Captive to the Chimera Read online

  A faint flash of light lit the shadowy room as his hand touched the Aegis. Black lines bubbled up on its creamy surface, weaving themselves into a picture. A winged lion took its place beside the other Shifters.

  Shock froze him in place. This thing saw through his illusions? How? And what the hell was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t return it like he’d planned. Not without giving himself away.

  Out in the kitchen, Lucas bumped into a chair. Reminding Griffin how little time he had.

  Worry about disposing of it later! After you’ve escaped!

  Flipping the sweater around the little shield, he strode for the door. Realizing, a moment too late, that his long strides gave a subtle clue of his true gender. His gait, so strange for a woman, brought Clay to the kitchen doorway.

  “Found them!” Griffin chirped, as he forced himself to slow and take the shorter steps that came natural to a female body. “On the floor. I must have dropped them.”

  Before he could make it to the front door, the Wolf spotted his package. “A sweater? In August?” The faintest hint of a growl warned the Chimera his deception was fraying around the edges.

  If Ash and her Mate had been together for more than a month, he would have stood no chance. But they were still getting to know each other – and people assumed that what they saw, existed. That assumption was a Chimera’s greatest asset.

  “You would not believe how high Sedona cranks the air conditioning! I’m always freezing.”

  Once more, the tension drained away from Clay’s shoulders. “Seriously? You’d think a Warren full of women would be a bit more sensitive to that.”

  “I know, right?”

  Almost there. He opened the door and…

  “You’re not leaving without giving me a kiss, are you?” the Wolf sputtered.

  If I can… yessir, I am.

  “Babe, the car’s waiting!”

  “They’ll live! Just one little…”

  Not today. Nope. Griffin rolled his eyes (in what he hoped was a charming refusal) and stepped into the hall. The moment the door closed, he bolted for the stairs, shedding bits of Ash’s form as he ran. Legs grew long, muscled, faster. Then he was himself again, tearing for the exit before the puzzled Wolf could investigate.

  Back in the car, he slipped his parcel under the passenger seat. The Aegis and Ash’s sweater were the only things that could give him away. A moment later Clay emerged from the apartment, scanning the street with a worried frown.

  Gonna be a lot more worried once he notices what I took.

  What he stole. Once more, guilt nipped at him.

  Not that he’d give in to it. That’s what a Chimera was. A thief. A liar. And, some days, an assassin.

  That’s why they hate us, the other Shifters.

  Some days he couldn’t blame them. Maddie had no idea what kind of a Mate she’d Claimed. An assassin, a thief, and a deceiver. His greatest fear was that the more she came to know him, the more she would despise him.

  But he couldn’t change what he was. He had to trust Fate. If his Chimera Claimed this women, she must be as morally ‘flexible’ as he was. Right?

  Calm once more, Griffin waited until the Wolf headed back inside. Then he pulled out into the street and started the long drive back to Stillwater.

  Chapter 9.

  “He took your keys, too?” Pissed as hell, Maddie frowned at the sweet old man. “Three trucks in Stillwater and nobody kept their keys?”

  “You gotta understand, miss,” Old Man Yazzie told her with a gap-toothed smile. “Mr. Davis is a good man. Done a lot for us. Takes good care of the people ‘round here. If he wants to borrow the keys to my truck, ‘course I’m gonna let him.”

  You… and everybody else!

  “How far is it to town?”

  “Oh, long ways.” He pursed his lips and scratched his head. “Couple days’ walk, maybe? Maybe more.”

  Maddie wasn’t taking his word for it. She stomped a couple miles down the pitted track, back to the ridge where Griffin left her yesterday. From that little rise, she surveyed the desert. Nothing. Just rocks and dirt and scrub as far as the eye could see. Even her sharp Hare ears couldn’t pick up any sound of cars. No bars for her phone, either.

  This part of the world had a ton of empty wilderness – and it looked like she was smack in the middle of it.

  By the time she made it back to Stillwater, she was a sweaty, dirty, exhausted mess. Though it hurt her to admit it, if the hike out to the ridge was this bad there was no way she could escape.

