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.
Holy Mother of Mages, this was confirmation that my mate was a Midnight prince.
I could feel his presence, his yearning to be with me. But … which one was he?
The four black wolves advanced until they surrounded me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my gaze darting from one to the next, but the question was for my mate. “What is this?”
Instead of an answer, they snarled at me. All of them, in unison.
My heart jumped from panic to full-blown freak-out. Would they attack me to force me to shift?
‘Shift.’ His word was a call to action, and I battled with the desire—almost a desperate need—to force my wolf out. But I couldn’t.
‘I can’t.’
One of them lunged forward, jaws snapping, and I spun away, bumping into another one of the wolves.
“Sorry,” I stammered, reaching out to pet the one I’d run into.
‘Mate,’ he growled, and the sound wound around my core. ‘Shift.’
Panting, I shook my head and begged, “Please. I can’t. Don’t do this to me.”
Why couldn’t he just understand—
One of the black wolves launched forward, teeth bared, and I stared, filled with disbelief.
No way would my mate ask his brothers to attack me. No way—
I yanked my arm back with a gasp.
“What the hell?” I screamed at them. He’d barely missed me. “Honor, I’m going to kick your ass!”
My mate snarled, and I jerked toward the sound. But instead of attacking me, he charged the animal who’d just lunged my way.
The two wolves snapped at one another, back and forth, and my adrenaline spiked. Crap. Crappity. Crap. Crap. Crap.
These two were brothers. They wouldn’t hurt each other.
But I knew better.
Even the loyalty to clan or family would be overruled by the animal’s instincts. I’d seen members of my pack, even siblings within our pack, fight. Even if my mate had asked his brothers, and they’d agreed … all human promises could be forgotten by the wolf.
The snarl of the wolves tore through my entire being.
Could I do something with my magic to break up the fight? Maybe. But which one of them was which? And how much was too much. And—
Two of the wolves turned and then advanced on one.
‘Mate. Help.’
His plea shot through me, and I clenched my fists.
Oh, hell no.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than my wolf snarled. Seeming to appear out of nowhere, she surged forward. Desperate to save our mate from a fight with his own brother, her instinct overwhelmed me. My body seized, and I pitched forward with a snarl, my bones crunching and rearranging as fur exploded from my skin.
I inhaled, a low guttural growl of warning, and then, leaping forward on all fours, I sank my teeth into the nearest wolf’s flank, not deep enough to cause serious injury but hard enough to be a warning.
The creature yipped in pain, trying to spin toward me, and created the perfect gap.
I released him and pushed through the space toward my mate.
His wolf crossed the space between us and nuzzled me.
‘Mate. Strong.’
I inhaled, letting his scent fill me with comfort. He was safe.
He continued to nuzzle me, and suspicion trickled through me. I glanced behind me, and sure enough, the other three wolves were gone.
‘You set me up.’ I’d meant it to sound accusing, but honestly, I felt nothing but relief that he was okay.
‘Mate. Learn. Shift. Safe.’
I knew what he was saying, and I nuzzled him back. While I might not shift in self-preservation, my wolf had no reservations when it came to protecting my mate. ‘But I don’t know if I can do it on my own.’
‘Practice.’
I snorted, the sound odd coming from a wolf, and then barked with laughter. ‘Fine. I’ll practice.’
‘Run?’ he asked, his yellow eyes alight with enthusiasm.
How could I say no to that?
‘One thing first. Thank you for the food.’ Even if I didn’t know if it was Rage or Justice, I still appreciated the kindness. I leaned forward and sniffed his once-injured shoulder, but it smelled totally healed.
I didn’t want to talk about the attack on the academy, how his mom was doing, why he wouldn’t tell me who he was, or anything else. I’d save all that for Samhain in a few days when I could confront his human side. Right now, I wanted one last night with his