Midnight Kisses (Shifter Island Book 1)

by Leia Stone

  No way. She must have been outside just now and caught my little spat with Rage.

  A young woman about my age stepped through the doorway, and her expression of disgust melted into a grin. “There you are.”

  She was several inches shorter than I, maybe five and a half feet, with auburn hair and fair skin dusted with freckles. She wore a green dress, full-on medieval-times attire, and her hair was pulled up into a fancy twist with a crown of flowers. The three-quarter moon mark stood out on her forehead. Harvest Clan.

  With a smile, she crossed the black and white tiles of the kitchen floor and extended her hand to me. “My name is Kaja. I’m from Harvest Clan.” Shaking her head, she added, “Please spare me the farmer jokes.”

  I snorted. “Wasn’t going to go there. I’m Nai.”

  We shook hands briefly.

  I never dreamed I’d actually make a friend here. I thought it was a kill-or-be-killed kind of mentality on the island.

  “The way you told Prince Courage off like that … epic. Had to meet you and save you from dying of dust inhalation.” She indicated the thick layer of grime that rested on everything.

  I chuckled. “Sometimes, men need to be put in their place.” Then I pointed to the nasty kitchen. “What’s up with this? Does my cousin seriously live like this?”

  Her face suddenly became somber, “Well, we all get maids and stuff paid for by the crown. When your pack got … uh… ”

  I understood her message, loud and clear. We no longer had the luxuries of a clan that was accepted here.

  “Are we supposed to wear a costume?” I asked, indicating her outfit and changing the subject. What had the boys said on the way in? Something about things being more formal…

  Kaja laughed and then waved her hand up and down, pointing at my body. “Tonight, we are. Aren’t you going to change before the opening ceremony?”

  Crap. I’d forgotten. “Yeah, totally—”

  “You don’t have Alpha Academy-approved dresses, do you?” She flattened her lips and snorted.

  “Nope.”

  She frowned. “Did they send you the supply list and dress code?”

  Anger flared between my shoulder blades like a searing poker right through my back. “No. They didn’t.”

  She grabbed my wrist and tugged. “Come on. If we hurry, we might still make it before the High Mage Council arrives. I’m not letting Midnight sabotage you. You and I are going to be bestie-pals, just so we’re clear.”

  A grin pulled at my lips, and I followed along, letting her drag me out of the kitchen while she chatted me up.

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked when she took a breath. “Not that I’m not grateful, but you don’t know me.” Technically, we were all in competition with each other for the alpha king position. I’m sure it was assumed Rage would take it, but rules stated any one of us could fight for it after we graduated.

  She glanced my way with her eyebrows raised high. “First of all, I’m tenth in line to be alpha, and I have eight more siblings at home. So I’m just here to make my mom happy in case my entire family dies overnight.”

  I snort-laughed. Eighteen heirs! I couldn’t imagine that many siblings.

  “Second, the Midnight heirs disappeared this morning, and there was a big freak-out. The whole island was locked down—and you came back with them, bringing fireworks with you. I don’t need to know any more than that.”

  “Well, I’m grateful to have a friend,” I told her honestly. This girl was a bit forward, but I’d take that any day over stuffy and priggish.

  “Excellent. Me too. Now, what size dress do you wear?”

  The next thing I knew, I was in the north-facing dorm amidst a swarm of Harvest girls. Despite my protests, Kaja bullied me into an ankle-length blue dress the same color as the sky at dusk. The dark material was a stark contrast to my pale skin, but apparently it met the high mage dress code for formal events by covering my knees.

  Who knew?

  Most likely everyone—except me.

  Chapter 4

  Kaja and her elder twin sisters were in first and second years respectively. Then, she had another two sisters in third and fourth years, but they’d stuck to their rooms when I’d come in. Apparently, their mother bore lots of daughters but only one son, who was currently two years old. The poor kid would probably never be alpha of the pack either. That went to the eldest, who was almost always the strongest.