  Mrs. Grey offered her a glass of cool water and a handful of roasted pine nuts. “You should stay in the shade. Too hot to go wandering around out there.”

  “You may not know this, but I’m not here willingly. Griffin kidnapped me. I’m trying to escape.”

  The elderly women didn’t seem too surprised by her announcement. Wasn’t upset by it either – which was profoundly annoying. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

  “It’s hard to accidentally abduct people,” Maddie pointed out dryly.

  Mrs. Grey shrugged. “Bet he’ll give you a ride home once he comes back.”

  Bet he won’t. Not until he gets what he wants. He doesn’t seem to care a lot about his ‘Mate’s’ feelings!

  The people around here weren’t willing to hear that, though. Clearly Griffin Davis protected them and they adored him. To them, he could do no wrong.

  Even kidnapping was okay. Well, not okay. But they were sure Griffin had a good explanation.

  Lunch was a meat-less chili, simple but tasty. Maddie wolfed a bowl down, sopping up the sauce with a piece of Mrs. Grey’s delicious fry bread. As she finished, a plume of dust appeared in the distance. Warning that Griffin was returning.

  Time for Stage Two of this argument.

  As she watched that dust crawl closer, she reviewed her arguments. Facts and logic hadn’t managed to pierce his paranoia. What about emotion? She was his Mate, wasn’t she? Wouldn’t that matter?

  For most Shifters, the answer was a clear ‘yes.’ Shifters were passionately devoted to their loved ones. Wolves, Bears, and Dragons all had their own rituals for selecting a Mate. Even Rats would die for each other. Only Hares lacked a true Mating rite. A fact that somewhat embarrassed her.

  Plus what she and Griffin shared last night wasn’t some mere ceremony. Like Dragons, it seemed that Chimeras Claimed True Mates. Their unions were blessed – by magic, Fate, or Destiny, whatever you cared to call it. When they met their soul mate, the woman who completed them, they shared a dream. The Rite of Claiming, Dragons called it. Couples who passed through this were spiritually bound for all times.

  So, by any right, she and Griffin ought to be one, united against the world. He should sense any danger to her. No enemy could threaten her without broadcasting that menace to him. And he would know where to find her, to save her, no matter where she was.

  True love. True devotion. A true protector. Right?

  And yet…

  Maddie winced, unable to ignore a sad, bitter truth: she didn’t feel different this morning. Oh, her body felt different. Content. Satisfied. Fulfilled by a passion she’d never dreamed existed. Her heart had changed too. It sang with joy, enchanted by the idea of being in love.

  Her mind, however, was a different story. Despite what her heart said, did she truly love Griffin? Well… no, not really. She barely knew him – and she was still peeved at the way they’d ‘met’. She was sure she could love him, in time. Details of his life hinted that he was a very good man. The way he protected Stillwater, and the loyalty that its inhabitants felt for him in return. His gentleness with her, his joy when he found his Mate. All of that assured her that yes, the stories were true. They could find true love together.

  In time.

  And yet…

  And yet problems didn’t magically vanish with the Rite of Claiming. If Griffin wouldn’t compromise, she had no idea how to fix this mess. The fact that he expected her to just abandon her life, her
friends, and her family terrified her.

  Maddie had grown up with tales of True Mates. Never in all her life would she have guessed that a True Mate could be so afraid on the morning after her Claiming. Her ‘morning after’ was a horrible mess, not the glorious celebration that it ought to be.

  A mess that was about to get a lot worse. She could tell by the look on Griffin’s face as he stepped out of his car.

  “Hello.” It was the only word she could force out.

  “Hey.” He wouldn’t meet her gaze. So, so, so not a good sign…

  Her first urge was to demand that they talk, now, which was foolish. If love was the only lever she had, she needed to remind him that they were on the same side.

  Or, supposed to be.

  Better to start with something more neutral. “Did you get what you needed?”

