Page 24 of The Wolf and the Chimera
Ryder tensed, but I rolled my eyes. All of Kieran’s comments were clearly designed to get a rise out of his brother. People didn’t poke at open wounds unless they still ached. Though Ryder failed to recognize it, I couldn’t ignore the hurt his brother clearly carried with him.
I looked up at Ryder, who stared at Kieran with unhidden disdain.
“Let’s go,” I said and tugged his hand.
He didn’t budge.
“Ryder,” I snapped.
He let me lead him past the other werewolves and into the wider, blessedly empty hall. Doors lined the cream walls, though I wasn’t sure where they led. Blue, gold, and black wallpaper stretched across the ceiling, interrupted by bright, round light fixtures.
We walked in silence, other than the soft patter of our footsteps. Throughout our journey across the chateau, we encountered only a few wolves who kept to themselves. When we crossed the threshold of our shared room, I spoke.
“What happened when Kalli found her mate?” I asked.
Ryder threw himself on the small couch in front of themonstrously large bed that was the centerpiece of the room. Guilt that he had insisted on sleeping on the uncomfortable-looking, green velvet couch, while I slept in the fluffy, white bed still gnawed at me. Asking for two rooms, though, would’ve raised suspicion, and sharing a bed was entirely too intimate.
Ryder scoffed and stared at the ornate chandelier overhead. “Isn’t it obvious?”
The guy who had pulled me out of my fear in the gym was nowhere to be seen. A cocky, hard-edged mask concealed Ryder’s emotions.
“Tell me how it happened,” I said softly.
I sat beside him and waited. When he spoke, his voice was rough.
“When a new Sovereign is appointed,” Ryder explained, “a celebration is thrown here, for all wolves to attend. Lyall was appointed when I was only four, but I still remember how excited I was to come here—to the estate of the Leader of Wolves.”
Dread pooled in my stomach. When he paused, I took his hand and waited for him to continue.
“Recognizing your mate is instant,” he said. His eyes met mine. “I don’t know what it was like for you, but for me, I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. That’s how impossible it was to ignore.”
I nodded. As soon as I noticed Ryder, everything—even the suffering of my own parents—faded away. It wasn’t a moment I was particularly proud of.
“That’s how it was for Lyall and Kalli,” Ryder said. “One second, my dad’s arm was around her shoulder, and her hand gripped mine. The next, Lyall tore her from both of our grasps.”
One moment, young Ryder had been a part of a loving family. The next, his mother had been stolen from him by the same magic that now tethered him to me.
It was no wonder Ryder showed no particularexcitement over finding his mate.
“That’s terrible,” I whispered.
Ryder snorted. “Try telling that to everyone there. The whole festival turned into a series of congratulations for the newly formed happy couple. Dad couldn’t take it, so he went home, but I stayed for a few weeks.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise, and Ryder smirked.
“I know,” he said and gestured at the fancy décor that surrounded us, including ornate bookshelves and finely crafted armoires. “Even back then, I didn’t exactly match the aesthetic, and I begged to go home. I thought…I guess I thought if I left, Mom—Kalli would come with me. She didn’t.”
“Did she visit?” I asked.
Ryder shrugged. “If she did, I don’t remember it. She got pregnant with Kieran pretty quickly, and Dad told me it was hard for her to travel with a small child. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t much older than a toddler myself. I came back here a few times, but I was too young to go alone, and it made Dad too sad to come with me. Besides, even when I was here, I wasn’t really withher.Kieran was always there, and Lyall never left the room. That day in my dining hall? That’s the first time we’ve been in a room together without the Sovereign since she left.”
“That’s terrible,” I said with vehemence. “She should’ve done more for you. You deserve more.”
My heart broke for young Ryder. He clearly hadn’t been born with rough edges. Those had been chipped into him by the people who were supposed to love him the most.
Ryder pulled his hand from mine and ran it through his dark, tousled hair.
“Yeah, well,” he said, “there’s not much to do about it now. But I don’t trust her. She stopped being my mom a long time ago.”
