Page 30 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

Ryder

“Elle’s training is not progressing,” Circe declared without preamble.

I glared at the witch. Alongside Kieran, Bo, Melanie, and Lee, we stood in Circe’s garden, under a trellis covered in honeysuckle. The plant’s sweet scent, paired with the various flowers and herbs sprawling around us, perfumed the air. Plush, vividly green grass sprawled underfoot.

“She did well in combat today,” Lee argued.

“Yes,” Circe conceded, “but no amount of punching and kicking will protect her from Medea.”

The witch pinned her dark-eyed stare on me.

“You have failed even more heinously than your mate,” she accused. “At least she has tried.”

My wolf’s hackles raised, and my skin itched with irritation. Behind me, Kieran inched closer. I wondered if he intended to stop me from lunging for the witch or provide back-up.

“What do you want me to do exactly?” I demanded. “I was born with enough dominance to be the Sovereign. How am I supposed to train something that the gods have deemed my birthright?”

“Spoken like a true man,” Circe spat. “You think swinging your power around like an axe should do the trick. ”

“That’s all Lyall does,” Bo said quietly, “and from what my parents have told me, Lyall’s father ruled in much the same way. It’s the only way we know.”

Circe sighed. “Dominance is meant to be wielded much like any other form of magic—with care. If Ryder here developed control, he would be able to impose his will onto enemies without making his allies crumble to his feet in the process.”

I tried to consider what she proposed and how valuable it would be with the threats closing in on us, but my attention snagged on the handful of words that held me back.

Impose his will.

My father had taught me that wolves craved structure and order. Packs needed Alphas to thrive. I had accepted the task of leading one pack, but leading them all?

Though I loathed him for it, Lyall had been right that day in his cabin. I couldn’t even protect my mate. What business did I have being Sovereign?

“Damn,” Melanie said. “That could be a game changer.”

“What about Elle?” Kieran asked. “What does she have to do with Ryder’s powers? You talk about them like they’re connected.”

“They’re mates,” Circe said. “They both need each other to be strong. Their bond needs to be unbreakable.”

As everyone’s attention turned to me, I swallowed the urge to bare my teeth.

“When I claim my mate,” I growled, “is no one’s business but mine and Elle’s.”

“Elle shouldn’t be pushed to bind her soul to Ryder’s for the sake of survival,” Lee agreed.

I nodded in agreement, but Lee didn’t meet my gaze. Circe rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

“We’ll continue that conversation later,” she conceded. “Though the two of you feed off each other’s strength, the bond between Elle and her chimera must first be addressed. ”

“What do you mean?” Kieran asked. His brow furrowed. “Elle’s chimera is Elle.”

Circe shook her head. “The beast has been locked away for too long. It’s…feral.”

Silence stretched between us.

“But,” Melanie finally countered, “feral wolves are always trapped in their animal form.”

“True,” Circe admitted, “but Elle’s circumstance has driven the beast inward. I’m not even sure her animal side knows how to come out without the sorceress’s guidance.”

“Going feral isn’t something wolves come back from,” Bo said.

“If she is to fulfill her destiny,” Circe said, “Elle must.”

My irritation swelled. I didn’t like meeting in secret to discuss Elle’s problems, nor did I like to consider a world in which she didn’t overcome them. I cut to the chase.

“What are you asking us to do?” I demanded.

“Elle’s survival isn’t enough motivation for her chimera,” Circe explained. “Something else must be put on the line to bridge the gap between them.”

“Us,” I realized.

“So,” Melanie said, “you’re going to threaten our lives, and if Elle’s chimera doesn’t come out to play, you’ll kill us?”

Circe opened her mouth to reply, but Bo beat her to it.

“No,” he said quietly. “Elle’s beast didn’t appreciate being challenged by the minotaur. Circe’s going to challenge Elle to save us from something, and she’ll do it in a way that Elle can’t beat the challenge without using her powers.”

Circe nodded.

“It won’t be comfortable for any of you,” Circe said and focused on me, “but especially not for you. You’re her greatest motivation. The challenge of saving you must be the greatest as well.”

“Does Imogen know about this?” Lee cut in.

Circe nodded. “We discussed it early this morning.”

Lee cursed under his breath .