  “Yes.” Still he wouldn’t look at her… and now his shoulders slumped, as if in defeat. There was no sign of his Chimera. Even in the presence of his Mate, he hid his soul. “I believe I have what you need to close this gate.”

  Her Hare sneezed in irritation. How would he know? Even we don’t know what we need!

  Good question. “What is it?”

  He held a bundle of white wool. A woman’s sweater? Unwrapping it, he revealed a very familiar item. One that shocked her to her core.

  “Oh. My. God,” Maddie moaned. “Tell me you did not just steal the Aegis.”

  “I shouldn’t do that,” he muttered, scowling at a rock by his foot. “You don’t lie to your Mate.”

  Maddie dropped to the ground beside her astonished Hare, landing with a hard thump. “Oh, this is terrible! This is… why?!? Why the hell would you do this? How did you even know it existed?”

  “I have sources.” At least he had the decency to hang his head.

  “What exactly did these ‘sources’ tell you?”

  Now he straightened, defiance blooming in his eyes. “That this Aegis was the key to defeating Nemagorix.”

  “Yup! That’s the story!” Exasperation added a raw edge to her words, but Maddie couldn’t rein her emotions in. “Did your source explain how to use it?”

  “No.” The fire in his eyes dimmed, sharply. “I assumed you knew… or could figure it out…”

  “Nope!” She threw her hands in the air, stewing with irritation. “No clue! We know that this thing is supposed to do something wonderful… and nobody has the foggiest idea what that is or how to do it.”

  He held it out to her, wincing. “You’re giving up too easily. Just take a look at it and…”

  “Griffin, I already have! They brought it to my Warren for research. I’ve studied the Aegis for hours this last month and I have no idea what to do with it.”

  That was the last straw. All hope drained out of him and he plopped to the ground beside her. “Well, shit.”

  Then she spotted it – the change he’d wrought on the artifact. “Oh, no. Did you attune to it?”

  “What?”

  “Let me see it, please.”

  He handed it to her at once… confirming her fears. The last time she’d seen the Aegis, three figures were painted on its face. Each of them represented a Shifter who’d touched it. A Bear for Rex Fairburn. A Dragon for Casey Briggs of the Flight of the Snows. And a Wolf for Lucas Clay.

  Now a fourth image joined them: a winged lion. Leaving room for only one more person.

  Not her, apparently. The Aegis remained unchanging in her hand.

  “What did you mean by ‘attuning’?” Griffin prompted.

  “See these pictures? Current theory is that the Aegis only works when it’s used by a group of five Shifters. We don’t know who they all are or why they’re special. It seems to pick them at random. Yesterday three were attuned.” She tapped the picture of the Chimera. “Now it’s chosen you.”

  With a flash of insight, she suddenly realized that this was very good news. Griffin was bound to the Aegis. Once you had a connection to it, the Shifter community needed you. If they returned it now, all would be forgiven. Heck, Lucas Clay had run off with it and no one punished him. Maybe this was the chain she needed to drag her Mate out of his isolation!

  Griffin didn’t see it that way. “Un-attune me!”

  “What? How?”

  Seething with annoyance, he waved vaguely into the air. “I don’t know. You’re the Witch! You tell me.”

  Why did he think she could wave her hands and make every problem vanish? “I can’t. We don’t know how the Aegis attunes to people or why. Obviously it is possible to ‘un-attune’ people. None of the last group who used it are still visible on the Aegis. But they’re dead. Long dead. And, well, we think that’s what freed them.”

  “Not useful.” Griffin lurched to his feet and began to pace back and forth like a caged Wolf. Maddie wished she could see his Chimera, to understand what it felt about this. As always, though, the man hid his heart.

  “Listen to me, please.” She laid a hand on his elbow as he passed, but he shrugged it off. “I know that you don’t trust other Shifters. I don’t understand why, but I accept it. However even you have to admit that we need their help. I can’t close this gate by myself. With my Warren, I’d have a chance. If it requires the Aegis, however, we’re going to need a whole lot of Shifters.”

