Page 2 of Midnight Rules
“He can’t protect me from everything.” Marric held Starry’s stall door open for Emery as she entered.
“You know he’s going to try. It’s not about you moving anyway. It’s about your baby making abilities and about you being alpha someday.” She clicked her tongue. Horse hooves pounded on the ground right before Starry entered the stall, stopping right in front of the door.
“My baby making abilities are nonexistent. And I’m not an alpha. I don’t want to be. The pack should choose. Just like they have before.” Tory’s death shouldn’t have factored into pack politics, but it did. She had been the firstborn. She would have been a great alpha. Marric paled in comparison.
Marric smelled blood. He partially shifted. His hands turned into claws, and he shifted his eyes so he could see better.
Marric chanted, putting up a protective spell around Emery and Starry. “Is she injured?”
Emery patted her down, running her hands along Starry’s back and down her legs. “I don’t feel anything. But I smell it too. It smells herbal.”
Marric sucked in a breath when a boy stumbled into the barn from the back entrance. He must have come in from the field.
“Go get Dad, Emery.” He caught the boy in his arms. He was slight and fragile, with torn clothing. He smelled as if he hadn’t washed in a long time.
The boy fell unconscious almost as soon as Marric picked him up.
He appeared to be around four or five. Despite his young age, magic poured off him in powerful waves.
Kinnison was already at the barn doors when they came out. “Bring him into the light.”
Marric did, holding him while Kinnison assessed him.
The boy had blood on his head and down his arms and legs. The blood on his limbs looked as though he’d climbed the pasture fence. The barbs could be brutal.
Kinnison sniffed the boy. “He’s a witch. A strong one. Dark magic.”
“There aren’t any dark witches in Timeston’s coven, right?”
“Not that I know about.” Kinnison’s scowl deepened. He moved the hair off the kid’s forehead. “Where did you come from, little one?”
The boy woke with a start. He sucked in a breath, and he stiffened.
“You’re safe,” Marric whispered. He tried to be as gentle as possible, but his instinct was to hold the kid tighter. He didn’t know where the boy was injured and didn’t want to cause him pain. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
The boy blinked up at him with big brown eyes. It was then Marric knew he’d do anything to protect the kid.
“Don’t let her hurt you.” And with that, he passed out again.
Chapter One
Iven Palmer had a bad feeling about the pack meeting, which was why he made sure it was all hands on deck. The first meeting since the alpha was charged with capital murder would be a shitshow. No doubt about it.
Tension hung in the air. He heard the occasional growl, but no one spoke. The silence was the worst part because it meant the first person to talk would get the shitshow started and it would be loud.
He showed up in uniform and kept a hand on his gun as he patrolled the space. No one really paid attention to him. All eyes were on Cass, who stood on a platform with Riley tucked under his arm.
Part of the unrest had to do with wards around the platform, but Iven hadn’t wanted to take a chance on someone hurting his son, who was adamant about coming to the meeting, even though doing so created quite the stir. By that point, everyone knew about Riley’s extraordinary abilities. The gossip made its way around town and through the pack.
Riley was the deadliest one at the meeting. He could easily subdue everyone in the pack all at once if he really wanted to, and everyone knew it.
Iven sighed as he scanned the crowd. It helped that everyone was inside the clearing. Cass’s Gran stood on the platform next to him, as well as two wolf shifters from the fire department and Danny, who also wore his uniform. Danny was still training, but he did a great job of staying vigilant.
Forests surrounded the clearing, but there was a parking lot on the west side. The wolves seemed to be more comfortable in the forest than anywhere. Even Cass seemed at home on the edge of the pack lands. They went on for miles. Being so far from town left Iven uneasy. Backup would take a while should he need it.
Cass’s gaze met his before darting to someone in the crowd on the west side. He knew the people in his pack better than Iven did.
Iven made his way to the area Cass had indicated and scanned the crowd. He saw the man right away. He held a woman by her arm. She tried to pull away, but he must have tightened his hold because she didn’t succeed. She wasn’t so scared that she just took his abuse. Instead, she growled and shifted, which forced him to let go. Iven wasn’t sure how she did it, but she managed not to get tangled in her clothing. The man’s aggression went from ten to sixty in just a few seconds. He shifted his hand and took a swipe. He missed, thank the gods.
