Page 19 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

“It better be for what I pay for it,” he said. He poured himself some more and faced me. “How long have you known you have the Sovereign power?”

No longer faking, I sputtered.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

He raised a blond eyebrow.

“Don’t play with me. I’ve known Kieran wasn’t born with it for a while.” His tone turned bitter. “I should’ve known you would be the one to inherit the dominance.”

I am my mother’s son.

Though I had never heard an Alpha’s mate or Sovereign’s mate referred to with any title other than Lady, our mates were our equals, and my mother possessed the same power Lyall did. Dominance wasn’t always passed down in families—clearly—but it often happened.

“I’m an Alpha,” I mumbled. “That’s all I know.”

Lyall snorted but swigged down the rest of his whiskey and slammed the empty glass on the countertop.

As his blue eyes met mine, they glowed with the dominance of his wolf.

Against my will, my own wolf rose to meet his challenge.

Strength coursed through my body and made my heart race.

As we stared at each other, the air grew taut.

The oppressive weight of Lyall’s power tried to stomp out mine, but my wolf wouldn’t relent.

We were equally matched.

Without breaking my stare, Lyall’s eyes returned to their natural hue, and I took a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. Running a hand through my hair, I shook my head.

“So, you did bring me out here to kill me,” I said.

“I’m not a liar,” Lyall argued. “I brought you here to talk. Do you want to be the next Sovereign, Ryder? ”

I took a shaky breath. Luckily, the truth was the same as what Lyall wanted to hear, though I didn’t understand how it helped us.

“No,” I said.

Though I had accepted that I would be the one to someday take over for my father, it wasn’t a responsibility I looked forward to.

I loved my pack with every fiber of both my forms, but the thought of being solely accountable for their well-being made me want to do the one thing Alphas never did—hide.

I sure as hell did not want to bear the burden of every werewolf on Earth.

Lyall grinned. “Then I might just have a solution for us both.”

Impatient with his games, I crossed my arms and glowered. “How?” I asked.

“For decades, I’ve been researching how to harness power,” he said. “In fact, it was through that research I discovered how to help your Elle.”

Help was a stretch, but I didn’t interrupt him.

“The transfer of power has always been the biggest upset to our society,” Lyall continued. “We’ve refined our beastly urges and learned to blend with humans, but dominance—who has it and who doesn’t—has remained out of our control.”

Because it’s what keeps power from being hoarded for too long by the same bloodlines.

I nodded as if this made perfect sense, but dread pooled in my stomach. Lyall’s smile worsened the sensation tenfold.

“I’ve found a way to change all that,” he said. “I’ve found a way to transfer dominance from one wolf to another.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it, unable to form a response to his words. They were blasphemy.

“The gods control the power,” I argued, “not us.”

Lyall’s grin transformed into a sneer.

“And why should we settle for that?” he challenged. “Would you really rather live under the thumb of fickle gods rather than take control over your own fate?”

I scoffed. “And give you my power in the process?”

“Not me.” Lyall stepped closer. “Kieran.”

Icy shock washed over me.

“Does he know about this?” I asked.

“No,” Lyall said frantically, “and he won’t need to know. We can knock him out for the procedure and transfer your power to his, all without him ever being the wiser.”

“You want him to lead an entire race,” I said, “but you can’t trust him with the truth?”

“He would always question his place as Sovereign,” Lyall argued.

He clasped a hand over my shoulder, and I forced myself not to push him away. Madness danced in his eyes.

“Besides,” Lyall said, “we both know the boy is better suited for the role than you are. He grew up here with a family .”

The dig snapped the leash on my temper, and I shoved his touch off me. Lyall held up his hands in surrender.

“It’s not your fault,” he amended, “but you must see where I’m coming from. Does your brother seem half as jaded as you?”

I flinched, and Lyall’s voice grew even softer.

“Has Kieran had to ask another wolf to protect his mate like you have?”

Resisting digging my claws into the bastard, I stormed out of the cabin. Lyall followed me but possessed the wisdom not reach for me.

“Think about it,” Lyall implored. “I would hate to see Elle hurt because you’re too stubborn to accept what I’m offering you.”

I whirled and bored my gaze into the Sovereign’s.

“Touch one hair on her head,” I threatened, “and you’ll get nothing from me—not my power and sure as hell not my mercy.”

Shaking with rage, I turned and shifted into my wolf form. As I raced toward the chateau, my paws dug into the ground. I didn’t flee from Lyall, but rather, from the urge to sink my teeth into him.

Another second out here alone with him, and we would see just who the stronger Sovereign was. With no idea how to control the sorceress, too much hinged on Lyall’s good graces for me to attack him.

As I ran, Lyall didn’t chase after me, but I couldn’t run from his words. They followed me all the way back to the chateau.