  Hands balled into fists, he made a guttural, wordless snarl of disagreement. Maddie ignored it and continued, speaking as gently as she could. “Other Shifters could help defend Stillwater. The Fangs will probably attack again – and I doubt you’ll be able to surprise them a second time.”

  For a moment she dared to hope she’d reached him. Instead he coughed up more bad news. “The source who told me about the Aegis? I think he wanted me to get it so that he could steal it from me.”

  Wonderful. So they had two completely different groups lurking in the shadows, ready to attack. Maddie took a deep breath and exhaled, breathing out the annoyance that welled up inside her. “All the more reason to ask for help.” He shook his head – but she unlimbered her final, most persuasive argument. “What other option do we have?”

  “You could do this!”

  The desperation in his voice made her heart ache. Stillwater was his home. He loved it, and the people in it. The solution to this problem was obvious to her. Yet clearly trust came hard to Griffin Davis. “I swear to you, I would close this gate if I knew how. But I can’t. In fact I’m not sure even my entire Warren can do that. In the end, it may be up to you – and the other guys attuned to the Aegis.”

  “So,” she added quietly, “since ‘Make Maddie fix everything’ is not a viable plan… what other option do we have? Can you defend this place from the Fangs and your treacherous ‘friend’?”

  “No,” he whispered. She hated to see him defeated like this, but he had to face facts.

  “Do you have the resources we need to figure out how to use the Aegis?”

  “No. That backstabbing SOB was my best bet – and he didn’t know anything.”

  Or wasn’t willing to share his information, she thought. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, here’s my suggestion. You and I drive into town. I call Sedona and tell them what happened. They send a bunch of Witches and Shifters. Maybe a group of Hares can close this. If we can’t, at least we can monitor it. Warn people – and evacuate the locals – if it starts to act up. Plus anybody who attacks will face at least two Dragons and a couple of Wolf Packs.”

  “Sounds great,” he sighed bitterly, “as long as you don’t mind if I’m killed or imprisoned.”

  “I do care! I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I told you that Lucas Clay ran off with it too. If they can forgive him, they can forgive you.”

  “He’s a Wolf, not a Chimera.”

  That irrational fear again! Well, she wasn’t going to engage with it. “They need you. You’re attuned to the Aegis.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who said that death canceled attunemen
t.”

  Enough of this nonsense! He could shoot down her suggestions all day long. “Then give me an alternative plan.”

  Arguing gave him strength. When she refused to play that game, his defiance seeped away. For a long moment he stood, hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans, staring in the desert. Then he hung his head. “Here’s my plan. I give you the Aegis and the keys to my car. You take it back. You call your posse. I head out into the desert. Once Stillwater is under Shifter care, you meet me in town. We disappear, never to be seen again.”

  “But this is your home!” she protested. “You’ll lose everyone you care about!”

  At last he quieted, settling to the ground beside her. Griffin took her hands in his and leaned close. For once he dropped his guard. Open pain filled his face and his Chimera, anxiously pacing, faded into view behind him. “I wouldn’t lose you, my Mate. Abandoning this place would break my heart. But you can mend it. We can build something new together.”

  Alone. Without her friends and family. On the run from the Shifters she’d built her life around. Sure, eloping sounded romantic… until she considered everything she’d lose.

  He saw that hesitation in her eyes and dropped her hands. “Or, if I’m not enough for you…”

  “Griffin…” Why did he have to put it that way? Like the problem was her indifference rather than his irrational fear. “We’re Mates. We can’t just go our separate ways.”

  “Yes, we can. The Rite of Parting severs the Rite of Claiming.”

  Maddie had spent years studying Shifter lore and history – and she’d never heard of any such ritual. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Behind him, his Chimera gave a long, mournful roar and collapsed to the ground. Griffin ignored it. “The Rite of Claiming unites two people who could be True Mates. We still have free will, however. If we decide we don’t want this destiny, there is a ritual that breaks the Rite of Claiming.”

  “I have never heard of such a thing!” Why, the very idea was horrifying!

  Her outrage seemed to puzzle him. “Haven’t you? Chimeras have stories about it.”