“What if we don’t agree to this challenge?” Kieran asked.

“I have no use for a feral chimera and her friends,” Circe said. “I’ll take you to the ripple and let it spit you out wherever it pleases. You won’t get my aid again.”

I hated the witch’s cool, callous tone as much as I hated the corner she had backed us into. Though I wanted to curse Circe and her training methods, we were screwed without her help.

We were even more screwed if Elle didn’t sort things out with her chimera.

Besides, my heart hurt for my mate. I couldn’t imagine such a rift coming between me and my wolf. We were one.

She deserved to experience the same.

“I’ll do it,” I said. I turned to my brother and his loyal friends. “If you guys don’t want to, I understand, but I think Elle deserves to be united with her chimera.”

Kieran punched my shoulder, and Melanie frowned.

“You’re not the only one who cares about her,” the she-wolf sniped and crossed her arms. “We’re in.”

Bo and Kieran nodded their agreement.

“I believe in her,” Kieran said. “I’m in.”

Clearly torn, Lee stared holes into the grassy floor. I couldn’t help but respect the man for being so careful about his daughter.

“She can do this,” I assured him.

He sighed. “Give her a few more days. Then—then, I’ll do it.”

Circe nodded and disappeared in a flash of light.

When his gaze met mine, a silent question passed between us.

What have we done?

???

Ell e

Days passed, and I cursed the vow I had made to my reflection.

It cast a shadow on every second in Circe’s realm because every second was another moment wasted. The ancient witch had taken me to landscapes of every kind, offered words of encouragement, criticism that grated my nerves, and literally thrown daggers at me, all to no avail.

I couldn’t control a shift, nor could I summon even a tendril of light.

Though Dad’s, Ryder’s and Mom’s help had improved my combat skills, my chimera continued to loom outside my control. When I needed heightened hearing, I sprouted talons. When I wanted to grow wings, fur lined my shoulders.

Sometimes, I wondered if being at the mercy of my inner beast was any different from being under the sorceress’s thrall.

At least my creature would never hurt Ryder.

No. My beast was so infatuated with him, she now barely tolerated when he left her sight.

In Circe’s library, I sat at one of many broad, oak tables and tried to focus on the pages of the thick book in front of me, but my thoughts drifted like rogue waves.

Control, control, control.

The witch had said the word so many times, I wondered if it looped in her mind like it did in mine.

A clock chimed, and I snapped my attention back to the book.

Like my other mornings in this realm, Circe had flashed into our room at dawn and ordered me out of bed to begin my historical studies.

I still didn’t quite understand why I was in a library instead of trying to coax my chimera into cooperation.

At least Circe woke you instead of your parents, I thought.

I had been entangled in Ryder’s warm, muscular limbs.

Though we had started the night at opposite sides of the huge bed, like magnets, we had found each other in sleep.

Thinking about the dreams his nearness had summoned—tangled limbs and hot kisses and exploratory touches—stroked a fire within me, and I squirmed in my seat.

Across the room, Ryder’s nostrils flared, and his amber eyes glowed.

“You’re not thinking about the book, Ellie,” he chided.

Though rows of oak tables separated us, his gaze was like a gentle caress against my skin. With casual grace, he leaned against the bookshelves lining the walls. Light from the towering windows streaked across the harsh angles of his face.

As he stared at me, my inner beast rose to attention. With each day that passed, she became more impossible to ignore. It was like she had woken from a deep sleep and needed time to regain full awareness.

I often wished she’d slither back into silence.

Judging by her irritation, which bled into mine like a wound, the feeling was mutual.

Much to Ryder’s immense satisfaction, she had driven me to snarl at Melanie serval times for getting too close to her mate. This morning, when Kieran had tried to convince Ryder to leave us to train with the other werewolves and my parents, rage had flooded my veins as hot as my magic.

Why should Ryder be anywhere but at our side?

Though Ryder needed to learn to wield his dominance like a weapon, he refused, largely because of my out-of-control instincts. He was the only thing that calmed my inner beast.

I had thought gaining access to my power would make me stronger, but it had only turned me into a greater liability.

And an emotional one.

The constant torrent of the beast’s feelings had worn my temper down. Though I had vowed to find my stronger self, part of me now wished to retreat to the girl I had been before I had ever met my inner beast.

