by Raye Wagner
How was that possible? ‘She’s a wolf…”
‘Just pin her down and do it,’ he said, his voice weighted with doubt. ‘Fast as you can.’
Okay … here goes nothing.
Without warning, I lurched forward and tackled my future mother-in-law to the floor.
“Nai!” she yelped.
“I’m sorry,” I gasped, wincing as she fell back onto the concrete floor. Stradling her, I rushed to explain. “I just need to wipe this blood curse away…” Without waiting for her permission … I rubbed my blood all over her skin just above Elaine’s heart. “Scrub-a-dub-dub … Surlama’s magic is a dud.”
Elaine sat up with a gasp and—crack!—smacked me in the head.
My vision became spotted, and I pressed my hand to my forehead, where we’d collided. “Oww.”
“Oh my mage, Nai. I’m sorry,” Elaine said while scooting out from under me. She glanced down where I’d been rubbing my blood and shrieked. “But what in the Mother Mage are you doing!”
She dragged the neckline of her shirt down over the crimson bloody smear, but … the green was still there.
Dammit.
I crawled off of her. “I’m … sorry. I … my blood has healing properties, and I thought…
Frustration pressed in on me.
“Grandpa Geoff!” I shouted into the smoky darkness above. “I could really use that spellbreaker root!”
Green lights flickered like sparks, and then three lines appeared, making a rectangle in the air by the potatoes. I blinked, and then my jaw dropped as Grandpa Geoff stepped through the lines, followed by Reyna.
“I tried to come through a few minutes ago, but the kitchen was in flames,” he said, holding out a small canvas bag.
Thank the mage!
“How do I do this?” I reached for the bag, trying to hold Callie’s coat closed over my chest so I didn’t have a nip slip.
“Chew up the root, spit the juice into your palm and mix it with your blood, then wipe off the spell.”
Riiight. Here we go, running out of time. I could sense Rage’s impatience through our bond. I bit a chunk off the end of the thick root and shoved the rest in the pocket of my borrowed jacket, relieved to discover the root tasted like star anise and cardamom.
“Don’t swallow it,” Grandpa Geoff warned, “Now, spit the juice into your palm.”
Gross.
I spat the now neon-green glowy fluid onto my bloody palm and watched as the two colors mixed.
“Like this?” I asked, my tongue feeling thick and slightly swollen.
He nodded and then tipped his head over to Elaine, who looked horrified.
Remembering how Elaine reacted to my tackling her, I decided I’d better try a different approach. “Elaine, I have to wipe this on you so that Rage can kill the king … before Declan kills your son first.”
Her eyes widened. “Do it.” She tugged the neck of her shirt down and exposed the green blotch of the curse.
I rubbed the concoction over her skin, surprised when it felt like warm lotion; some magical property was heating it up. The green magic seeped into her, melting like butter into warm bread, and then the putrid web of Surlama’s curse turned black.
Elaine gasped, clutching her heart, and my own leapt into my throat.
Then the black webbing fizzled and cracked, little pieces sloughing off Elaine as I ran my hand over her arm.
Elaine gasped—again. This time though, she smiled.
“Thank you,” she said, first to me and then to my grandfather. “I can feel it’s … gone.”
Halle-frickin-leujah.
‘Curse is gone. I repeat, curse is gone. Kill the bastard,’ I told Rage.
Then, I collapsed into a sack of potatoes. “Is it nap time yet?”
That was by far the most stressful hour of my life.
“You should probably,” Callie said, tilting her chin up the cellar steps. “You know, go save the world or help your boyfriend or something.”
I offered her a grin. “Remind me to introduce you to Kaja. You’re gonna love her.”
I tipped my head at Honor, and without a word, he was at my heel, bounding up the cellar steps after me. Pivoting toward the open field, I stumbled and then pulled to a stop.
Dozens of wolves lay dead or dying, their blood splattered against the white snow in a garish display of the brutality of war. Dozens more of our kind sat transfixed by the ferocious battle for alpha king. Surrounded by a semicircle of wolves, two onyx beasts snarled and snapped at one another. Both equal in size, Rage and Declan had both sustained significant injuries—their fur matted and wet from their wounds.
