Page 50 of The Wolf and the Chimera (The Witch and the Cowboy #3)

Ryder

The farther we traveled through the vents, the less dense the smoke became. The ventilation system had blown the wolfsbane from the closest vent in a neighboring room and into the surveillance area.

Now, it was a mere haze. Paired with our hazmat suits, I prayed our scents couldn’t be traced.

I was able to summon my wolf’s vision, but my dominance continued to loom beyond my control.

The lack of power paired with the narrowness of the ducts grated my nerves, but behind me, Melanie army-crawled with ease thanks to her smaller stature.

“I think we lost the last of Lyall’s henchmen,” she whispered.

I strained my ears. Our rubber suits scuffled against the narrow, metal walls, and our masked breaths mingled, but I couldn’t detect anything trailing us.

I opened my mouth to ask how far we were from my mate, but an achingly familiar voice snared my attention. If I hadn’t been listening so intently, I would have missed it.

“Yeah,” Kieran agreed, interrupting the distant voice.

I emitted a low, warning growl.

Without hesitation, he and Melanie stopped. Quiet stretched across the ducts, and I wondered if I had imagined Elle’s voice. In the surveillance room, she had been rendered completely unconscious by whatever sedative Lyall pumped into her body.

Movement scuffled, and a low, male voice spoke. Though I couldn’t discern his words, I recognized the deep timbre, and my hackles rose.

Lyall.

Slowly and carefully, I crawled closer. Silent as shadows, Melanie and Kieran followed me. No matter how carefully I moved, our breaths seemed unbearably loud.

Through a vent, I caught a glimpse of my bloodied, but unbroken mate. She still wore the yellow claiming dress, though it was torn and stained crimson. Her skin was ashen, and her limbs shook, as if the container she held above her head was impossibly heavy.

"You won't unleash it—not with your bastard mate still on the loose," Lyall said and swallowed. True fear lined his face and rounded his eyes. "Every second that passes undoubtedly draws him closer to you.”

Elle didn’t balk. She didn’t drop her chin an inch as she unflinchingly held the Sovereign’s gaze.

“Maybe I will put it down ,” Elle threatened. “Maybe I’ll drop it before my mate reaches us.”

Without waiting another second, I summoned claws and shredded through my suit, then through the vent itself. I dove through it, welcoming the metal that bit into my skin.

As I landed in a crouch in front of my mate, muscles and fur stretched across my shoulders. My jaw cracked and elongated, allowing room for my lupine teeth. As my feet grew claws and muscles and fur spread along my legs, I ripped off the remainder of my hazmat suit and bared my teeth at Lyall.

Already partially shifted, he grinned. “Finally.”

???

Ell e

As Ryder and Lyall fought with the speed and strength of Sovereigns, horror and awe mingled.

My mate had come.

He had come for me.

In humanoid forms, the two wolves grappled.

Their shirts had ripped from the muscles that stretched underneath them, and their jaws had elongated to allow for brutal, sharp teeth.

Claws had replaced their fingernails. As they swiped and parried and lunged and clawed, they moved so swiftly, their forms blurred in my vision.

That, however, could’ve been from the exhaustion and weakness that plagued me.

I threw the container onto the countertop and took heaving breaths to clear my head. Without the bronze in my hands, some of my strength returned, and my chimera stirred.

Ryder shoved Lyall out of the room with brutal force, and I lunged for him.

“Wait—”

Rough, male hands held me back. I sucked in a breath at the touch, which grazed one of the many wounds that covered my arms.

“Sorry!” Though the voice was muffled, I recognized it as Kieran’s and faced him.

Lifting the mask from his face, Kieran offered me a grim smile. Legs hung out of the hole in the ceiling, and a she-wolf leaped, landing in a crouch. When Melanie pulled off her mask, blood stained her pink hair.

“You should see the other guy,” she promised.

From the hall, Ryder flung Lyall into the narrow door, and it cracked under the impact. Growling, Lyall twisted and raked his claws down Ryder’s bicep. My heart lurched, but my mate roared and shoved Lyall through the door. Wood splintered, and I shielded my eyes from the debris.

When I opened them, the fight continued, and I didn’t hesitate another second .

“We have to stop them,” I told my friends.

“Ryder can handle himself,” Melanie assured me. “We need to get you out of here.”

As Kieran studied me, concern etched a line in his brow. Though pain indeed plagued me in unforgiving waves, I shook off their concerns. I searched for the silver dagger and found it on the floor. As I reached for it, growls and grunts and snarls echoed in the hall. My heart cleaved.

“Ryder could take on any wolf,” I agreed, “but Lyall—he, he—”

I took a shuddering breath and willed the calm, cool instincts of a predator to guide me.