  The twins had the same dusting of freckles as my new friend, but their wavy locks were the color of honey, not auburn like Kaja’s. The twins also had skills, I had to give them that. They’d done something crazy to my eyelashes that made them look like fans, and I was pretty sure this gunk wasn’t ever going to come off. I put my foot down at the body glitter. Allowing only a sprinkle on the braid on the top of my head, which made it look like a crown, especially with the rest of my long blond hair in soft curls. We didn’t dress up like this in Montana. This felt like wedding dress-up. It was weird … and fun.

  Kaja and I walked along a stone path, our pace hurried so we didn’t miss the ceremony. Turning my attention back to my new friend, I asked, “So, seventeen siblings … what’s that like?”

  “Fun. Loud. Crazy. I would probably talk to myself all the time and die of boredom if I were an only child.” She shrugged, chuckling.

  I laughed with her. “Then, good thing that’s me being the only child and not you, right?”

  Kaja nodded; she had quickly wormed her way into my heart.

  “Who’s your eldest heir?” I asked.

  We weaved in and out of walkways and past buildings, and I, totally lost, was glad Kaja knew the way.

  “Nala. She’s set to become alpha. Her water bending is probably powerful enough already.”

  “Cool. I heard—”

  A blur leapt from the trees, cutting me off as I stumbled to avoid the collision. “Effin’ mage!”

  My cousin Nolan popped in front of me, glaring daggers. “Nai, I need a word with you.”

  He grabbed my arm and yanked me off the path, into the bushes.

  My heels sank into the dirt, and I snarled at him. “Let me go.”

  He dropped my arm just as Kaja peeked through the foliage and frowned at us.

  “Nai?”

  “Tell me where to go, and I’ll meet you there,” I told my new friend, jerking my head at my cousin. Whatever Nolan wanted had better be good.

  She told me to follow the path, and after she left, I faced Nolan, glaring.

  “Don’t you ever touch me like that unless you’re issuing a direct challenge, in which case I’ll happily oblige,” I snapped, seething.

  How dare he! I was the heir, and he was the spare. Apparently, he still thought he was better than me. Totally delusional.

  However, Nolan had changed over the last year. Where he’d always been scrawny, he now had the build of an alpha, well over six feet tall with broad shoulders. Yet, if his oily hair and smell were any indication, he was still weak-willed, lazy, and—obviously—quick to anger.

  “What the hell is going on, Nai? I heard the Midnight heirs brought you in?” Nolan towered over me, his voice low. His features were furrowed in what appeared to be concern though, something he’d never exhibited on my behalf.

  Maybe I didn’t know how to read him after all.

  “Yeah … well, I started a year early.” I crossed my arms, not willing to give him any other intel.

  Two other heirs passed by. Nolan glowered at them before pulling me further away. He swallowed, his eyes widening, making him look almost … desperate.

  “Our parents didn’t prepare us for this place, Nai. We have nothing: no maids, no money … nothing. They make us work for food and then give us leftover stuff. We’re second class citizens—if that.”

  My stomach sank, and I frowned, suddenly nervous. My mind went to the rotting box of food on the kitchen table. Surely that wasn’t provided by the school? Swallowing, I focused on what I knew. Nolan had
always been a pig. Maybe he was complaining as an excuse for the sty-like conditions of our dorm.

  “Well, would it kill you to clean up a little? The dorm is disgusting?”

  He shook his head as if he knew what I was thinking. “You’ll see if you have a spare second after tonight. You’re about to become a slave to the alpha king.”

  With that, he stormed off, leaving me with a tornado of confusion. Slave to the alpha king? What the mage did that even mean?

  “Nai? You lost, luv?” a familiar voice called, and I spun to find Noble, hand extended through the bushes. He looked as handsome as sin in a three-piece suit. Behind him stood Honor, Justice, and … Rage.

  When my gaze fell on the meanest of the four Princes, my mind blanked. Warmth spread through my chest like liquid honey. As if that man could get any hotter, Mr. Lickable-incarnate launched into the stratosphere of hotness in a charcoal gray suit.

