Nolan barked another laugh, this one closer than the last.

“After I kill you, then I’ll fight your dad. Once I win and your family is eliminated, Crescent gets to come back to Alpha Island with me as their alpha.”

My shock turned to sickening understanding.

The alpha king was in on this. He was the only one who could lift the banishment.

All of this: the attacks, Nolan’s ferocity toward me, it was all driven by the king. It had to be. Nolan couldn’t afford an assassin. I had no idea when he’d seen the mate mark or if this was something more, but—

“Nai! Look out!” Kaja screamed, her voice deep in the trees.

I spun as the rogue charged. I had no time to think, not even to act, only react.

Raising my hands, I produced fire in my left and water in my right, and then I shot a torrent of steam at his face; so hot his fur, and then skin, and finally his muscles melted … right off the bone.

Oh mage.

Bile rose in my throat as the wolf dropped to the ground, thrashing and writhing in pain.

I…

I forced a swallow and pulled. I couldn’t even say what I pulled at, only that I felt a surge of power course through me. I grabbed hold of it and doused the rogue with a final burst of steam, and then he stilled.

Horrified, I gulped and turned, facing Nolan once again.

The wind picked up; the trees creaked with the force of his power, and branches snapped. The gale-force slammed into me, lifting me up into the air. I lurched from the ground with a scream on my lips as Nolan’s wind power took hold of me. Up, up I went—and then the wind disappeared.

Gravity hurled me toward the earth, past a blur of trees, and pain seared through my right side as a branch sliced into me. I flailed, arms and legs waving as I pummeled toward the ground.

Suddenly, a soft force of magic slowed my fall, cushioning me. I landed hard enough to have the air knocked out of me. But gulping with relief, I tasted ash in the air as I climbed to my feet—

To the tortured cry of Rage’s wolf.

My attention shot to the sound.

Mallory and Heather were shooting fire at my mate, and Sean was staring at the dirt where a gaping hole was inching closed around the lower half of Rage’s wolf. My mate scratched and tried to climb out, but it was too late. He was trapped, being buried alive.

Something deep down inside of me, something dark and wild snapped. The tangled mess of my magic swelled, coursing through me so quickly I gasped.

My mate was in danger.

My mate.

“Stop!” I shouted, flinging my arms back to propel me forward. I flew up as if the wind were carrying me, skimming the ground as I sailed across the clearing like a freaking witch on a broomstick. I landed next to Rage, and the earth shook. Trees uprooted around Rage as he was propelled up from the packed soil and freed.

Mallory punched her brother in the arm.

“It’s not me,” he said, backing away from where Rage’s wolf now stood, whole, on solid ground.

No. Not Sean at all.

I didn’t know how… I didn’t know why… but I knew. This was one hundred percent me.

I could feel it.

I could feel … everything.

The line where the mulch met the soil as well as the soil content, how much iron it had, where the vein of quartz crystal ran through the shale, deep into the sedimentary rock. I could feel the tree roots snaking through the earth, and below the stone, all the way down to the magma at the core of the planet … I felt it all. The earth, the air, the moisture and humidity, and the heat. I was one with everything around me, even the ethers. I felt the stars, their burning hot gasses, and something blissful just beyond where this world ended. I floated over Rage, my feet skimming his fur, and all three Daybreak Clan took a step back, eyes wide with fear.

Inhaling through my nose and breathing through my mouth, I released a cooling mist to douse the fire still licking Rage’s wolf; his fur sizzled as the burns cooled.

Instead of bringing me relief, my anger spiked at the audacity of their clan—at the betrayal of my cousin and, most of all, at the treachery of the alpha king. Filled with power and indignation, I turned just as Nolan lunged for me.

Instead of modulating the power I held, I lashed out … with all of it.

Whip-like tendrils of blue light burst from my fingers, and at the same time, Nolan released the knife in his hand, sending it right for me.

Knife. When did he get that?

I exhaled a sharp breath and tilted my head, sending a gust of wind to throw the knife out of my way. The blue light from my fingertips wrapped around Nolan like bands of silk. The magic caught Sean as well, the little threads of energy twisting tight like magical string. When I felt the urge to tug, I yanked my hands apart, telling the power what it should do.

Because no one, ever, would harm my mate and live to tell about it. The entire realm needed to know what would happen if they dared try. The bands sliced through Nolan and Sean like a hot knife through butter. Their bodies fell to the ground in pieces of flesh and droplets of blood, and gasps rang throughout the entire forest.

“High crime!” the king’s voice came from somewhere far off in the woods, startling me.

Holy. Frickin’. Mage. My feet slammed to the ground as my power waned. He’d seen me rip Nolan apart through the opening in the trees, and now he came with a pack of guards, headed my way.

“High crime!” a dozen more voices took up his pronouncement, and the guards voiced their agreement, the thudding of their feet coming at us from the woods.

Was killing Nolan a high crime? Frick.

I dropped to the ground and buried my hands in Rage’s singed fur.

“Rage, they’re coming for us.” Fear and confusion stole my confidence, and the magic left me. I looked up. Kaja stared at me, her jaw unhinged. Mallory and Heather were gone.

The three remaining Midnight brothers stepped out from behind my best friend, in their human form, all of them wearing the same look of shock.

“It’s you,” Justice said, his voice hoarse. “You’re the high crime.”

What did that mean? I gulped, and tears burned my eyes. Blinking to clear them, I felt the tears drip onto Rage’s wolf as I looked down at him. “What am I?”

Rage’s yellow eyes pierced my soul, holding me captive. He bared his teeth, but without a growl or snarl, I didn’t understand. I frowned, but before I could ask why he looked like he wanted to rip my head off … he bit me.

As soon as his teeth broke my skin, his wolf’s voice filled my mind. ‘I am your shield. Any harm that comes to you will first pass through me.’

Gone was the short beast like speech of his wolf. This was … magic, a spell, a … shield spell. Dizziness rocked me, and I swayed.

Why would Rage be my shield unless…

The truth hit me like a ton of bricks.

The marks.

What Nolan said about pretending to be a high mage.

Was I … the high crime my clan was banished for?

That was impossible, right?

My uncle had committed the high crime.

My breathing grew shallow.

Was it me?

Justice, Honor, and Noble appeared before me, all in their black wolf forms. One by one, they tore at my flesh with their teeth until my blood soaked their gums.

‘I am your shield. Any harm that comes to you will first pass through me,’ Justice said in my mind.