Page 63

“Flowers.” He stops about five feet from where we are, his gun trained on The Dean. “We’ve come for your flowers, Byron.”

“Pardon?”

He nods and steps out the way as the one from the back comes forward, the two in the sides closing ranks while they cut off the stairs from the rest of the room.

“If you want money, there’s plenty of that here. Money, jewelry. Whatever you want, we can get it together for you and?—“

The shotgun goes off again as the one in pink laughs. “I said flowers, man. More specifically, we want Magnolia.”

About four hundred butterflies take flight in my belly, flapping their wings so hard I feel like I might be floating in the air.

They did come.

Somehow, my mates got out and they came for me, and I really don’t give a shit because they’re here. My pack came for me.

“You can’t have her, not without?—“

Camden swallows his words right along with the tough guy act as the one in blue moves forward quickly, pressing one of those glocks to his forehead right between his eyes.

“Give me a fucking reason,” the one in blue says as he hands his other gun to the one in pink before motioning to me. “Let’s go.”

You don’t have to tell me twice.

Frankly, even if they weren’t my mates I’d still go. Getting kidnapped by strangers with guns seems like a better alternative to marrying Camden.

But just as I’m about to jump off the step and run to freedom, my father grabs me by the hair and yanks me back toward him.

Then all hell breaks loose.

A few security guards come running through the crowd with their measly pistols, yelling at my pack to drop their guns. Women scream, a lot of the men do, too, as people start racing around like a bunch of headless chickens.

My mates fire a warning shot to regain control, spinning on the group to try to keep this from turning into a full blown mess but all it does is scare the older security team and send them firing blindly into the room.

“Goddamnit,” my father barks as he goes down, shoving me toward Camden while cradling his arm. “Run!”

Grabbing my bicep and using me as a fucking human shield, this horrible man takes his opportunity and slides past while people lose their minds.

He drags me behind the stairs and through the crowd, pushing past terrified men and knocking down screaming women.

Camden even crashes into a security guard and instead of doing anything any normal human would, he punches him in the face, takes his gun, and keeps running.

“What are you doing?!” I screech, his hold so tight I’m worried he’s going to dislocate my shoulder again. “Camden!”

“Shut up!” He leads us down an empty hall, searching for an emergency exit but there isn’t one.

So, instead, Camden shoves me up against the wall, backhands me with the gun then aims it at me because he’s officially lost his fucking mind.

“This is all your fault, Magnolia!” He barks as he cocks the hammer. “You. You did this to me. If you’d have just agreed to marry me, just obeyed me from the beginning, none of this would have happened.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It would have been easier. So much easier. Just let me have you, let me bond and you wouldn’t have had to worry about anything for the rest of your life.

You would have been taken care of, Magnolia!

” He shakes the gun at my face, emphasizing his words with a hard point in my direction. “I would have taken care of you.”

Camden comes at me quickly, shoving the gun under my chin as he presses his nose to my cheek. “You would have had anything you wanted, the world would have been your playground. But you didn’t want that. Couldn’t be happy with something like that so you went and bonded with those deviants.”

He drags his nose down my neck but growls and gags as he gets close to Korvin’s mate mark.

“Camden,” I plead as the gun digs into my chin. “Camden, please. You don’t want to do this, not really. You?—“

“The thing is,” he says as he stands, dragging the muzzle up my cheek and over my black eye until it’s right in the middle of my forehead.

“I do. I really want to kill you, Magnolia. I was going to sell you to the Hardens tomorrow night, after the wedding. I was trying to decide if I wanted to do it before we got to the airport or after, but now? Now I think I’m just going to kill you myself because?—“

Something sprays all over my face before he gets to finish, something warm and thick splattering over my neck and chest, and I swear I just went deaf.

I blink repeatedly as Camden stands there gaping at me, his eyes wide, his mouth opening and closing like a beached fish.

His arm drops to his side, the gun clattering to the floor in a single bullet explosion through the glass behind me.

Camden falls to the floor but doesn’t flinch at the sound, he just lays there staring up at me with wide eyes as an enormous red spot starts spreading under his head.

“Magnolia.”

I turn to my left, blinking over and over as the masked man with blue neon comes racing toward me, holstering one of his guns seconds before his gloved palm slides against my cheek.

“Fuck, Magnolia.” He starts brushing what I can only imagine is bits of Camden’s skull off my face, his chest heaving as he does. “Maggie, sugar?—“

“I knew it was you,” I whisper as I still Korvin’s hand, leaning into his touch as I breathe his thunderstorm deep into my lungs. “I knew it.”

He steps closer, carefully sliding his fingers down over his mark as he says, “We will always come for you, Maggie. You’re ours and not one fucking thing is going to change that.

” We both turn to the sound of voices, of loud footsteps heading our way.

“That said, we need to get you the fuck out of here.”

