Page 123 of The Wolf and the Chimera
I forced a pleasant smile on my face. “I think we found the dress.”
As he pulled his mate into an embrace, Lyall’s grin was predatory. The champagne had glazed Kalli’s eyes, but I caught the way she stiffened in his arms. He breathed in her scent.
“You smell a bit sad, mate,” he whispered. “Who do I have to kill?”
Had Kalli drunk the champagne to try to mask her emotions?
The she-wolf chuckled, but her hand trembled. “No one, Sovereign. I’m just feeling sentimental.”
“A claiming ceremonyisa big deal,” I added.
Though I didn’t quite understand Kalli’s motives, I wanted to bolster her story. Instinct urged me to run, and my chimera writhed under my itchy skin. I fought to maintain my composure.
“Such a big deal,” Lyall agreed. His grip on Kallitightened, and where his hand clasped her arm, her skin grew pale. “Having a claimed mate means so many things, like having access to the psychic bond between mates.”
Kalli’s dull smile dropped.
“Right,” I said breathlessly. I focused on Kalli. “Thank you for the dresses, but I better get back to Ryder.”
Lyall and the twins didn’t move out of my path. I swallowed, but Lyall chuckled.
“Don’t you want to change before rushing off to your mate?” he asked. “Kalli didn’t even wantmeto see your claiming dress in order to keep its appearance a secret.”
As blood roared in my ears, I forced a small laugh.
Control, control, control…
Not just of my chimera, but of my own fear.
“Right,” I said. “Silly me. Kalli, would you mind helping me change clothes?”
With a bit too much exuberance, she nodded and tried to step toward me. Lyall’s grip on her arm didn’t budge. At her sides, her hands shook with barely perceptible tremors.
“Before I go,” I said sweetly to Lyall, “did you need something?”
His blue eyes met mine. “Oh, Elle, I need you more than you know.”
Silence settled over the room, and my control snapped.
Light flared from my chest, and claws sprouted from my fingers. The brief flash of pain was nothing to the violent song humming in my veins.
My light faded, and the twins launched themselves at me, but their swipes were messy. Disoriented by my power, they blinked and squinted.
Without moving a step, the Sovereign unleashed his dominance.
For one crucial moment, its sudden weight paralyzed me. Unaffected by Lyall’s power, the twins pounced.
The others believed Lyall not to possess the control Circe had wanted Ryder to learn, but…
They were wrong.
The twins twisted my arms behind my back so tightly, my shoulders screamed in protest. I kicked and scrambled, but the two wolves were too strong. I couldn’t break free.
I couldn’t break free.
Kalli pressed a hand to her mate’s chest.
“Lyall?” Kalli asked. “What’s the meaning of this? I think-I think you’re scaring her.”
