Page 21 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

Ryder

When I arrived at the chateau, I ran into Melanie coming out of the building’s rear entrance. She wore a band tee, cargo pants, and a beanie. Her pin-straight, pink hair poked out from the hat.

“Where’s Kieran and Elle?” I asked.

She raised an arched brow at me. “Really? No hi, Melanie, how are you, Melanie? Just straight to it?”

I scoffed and crossed my arms.

“I thought you didn’t like exchanging pleasantries with me?” I argued.

“Don’t you ever forgive and forget?” she said.

When she tried to pass me, I blocked her path.

“Hey,” she grumbled. “I’ve been doing cyber-security updates for Lyall all morning. This is my only break to go outside. Move.”

The mention of the Sovereign’s name only irked me more.

“Where are Kieran and Elle?” I repeated.

She threw her hands up. “I don’t know! Did you not hear what I just said? Some of us have been working today, not babysitting your mate.”

When she shoved past me, I moved out of her way. My gaze caught on my brother approaching the chateau from the trees.

“There you go!” Melanie called to me. “He’s right there. You accosted me for nothing.”

I waited for one heartbeat, then another, for Elle to appear, but she didn’t. Dread and anger brought my wolf to the surface. As Kieran approached me carrying a basket of berries, his friendly smile withered.

“I know,” he said. “She’s not here, but she’s safely in her room.”

“Why did you leave her?” I demanded. “The snacks in your mansion weren’t good enough? You had to go gather some more?”

Kieran frowned. “She was in pain. I got these to help her.”

My stomach sank. In our time together, Elle had never complained of any human ailments or illnesses.

“What kind of pain?” I demanded.

“You know,” he murmured and stepped closer. “Womanly pain.”

Though I wanted to believe Elle was merely suffering from cramps, every instinct told me this was a ruse.

Lyall be damned, I never should have left Elle in someone else’s care.

Unwilling to waste another second on Kieran and praying to the gods that she would be there waiting for me, I spun on my heel and headed toward the room Elle and I shared. Kieran hurried to keep up at my side.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

“To find her,” I bit out.

“I told you she’s in your room,” he countered. “Why would she lie?”

Though I didn’t want to divulge Elle’s secrets, I realized protecting them might have been more dangerous.

“She thinks her parents are alive,” I said in a low voice, “and that the sorceress can take her to them.”

Kieran’s voice echoed through the hall. “What? ”

I glared at him, and he snapped his mouth shut.

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” he asked.

“I didn’t think she would actually trick you to sneak away,” I said. The truth was hard to swallow. “I underestimated her.”

“Maybe not,” Kieran said. “Maybe she wasn’t lying.”

I threw open the door to our room. Though Elle’s scent lingered inside, it was starkly empty, and her winter coat was gone.

Kieran cursed.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “She played us.”

Though my hands shook, I swallowed my panic and forced myself to think.

“She can’t leave through any of the property’s entrances and exits without getting stopped by patrolling wolves,” Kieran said.

“Yeah,” I grumbled, “unless the sorceress takes over and blasts them out of the way.”

“She’s that powerful?” Kieran asked.

I rubbed my chin and nodded. “But the sorceress also knows the Sovereign has a drug powerful enough to knock Elle out. She wouldn’t risk being incapacitated again.”

Kieran stole the words from my mouth. “So, they would need a portal to leave.”

I didn’t bother asking if there were any portals nearby. None of the Leaders lived without an escape route.

“Do you know where the portals are?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kieran said, “but where would Elle go to if she found one?”

I swallowed. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.”

“Okay,” my brother said slowly. “Okay. We’ll just have to catch her before she gets to the portal.”

“Exactly.”

As Kieran led me toward the closest portals, I checked the paths for Elle’s scent.

Though it dusted the air throughout the estate from her time living here, it wasn’t strong enough to be fresh.

We weaved through halls, then checked the portal in the garden, but all for nothing. Elle hadn’t used any of them.

“That’s the last portal I know of,” Kieran said and ran a hand through his short hair.

I released a string of curses, and Kieran winced. He opened his mouth then snapped it shut.

“What?” I demanded. “What is it?”

He cringed. “I-I was just wondering about something.”

Gods give me patience.

Kieran sighed and spoke in a rush. “It’s just that if you and Elle had claimed each other, you could use a mental link to convince her to not to leave.”

While I floundered for a reply, Kieran continued, “Why, um, haven’t you guys claimed each other yet?”

Though I didn’t appreciate his prying, it riled my wolf for anyone to think I didn’t want to claim her or that she wasn’t mine. I also didn’t want to admit the truth—that I hadn’t even told Elle about the life-altering bond out of fear of rejection.

“There hasn’t exactly been a good time to have a ceremony,” I quipped.

It wasn’t a lie. The last place I wanted to claim my mate was in Lyall’s godsdamned chateau. Where was I supposed to have the ceremony? At the creepy, magical waterfall?

As an idea struck me, my jaw unhinged.

“The waterfall,” I said and stopped.

