by Stone, Leia
Midnight King
Shifter Island Book Three
Leia Stone
Raye Wagner
Copyright © 2021 by Leia Stone and Raye Wagner
Cover by Aura
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Read more from the authors
Chapter One
“I’ll be right back,” Nai whisper-shouted in my ear, her breath fanning over my neck. She kissed me on the cheek and then followed her grandfather’s shield, Reyna, behind the stage.
As my mate stepped away, I followed her with my gaze until the throng of wolf shifters at my coronation swallowed her. Mother Mage, I love her.
As if to reinforce the thought, my memory produced an image of her lying beneath me, her head back and eyes heavy-lidded with passion. She parted her kiss-swollen lips and moaned my name. My body instantly responded, and I shoved the image away—for now. There’d be plenty of time tonight to make new memories with her.
I sucked in a ragged breath and turned my attention to the buzzing auditorium.
The shifters’ cheers filled my ears, and I grinned like a lunatic as my gaze roved over the crowd. These people, my people, cheered … for me.
Noble elbowed me. ‘They’re waiting for you to announce the celebrations.’
Crap.
I’d been so wrapped up in Nai that I’d forgotten the task at hand.
“Let the celebration begin,” I bellowed over the noise.
The doors at the back of the hall opened, and dozens of serving staff filed in, bringing with them silver-covered platters heaped with hors d’oeuvres, prime rib, desserts, and crates of mage wine. A breath later, the air was filled with the scents of roasted steak, yeast rolls, and cinnamon. My mouth watered, and my stomach growled. That dominance fight had been a bad one even though Nai’s blood helped heal me. A good meal would hurry the process along.
“I’m so proud of you, Courage,” my mom said when she suddenly appeared, stepping around Noble with a grin. She hugged me tightly and then pulled back to study me closely. “I always knew you’d live up to your name.”
“Holy hells,” Noble said, shaking his head as he stared at our mom with wide eyes. “We have to live up to our names?”
My mom raised her eyebrows at Noble and wagged her finger in mock chagrin. “Swearing is not noble.”
I rolled my eyes behind my mom’s back, but I wasn’t about to step between them. Justice headed in our direction, weaving out of the crowd, and handed me a plate piled to the top, and his gaze flickered over the crowd nearby.
“Where’s Nai?” he asked, holding up another plate, this one piled with a different assortment than my own: chicken, not beef, lots of fruit, and a bowl filled with liquid chocolate.
I nodded at the corner of the room she’d disappeared to while taking a hunk of steak into my mouth. “She said she’d be right back, went off with Reyna. I think her grandfather is sick. He hasn’t been looking so well lately.”
Justice nodded. “He’s been a great help to us, but the old man is getting on in years.”
“Long live our alpha king, King Courage!” John bellowed.
More than my name, the title made me freeze. Alpha king. Somehow, despite every obstacle we’d faced, Nai and I had made it happen. Together.
Nathan took up the chant as well, followed by the alpha from Harvest.
The cheer built while Nathan, Nai’s dad and the alpha of Crescent, bumped into me.
“Come on,” Nathan said. His gaze jumped from me to John, the new alpha of Daybreak. “Help me hoist him up. Let the wolves see their king!”
Mom took my plate before I could drop it, and the next thing I knew, the room was filled with a chorus of “Long live the king!”
I was hoisted into the air on John’s and Nathan’s shoulders as a grin swept across my face. I’d waited for this moment a long time. My uncle was an asshole on the best of days, and although I respected his seat of power, I’d come to disagree with the way he ran the wolves. This was my chance, my chance to show not just the wolves what kind of king I could be but the other shifters as well.
After a few laps around the room, the guys put me back down on the ground, and the crowd erupted into another round of cheers as each of the pack alphas patted me on the back, offering their congratulations. I felt so proud to be their king, proud to be so warmly accepted by all of them.
Well, most of them. When I scanned the crowd, I spotted Mallory and her sister as well as several others from Daybreak as they slipped out the large, front, double door.
Beyond disrespectful, but how could I blame them?
‘You’re frowning,’ Justice growled, poking me.
Mallory and Daybreak’s dissenters were a problem for future-Rage. I wanted to enjoy this moment as alpha king.
I forced a smile and waved, and the wolves responded with another round of bellowed applause.
Where was Nai? I wanted my mate to share in this moment with me. Maybe I’d just run back and check on her quickly—no one would even miss me. I stepped toward the stage—
“Speech! Speech! Speech!” the crowd chanted, and I chuckled.
I nodded to my brother. ‘Honor, go tell Nai to come out here. She’s going to miss my amazing speech.’
His sleek black fur darted through the crowd and to the back of the room as I cleared my throat and stepped up onto the stage.