“Lyall has injected himself with and drank my power,” I said in a rush. “He’s immune to silver, and he’s unnaturally fast and strong. He’s given it to the twins too.”

Kieran and Melanie balked.

Using the silver blade, I cut the thick swaths of the skirt shorter. I wanted nothing more than to run to my mate, but I would only be a hindrance to him in this wrecked gown. Kieran and Melanie ditched their hazmat suits.

“Careful,” Kieran urged.

As I cut, a realization struck me.

“Bo,” I said, but Melanie interrupted.

“We know,” she said tightly.

Her pain was evident in her voice, but a growl stole my attention. My mate still raged against the other most powerful werewolf of our time, made only stronger by the magic he had stolen.

We can lick our wounds later.

“We need to get out of here,” I said.

“Can you walk?” Kieran asked. As he took in my shaky, battered form, he cringed, “or run?”

I willed steel into my spine and summoned the last of my chimera’s strength.

“Yes,” I promised.

Together, we ventured through the wrecked doorway and into the hall.

Both wounded, Ryder and Lyall battled. Blood spattered both of them, as well as debris from the walls they had crashed into.

They circled and lunged and struck with matching dexterity.

Pride and fear warred. Echoing my emotions, my chimera prowled under my skin.

Through the double doors at the end of the hall, werewolves ran into the room.

Some of them wore white coats, but many of them were dressed in the pale uniforms of guards.

They hesitated at the fight before them, but one of them tried to grab Ryder.

Kieran mirrored the movement, diving to intercept it.

“ Do not interfere!” Lyall ordered. His voice was garbled by his inhuman teeth and power. “This fight is between me and this mongrel.”

Despite the command, Kieran charged closer, but Ryder gave him a warning growl.

No, I thought. No, no, no.

This wasn’t just a fight for escape—it was a challenge— the challenge that would end with only one wolf as Sovereign and the other dead.

Lyall was a coward. He never would’ve conceded to this fight if he thought there was any chance he wouldn’t win. It was why he hadn’t challenged Ryder immediately, but now…

Now, in addition to being the other most powerful werewolf in existence, Lyall had the power of a chimera flowing through his veins. He had drank it and injected it right into his vile body.

Finally, Lyall had said when Ryder attacked.

Lyall would kill Ryder.

And he will use my power to do it.

Melanie’s eyes grew even rounder, and Kieran’s expression darkened. As he spoke, he didn’t take his eyes off his brother. Beyond both Lyall and my mate, enemy wolves lurked. Glowering at us, the paced the perimeter of the challenge and searched for a way through the frenzy.

“We should get you out of here,” Kieran murmured. “ Ryder would want me to get you out of here.”

Rage tore through my fear, and I gripped the dagger in my hand tighter.

“Like hell,” I spat. “I’m not leaving here without my mate.”

As I spoke, one of the guards dove through the chaos of the challenge. He wore a hazmat suit and a mask that covered his face. Another guard quickly followed, only to be body-slammed by my mate. The move cost Ryder, and Lyall landed a punch to his ribs that made my breath catch.

Ryder merely embraced the impact, twisted, and raked his claws across Lyall’s bloodied back.

As the guard reached us, claws descended from Kieran’s fingers, and Melanie leaped in front of me. I raised the silver dagger a fraction higher and braced myself.

While the guard before us hesitated to attack, a guard with bright red hair slipped past Ryder and Lyall.

The masked guard twisted and punched the red-haired werewolf so hard in the face, the wolf collapsed. Turning back to face us, the guard removed his mask and revealed dark, angular eyes, and a tan, earnest face.

“I’m here to help,” Bo promised.

Growling with rage I had never heard from him, Kieran swiped his claws at his former friend’s face. Bo dodged the attack, and Melanie cursed.

“Kieran,” she snapped. “Kieran, wait!”

She hesitated to leave my side, but I nudged her.

“Stop him,” I ordered.

Though I was wary of Bo, he had just knocked out an enemy in our defense. If he could do anything to help us—to help Ryder—we needed him alive and unwounded.

Melanie grabbed Kieran’s right wrist and twisted it behind his back. He snarled and raged, but he didn’t fight the she-wolf. Tears swam in his green eyes, and guilt marred Bo’s face. Throughout the fight, Bo had only dodged Kieran’s attacks. He hadn’t attacked .

“Traitor,” Kieran snarled.

Bo’s tortured expression crumpled further, and his voice was soft. “I know.”

Silence stretched between us, interrupted only by the grunts and snarls of the battling Sovereigns.

“You have five seconds to help us,” I snapped, “or we will finish what Kieran started.”