They stepped out of the throne room and into the empty corridor. The torches flickered along the stone walls, casting long shadows across the floor. Darlington held up a hand and closed his eyes.
"I can scent her," he said. "She went this way."
"The east wing," Finnian confirmed. "Let's go."
Jayce's wings rustled impatiently. "Then what are we waiting for?"
They moved quickly but quietly. Their boots made soft sounds against the stone. Their wings were folded tight against their backs. They did not want to wake the guards. They did not want to alert the king. They did not want anyone to know that their mate had slipped through their fingers.
Samantha was smart. She did not run wildly through the palace halls. She moved carefully. Quietly. She stayed in the shadows. She avoided the patches of moonlight that fell through the high windows. She knew that if she made too much noise, someone would hear. Someone would stop her.
The triplets followed her scent through the east wing, past the library, past the old ballroom, past the gardens that had gone wild with neglect.
And then the scent stopped.
Darlington held up his hand again. "She is close."
"Where?" Jayce asked.
Darlington looked around. His golden eyes scanned the darkness. "I do not know. The scent is everywhere. She has been circling."
Finnian pointed toward a cluster of large potted plants near a stone fountain. "There. Those flowers. The scent is strongest there."
The triplets approached slowly.
Samantha crouched behind a tall bush covered in white blossoms. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure they could hear it. She pressed herself against the cold stone wall and tried to make herself smaller. Invisible.
Through the gaps between the leaves, she watched them.
Darlington was closest. His dark wings caught the moonlight. He was standing almost right in front of her hiding spot. If he looked down, he would see her. If he reached out, he could touch her.
She held her breath.
Move, she told herself. Get up and run.
But her legs would not move.
Darlington tilted his head. His golden eyes swept across the flowers.
And then—he looked down.
Their eyes met.
Before she could scream, before she could run, before she could do anything at all—Darlington grabbed her.
His arm wrapped around her waist. His wings spread wide. And then they were flying.
Up. Up. Up.
The palace shrank beneath them. The gardens became small green squares. The walls became lines of stone. The torches became tiny orange dots.
They flew higher than the throne room. Higher than the tallest tower. Higher than anything Samantha had ever seen.
The wind whipped her hair across her face. The cold bit at her cheeks. But Darlington held her tight. His body was warm against her back. His wings beat steadily, carrying them into the night sky.
Below them, Jayce cursed.
"He took her! Again!"
Finnian was already launching himself into the air. His silver wings caught the moonlight and shone like stars.
"Then let's go get her!"
Jayce followed. His golden wings blazed against the dark sky.
The three brothers flew higher and higher until the palace was nothing but a shadow on the ground. The stars spread out above them like a blanket of diamonds. The moon hung low and full, casting silver light across everything.
Darlington landed on a flat section of the roof—a small terrace that overlooked the entire kingdom. He set Samantha down gently. His dark wings folded behind him.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded. She could not speak. Her throat was too tight.
Jayce landed beside her. Then Finnian. The three brothers surrounded her again, just like they had in the throne room. But this time, there were no halos. No glowing thrones. Just the moon and the stars and the three winged wolves who claimed to be her mates.
"You scared us," Finnian said softly.
"You ran," Jayce added. His voice was not cruel this time. It was almost gentle.
"You should not have run," Darlington said.
Samantha found her voice. "You should not have grabbed me."
"Probably not," Darlington admitted. "But I could not help it."
He stepped closer. His hand reached out and touched her cheek. His thumb traced her cheekbone.
"You are beautiful in the moonlight," he said. His voice was low. Warm. "Like something from a dream. Like something I have been searching for my whole life but never knew I wanted."
Samantha's breath caught.
Jayce stepped up beside his brother. He took her hand and pressed it against his chest. His heart was pounding beneath her palm.
"My heart beats for you," Jayce said. His golden eyes were soft. "Only you. I did not know it could beat like this until I met you."
Then Finnian. He stood behind her. His hands rested on her shoulders. His lips brushed her ear.
"You are the calm in my storm," he whispered. "The light in my darkness. The reason my wings want to fly."
One by one, they kissed her cheeks.
Darlington kissed her left cheek. Soft. Warm.
Jayce kissed her right cheek. Gentle. Almost tender.
Finnian kissed the top of her head. Sweet. Lingering.
Then their lips trailed down her neck.
Not hard. Not demanding. Soft kisses that barely touched her skin. Feather-light. Almost teasing.
Rynn exploded inside Samantha's head.
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is what I have been waiting for! They want us! They really want us!
Rynn, calm down.
I cannot calm down! They are kissing our neck! Their wolves are rumbling! I can feel it! Their bellies are growling for us!
Samantha felt it too. A low rumble coming from each of the triplets. Their wolves. Their beasts. Wanting. Needing.
Something sparked inside her.
Not heat this time. Something deeper. Something that made her chest ache and her eyes water.
Mate, her wolf whispered. Mate mate mate.
Darlington pulled back first. His golden eyes searched her face.
"Won't you say something, little wolf?" he asked.
Jayce tilted his head. "Won't you say something, bunny?"
Finnian's hands squeezed her shoulders gently. "Or should we mark you? Here and now?"
Samantha's heart stopped.
Mark her?
Here?
Now?
The spark inside her grew into a flame. The flame grew into a fire. The fire grew into something she could not control.
She panicked.
She twisted away from them. She stumbled backward. Her foot caught on the edge of the terrace.
And she fell.
Not far. Just a few feet. But she landed badly. Her ankle twisted. Her shoulder hit the stone. She tumbled down a small slope and rolled into a hedge.
When she looked up, she was surrounded by tall green walls.
A maze.
She had fallen into the garden maze.
The triplets' voices called out from above.
"Samantha!"
"Where did she go?"
"I cannot see her!"
She pressed herself against the hedge and did not move.
The chapter ended with Samantha lost in the maze, the triplets searching the skies above her, and Rynn still cheering inside her head.