What was wrong with her?—with me?
I straightened, glaring at one wolf and then the other. “What do you want?” Waving my hands at them to shoo, I yelled, “Get out of here. This ismyterritory.”
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. Ican’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.