  Yum. No, wait … bastard.

  Rage said nothing as his gaze traveled over my body, slowly, the heat in his eyes making his attention a tangible caress. My heart flipped.

  “Noble, let’s go,” Rage snapped.

  Why were the hot ones always such assholes?

  Noble extended his arm to me, and I grinned, taking his outstretched hand. “Thank you, friend.”

  He tucked my arm into the crook of his, and I let him lead me down the path.

  “You clean up good, cub,” Honor called out behind me, making my grin spread. “And that dress—”

  Rage blasted past and quickly outpaced us. “Focus on the ceremony, you idiots.”

  “Do they teach anger management here?” I pondered aloud. “Someone might suggest that … as an elective. Just a thought.”

  Noble waved my comment off. “He’s grouchy because Uncle Declan was pissed we went to fetch you, and he ripped us a new one.”

  “Again?” I cocked my head. “Wasn’t that what he was doing when we first got here?”

  It was not lost on me how crazy it was that they casually referred to the alpha king as Uncle Declan. I wanted to know more, like why the king appeared to have no children, but I didn’t dare ask.

  Honor snorted.

  “That was just the warmup,” Justice muttered.

  Yikes. “Do I want to know?”

  Noble shook his head. “If you ever get called to have a meeting with him, make sure you let me know before so I can be there with you.”

  “Why?”

  Noble lowered his voice just as Honor stepped up next to his brother. “To help you.”

  Honor leaned forward to look me in the eye and offered a sad smile. “The alpha king doesn’t like mistakes, so do your best to stay under the radar.”

  Whoa.

  I nodded as his words sank in. The king was worse than I’d believed. My attention drifted ahead, to a well-lit atrium, and curiosity seized me.

  “So what’s this ceremony we’re going to, and why is the High Mage Council there?”

  The path ended at the entrance of the glass dome. A bunch of older teachers stood at the doorway, welcoming students inside.

  “Well,” Noble said, smirking, “this is a test to see what your elemental affinity is.”

  I nodded. Because we were descended from the high mages, albeit watered down and mixed with wolf, we had cool mage powers linked to the elements. This was one of the main reasons we came to the Academy: to learn our elemental affinity and how to harness it. All wolf shifters had greater speed, hearing, sight, smell, and even healing, compared to humans, but alpha heirs also each had an affinity: air, fire, water, or earth power. Our control of the elements, which was only seen in those of royal blood, was extremely limited, compared to the power of the high mages. My dad told me he once saw a high mage drag someone across the room using only his mind. The mages had a whole host of powers.

  Elemental magic set us alpha wolves apart from the other shifter breeds and even the rest of the wolves in our pack. My father was a fire elemental. His magic trickled through the pack so that they could also pull on it and use it to a lesser degree at times, including me. If you wanted to see a campfire lit from two feet away, I was your girl. But the power stopped there with the other wolves from our pack.

  I assumed I’d be like my father and have fire affinity, which would be great. Then, I’d be able to light Rage on fire with my mind so he didn’t know who did it.

  “All right,” I shrugged. “What kind of test?”

  Tests and I didn’t usually get along. Like how Rage tested my patience; I was getting a C- there, at best.

  Honor chuckled. “This one is easy. You just touch a crystal.”

  I frowned, thinking back to the crystal I’d touched before getting on the boat and how it had zapped me. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.”

  I could do that.

  “What’s your affinities?” I leaned into Noble. “Or is that rude to ask?”

  “Rage is right; she never shuts up,” Justice grumbled, stalking off, leaving me with Honor and Noble, the only sane ones.

  “Dick!” I shouted at his retreating back, and a few students around us gasped.

  Noble’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Not rude to ask. I’m a water elemental.”

  Whoa. So cool.

  “I heard water elementals also have a smidge of healing ability,” I said.

  He nodded. “Only smaller injuries and cuts, and it doesn’t work on myself. It’s one of those selfless gifts.”

