Midnight Kisses (Shifter Island #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,11

an academy I knew nothing about.

“So … first day of school…” I said, tipping my chin high. “Do I get one of those Alpha Academy shirts like you guys?”

Justice just growled at me.

Clearly, he was a poor loser. Note to self: don’t be on Justice’s team.

Noble shot me a look of pity, and my confidence disappeared as fast as it had come. “Yeah … about that. I think you’ll find things here on the island are a bit more formal than what you are used to.”

Rage’s gaze went to the hem of my cut-off shorts. I played with the frayed ends and shrugged. I didn’t do formal; I was from Montana. When I wasn’t training with my father, I milked goats and lay in the cornfields with Callie and Mack, talking about pack stuff. Not a single dress in my entire wardrobe.

I was about to ask another question when we drove up to a normalish quaint town that resembled something out of a Harry Potter movie. Over the next ten minutes, I inched closer and closer to the window on my right, not because Rage smelled good but the view was better. I think.

A red barn stood on a hilltop, and my jaw unhinged as I stared out the window at a huge black bear, ignoring Rage’s groan of frustration.

“Holy crap, is that a shifter or a regular bear?” I pressed my face to the glass, ignoring Rage as he pushed me back.

As if answering my question, the bear started to contort and shift, losing fur and mass until he was a naked male staring out at our passing car with stony eyes. My cheeks went red as I averted my gaze.

“Listen, if you want to keep your head attached, don’t stare at them,” Rage said. “Bear shifters have nasty tempers.”

I had no idea if he was joking or lying, so I reeled back and took it in with the buffer zone he provided.

I’d only ever grown up around wolf shifters, but my father said there were bird, seal, panther, bear, coyote, deer, and countless others living in the magic lands. Along with the mages…

The mages had nothing on humans, numbers-wise, but a mage lived anywhere from two to ten times longer than humans. A couple thousand mages could do a lot of damage in a mortal war—which was why they mostly stayed here, in the magic lands with the shifters.

Whether shifter or mage, all magical creatures were ordered to stay in the magic lands unless given permission to leave or were exiled, sometimes with their power stripped.

The Crescent Clan’s exile was instituted by the alpha king, confining us to a few hundred acres and limited access to town. If we did anything in Montana without the alpha king’s approval, there could be hell to pay. Thankfully, Amazon delivered. Eventually.

“Are there really fifty different kinds of shifter?” I asked Noble now that we were buddies. Why did everyone else need a throat punch? Maybe they didn’t. A lobotomy might work instead. But in either case, I was saved by the noble Noble.

He nodded. “But the high mages, alpha wolf shifters, and vampires are the most powerful.”

My blood ran cold. Vampires?

“I … I thought all the vampires died out in the last war?” I hated that my voice shook a little.

A creature that sucked blood from your veins to become more powerful? A shiver ran down my spine. Nightmareville.

Rage groaned and shoved his fingers into his ears.

Legit baby.

“Someone forgot their happy pills this morning,” I muttered. “Maybe you should see a healing mage for that. Or get therapy for life skills.”

He glared at me, and I glared back, unwavering. Take that, bully.

Breaking my glare-off with Rage, I turned as Honor said: “A few vampire nobility are still around, but they live off in the cliffs and don’t come to the island.”

Thank the mages for that!

“We’re here.” Noble pulled the car into a parking space, and I looked up to see a ferry sitting on a shore of deep blue water that lapped onto a black sandy beach—just like the colors of the night sky.

Whoa. Is that…?

Just beyond the misty shore loomed Alpha Island. From here, all I could see was the highest tip of the snow-covered mountain in the center of the island.

Without another word, Justice grabbed my duffle while Rage hooked a hand under my armpit, and then I was being hauled toward the boat like a criminal.

“Hey! What’s with the manhandling? I’m a willing participant here.” I jerked away