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TWELVE

D-DAY

KORVIN

T his is a bad idea.

Scratch that, this is the worst idea.

The worst fucking idea and there is a better than likely chance it is going to result in more prison time.

The asylum won’t cut it after we get busted, that’s for sure.

Yet, here I am, creeping through the goddamn woods between the main campus of medical buildings, and the off-site housing close to town.

Something I only know because Calix told me.

After I destroyed the storage closet this morning—Des did a little but mostly made sure I didn’t kill either of us—Calix came in to help us put it back together.

I don’t know why he keeps doing all of this stuff for me, for either of us, but I’ve come to the understanding that it’s more for him and not actually for us.

He doesn’t seem to know how to navigate any kind of relationship and his fear of rejection is so fucking strong I can taste it. So, I let him do what he needs to do, and I reassure him the best I can while he does it because Calix doesn’t seem to understand that he’s mine now, either.

His story broke my heart, if I’m being honest, and he’s the first person I’ve ever met who makes me want to give him the pieces so he can feel whole.

Sappy fucking shit.

That’s been me lately.

Sapping out over Calix, trying to figure out how to get closer to Isaak so I can satisfy that nagging. Attempting to get a handle on how I feel about Des, and I’m downright needy for Magnolia.

It’s stupid.

I’ve gone my entire life without giving one single shit about anyone but my sister, to the point of being diagnosed a sociopath, and they throw my ass into an asylum to try to reform me but instead I’m even more fucked up over what’s going on in my head.

Two omega scent matches, a beta I want to claim, and an alpha I am dying to fuck into submission.

Because they are all mine and it’s making me fucking crazy.

“You’re doing it again,” Des whispers as he gooses my ass for the fourth time. “You keep doing that, I’ll keep doing this.”

I stay low and keep moving through the woods but give him an annoyed huff. “Grab my ass again and I will make you sorry you talked me into this.”

Not that it took a lot of convincing.

After smelling another alpha on Maggie, I’ve been completely insane with jealousy, and his solution was to go out and make things right.

The thought alone took the edge off, then Calix came in to help and he had me sold the second he mentioned that he figured out how to get off of our ward through the rec hall.

All the way out.

Today was such a success that Isaak decided to see what would happen if they left our apartments unlocked overnight, so we were granted that freedom.

Then we waited until everyone was asleep, staff included, and Des snuck into my place, we waited again and once we were sure it was clear, we took off.

There’s an emergency exit at the end of the rec hall, just like there’s one at the end of ours, but since no one lives down there, it’s not active. Which means it’s always unlocked.

Pretty fucking stupid if you ask me, but it’s not like any of us are actively trying to escape, and I guess we’d never know something like that unless we were told.

Calix told us.

Apparently that emergency exit is connected to the wing where Isaak and some of the other staff live, that way they can get to us without all the bells and whistles if there’s an emergency and it leads straight down and to the back of Blackhurst Ridge because of it.

Security is a little tighter outside; cameras, and guards with rifles, a couple with dogs who regularly patrol the grounds, but since Calix has been out before, he knows where everything is and when everything happens.

And he laid it out beautifully for us.

He even drew a map to get us to the apartments off campus.

Yes, Desmond and I broke out of the asylum so we could go find Magnolia.

We already knew how to get out, so why not?

We devised a plan, executed it without issue, and even though we aren’t quite there, the closer we get to our girl, the better I feel.

Save for when Desmond pinches my ass.

If we hadn’t been in the situation we were in, meaning if we weren’t locked up for multiple felonies, I probably would have gotten out and gone straight to kill that smarmy fuck. I might still, but getting to Maggie will help.

I just need to see her and know for sure that she’s not with someone else. Not because I don’t trust her, but because I will literally destroy anyone who thinks they can take what belongs to us and judging by the handprint on her neck, that’s exactly what fucking Camden Blackhurst thinks.

I wouldn’t mind having a go at Dean Reynolds, either. Not after finding out he’s forcing a bond between his daughter and a gigantic pile of horse shit. What kind of father does that?

Slowing down a little, I roll my eyes.

Mine did. Both of my parents were going to put Maisie through something similar and they didn’t even think twice about it.

I shouldn’t be surprised there are other people out there who think like that.

Hell, we were at a fucking ranch that bred omegas when all of that came to light.

