Page 36 of Claimed By Monsters

I look at my wolf brothers carefully, suspicions aroused.

“Drop the rope, Snake. Let Scratch finish this.” Scar makes his order, and I shake my head.

I look past them at Fox. He is just standing around looking bored.

These men are not my brothers.

Well, Scar might be, but not the other two. The second chimera is staying out of sight for a reason. She is trying to trick us from a distance. I hiss at Scar, knowing he is the only one who can understand what I am saying. Chimera may be part reptilian, but I do not think any illusions they create are very sophisticated. If they were, I may have been fooled.

Scar blinks at me, then nods slowly. He understands what I’m telling him, and he doesn’t want to alert the other chimera that he knows. The illusions stand there, waiting.

Where are Fox and Scratch, really?

I do not know, and I can tell Scar is having the same worry.

We must end this chimera to move on.

“What is he waiting for?” Scratch gripes.

Scar looks at him. “Keep the poison. I want to be-head this one.”

Scratch frowns at him. “Why?”

“Do not question your leader,” Scar says, before he moves closer, leaning down where her throat is.

He looks up at me. “You’ll have to loosen the rope to let me do this.”

I do as I’m asked, but I remain wary.

I know my brothers are alive, but I do not like this feeling of not knowing where they are while there are illusions of them standing near us, pretending to be them.

It is not difficult to see why chimeras are dangerous creatures, but this trickery feels as if it is on another level. I will be glad when this night is over.

Scar bites a chunk out of the chimera’s throat.

Her body judders under me.

For a moment I think she’s about to awaken.

Then Scar finishes the job, with three more vicious bites, and her head rolls off into the woods.

Her body deflates under me, and I tug the rope back to roll it up as I turn.

The illusions of Fox and Scratch are gone.

They didn’t get what they wanted, which was probably to wake up this chimera before we could kill her.

“We have to find Fox and Scratch,” Scar murmurs to me. “Follow me. Closely.”

I understand his meaning. I do not wish to let him out of my sight.

We have one last chimera to kill, and she is a tricky one.

Chapter Seventeen

Fox

IhearLita’svoicewhen we’re following Scar back to the chimera. She’s crying out for our help. I look at Scratch, and I know he hears it too. Scar moves out of sight in the second it takes us to stop and turn our heads toward the sound of our mate’s voice.

---