Besides, she refused to come to the surface to do anything more than snarl and posture. Her antics were entirely useless.

I had begged Circe to begin my training today with combat, if only to try to wear my monstrous side down, but the witch had glowered at me and told me that learning my true history was the only way to fully understand my inner beast.

As my hunger for Ryder rose and my frustration over the distance between us swelled, I didn’t want to understand my inner beast.

I wanted her to shut up.

“Why does it matter what I’m really thinking about?” I asked Ryder. “You’re not going to do anything about it.”

I couldn’t believe the bold words had come out of my mouth, but I didn’t snatch them back. As his power swelled, Ryder’s woodsy, masculine scent flooded the room. Heat curled in the pit of my stomach.

“Your attitude proves why I’m right to use restraint,” he said and clenched his jaw. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

My face burned. Ryder was right—even Circe had said I possessed the discipline of a child.

Knowing he only held back to honor me, however, did nothing to ease my stinging pride.

Because of my lack of control, Ryder and I acted more like roommates than soulmates.

Well, roommates with a lot of sexual frustration.

Control, control, control…

“Ellie,” Ryder said in a velvet-soft voice. “You know I want you—”

“I know I’m supposed to be reading,” I snapped, “and your interruptions are making that exceptionally hard to do.”

Ryder growled, but before he could reply, someone behind me sighed. I swiveled in my seat and found Circe glaring at both of us from the open doorway.

“I see your studies are going well.” The witch’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Why don’t you two claim the bond already so we might actually accomplish something?”

Though my beast preened, Ryder cursed, and I balked.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly. “Claim the bond? We’re mates. Isn’t that all there is to it?”

Circe studied Ryder, then me, and shook her head.

“Ask your mate about it sometime,” the witch instructed. “For now, tell me what you’ve learned in the past hour.”

I thought back to the ceremony Ryder had mentioned for newly mated couples and realized that must be what “claiming the bond” meant. My mind, however, became caught on the fact that an hour had passed, and I had learned nothing.

“Um,” I said, “chimeras were once protectors of all shifters thanks to their powerful forms.”

A muscle in Circe’s jaw twitched. “And?”

I struggled to think about the words that had blurred across the pages. I was an adept reader, but between Ryder’s presence and the extra set of instincts wreaking havoc on my mind, focusing had been a challenge.

So much for becoming stronger, I thought. Now, even the things I was once good at are impossible.

My answer sounded like a question. “They were a matriarchal society?”

Circe growled in frustration.

“I had hoped to give you a historical basis from which to derive your power,” she snapped, “but if you insist on thinking about werewolves instead of the knowledge you need to save the world, then I suppose your history lessons shall have to wait.”

Circe snapped her fingers, and I squinted against the harsh, sudden light.

When I opened my eyes, I stood in the center of the coliseum.

Even with my linen shirt and pants, the sun’s heat was oppressive.

Where the sand touched my sandal-clad feet, it burned.

Ryder walked closer to me, but my attention caught on sparring across the arena.

With movements as fluid as a dancer, Dad fought Kieran, who turned and kicked and stepped with a wolf’s swiftness in his human form.

Melanie, Bo, and Mom stood to the side, watching the fight.

I strained to listen to their conversation, but I failed to summon my beast’s sharper hearing.

Though some nights I couldn’t sleep thanks to her keener senses, they never came to me when I actually summoned them .

Upon our arrival, the three onlookers turned to face us. Kieran’s green-eyed gaze snagged on us, and Dad used the moment to sweep his leg. The young werewolf hit the ground hard.

“There’s your combat lesson for the day,” Circe said. “Never let your enemy catch you off-guard.”

“What’s the meaning of this?” Dad called and helped Kieran to his feet.

“Considering Elle couldn’t keep her attention off her mate long enough to read a couple chapters,” Circe said as the others walked closer. Embarrassment made me flush. “I thought she might benefit more from that group training we discussed earlier.”

I balked, but everyone else’s faces became lined with grim determination.

An apology brimmed in Ryder’s eyes.

“What do you mean ‘group training?’” I asked.

When Circe faced me, she wore a wild grin. “You’ll see.”