Apparently there are a lot of fucking people like that.

”Tisk, tisk, Vin.”

Desmond pinches my ass again and I shoot straight up, spin around and grab him by the throat then back him into the nearest tree. “I told you to stop.”

”And I told you to quit thinking about whatever the hell you’re thinking about because it’s giving all the bad vibes. Then again.” His brow arches as he lifts his hands, one holding my wrist while the other covers the one at his throat. “I like this reaction so maybe I shouldn’t complain.”

I huff in his face and let go. “We’re wasting time.”

”Sure.” Des nods. “Absolutely. Only so many hours before we have to be back for morning rounds.”

We will be.

Doesn’t matter how many hours there are, we’ll be back before anyone knows we were gone. We aren’t trying to escape forever, we won’t see the rest of our pack if we do.

I pause as that thought echoes through my mind.

Huh. It shouldn’t surprise me that I put that terminology to it, but I haven’t really before, and I think part of that is because it won’t feel like we are a pack until we find a way to be one. At least, that’s where I was before right now.

Weird.

It’s true, though.

Des and Maggie, Isaak and Calix. They’re mine, I have every intention of claiming everyone, and I guess that means they’re my pack.

”Got ya!” Des shouts as he smacks me on the ass hard, then proceeds to take off running through the woods. Cackling like an idiot, just asking for us to get caught.

Not if I catch him first.

I track him for a moment, watching that crazy asshat leap over fallen tree trunks and duck under low hanging branches. He zig zags as if that’s going to make a difference but it won’t.

Desmond just turned me into a predator, and that means he is my prey.

Taking off in a sprint, I follow his orange jumpsuit with my eyes, anticipating his moves while planning my own. I go to the left and wide, giving him the illusion of being farther ahead of me than he is, letting him get comfortable with this being more of a race than a chase.

That’s what this is now.

A chase. A hunt.

My primal instincts are taking over and as I come up alongside him, even but from a safe distance, I know exactly how this is going to end.

Des slows down as he tries to catch his breath, laughing to himself as he turns but when he doesn’t see me, he stops and starts searching the forest behind him.

He takes a few steps in the opposite direction, hesitantly going back the way we came, but when I see his playful expression turn to one of worry, something inside me softens and I can’t keep this up much longer.

It’s like, I knew he cared about me before this, we’ve been drawn to each other since the beginning and I thought I understood why. We scent matched the same two omegas, we share something that belongs to both of us. It made sense that we felt some sort of pull.

I don’t think that’s what it is anymore.

Not as I watch him nervously search the trees, his eyes straining in the darkness to find just a glimpse of me. Not as I step a little closer, quietly closing in on him without him having a clue I’m less than twenty feet away.

His concern for me is clear, it matches mine for him and it’s practically radiating off of him, and that proves what we share is more than Isaak and Magnolia. It goes beyond just wanting to fuck him into submission because I think he needs it.

”Vin,” Des whispers into the dark as he takes a few more steps away from me. “Where the hell are you?”

I move closer, quietly closing the gap between us and right before he’s about to run back for a search and rescue, I step into his space.

”Boo,” I whisper next to his ear then laugh as he jumps and whips around with his fists up ready to fight. “Worried you lost me?”

”No,” Des grunts, tugging on the front of his jumpsuit and shaking out his arms to downplay what just happened. “I knew you were there.”

”Mhm.”

He gives me a dirty look. “I did. I heard your big ass lumbering through the woods, couldn’t be quiet if your life depended on it.”

”Right.”

”Oh fuck off, Korvin. I was just trying to lighten things up.” Des turns away from me, annoyed as hell and ready to go. “You’re such a fucking downer, all angry and broody all the time. Thought maybe we could have some fun but I guess you forgot what the hell that is.”

I reach out lightning fast, my hand landing on the back of his neck before he has the chance to get away then spin him around and tug him close so he’s facing me. “Don’t pout, Desmond.”

”I’m not,” he whispers, his eyes dropping to my lips as he licks his own. “I don’t pout.”

”Mhm.” I lean in and rub my nose against his, an oddly tender gesture coming from me but even more so between alphas. “Never seen you do it.”

He swallows hard as he nods. “Right.”

”You know what happens now?”

Des shakes his head.