  Which explained why I’d want Noble around if I got called in for a “meeting” with the alpha king. Did he torture students? Could he be any more evil? I shook my head, dislodging the disturbing thoughts. “Being selfless must be the pits.”

  We burst into laughter, only to be shushed by a teacher standing at an open doorway to a glass-domed building.

  “Prince Noble…” Her gaze dropped to our hooked arms, and her mouth popped open.

  “Madam Sherky.” Noble dipped his head to the tall, lithe, Midnight woman.

  As we entered the open double-doors, Noble leaned into me. “Sorry, Nai, gotta scram. Enjoy the show. I hope you have a cool affinity.”

  I let go of him, whispering, “If I’m a water elemental with healing abilities, then I’ll help you when you get hurt. I can be selfless too.”

  I was half kidding, but the tender expression that crossed his face made me think he was touched.

  He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You’re too good for this place.”

  I stared at his retreating back, his words pinging around my head. My stance remained solid: Midnight Pack was a bunch of psycho backstabbers … except Noble. That boy was sweet as honey. Honor was decent too, but I didn’t know him well enough to call him a friend yet. He was quieter than Noble.

  “Psst!” Kaja hissed.

  As I scanned the room for her, my jaw dropped.

  Holy mage shifter babies.

  This room reminded me of a meadow, only inside. Verdant flora occupied much of the space with white creeping vines growing up the sides of the walls all the way to the glass dome ceiling. Glowing white hummingbirds dipped in and out of the space above our heads. Like a magical wedding venue.

  I squeezed in next to Kaja and followed her gaze to a raised platform at the front of the room.

  Wearing their swirly magical robes, five high mages stood there. Recognizing the one from the portal, I swallowed hard. He’d allowed me to enter, but his magic felt like an inquisition. His deep blue cloak identified him as the most powerful water elemental.

  “That’s the high council?” I whispered, staring at the five men.

  Rumor was they lived for a millennia before passing on to whatever upper realm of honor the high mages received—allegedly better than what shifters, vampires, or even the “regular” mages inherited. We lived over a century easily, so I wasn’t going to complain. Much.

  One of the dudes had silvery-white hair like mine, except he was so wrinkled he might’ve had one foot out of this
mortal realm already. The other four were younger, and their scary-as-hell eyes were probably lethal weapons.

  Kaja nodded and dropped her voice so low I could barely hear: “My sister told me they possess all of the elemental affinities, but each of them is the master of one.”

  I studied their colored silk cloaks. Orange for fire. Blue for water. Brown for earth. White for air.

  But the old dude … he wore an iridescent silver robe. Was he like the king of them all? Or so old he was merely honorific? There were only four elements, so something was up with him.

  “What about…” I pointed at the old mage. “…that guy? What’s his strongest element?”

  Kaja shrugged. “I heard he can raise the dead.”

  Raise the dead…?

  Chills skittered over my skin, and I spun toward Kaja, my eyes wide.

  “Are you serious?” I hissed.

  Her expression gave no indication of humor, but I didn’t know her well enough to really have a read on her.

  “Just do what they tell you, and you should be fine.”

  “That’s not very reassuring,” I muttered.

  My attention flitted past the five members of the High Mage Council to the armed soldiers standing behind each of them. Those guys were the epitome of badass—from their modern breastplate armor to the shiny and sharp weapons they carried. Killing machines. One for each. I was admiring their black tactical suits when my gaze fell on the high mage crest patch, and I gasped, realizing who the soldiers were.

  “Are those their shields?” I stared at them with hero worship and tried to contain my excitement. Next to the alpha king, these wolf-shifters held the highest positions we could have.

  Kaja nodded. “Pretty cool, huh? My second eldest sister is one.” My eyes landed on the fierce redheaded shield standing behind the old dude with her hand at the hilt of a blade.

  So freaking cool. I wanted to call my dad just to tell him I’d finally seen one. The High Mage Council was so important that they each had a living person bound to protect them, a shield. The shield would absorb any injury inflicted on the high mage—even death, keeping the high mage alive.