‘Rage!’ I sprinted toward my mate, desperate to do something. ‘Kill him!’
Almost as if my words infused him with renewed energy, Rage lunged forward, dipping his head to the side as his jaws opened. When his teeth went around the king’s throat, the meadow resounded with the collective gasp.
It was a death blow, but only if Rage had the courage to rip his uncle’s—
With one furious jerk, my mate ripped Declan’s throat out.
Holy Mother freaking Mage.
And Rage became Alpha King.
Chapter 13
“The alpha king is your mate…” Callie said for the fiftieth time today, shaking her head. She perched on the edge of Kaja’s bed, wearing a borrowed teal gown from Rue while my Harvest bestie stood behind me at the vanity, curling my hair. Kaja wore a silk dress in Harvest gold. The rest of her sisters were likewise dressed in rich autumn colors. My midnight-black, floor-length dress fit like a glove, and thanks to its side slit, my movement wasn’t restricted one bit.
Callie’s repeated declarations made my anxiety ramp up from butterflies to wiggling worms, and Kaja met my gaze in the mirror.
“He’s not king yet,” Kaja said, flicking her attention to Callie. “All the packs need to acknowledge him as such before he can officially claim the title.”
Which did zero to quell my nerves.
“But they will, right?” I looked to Kaja for confirmation and then glanced to Honor as my insides twisted.
Kaja offered me a sad smile full of pity and understanding. “They will. Don’t worry.”
A strange sense of déjà vu hit me as I looked around Kaja’s dorm room: the four-poster bed and soft green walls. “It’s weird to be back here.”
My gaze snagged on Justice, the emerald-eyed Midnight brother who looked so much like my mate it was slightly uncomfortable at times, and he nodded. Honor moved in closer to my side while Kaja finished curling my hair. Rage had ordered two of his brothers to be with me at all times, my own personal bodyguards, until all the pack alphas committed to him.
Justice picked up an eyelash curler from Kaja’s dresser and stared at it. “I never thought we’d come back to school.”
“Rage will be king alpha, and all of us will just … go to school,” I said aloud.
Like nothing happened.
But so much had happened. My gaze flicked to Honor with the thought. ‘Is it strange for you to not be able to shift?’
‘Yes.’ He nuzzled my hand. ‘But not too bad.’
“It’s super weird,” Kaja offered, winking at me in the mirror. “But if we don’t like our classes, you can call in a favor with the king.”
She wiggled her eyebrows, causing me to grin.
There was a knock at the front door, and I leapt from the vanity, nearly stumbling over Honor in my haste. I raced out into the hallway and ran down to the foyer. With my heart thundering, I wrenched the door open.
“Dad!”
My father stepped up to the doorway, dressed in a nice black suit, something I’d never seen him wear. His wild golden hair was gelled back, and he was clean-shaven. Major props for going all out in respect for Rage’s coronation ceremony. Seeing him all dressed up caused a lump in my throat, and my heart swelled with love. I flew into his arms, and he pulled me into a hug. The last twenty-four hours had brought me and my father e
ven closer, and now he seemed to be the hugging emotional type.
“Did you and the pack get settled in okay?” I whispered to him. It was late by the time we came through the portal last night. Lilith and a few wolves fled, going rogue, but the rest of our pack and Midnight’s took a knee, recognizing Rage as king. Now, we just needed all the packs to do that formally with the High Mage Council there to witness, and we were good.
I thought of Rage standing in the snow-covered field, the embers of our pack’s lodge and my childhood home burning behind him. After killing Declan, Rage’s first order of business was to restore my pack’s rank within wolf shifter society and return possession of our lands and houses here on Alpha Island to my father. Rage said that he didn’t want to live in a world that would label me being born a crime, and he’d never go against fate, which is what my mother and funcle had been. Fated Mates.
