Page 86 of The Forgotten

Did I doubt her? Absolutely not. However, I have now been roped into standing in attendance at the heat spa as part of their services. My knot and dick are not so happily scheduled for the last date that was available on the calendar.

For now, Aisling is scheduling six months out at a time to iron out kinks as they come up, and she also has a backup in case changes occur.

Work also never stops. We have an omega missing, and she’s been kidnapped right out of her home. We’re trying to track her down, but in the meantime, I need to have Aisling near me.

I have to be able to talk to her, have lunch with her, and remind myself that she’s perfectly fine. Her pack would burn the world down for her, which is exactly what she might need from them.

Just because we’ve been taking out the trash and clearing the streets of the bounty hunters trolling for omegas, doesn’t mean things are completely safe.

“Work has been busy,” I offer with a small smile.

I haven’t seen Morgan Teague since I beat the shit out of him. Corbin has the alpha’s photo added to the banned list for all businesses, and I feel absolutely no remorse whatsoever for what we did to him.

I can swallow down a lot of disrespect before I have to respond, and Morgan caught my fists for his actions.

Taking a cleansing breath, I attempt to reassure my daughter that I’m fine.

“Tell me about what you’ve been up to?—”

“You’re deflecting,” she says flatly. “From one professional deflector to another, your mask is slipping.”

Rolling my eyes, I give her a bemused smile. Therapy has been very helpful for her, but it also means that she now psychoanalyzes me as well.

“My daughter, it’s not nice to call your father out like this,” I chuckle.

“You scare everyone else, including my own pack. Who else is supposed to do it?” Aisling scoffs.

“Ugh. I’m not sleeping well and I worry too much,” I finally admit.

Aisling nods as if she expected this.

“You need to find something that relaxes you,” she says helpfully.

“And what do you do to relax?” I ask, raising my brow. At her blush, I shake my head. “Wellthatisn’t on the table for me, my daughter.”

“Okay,” she says, taking a quick swallow of ice water. “While you aren’t exactly someone that I expect to do yoga, there has to be something that you can do to reduce your stress levels. Too many people depend on you.”

“That’s what happens when you’re in a leadership position,” I sigh. “I signed up for this. We have lulls and peaks, and it seems a lot of shit is hitting the fan at the moment.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t all have to fall on your shoulders,” she grumbles.

“Corbin is up to his eyeballs with bullshit,” I remind her. She’s a safe person to discuss work with, as she’s a vault. “I’m the person everyone comes to for advice, Aisling.”

“Yes, which means you internalize it all. I’m speaking from experience,” she reminds me.

“We’re very alike,” I chuckle. “Okay, fine. I’ve been considering taking up boxing down at Gabriel’s place. Beating the shit out of people also helps me blow off some steam and I don’t get to do it enough. Happy?”

Aisling stares at me for a full minute before we both begin to laugh. It’s unhinged but it does help to release some of my tension. This is why I called her today and asked if I could pick her up from work. Evan drove us, and he’ll return her back to Omega’s Haven afterward.

“That wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for,” she smirks. “I won’t insult you by reminding you how much younger those men are than you, Dad. Please don’t break something.”

A very loud snort escapes me, and I ignore the glances we’re attracting. My inhibitions tend to be lower around my daughter.We’re almost finished with lunch, and I’m on my one and only drink today.

Aisling sips her sparkling wine with a smile, drawing a mark in the air as I chuckle.

“Are you keeping score?” I tease her. “I’m highly insulted that you believe I can’t keep up with men who are younger than me.”

“Mmhmm,” she says. “Even I know that the reason you can is because you’re cagey. I don’t know whether I should be more worried about them or you.”