Page 25 of The Wolf and the Chimera
“What about Kieran?” I asked carefully.
“What about him?” Ryder snapped.
I sighed. “He’s young. I think he only lashes out at you toget your attention.”
Not unlike how you lash out at your mother,I thought.
“He’s young,” Ryder agreed, “but he’s already ruined. Lyall’s made sure of that.”
“Really?” I pressed. “Because I don’t think you know him well enough to make that judgment.”
Anger and hurt marred Ryder’s handsome face. He recoiled like I had physically struck him.
“Was that your point of digging up my past?” he asked. “You made me whine about my mommy issues so you could call me out for being a jerk to my kid brother, whoyoualso don’t know?”
I frowned. “Of course not—”
“Morally Superior Elle,” Ryder continued, “always calling out the rest of us for failing to be as righteous as she is.”
He stood and stormed toward the door. Anger swelled in my chest. I couldn’t believe I had almost kissed this guy.
I couldn’t believe I hadwantedto.
“Where are you going?” I demanded.
“Out,” he snapped. “Stay here. You don’t need to be wandering around this place alone.”
“Wandering?”I repeated. “What am I? A lost dog?”
He looked over his shoulder at me.
“No,” he said with a hateful twist of his lips, “that’s me, remember? I’m the stray you got stuck with—the one you’re trying to fix. Let me tell you something though. It’s not going to work.”
With that, he threw open the door and stormed into the hall. Growling, I flung a pillow, but it smacked harmlessly against the closed door.
Chapter Eight
Ryder
As I stormed down the hall, my skin itched, and my gums burned with the need to shift. The cream walls and pretentious art pressed in on me.
Outside,I thought,I have to get outside.
I rushed past random wolves and found a side exit out of the chateau that led directly into the surrounding woods. I hurried down the gravel path, past a pavilion, and into the cover of towering white pines. As soon as I ditched my clothes, I shifted into my wolf form.
Though my wolf shared my anger, he was torn between wanting to run off the excess of emotion and return to his mate’s side. He didn’t care that Elle was thecauseof his anger.
I ran into woods, but my thoughts remained with Elle. I had left her surrounded by enemies. What if something happened to her? What if the sorceress took over her senses again?
With a growl, I stopped the flurry of thoughts. Though I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, I also would not become defined by my relationship with Elle.
Relationship,I scoffed.
The gods had surely laughed when they deemed us mates. We were completely and utterly incompatible.
Maybe not completely.
As I searched for a scent to latch onto and caught whiff of a nearby herd of deer, I tried to distract myself from thememory of Elle’s supple form pressed against mine. I darted toward the scent and weaved between trees, shrubbery, and uneven, grassy terrain. Still, my thoughts replayed the almost-kiss.
