25

PAUL

W hat is normally just a blip of time has become the longest two weeks of my life. I've lived too many lives in the time since they kidnapped Amaya. Each day for the last week and a half since they released Vincent from the hospital has been nothing short of hell.

I would give anything, fucking anything , for my bond with my daughter to work similar to that of a mate bond, just so I could find her. We're all relying on Vincent, leaving the rest of us to sit on our asses like a bunch of useless pricks.

Ignoring the ache in my knuckles, I pound on the door again. Thankfully, I finally hear some movement beyond the door. "SEVEN A.M.," Kate screeches, then deeper voices mumble through the door.

I don't give two shits what time it is; my daughter is missing. My fists clench in response to the familiar tug in my heart telling me Amaya needs me, but before I can knock again or maybe kick the door down, it's thrown wide.

"What the fuck, Paul?!"

I cross my arms over my chest to keep from throttling the shirtless kid. "Beckett, get Remy. Now."

His pale complexion tinges pink with obvious annoyance at my audacity to demand things right now, but I haven't slept for days . I need my daughter.

"You woke my omega," Beckett fumes, taking a step outside of the front door to their safe house. It's a townhome, situated down the street from Amaya's house while Freya and her pack occupy the home next to it. How they could share a wall with one another is beyond me. They're all fucking crazy, especially the alpha currently hulking out at me.

Remy appears behind Beckett, with a shirt on thankfully, and slaps a hand on the alpha's shoulder. "Beck, go make Kate a coffee."

Just the man I wanted to see.

Beckett huffs, his glare lingering a moment longer than polite before he brushes past their pack alpha. I clench my jaw in an attempt to hold my instinctual urge to put the pup in his place, but I rein it in for the sake of my daughter.

"What's the update?" I demand, stepping back when Remy closes the door behind him. "Do you have a location?"

He raises a brow and sits on their porch swing. I stay standing but lean my hip against the railing so I don't come off as crazy as Beckett. Too late , I think to myself, but this is my kid we're talking about here. I only just found her, and I fucking lost her.

"Does Vincent have a location?" My tooth cracks but he continues. "Paul, we're waiting for Vincent to figure the bond out. We have a few alphas bonded to the missing omegas trying to figure it out too, but not nearly enough. The OPS is doing everything they can, just like we are."

"Doing everything we can?!" I snap. "Remy, we haven't done shit!"

His eyes darken. "I'm protecting my omega and my sister-in-law, so watch your mouth, Paul. How 'bout you make yourself useful and go see if Vincent needs help?"

My mouth slams shut.

Remy sighs and stands. "Look, I know you aren't on good terms with them, but you need to figure it out. If you want to help, go to Amaya's pack and offer it." The alpha drops his head and when he looks up, he looks like he's aged twenty years. "She's going to need you more than ever, Paul. Amaya will need as stable of a support system as possible to heal, so I suggest you go mend the hurt and anger between her mates and yourself."

Guilt and self-loathing settle like a brick in my stomach, rooting me to the spot in fear of what the future holds. I even feel the telltale sign of tears burning my eyes, but I swallow the emotion and wrap my love around the little tether connecting me to Amaya.

"You're right," I whisper. My feet shuffle back, ready to do as the younger man suggests. Before I can turn around, my phone blares in my pocket.

I don't know what intuition grabs hold of the hope thumping in my soul, but I know this phone call will change everything.

It's Oliver.

"Oli," I grunt, putting him on speakerphone.

"It's Vincent," he breathes shakily across the line. "Amaya dropped the barrier."

My eyes widen, and my chest expands on a gasp. Meeting Remy's eyes, he gives me a sharp nod. "I'll get Lucas."

"We're coming," I declare into the phone. We're coming, darling.