Page 48 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

Ryder

With my nose dripping blood and my ears still ringing from the hit I had taken, I stared at the pink-haired she-wolf across from me. Breathing as raggedly as I was, Kieran moved to my side and studied his friend. Like us, she was battered but whole.

Her hair seemed impossibly bright in the shadowy room. The dropped ceiling domed high above, but in the flickering light, blood spattered its pale tiles. Despite how fiercely Melanie had fought, her round, blue eyes made her look even younger than she was.

“Thank the gods you two arrived when you did—”

Kieran interrupted his friend. “How do we know?”

She frowned. “How do we know what?”

“How do we know,” he said slowly, “that you aren’t a traitor?”

Part of me hated the crack in his unwavering loyalty, and part of me was grateful to have him on my side. I hadn’t even thought to question her allegiance. Melanie’s lower lip wobbled.

“I’m not Bo,” she spat.

“How do you know what he did,” I asked, “if you’re not in on it?”

She sighed in exasperation and pointed to the wall of screens to her left. Each of them showed different angles of the chateau’s lowest levels.

“He wouldn’t answer my texts or calls,” she said, “so I decided to jailbreak this place without him. When I got here, I saw him bring Elle in on the cameras.”

Her name derailed me from my interrogation completely. I scanned the screens until I found her, and my heart stuttered.

She wore—

She wore a claiming gown.

The pale yellow fabric hugged her sleeping form and billowed into a skirt that tumbled off the sides of the narrow cot.

Golden light poured through the needle embedded into her delicate arm, through a clear tube, and into an obsidian box.

Wolves in hospital gowns milled around her, and Lyall lurked like the vermin he was in the corner of the sterile, brightly lit space.

I didn’t realize I was growling until Kieran placed a hand on my arm and spoke.

“Besides,” Melanie continued. Her smile was devious. “Why would I have already disconnected half the cameras if I was loyal to Lyall?”

Hurry, that wolf had instructed, she’s going to destroy everything!

Though I wanted to believe Mel, I couldn’t relent, not until I was certain we could trust her.

“How did you break into this place?” I asked.

“I work on Lyall’s tech,” she reminded me. “I told the guards the Sovereign wanted me to check for information leaks. When they balked, I threatened to run to Lyall. I promised them he wouldn’t be happy about his orders being questioned. They weren’t hard to convince.”

I considered her words and searched for any reason to doubt them. Her heart beat steadily, and she didn’t smell of fear, only anger and hurt, and pain.

“Luckily,” Melanie continued, “there were only a couple wolves in here when you broke out of your cell. When they tried to call for back-up, I knocked them out.”

“ Less fortunately,” Mel continued, “two more guards stormed in here while I was handling the others. The cowards ran, then returned with back-up.”

Neither Kieran nor I spoke.

Melanie crossed her arms. “Are you going to decide to trust me, or wait until the next legion of Lyall’s cronies get here? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re all a bit worse for wear. I’m not sure how many more hits we can take, or how long until the Handmaidens comes for Elle.”

My blood chilled at the reminder.

“Do you know when she will be here?” Kieran asked.

Melanie shook her head. “I only know the High Witch is coming tonight. The doctors were talking about it on one of the feeds. They were trying to figure out how much power they can draw from Elle without killing her. Lyall is pushing for more and faster, but…”

“But what?” I snapped.

Her voice was uncharacteristically soft. “They’re worried he will push her too far—that she won’t survive the procedure.”

And nobody in this gods-damned place told Lyall no.

I barely contained the urge to shift, to tear my claws through the next adversary I found and keep spilling blood until the white walls were coated in gore.

Think, think, think.

“Do you know how to get to her?” Kieran asked.

“I think so,” Melanie said, “but first, I need to shut down the rest of the cameras. Barricade the door.”

As Melanie went to the wide keypad before the wall of screens, I slammed the metal door shut and threw the unconscious bodies of our enemies in front of it.

One of them groaned, but my fist to his face had him out once more.

Part of me wanted to keep punching—to kill them all—now that I knew exactly what they were helping do to Elle .

Lyall has lied and manipulated them for decades, I reminded myself.

If I were to be the next Sovereign, I wouldn’t slaughter my people—not unless it was the only way to save my mate.

