Page 17 of The Wolf and the Chimera
You decide your fate.
“Really?” I asked.
The vampire stepped closer, and every instinct urged me to run. As the cold worsened, the ache in my hip grew stronger, but I didn’t shift my weight. Doing so would be a sign of weakness, and I would not appear weak in front of this vampire.
“Come with me,” he invited and extended his hand. His fingernails were black and yellow and filed into points. “The High Witch wishes to entomb you, which we both know would be such a waste of your power. With me, you would live as aqueen. You would be treasured above all else.”
I wondered why he bothered offering instead of just snatching me. The wolves were thoroughly distracted, and the vampire far outmatched me in strength and speed. Realization made my breath catch.
He doesn’t know my power is on lockdown.
I lifted my chin and considered what hethoughtI was capable of. I could transform into some kind of beast, but the vampires fought the wolves with bravery. That wouldn’t be enough to make the arrogant bloodsucker before me balk.
Light,I realized.
In direct sunlight, vampires burned to ash.
Was the light I summoned bright enough to kill vampires?
“Treasured?” I asked and pursed my lips. “As a queen or as a snack?”
“As the catalyst for a new wave of vampirism,” the vampire replied. Greed shone in his dark eyes. “Your sweet blood would be the cure to our fatal flaw—one gulp of it would be enough to free us from the shackles of night.Youwould usher us into new heights of our power.”
“Free us from the shackles of night,” I repeated.
As I sifted through the meaning of his words, my stomach sank. The vampire might have feared my daylight magic outside of my bloodstream, but he coveted the magic that ran in my veins.
“My blood can cure a vampire’s reaction to daylight?”
Though I said it like a question, the vampire’s grin told me it was true.
“Exactly,” he purred.
Logic evaded me. Gone were my plans about how to trick this vampire. All I could think was that I possessed yet another terrible, world-destroying power. If vampires were free to hunt during day and night, the loss of life would be unfathomable. The other supernatural creatures of the world might not be enough to keep them in check.
Close enough to rumble in my chest, a wolf growled behind me. His breath was hot against my neck. I backed away to get closer to the wolf, but the vampire didn’t hesitate. He snatched me by my waist and pressed my back against his front. His body was a cold pillar of strength, and his sickly sweet scent made me gag.
I scrambled to free myself, but the vampire wrapped his hand around my throat. His long fingernails dug into my skin, but the iciness of his touch was what burned. His thumb pressed against my artery, and my blood pounded beneath his touch.
A huge, black wolf stared us down.
Ryder.
Behind him, the other wolves fought the remaining vampires, though ash littered the forest. The wolves would win this fight.
The bigger question was what would happen to me.
“Careful, pup,” the vampire taunted. “One wrong move, and your pretty mate’s blood spills.”
The vampire dragged his thumb over my artery, leaned in, and inhaled my scent. Copper and decay wafted from his breath. Shivers wracked through me, and my stomach rolled in revulsion.
“Your people are dying,” I said breathlessly. “Let me go, and they’ll be spared.”
The vampire chuckled. “You are worth thousands of those grunts.”
More ash littered the forest floor, but there was a wolf missing too. I couldn’t find Kalli’s smaller, brown-haired form. My worry intensified.
Ryder couldn’t lose his mother and his mate in the same night.