“Wolves…” I took a deep breath and reached for my rehearsed words. This was it… “Wolves of Alpha Island.” The crowd hushed. “I stand before you now as your alpha king”—cheers erupted once more, and I waited for them to die down before I continued—“I want to thank you, not only for your support but also this opportunity to serve you. While there are many things I could say today, plans I could share for our future … I want you to know my goal is not to rule over you, to invoke fear or repress any of our kind. I want to be a just and loyal king. I believe we are better, stronger, and more powerful together. My singular goal as your leader is to bring unity to our packs and for all our kind. Thank you!”
The people cheered wildly.
“Now, let’s celebrate to our future!” I raised my fist into the air, and Noble stepped up behind me and slipped a crown on my head.
The wolf shifters howled and cheered, and the din became deafening.
‘Now that you’re alpha king, you could tell them all to settle down,’ Noble said into my mind.
As alpha king, I could do a lot more than that. I could speak into any wolf shifter’s mind, regardless of whether they were in human form or wolf and regardless of which clan they belonged to. Not only that, my human mind would be present when I was in my wolf form. No more wolf instinct overruling human reason. No more speaking by instinct either.
I grinned at Noble. ‘But where’s the fun in that?’
The lights dimmed, and the music started, a deep bass reverberating through the floor. My gaze slid to the empty throne beside me, and I frowned. This moment was almost perfect; I only needed my mate at my side.
‘Nai?’ I called out to her, opening myself to try to sense where she was. We hadn’t completed our mate bond yet, but we were clo
se enough that—
Shock wormed through me, followed by sadness and fear. The feelings were not mine, which meant…
What the hell?
I stiffened with understanding and shot Justice a look.
‘Find out what’s going on with Nai,’ I snapped, sending the order to my brother before I’d considered my words, and I tacked on a hasty, ‘Please.’
She hadn’t responded, but I felt slightly better watching Justice run out the side door to find her.
It was tempting to reach out to her again, but whatever she was going through had her in an emotional knot, enough so that her anxiety coursed through our unfinished mate bond. I wondered if it had anything to do with her ill grandfather. She was tough. She didn’t take shit. But … I had no idea how much she could handle before she broke.
Everyone had a limit, and I wanted to be there if something devastating had happened.
‘Where is she?’ I asked Honor while wondering how rude it would be if I left my own coronation party to go look for her.
‘She’s walking with her grandfather into the library,’ Honor said.
My chest squeezed, and I forced a deep breath.
‘The library? Follow her!’ I shot the thought out to Honor and started down the stage steps.
‘On it,’ Honor replied.
Why was she going to the library in the middle of my coronation party?
Regardless of how I felt or even how Nai felt, I needed to show strength to my people—especially right now. These first few days, and likely weeks, were precarious. I knew it. Hell, I’d trained my entire life for this. I knew every rule and social nicety, what behavior was acceptable, what would be tolerated, and what would earn me the scorn of my new subjects—like me disappearing at my own coronation. But when it came to Nai, I was willing to break all the rules.
I gave the biggest fake smile I could muster as I attempted to pass through the crowd, but they pushed in on me, wanting to shake my hand or say a few words. I tried to oblige them as quickly as possible, but they kept coming.
‘Honor? What is she doing?’
My adrenaline spiked when he didn’t immediately answer. Then, Noble stepped in front of me, frowning. I could see the terror I felt reflected in his face.
‘Honor!’ I clenched my fists, and my heart raced when he didn’t immediately respond. Noble began to part the crowd, making me a path to pass through.
The wolves cheered and howled, but now the sound grated against my nerves, leaving me raw.
‘She’s walking fast. I’m tracking them,’ Honor replied.
My panic went full-blown. ‘Tracking them?’ I snarled. ‘How the hell did they get away from you?’
He said nothing, and it was only Noble’s hands on my shoulders that kept me from losing my mind.
“Rage?” Noble’s eyes were wide and panicked, and his voice filled with urgency. My brothers and I had our own bond, and he could likely feel my turmoil. “What’s wrong?”
This time, I spoke into all of my brothers’ minds. ‘Nai was with her grandfather and Reyna. They disappeared into the library. Something’s wrong. I feel it.’
Justice growled in my head before I’d even finished the last word.
‘Honor!’ My chest heaved with each short breath. The only way she’d just disappear and not tell me what the hell was happening was if she was kidnapped, right?
Would her own grandfather kidnap her? No … he’d done nothing but help her. Then, what was she doing? My mind raced as panic clawed at me. Why wasn’t she answering me? Why did she feel so far away? ‘Nai!’
I finally got through the double doors and slammed right into Justice.
As soon as I saw the look on my brother’s face, I knew…
“No.” My legs went weak as I scanned my best friend’s face. White as a sheet, Justice looked on the verge of tears. He, of all people, knew how much Nai meant to me; he knew how much I’d struggled with hiding my fated-mate marks from her—and how much I’d struggled with being fated mates with a member of my pack’s sworn enemy.
“She’s … gone.”
Justice’s words sank into me, but everything in me rebelled at his statement.