I barely bod in response before Vin is lifting me, tossing me over his shoulder and booking it back toward the banquet hall.

I can hear him talking, not through the voice box on the mask, not even inside it, no, I hear Korvin talking inside my head and I don’t really know what to make of that.

Apparently it’s a bond link. We’re still figuring it out but it’s pretty fucking handy.

I nod, my face nearly level with Korvin’s ass as we race down a hall that’s going to take us to the golf course.

How did you know where to go? Might as well give the link a try.

Eve , Vin grunts. Drew us a map but I made sure to pay attention to alternate routes.

Thank god for that.

I love Evie and should have known she was behind this but she probably gave them the straightest shot to where I was. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it didn’t really account for shit going sideways. Now I just have to hope we find our boys before something happens to them.

“Run!”

I push up on Vin’s ass to see none other than those three running as fast as they can down an intersecting hall, rounding the corner quickly as they catch up.

“We are running,” I say, as I push up a little higher.

“Run faster!” Des, I can tell by his size up this close, says as he starts to laugh. “We have seconds.”

“Before what?”

The one in green holds up his finger and spins something around it and I squint. Then my eyes go wide.

“Is that a pin from a grenade?!”

“Ah shit,” Vin grunts as he kicks into high gear. “I didn’t think you were gonna toss it while we were still inside.”

Thankfully, we make it outside literally seconds before we hear the explosion, racing across the lawn toward the course as what looks like half of the country club blasts into the front courtyard.

“Go, go, go!” Korvin shouts as he tosses me in the back of a fucking van, the rest of our pack hopping in behind me as he make sure they all clear the back before he jumps in and slams the door.

We tear across the golf course like a bat out of hell, my eyes welling with tears as each of my men remove their masks and smile at me.

“Ew, are those pieces of my brother on your dress?”

I turn toward the front to see Evie smiling so wide, tears in her eyes, too as she looks me over.

“Yes,” I say with a sniffle.

She nods. “Good. Fuck that asshole. I hope he rots.”

I climb forward and get close enough to hug her, relieved and thrilled to see my best friend, and so much more grateful for her than I’ve ever been before.

“Go love on your pack.” Eve wipes her nose and playfully pushes me.

“Just no banging until we get you to your final destination.”

My eyes shift to the driver and all it takes is one look and I know without a doubt that’s Maisie Severe.

There’ll be time for that story later.

Because right now, I do need to love on my pack.

Facing my men as the first tear rolls down my cheek, smiling despite the way I start to cry.

“I’m sorry,” I sob as I lunge toward Korvin, grabbing Isaak as I go before I try reaching for Des and Calix, too. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it. I didn’t?—“

“We know, little flower,” Des says as he wraps an arm around me, pressing a kiss to my temple.

“And none of it matters.” Isaak nuzzles my neck and takes a deep breath. “The only thing that matters is that we’re together now.”

I nod as I cry harder, hugging each of my mates, exchanging I love yous while holding them tight and kissing them with everything I’ve got.

Over and over. For as long as I can, until we’re tired and crashing for the first time in who knows how long.

I can’t stop touching them, can’t stop scenting them. I can’t get close enough. I want to crawl inside them and stay there forever, safe and protected, and loved more than I ever thought I’d be.

We even manage to get into a position that allows me to do that, to make contact with all four of my mates as we breathe a collective sigh of relief and I finally feel like I can relax.

Almost.

I turn toward Korvin, the only one of my boys still completely with it since the other three have already started to nod off from the adrenaline crash.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, reaching up to cup his cheek. “Aren’t you going to try to rest?”

He looks at me a little longer before those gray eyes wander, moving over Des at my other side, then down to Isaak and Calix who are essentially laying on top of us. He meets my gaze as I frown, my anxiety starting to creep in until he gives me a small smile.

“I never thought I’d have this,” he whispers as he starts to settle in beside me.

I smile as he repositions so he’s touching all of us. “Me either.”

Korvin shakes his head as he leans in, pressing a kiss to my lips as he closes his eyes. “Not just a pack. Scent matches and fate bonds. Forever.” He kisses me again then rests his forehead against mine. “I’ve never had anyone do what you did, Magnolia.”

Lifting my hand to his cheek again, I smile as I ask, “Love you enough to sacrifice themself for you?” Korvin nods and my smile grows.

“That’s the thing, honey. When someone loves you that much, it’s not a sacrifice.

You just do. I’d give my life for each of you and I’d never question it, never hesitate or regret it because you’re the four pieces of my heart.

You are my everything, I would do anything for you and I know you’d do the same.

” I kiss his lips, softly, slowly, trying to convey everything I’m saying.

“A love like ours, it’s as easy as breathing, and so is anything and everything that comes with it.

And that’s how it’s going to be forever. ”

Forever and long after.