Midnight Kisses (Shifter Island #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,34

sparring matches at home? Right now, it felt like she had a mind of her own.

I raced out of the front door and padded along the trail, the sleek black wolf right beside me. My fingers were wound into his black fur, and my heart raced a mile a minute.

Mate.

Fated mates.

Holy frick.

He wasn’t from Crescent Clan—which was a problem. Big problem. Mating outside of one’s clan was forbidden; it diluted powers.

Besides, my father had a plan for me: I was supposed to go home to Montana, take up his position as alpha, and mate with a nice man from Crescent. My dad suggested Garret every chance he got, and the guy wasn’t bad, so I’d never been opposed to the idea. But that was before.

Intentionally mating with another alpha heir from another clan would be treasonous. But could fate be wrong?

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t even realize when we’d reached the back door of my dorm. It was dark out, the moon high in the sky, only casting a small amount of light, and there wasn’t a soul outside the building except me and my mate.

I knelt down and met the wolf’s yellow eyes threaded through with blades of green. “You can shift now. I’m safe. You don’t need to protect me anymore.”

His eyes flared from yellow back to green, and as his form shifted, he stood tall and muscular, wearing the same tuxedo and black mask.

Damn.

Only really strong alpha heirs had enough magic to shift and hold on to their clothes while they did so. My mate was powerful.

He tucked me into his body, and I nestled closer. This was where I needed to be. It didn’t matter which clan he was from or who he was beyond mine.

My mate.

Wanting him to know who I was, I tugged off my mask and peered up at him. “I’m Nai, from Crescent Clan.”

He nodded once then swallowed hard. He pursed his lips, and his jaw stiffened as if he were trying to control his expression, but a frown slipped over his mouth anyway.

I tilted my head and studied him, trying to make sense of his reaction as much as trying to connect the dots.

Wait … his wolf had led me to my dorm.

“I know.” His voice was rough and sounded slightly familiar. Was the spell wearing off?

I froze in shock.

Before I could draw any conclusions, he leaned in and kissed me, a quick brush of his lips against mine, before pulling back to smell my neck. My skin prickled with pleasure, and I tilted my head back to give him better access. Grinning, I faced my mate, ready for him to reveal himself.

Only … his green eyes grew somber, and he made no effort to remove his mask.

No bueno. I needed to know who he was, so if he wouldn’t take it off, I’d help him not be so shy.

I reached up, but before I could hook my fingers around the edges of his mask, he grabbed my wrists. Gently, he brought my hands away, holding them while we stared at each other, and as the seconds stretched, I realized he wasn’t going to lower his mask. The rejection sucked the air from my lungs, and my lower lip quivered.

He brushed the curls away from my neck.

“Forgive me.”

My brow furrowed as his words registered, but before I could say anything…

What the—?

He struck. The fleshy outside of his hand popped me in the neck. Before I could even gasp, blackness consumed me.

Chapter 8

A loud banging yanked me from sleep. My eyelids peeled open as the noise rattled my brain. Pain shot through my skull as the mother of all mage wine induced headaches arrived.

“No,” I moaned as I sat up, hoping to stop the incessant knocking. Memories of last night flooded my brain, and I bolted out of the dusty bed—nearly tripping on the hem of the blue ball gown.

Staring down at my left hand, I saw that last night was not a dream. “Holy mage!”

Mate marks.

Real. It was all real.

The pounding at the front door grew louder, and I stumbled through my house and tugged the heavy door open.

Kaja stood there with two to-go coffee cups in her hand. Her gaze dropped to my ring finger, which I was still inspecting, and her jaw went slack.

“It is you!” She pointed to my left hand, stumbling into the house. “You flipping found your fated mate at that party! Who is he?” she whisper-screamed before slamming the door behind her. She quickly