“What do you mean gone?” My wolf surged to the surface. Pelts of fur bristled from my skin, and I clenched my jaw.
Justice frowned. “The guards saw her, Reyna, and Nai’s grandfather leave the castle and head toward the school. I picked up her scent. Honor was with them, but his scent is gone now, too.”
No.
She wouldn’t leave me… “Where did they go? Where does their scent end?”
Justice swallowed, and a pit opened in my stomach that grew wider the longer he delayed.
“The portal door in the library…”
My stomach dropped out as nausea washed over me.
No.
She wouldn’t.
There was a high mage portal in the library. But … her grandfather wouldn’t take her to High Mage Island, would he?
“Rage…” Justice’s voice forced me to look at him. “The guard who saw her said she went … willingly.”
No. I didn’t believe that. I couldn’t.
The party still raged; music from inside filtered throughout the courtyard. The smell of sweat and mage wine pressed against me, and all around, the sounds of joy and laughter and celebration…
She was supposed to be here. Supposed to be by my side. My mate. Nai wouldn’t leave.
Not willingly.
“Sound the alarm,” I barked to Justice. “Lock down the campus. Post two guards at every boat dock. Send out the scent dogs.” He gave me a pitying look. Then, I tore across the open courtyard, headed to the library.
Justice ran after me. ‘Brother, she’s gone. Honor too. I tracked their scent. You know I’m the best.’
Unbridled rage, unlike anything I’d ever felt before, surged up inside of me. ‘Lock down those damn borders, Justice! My mate has been kidnapped!’
‘Nai! Where are you?’ I pushed the thought into her mind, trying to search for her energy, but…
I couldn’t feel her.
‘Nai!’ I shouted, grasping the sides of my head as I ran.
Chapter Two
My wolf surged to the surface, and I let him take over. This form was better suited for scenting and was faster. We sprinted across the courtyard, entered the main building through a doggie-door big enough to let our wolf forms through, and then proceeded to the library as we followed Nai’s smell.
As my brothers and I approached the library doors, I shifted back to my human form and stared down the two guards posted at the door.
“Did you two let her in here?” I barked even as I wondered how in the hell they’d arrived here. I didn’t have anyone posted at the school during my coronation. Alpha Academy was closed.
“Rage,” Justice said beside me. “I posted them here five minutes ago.”
I shook myself, trying to get a grip on reality.
Reaching out, I grasped the door handle and shoved. I burst through the library doors so hard they hit the wall with a crack, and the glass insets shattered. Weaving through the aisles toward the back of the room, I ran, and my pulse climbed the closer I got to the black stone door.
It was closed.
On hands and knees, I inhaled, and a whimper ripped through me as Nai’s sunshine and homey scent filled my soul. Honor’s musky scent was there too.
I climbed to my feet as fury filled every corner of my being. She wouldn’t have done this to me.
My entire life, I’d never even tried to open that black stone door; the rules stated we weren’t allowed.
But today, I was king, so screw the rules. I was going after my mate.
I launched myself forward with an angry cry on my lips.
“No!” Justice shouted.
No sooner had my palm touched the Onyx surface than a searing blue light shot from the door. My fingers burned with pain. A yip left my throat, and my body arched. An electric charge f
illed the space, and I was thrown back by protective magic, crashing into a shelf of books, toppling it over. The smell of my burning skin filled the air.
“Rage!” Justice ran to me. When he reached down to pull me up, the pity in his expression made my entire body heavy with dread. I couldn’t follow her.
This isn’t happening…
My mate left me at my own coronation?
He must have spelled her. Her grandfather was helpful with getting Honor back, but who knew his real intentions? That had to be it.
With a heave, Justice got me into a standing position, but I just stood there, swaying as my mind raced through every horrible scenario possible.
“Cursed council,” Noble huffed, appearing at my side sniffing the air like a dog. “What did you do?”
I shot him a glare and raised my blackened, still-smoking palm, gritting my teeth to keep from screaming. He doused my hand with his water magic as the agony traveled up my arm and spotted my vision.
With a howl of frustration, I shifted back into my wolf-form and sniffed. Sure enough, not only was Nai’s scent all of the way to the edge of the black stone door, Honor’s, Reyna’s, and that damned High Mage Master of Spirit’s smell was there too. They all left. Together. Without me.
What a shady bastard!
I morphed back into my human form, grabbed the nearest wooden chair, and hurled it at the stone door.
“How dare you!” I bellowed. Fresh pain coursed up my arm, but it was nothing compared to the anguish in my soul. Betrayal. Either by Geoff or Nai or both. And certainly by Honor.
Justice cleared his throat. “Maybe—”
I reeled on him and snarled, “Don’t you dare defend her. Or him. Or any of them. Don’t. You. Dare.” I heaved a breath and pivoted. “Noble,” I barked at my more sensible brother. “I need to send a letter to the High Mage Council,” I growled. “If they do not return my mate immediately, I will start a war.”