Midnight Kisses (Shifter Island #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,82

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! Quickly crossing my arms over my marks, I glared at them.

“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