On the cobblestone path, Kieran bumped into me, and I pushed him back. He ran into the towering hedges and cursed, but I ignored his irritation. My mind raced.

“What?” he asked.

“The waterfall,” I repeated. “What is it? I found it on my run, and the creepy twins told me to leave, but it radiated a hell of a lot of magic.”

Kieran went pale. “The waterfall is sacred. We’re not supposed to disturb it.”

“Why?” I asked.

Kieran opened his mouth then closed it .

He sighed. “I don’t know. Why do you think it has anything to do with Elle—”

“Let’s go.”

Without waiting for him, I jogged toward the eastern part of the estate and stripped my shirt along the way. Passing wolves eyed me curiously, but I ignored them. The closer I got to the gravel-lined path, the stronger Elle’s scent became. Kieran caught up to me and ran by my side.

“Wait up!” Bo yelled.

Kieran turned back, but I didn’t stop.

“We brought it!” Melanie yelled.

I stopped but only so I could ditch the rest of my clothes and shift. While I tugged my socks off, the others caught up to me. Melanie flashed a shot of chemical-smelling liquid in front of my face.

The sedative.

“Why did you bring that?” I growled.

“If the sorceress has possessed Elle,” Kieran said and gasped for breath. “How do you plan on stopping her?”

“I’ve brought her back before.” Kind of. “I’m not injecting her with that shit.”

The length of the needle alone made me shiver.

“Not even to stop her from jumping through a portal to the gods know where?” Melanie argued.

I growled, and she shrank.

“We will bring it,” Bo said, “but only as a back-up plan.”

“Fine,” I spat.

I didn’t waste any more time arguing. With a thought and a flash of pain, I shifted into my wolf form. As soon as my paws hit the ground, I chased Elle’s scent deeper into the woods. The others transformed and followed me.

As we weaved through trees and leaped over rocks, Elle’s sweet scent became stronger and stronger.

More desperate than ever to reach her, I ran faster.

My muscles burned and my heart raced, but I welcomed the sensations.

They grounded me in the moment, as did the single thought circling in my mind .

Elle.

Elle.

Elle.

When we reached the crystal-clear creek, magic buzzed in the air, and water boomed. I ran so quickly pebbles flew in my wake. The huge waterfall and the pool of water finally came into view, but the figure approaching them captured my attention. Mid-stride, I shifted forms.

“Elle!” I yelled.

She faced me, and her eyes glowed red with magic. I didn’t balk.

“Elle,” I repeated.

As I grew closer, she stumbled back, toward the waterfall. With ten feet separating us, I forced myself to stop.

“I’m sorry,” I said between ragged breaths. “I should’ve believed you. Hell, even if I didn’t, I should’ve supported you. If it were me, I would do anything for my family.”

I took a step closer. Elle didn’t move. Light protruded from her skin like she was her own sun, and her arms were lined with fur. Her claws tore into the thick coat she gripped, but she didn’t wear the hateful expression of the sorceress.

“I want to help you, Ellie,” I promised. “Please let me.”

Elle walked toward me, and hope brimmed in my chest, but her body went rigid. Pain and confusion lined her face.

“He wants to help,” she whispered. “You said you wouldn’t hurt him.”

She wasn’t talking to me.

Elle spoke to the sorceress.

Kieran and his friends—now in human form—crept closer to my sides. Elle’s gaze tracked their movements like a predator, and she backed closer to the waterfall. I held up my hand in a silent order for the wolves to stay back.

For a moment, the magic in Elle’s eyes dimmed and only longing shone in their brown depths. Just as quickly, they relit with even more extraordinary fire, and she crouched in a defensive position .

“She doesn’t need your help,” the sorceress said through Elle’s lips. A sinister smile stretched across her face. “She has me now.”

Water splashed behind me, but I glared at Melanie.

“Stay back,” I ordered.

Instead of giving the sorceress the fight she clearly wanted, I kneeled in the icy water before my mate.

“Ellie,” I said, “do you remember when we first met, and you saved me from the sirens’ thrall? It’s my turn to save you now.”

Elle’s face twisted with rage, and she raised her hand to strike me. As I prepared myself to be blasted by magic, her delicate hand closed in a fist. I couldn’t stop my smile. My theory was correct.

No matter what forces tried to control Elle, she could never harm a defenseless adversary.

“You’re still you,” I implored. “And you’re stronger than she ever will be.”

“He will hold us back,” the sorceress growled. “You can’t trust him.”

“I’ve messed up a lot,” I agreed, “but I’m choosing to be better. You can choose too, Ellie. I know you think everything in your life has been out of your control, but you’re stronger than you think. You can choose to stop her. I believe in you.”

Elle’s eyes flickered between their natural brown hue and the glowing red of the sorceress. Fur lined her arms then receded. With the crunch of bones and the ripping of flesh, leathery wings sprang from her back then retracted. A tear slipped down her cheek.

As I watched the battle of wills unfold, I didn’t breathe. In my heart, I knew Elle was strong enough to stop the sorceress.

I only prayed it wouldn’t kill her in the process.