Holy. Mother. Mage.
Midnight Pack roared.
And then all eyes landed on Mallory’s dad.
Clive Daybreak stood in front of his pack, his chin jutting forward as he sneered at Rage. He had yet to move a muscle in support of the new king.
The seconds stretched.
Rage narrowed his gaze as my father, Justice, and Kaja’s dad stayed on their knee.
No way. I stared, waiting, each breath becoming more shallow as panic wormed through me. What would happen if Daybreak refused?
Clive stepped forward.
And I exhaled with relief.
“I challenge Courage Midnight for the alpha king position. Wolves-only fight.”
Wait. What?
No!
The wolves rumbled their disapproval, and my father, Justice, and Kaja’s dad shot to their feet.
“Be reasonable, Clive!” Kaja’s father yelled over the noise.
Then, the Daybreak wolves started to chant, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Oh shite.
A stone sank in my gut. This could not be happen—
“I challenge you, Courage Midnight,” Clive growled once more, pointing at my mate for added intimidation.
‘Can he really do this?’I asked Rage.
Instead of responding to me verbally, my mate plucked his crown off and handed it to Noble.
‘No!’I cried out. He’d barely healed from the horrible fight with Declan. This was insane.
I ran down the stage steps as Rage slipped off his coat, and then he started to undo the buttons on his shirt. By the time I reached him, Rage was shirtless and seething at the Daybreak alpha.
‘Stay back, love,’ Ragegrowled to me. His fury seeped through our bond; its depth indicated far more feeling than today’s betrayal. He chucked his shirt and coat at Noble and snarled. “I accept.”
‘No!’I lurched forward, intending to do something, and Justice folded his arms around me, pinning me to his chest.
“Be cool,” Justice whispered. “He’s got this.”
I blinked, and both men had shifted into their wolves. Rage’s black animal was just slightly smaller than Clive’s silver and gray beast. They stalked each other in a slow circle, and the crowd backed up, giving them more room.
“What is wolves-only?” I whispered.
Justice sighed. “Clive Daybreak was never strong with his element. ‘Wolves only’ means they can only fight as wolves. They can’t use their magic.”
Frick. That’s what I figured.
Before I could dwell on it further, Clive bared his teeth in a vicious snarl and then lunged at my mate.