“Lona and Mack are setting up our new house,” Dad said, releasing me. He glanced around the courtyard of the Harvest dorm, and then his gaze darted to Crescent Dorm across the stone path, in all its condemned glory. “It’s good to be back.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “I can see you all the time now.” The Crescent Pack lands were a twenty-minute run through the woods from school.
“This came for you,” he said, handing me a white envelope. The flap was sealed with silver wax, stamped with an owl. He lowered his voice and added, “It’s from your grandfather.”
I traced my finger over the owl—somehow, it suited him—I snapped the seal and skimmed the contents, relief flooding me. “The High Mage Council has unanimously agreed to let the matter of me being a ‘high crime’ go.”
“Halle-frickin-leujah!” Kaja cheered behind me as my friends flooded into the hallway.
Dad must’ve already known because he merely nodded at the news. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
Callie grabbed her handbag, and Kaja plucked hers and mine off the vanity before stepping through the door. Honor sat next to me, waiting until I moved, and then Justice fell into step on my other side as we all started to walk to the castle.
As we crossed campus, I noticed hundreds of people exiting the woods, some dressed nicely and others in jeans and t-shirts. Even more surprising were those coming up from the boat docks. Who was coming from the mage lands?
Justice must’ve noticed me looking out at the full boat docks because he cleared his throat and said, “Rage invited all the rogues to return. He said to tell you John and Sara are coming.”
I grinned. Perfect.
Rage was already making great choices as alpha, and by calling in the rogues and inviting Crescent Pack to return, he demonstrated he’d do things differently than his asshat uncle.
I spotted Mallory and her sister walking with a giant male. The dude was at least six foot seven and two hundred and fifty pounds—almost bear shifter big. A large scar ran from one side of his forehead across his face to the opposite side of his mouth, barely missing his left eye; the old wound made his sneer even more fierce. Surrounding the male and my Daybreak nemeses were a dozen more wolf shifters, all staring at the guy like he was the Mother Mage incarnate. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of dark blue robes coming from the dude’s other side.
“Looks like this puppy king is letting anyone on the island,” the dude growled.
My father glanced his way and tensed, and I snarled at the insult to my mate and father.
‘Don’t,’ Honor said, his voice filled with warning. ‘Rage has enough to worry about without you picking a fight.’
The group tittered and snickered, but before I could even reply to Honor, my gaze fell on a mage among them.
The man dressed in seafoam green robes darted out of the fawning group, disappearing amongst the sea of bodies.
Was it Kian?
I strained to get another glimpse of him, but the guy was gone.
A low rumble emanated from my father’s chest, and Justice muttered, “Not worth it, bro.” With a jerk of his head, he added, “We’re going this way.”
Did he just call my dad, bro?
We diverted from the main walkway and, with a parting glare at the giant male’s back, I leaned into Justice, “Who is that?”
Really, I didn’t care, unless he said—
“Clive, alpha of Daybreak.”
That. I just didn’t want him to say that.
Justice led us in through the family entrance and then down the hall toward where the crowd oozed through double doors. He opened a single unobtrusive door, and we crossed into a massive ballroom.
The walls and floor were polished gray stone. To the right, two large fireplaces lay unlit, but lit sconces provided a soft, almost cheery glow. To the left, a wall of windows and glass doors let in the waning light of sunset through the white flowy curtains. A lush red carpet ran the length of the room all the way up to the dais, which occupied the middle portion of the opposite wall. A podium was positioned at the forefront of the dais, and a large banner of black silk with a silvery full moon hung from the wall. To the right of the podium, I spotted Kian and the other High Mages, including Grandpa Geoff, taking their seats.
Whatever doubts I’d had about his health increased a hundred-fold as he leaned into Reyna and wiped his forehead.
My attention skimmed over the others, to see if any were wearing seafoam green robes, and snagged on the high mage of water. Kian glared at me, and I dropped my gaze to his robes. Blue. In fact, none of the council wore seafoam-green robes.
I had no idea what my grandfather had told the other high mages to remove the bounty on my head, but I was grateful.
“I need to stand at the head of Crescent,” my father said and then gave me a quick kiss before going to stand with our pack at the back-right corner of the ballroom.
