted one of my braids around his finger.

“We’ll figure it out,” he promised. “Besides, it’s probably time I stop running from this place.”

He had only come here because of me. No one would want to return to the home of their mother’s second family.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you left,” I said. Ryder scowled, and I continued in a rush. “Lyall would continue helping me. We both know he’s doing it for his own motives anyway. You could get out of here—you could help find Freya.”

At the mention of her name, he flinched.

“Don’t use her to convince me to abandon you,” he growled. “It kills me not to help her, but fate, magic, the gods—they decided I need to protect you, and I’m not going to abandon that duty.”

Obviously he would help Freya if he could, I thought, but fate has shackled him to me.

He hadn’t chosen to keep me safe because he knew me or cared about me. It was dangerous for me to believe how he treated me was the product of anything other than werewolf magic.

He was here because he was honorable.

Just like your parents.

I tried and failed to keep my insidious thoughts at bay .

They didn’t choose you. You were just given to them by some rogue witch with the instructions to keep you safe at any cost.

My parents had paid the ultimate price to keep me safe. I only hoped Ryder wouldn’t do the same.

Instead of the usual bout of despair that recalling their deaths incited, hope spark in my chest, followed by confusion. The sorceress’s voice rang in my ears.

Did you see them die?

As I braced myself for her possession, my stomach flipped, but nothing happened.

“Ellie?” Ryder asked. “Are you all right?”

I forced a pleasant smile on my face. “Absolutely. Let’s get out of here.”

As Ryder helped me to my feet, worry and confusion continued to line his face, but I was too distracted to soothe his concerns. Something continued to lurk at the edges of my memories.

You’re going crazy, I told myself. You’ve been possessed one too many times.

Unlike the usual lies I told myself, I didn’t quite believe that one.