Rage stepped between us.

“Who attacked you?” he growled in a voice that was barely human. Black fur ran the length of his arms, and his eyes gleamed yellow.

“Shifters. All kinds.” I glanced back at Nell, Rue, and Kaja, and all three sisters nodded.

Nell stepped forward and added, “Bears, foxes, selkies. They’ve all banded together.”

Honor swore. “Come on. We need to get back to the island and help.”

I didn’t have the heart to say they were too late. They’d find out soon enough.

Chapter 19

Sunlight streamed in through my window, and I warily watched the warmth and cheeriness creep across my dorm room. As soon as the light hit my bed, I threw back the covers and rolled out with a groan.

My body was good as new, thanks to that tiny sip of healing potion, but I couldn’t say the same for my mind. Legit, someone should have a chat with the alpha king regarding therapy for the students at the academy. Maybe he didn’t offer it because any decent counselor would start by telling King Declan that he was a douche-canoe. Not that anyone needed a Ph.D. in psych to figure that one out.

I still couldn’t fathom how an alpha could flee a fight; my father never would.

That night, as soon as our boat had hit the shore, Justice shifted into an all-black wolf and ran for the castle at full speed, the healing serum between his teeth.

I hoped it saved his mom.

The next day, classes were canceled for a day of mourning our dead. I laid around all day, resting and going from my dorm to Harvest’s to check on Kaja.

Today, things were back to somewhat normal. After a restless night of PTSD, I showered off the crust of cold sweat from my skin and the sleeplessness from my eyes then dried off. Looking semi-zombie-ish, I pulled on my borrowed uniform and piled my silver locks up into a messy bun, only to yank it down again with a snarl as my new mark reflected in the mirror behind me. The three clustered swirls, the symbol for air, branded the back of my neck. I didn’t even have power over air…

What were these marks? I’d never seen them on any creature. Only the moon symbol on our foreheads to mark us as alpha heirs.

One more reason I needed therapy.

As I shuffled down the stairs, I heard Nolan in the kitchen, probably rifling through the latest box of groceries from my mate. The Midnight boys had obsessed over my eating after that party on the beach, and then the boxes rolled in. It all made sense now. The temptation to scream obscenities at my cousin simmered just below my throat, but I ground my teeth and beelined toward the door. I needed to get my mate-marks covered before class.

Twenty-two Academy guards, one teacher, all the healers, and one student, Mallory’s oldest sister, had died in the coordinated attack the day before yesterday. Not to mention the other shifters, which no one bothered to count, and where was my cousin? The whole frickin’ time, he’d been cozy as a cockroach, hiding in our dorm.

Some alpha he’d make.

When I got to fire class, Rage wasn’t there. Hopefully, he was with his mother, and she was healed, happy, and whole. If anyone in this hellhole deserved happiness, it was her. How had she put up with King Alpha-Ass for nearly twenty years?

Even though today was midweek, Honor slipped me a note at lunch, saying we had a training session tonight. Dude had no mercy. Granted, my wolf wasn’t exactly cooperating, but couldn’t I have one night off? Apparently not.

After dinner, I watched a movie at Kaja’s and then dragged myself home. Opening the back door to meet Honor, I sighed with relief at his absence from the glen. Maybe he’d forgotten and I could go catch up on some much-needed sleep. Stepping down onto the crumbling patio, I felt the chill of the concrete soak into my bare feet as I stared out at the forest. I’d give him a courtesy five-minute grace period. Because it was Honor.

The weeks of failure, on top of the “you’re not like normal wolves” vibe from my first lesson, were all adding up to a big fat no bueno for these private lessons, at least as far as I was concerned.

I glanced at my watch and smiled. At least, tonight was a wash.

‘Mate.’

The low rumble of my mate’s voice caused a shiver of pleasure to stroke through me, and I grinned with anticipation.

He was one thing both me and my wolf one hundred percent agreed upon.

While the human version of my mate might or might not be a total douche, most of which hinged on whether he was Rage or Justice, he was responsible for the weekly grocery box of fresh fruits, veggies, bread, pasta, and raw meats. It was SO male wolf to make sure a female was fed, but the timing and consistency of his gifts made it seem less a play for power and more a play for my heart. Either way, I couldn’t totally hate him.

‘Mate. Come.’

Desire to be with my mate brought my wolf to the surface. I stepped off the patio and pulled my shirt off, scanning the darkness. The cooler night temperatures made my skin prickle, but I didn’t want to ruin my favorite t-shirt. I unbuttoned my jeans, the eagerness of my wolf driving me to hurry.

‘Run? Mate?’

A low growl of a foreign wolf was followed by a yip, and I froze.

No way those two sounds came from the same animal.

‘Mate?’ I sent the question out into the night and waited.

And waited.

Unease unfurled in my chest, and both my wolf and I hesitated as I stood there in my bra and underwear in human form.

Another low growl sounded, and then two black wolves stepped out from between the trees.

The pitch-black animals looked exactly like my mate, but the panicked fluttering of my heart told me that neither of the animals stalking forward was him.

I’d learned that all four Midnight brothers had jet black wolves, nearly identical.

“Honor. Noble. We tried this already, and it didn’t work.” I stepped back, and my heels bumped against the concrete step of the patio. They were constantly trying to scare my wolf out, to simulate an attack. I was in my bra and underwear, for mage’s sake!

“Knock it off!” I yelled at the black wolves.

‘Mate,’ he called for me from the woods, behind Honor and Noble or whoever the other wolf was. ‘Come.’

That voice was definitely my mate. My gaze went to the right where I’d heard him, and my mouth dried.

Another wolf, his coat just as black as the first, prowled toward me, staring at me with gleaming yellow eyes. His lips pulled back, and he snarled. Freaking Midnight brothers!

“Not cool, guys!” My heart slammed against my ribs, pumping adrenaline through me.

‘Mate. Shift.’

Did he put them up to this?

‘Where are you?’ I shouted at him, staring at the three black wolves before me.

My breaths grew shallow, and my wolf retreated until I couldn’t feel her—only the strange panic emanating from her presence.

Oh, come on!

These creatures were her kind. Why did she tuck tail and retreat?

What was wrong with her?—with me?

I straightened, glaring at one wolf and then the other. “What do you want?” Waving my hands at them to shoo, I yelled, “Get out of here. This is my territory.”

A fourth and final wolf approached from my left.

‘Mate. Shift. Now.’

I froze. All four Midnight wolves were here, including my mate.