My gaze flitted past the mages, past the podium, and to the left side of the platform, to two gilded thrones. And there was my amazingly sexy mate. He stood tall just in front of the bigger of the two thrones, his chin held high. Wearing a crisp charcoal suit and legit gold and ruby crown, he was every inch a king.
‘Damn,’ I called from the crowd. ‘Looking good. Nice crown.’
I watched in delight as he scanned the crowd, and then his gaze landed on me before his eyes went half-lidded with appreciation. ‘That dress looks even better than I’d hoped. The crown is a gift from King Ozark. I had Declan’s head delivered to him early this morning.’
Grinning, I tipped my head. ‘Who would’ve thought he’d have such an eye for fashion.’
‘Har har.’ He slid onto his throne and patted the seat next to his. ‘Get up here, woman.’
I blanched. ‘What?’
‘You’re my mate. I want you by my side. For everything. I’ll not rule a kingdom that doesn’t respect our bond.’
Legit swoon.
‘Okay,’ I replied—even my mental voice was all breathy. Marry me now. My heart swelled with his declaration. Love and pride.
Working my way through the crowd, I noticed the packs grouped together, one in each corner, with their alpha at the front. The center of the room remained primarily unoccupied except as stragglers entered and crossed to their pack. The bare circle reminded me of an arena—or a theater.
Justice wished me luck and peeled away as he stood in front of Midnight Pack, facing my father, who had all of Crescent Pack behind him.
‘So many people,’ I told Rage.
He nodded, watching me walk toward him.
Sweet Honor remained at my side, almost like an extension of myself.
‘Incoming,’ Rage warned.
My heart jumped, and I spun, preparing for an attack from Mallory or worse. Instead, the twins Audrey and Sadie plowed into me, laughing as they hugged me. I relaxed and squeezed them back.
“Thank the Mother Mage you’re alive! We were so worried until we got the invite for the coronation.” Audrey said.
Sadie shook her head. “Mom legit lost it. She tried to get Dad to send in an entire rescue
team, but by the time we hiked to Selkie Cove, you were gone.”
That was the sweetest most loyal thing I’d heard. Sara and John stepped up behind them, their daughter Lizbeth in tow.
“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Sara said, giving me a radiant smile. “We were surprised to get the summons from Prince Courage. Surprised and thrilled, right, John?”
We both looked to him, but his attention was fixed … glaring daggers at Mallory’s dad Clive, but John nodded.
“Is Clive your…?” I looked at John’s hardened expression like he legit wanted to rip Clive’s head off.
“Younger brother,” he all but spat, and my mind chewed on that information.
A bell chimed from up front, and I turned to see Grandpa standing at the podium.
Crap.
‘Making me look bad up here all alone, Crescent,’ Rage taunted. ‘Hurry up or I’ll come fetch you.’
‘Don’t you dare!’ I started toward the stage, whisper-yelling to the twins, “Let’s catch up after!” Then I broke into a run.
Honor stayed at my heel as I gracefully, or not so gracefully, climbed the stairs and stumbled to my seat. I dropped into the golden chair beside my mate … the king.
‘I’m sitting on a throne.’ I wiggled my butt and grinned at Rage. ‘I could get used to this.’
Rage looked out onto his people, but his lips tipped up in a smirk. ‘Mine’s higher.’
‘Pshh,’ I scoffed, not even caring. ‘I’m going to put six-inch risers on mine. Ooh. Or maybe I’ll challenge you—’
Reaching out, he grasped my hand and squeezed. ‘I’ll make sure they’re even before the day is done.’
Mother Mage, I loved him.
“Welcome, wolves!” my grandfather spoke from the podium, his voice carrying throughout the room just as it had at the affinity ceremony. “As high mages, we stay out of shifter affairs. But because of the Wolf-High Mage peace treaty, we bear witness to the coronation of a new alpha king.”
There must be two thousand wolves in here and more spilling outside.
The wolves of Midnight Pack rumbled their approval. Rage tried not to smile, but I could feel his pride.