Page 39 of The Wolf and the Chimera
“What is that?” I asked Lyall. “And why the hell did you lock me out of the room from her?”
Lyall raised his hands in a ‘don’t shoot’ gesture.
“It was an oversight,” Lyall promised. “The twins felt the rush of the sorceress’s power and raced her into this lab where she’d be safe.”
The twins approached Lyall from behind and flanked him. Mirroring each other perfectly, they crossed their arms and stared me down. I snarled at them, and they averted their gazes. Kieran, Bo, and Melanie crept closer to me in silent support. In the blink of an eye, Elle had turned us from foes to unlikely allies.
“The door is spelled to lock automatically behind those with clearance,” Lyall continued. “I tried to let you in only a minute ago, but you had already journeyed into the ducts.”
His heartbeat stuttered ever so slightly, but I kept my face neutral, so he wouldn’t know I had caught him in a lie.
“And what.” I pointed at the light now lazily trekking out of Elle’s body. “Is that?”
“That,” Lyall said, “is your mate’s salvation.”
I growled. “I’m not in the mood for one of your well-crafted speeches. Tell me what you’ve done to her, or heads roll.”
“Oh shit,” Bo said under his breath.
“Don’t come between a wolf and his mate,” Melanie whispered.
“Quiet,” Kieran ordered his friends.
The twins growled and the scientists gasped, but I ignored all of them. My eyes remained trained on Lyall.
The Sovereign rubbed his furrowed brow. “We sedated her and drained her of magic.”
My wolf fought for control, and I took a menacing step toward Lyall.
“Her magic will regenerate,” Lyall promised, “but it’s the only way to quiet the sorceress in the meantime.”
“Sorceress?” Kieran said.
“How do you know it will regenerate?” I demanded.
Lyall answered me carefully, and I wondered if he understood just how close to the edge of my control I was at.
“The sorceress,” Lyall said, “though we can’t speak her name, is of godly heritage. It’s why she couldn’t be fully killed. Her power is too great to destroy completely, and as long as Elle’s lifeforce remains strong, her magic will regenerate in her because she is the current chimera.”
“I’m so lost,” Melanie whispered.
Bo shushed her.
I glared at Lyall for another heartbeat then walked to Elle’s side. In the process, I turned my back on the Sovereign, which was a huge demonstration of disrespect and one I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for. The lanky, male wolf in the lab coat quickly cleared out of my path.
“She’ll be okay,” the female wolf promised.
I prayed she was right.
As I stared down at my sleeping mate, I considered my options. I had no idea how to safely disconnect Elle from the machines they had hooked her to. If I managed to untangle her from the needles, wires, and machines, I remained powerless to stop the sorceress.
My hands were tied.
I glared at Lyall, but, as if he could read my mind, he grinned.
???
Elle
