Page 53 of The Wolf and the Chimera
“Don’t play with me. I’ve known Kieran wasn’t born with it for a while.” His tone turned bitter. “I should’ve known you would be the one to inherit the dominance.”
I am my mother’s son.
Though I had never heard an Alpha’s mate or Sovereign’s mate referred to with any title other than Lady, our mates were our equals, and my mother possessed the same power Lyall did. Dominance wasn’t always passed down in families—clearly—but it often happened.
“I’m an Alpha,” I mumbled. “That’s all I know.”
Lyall snorted but swigged down the rest of his whiskey and slammed the empty glass on the countertop. As his blue eyes met mine, they glowed with the dominance of his wolf. Against my will, my own wolf rose to meet his challenge. Strength coursed through my body and made my heart race. As we stared at each other, the air grew taut. The oppressive weight of Lyall’s power tried to stomp out mine, but my wolf wouldn’t relent.
We were equally matched.
Without breaking my stare, Lyall’s eyes returned to their natural hue, and I took a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. Running a hand through my hair, I shook my head.
“So, you did bring me out here to kill me,” I said.
“I’m not a liar,” Lyall argued. “I brought you here to talk. Do you want to be the next Sovereign, Ryder?”
I took a shaky breath. Luckily, the truth was the same as what Lyall wanted to hear, though I didn’t understand how it helped us.
“No,” I said.
Though I had accepted that I would be the one to someday take over for my father, it wasn’t a responsibility I looked forward to. I loved my pack with every fiber of both my forms, but the thought of being solely accountable for their well-being made me want to do the one thing Alphas never did—hide.
I sure as hell did not want to bear the burden of every werewolf on Earth.
Lyall grinned. “Then I might just have a solution for us both.”
Impatient with his games, I crossed my arms and glowered. “How?” I asked.
“For decades, I’ve been researching how to harness power,” he said. “In fact, it was through that research I discovered how to help your Elle.”
Helpwas a stretch, but I didn’t interrupt him.
“The transfer of power has always been the biggest upset to our society,” Lyall continued. “We’ve refined our beastly urges and learned to blend with humans, but dominance—who has it and who doesn’t—has remained out of our control.”
Because it’s what keeps power from being hoarded for too long by the same bloodlines.
I nodded as if this made perfect sense, but dread pooled in my stomach. Lyall’s smile worsened the sensation tenfold.
“I’ve found a way to change all that,” he said. “I’ve found a way to transfer dominance from one wolf to another.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it, unable to form a response to his words. They were blasphemy.
“The gods control the power,” I argued, “not us.”
Lyall’s grin transformed into a sneer.
“And why should we settle for that?” he challenged. “Would you really rather live under the thumb of fickle godsrather than take control over your own fate?”
I scoffed. “And give you my power in the process?”
“Not me.” Lyall stepped closer. “Kieran.”
Icy shock washed over me.
“Does he know about this?” I asked.
“No,” Lyall said frantically, “and he won’t need to know. We can knock him out for the procedure and transfer your power to his, all without him ever being the wiser.”