“I don’t think that’s going to be enough,” Kieran warned and jerked his chin at the wall of screens.

The stairwell was a sea of white.

“The bastard has sent every damned guard he has after us,” Melanie muttered, but her face was pale.

I took a deep breath and summoned my dominance.

A bitter, earthy smell trickled into the room.

“Get down!” Kieran commanded.

Smoke curled through the vents and flooded the dark room. Bitter, spicy, and earthy scents burned my nose. I coughed and buried my face in my shoulder.

Wolfsbane.

Like sand slipping through my fingers, my power weakened. Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and guards threw themselves against the door. The first hit rattled the hinge. The second collision loosened it.

Sitting ducks, I realized. Here we were, thinking ourselves clever, but we’re nothing more than sitting ducks.

Across the cold, hard floor, Kieran’s panicked gaze met mine.

If Lyall was capable of hurting his mate, would hefollow through on his threats and hurt his son too?

I refused to find out.

“Put your mask back on,” I told my brother.

I turned to Melanie. With shaking fingers, she continued typing.

“Mel,” I chided, “you need to get a suit on.”

She ignored me. Cursing, I searched the room for the mask I had removed and found it across the room, in a pool of blood. Cringing, I wiped it off the best I could and put it on.

As the last of the screens winked out, the room descended into complete darkness. Luckily, I hadn’t inhaled enough wolfsbane to completely deplete my wolf’s power. I sharpened my vision.

“There,” Melanie whispered breathlessly. “It’s done. They’re disconnected.”

“Get one of those suits on now,” I ordered.

I pointed toward the pile of unconscious guards. The she-wolf didn’t hesitate.

As Kieran helped her disentangle one of the wolves from their suits, I scrambled for a way out of this mess. More and more wolfsbane smoke curled into the room from the two vents in the ceiling. Luckily, the hazmat suit did what it was supposed to, and its effects on my power didn’t worsen.

When the idea struck me, I almost smiled.

I rushed to the vents and studied the several feet between me and where the one to the left was attached to the ceiling.

Willing strength into my body, I crouched and jumped.

My fingers curled around the vent but the screws in the wall held strong.

Knuckles protesting in agony, I lifted myself higher, then let my weight sink.

I clattered to the ground. The vent groaned but remained attached to the ceiling.

As Melanie realized what I intended, she cursed and moved faster.

“C’mon, c’mon,” I muttered and rose to my feet.

I jumped again, and this time, the vent crashed to the ground with me. As I absorbed the shock of the fall with my ankles, I barely registered the pain.

Smoke curled into the room and blinded my vision. Melanie and Kieran growled and flanked me.

Boom.

The door’s hinges rattled again, and I leaped into the air ducts. Using my forearms, I braced myself on the edges of the opening and crawled deeper into the ducts. Through the thick smoke, I peered down at the others through the second vent.

Boom.

The door shuddered.

“Hurry,” I commanded .

Melanie crouched and threw herself up. Though I never would admit it to her, she made quicker work of the maneuver than I had. As soon as the opening was clear, Kieran leaped in behind her. Melanie and I shuffled forward to accommodate him.

My heart pounded, and my head ached.

I glanced down and realized why. A paper-thin cut marred the glove of my suit—just enough for the wolfsbane smoke to seep through.

My power hovered at the edge of my control, but I didn’t let myself dwell on the loss. Below us, the door gave way with a crash.

“You said you explored every part of these ducts,” I said in a rush. “Was that true?”

“Have you ever known me to lie?” Kieran quipped. “You know what—scratch that, because I never knew you to be a crazy bastard, but here we are.”

As wolves poured into the room and tripped over their unconscious brethren, werewolves groaned and growled. Kieran scrambled farther into the ducts.

“Kieran,” I snapped. “Can you find Elle or not?”

“He can,” Melanie promised. “I know he can.”

Wolves tumbled into the room. I prayed the smoke would be enough to confuse them and give us a head start, but they would be on us in seconds if we didn’t get moving.

Kieran cursed, but through the thick smoke, he nodded.

“Good,” I said, “because you’re going to guide me to Elle.”

When he only stared at me, I smiled in feral delight.

“This time,” I said and gestured at the wolfsbane smoke, “they won’t smell us coming.”