Chapter 467:

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We passed through a narrow passage I had never seen opened before. Two guards stood beside a heavy stone door, and they straightened the moment the physician approached. One of them opened it without being asked. The door groaned. Beyond it lay darkness.

I stepped inside, and the door closed behind us. For several moments, there was nothing but the sound of our footsteps. The passage descended deeper into the earth, and the air grew colder.

Then I noticed the walls. They were covered in carvings, not the crude marks I had seen throughout the den, but very old ones, some worn almost smooth by time. Mitch stopped beside one. “It’s the same symbol. The one in the Moonstone library.”

I looked again. He was right, except that this one was much older.

We reached another door. This one had no guards. The physician placed his palm against the stone, and a low vibration passed through the walls. The door opened, and warm air struck my face. It wasn’t the heat of a fire. It was something that made every instinct in my body rise. My wolf stirred. Danger.

I stepped inside, and then I saw him.

The Chimera stood alone at the far end of the chamber. He was not what I had expected. There were no twisted limbs, no monstrous claws, no hunched back. He looked like a wolf, an old one, tall and powerful, his shoulders broad beneath a dark robe. His eyes were the first thing I noticed. They were not the eyes of an old wolf. They were sharp, and he looked at me as if he had known I was coming.

“Alpha Manuel.” His voice was calm.

𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌.𝖼𝗈𝗆

I bowed my head slightly. “Chimera.”

A faint smile touched his lips. “Welcome.” His gaze moved to the physician, who lowered his head. Then the Chimera looked back at me. “I have heard much about you.”

“I doubt it was all good.”

He laughed softly. “No. But I have never cared much for good.”

I remained still as he walked closer. With every step, the pressure in the room seemed to increase. My wolf growled inside me, and I forced it down. This was no ordinary enhanced creature. This was an Alpha who had survived longer than any wolf should have, and a powerful one. I finally understood why the others feared saying his name.

The Chimera stopped several feet away. “You have been asking questions.” His eyes shifted toward Mitch. “And your assistant remembers everything. Nothing enters my den without my knowledge.”

I kept my expression neutral. “Then you already know why we’re here.”

He turned and walked toward a large stone table. “You came looking for the Chimera because you wanted to help.” He looked at me. “Do you know what separates an ordinary wolf from an enhanced one?”

“No.”

His fingers brushed over the carving. “Power.” He turned. “We learned how to make it rebuild itself stronger.”

I thought of the creatures chained upstairs. His answer came without hesitation, as though he could read my mind. “They are soldiers.” He looked toward the ceiling. “The creatures you have seen are weapons.”

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