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PAUL

I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me. My eyes dart to the flowers sitting in the passenger seat for at least the fifth time in the last few minutes. What if she doesn't like them ? She has to like them. They're her scent. I wasn't sure how her guys would deal with a different flower smell in the house, so I went with the safe option that I know everyone in her pack loves.

Or maybe it's weird. Is it weird for a dad to get his daughter the flower that matches her scent? Fuck, I don't know what I'm doing .

Too late. My hands sweat as I pull into Amaya's driveway. Sighing, I take in the house I bought for her all those months ago. What was I thinking?

Puffing out a breath, I snatch the bundle of lavender flowers and leave the car running as I run to the new front door. Emmett has good taste , I think to myself while I wait for someone to answer.

Humor fills me as I hear all the loud voices and clattering dishes coming from inside. I'm so damn glad Amaya has a pack. Sometimes I wish my life was filled with chaos. The kind that comes from a happy family, not a ton of work and expectations as a lawyer.

I glance down the street to see if there's any movement in the guys' house. Obviously Vincent lives here, but I wonder if the other three split their time between their own home and Amaya's.

The door swings open, and Oliver leans against the frame. "Hey daddyo," he hoots with a grin.

Rolling my eyes like I usually do around him, I greet, "What's up, kid?"

"Ugh," he scoffs, tossing his head back. "Why you gotta call me that? You know I'm the same age as Amaya, right?"

"Yeah, and she's my kid ."

Oliver's eyes widen like a puppy. "Does that mean you claim me as your own too? Oh, please tell me I have your blessing!"

"Blessing for what?" Emmett murmurs around a bite of what looks like a cookie still in his hand. It's sweet the way he wraps his arm around his beta's hips. The way they both lean into each other is a show of trust I hope to see my daughter experience too.

"There will be no blessing until I've spoken to Amaya," I grumble half-heatedly. I'm almost positive they're all treating Amaya well, but I have to hear it from her first.

Oliver mock pouts, but before he can open his smart mouth, the girl in question is huffing her way down the staircase. Just as I'm about to bolt forward to help her down the stairs with her crutches, Samuel skids into view at the top of the stairs with a wicked glare.

"Damn it, woman! I told you to wait, not risk your neck doing it alone!" he huffs, sliding in beside her and helping her down the stairs.

She pouts and I can't help but grin at seeing her giving them a hard time. "You were too slow."

Sam deposits my kid on her feet and checks her over for injuries. At least that's what I'm telling myself. "Would you like to repeat that in front of Vincent?"

Amaya pales, making Emmett and Oliver snicker. Samuel smirks knowing he won, and I'm starting to get more curious about the life my daughter is building. It looks like things are going better than I thought, but looks can be deceiving, even if she is grumbling while fighting a smile all the way to the front door.

Just as Amaya is about to greet me, Vincent rounds the corner by the kitchen. "Who needs to repeat what?"

Emmett and Oliver drop kisses on her cheek and hightail it out of the kitchen. Pussies .

Batting her eyelashes, Amaya leans on one crutch as Vincent approaches. "Nobody and nothing."

Sam scoffs a few feet away with a shit-eating grin. "I'll tell you later, man. Why don't you carry our omega out to the car since she has a death wish with stairs?"

I feel forgotten, but watching the way her pack is starting to come together is a blessing. When Amaya twists her nose up and says that she was just excited to see me makes my heart fucking soar, though.

"Mhmm, we'll talk about it later," Vincent admonishes in a no nonsense tone that raises my hackles just a little. I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of my protectiveness of my daughter.

Amaya rolls her eyes and turns to me finally. "Hi, Dad. Can we go now?"

A laugh bursts out of me. "So eager to leave these guys in the dust, huh, darling?"

"You have no idea." She adds a long sigh that makes me laugh, and Vincent purses his lips. "Alright, come on big man, carry me out to the car, please. Who knows if the stairs have grown teeth or might just fall apart under me?"

Vincent has her in his arms not a moment later, but before I close the door behind us, I hear the rest of the guys discussing the reinforcement of said porch steps.

Yeah, Amaya has them wrapped around her little finger. And I'm so damn proud.

"Amaya, I need to apologize," I say once I've wiped the hot chocolate from my lips.

She does the same and cocks her head. "For what?"

I laugh humorlessly. "For so many things..." The car ride to this small mom-and-pop restaurant was a little awkward between us. However, with some decent music I let her find on my phone, we were slowly able to open up with general life things. Then once we were seated and handed menus, our conversation turned from music to the kinds of food she likes. I must say, I really wish I could have met her nana.

Amaya sighs and leans away from the little dessert Danish she'd been munching on. "Dad, you don't?—"

"No, please," I rush out. "Let me do this. It's the only way I'll be able to move forward and be the father I should have been from the beginning."

With already glassy eyes, she gives me a slow nod. Inhaling a deep breath, I recall all the things I’m eager to say, but they all fade away on my exhale. I'm left vulnerable in front of the girl I'm supposed to protect with everything I have.

I start with the most important thing I need to say. "I love you, darling. So much it fucking hurts. I can't believe I never got to see you grow up or hold my finger in a tiny fist."

Amaya opens her mouth, probably to tell me it wasn't my fault, but I beg her to let me talk and she does.

"I know it's neither of our faults, but absolving me of that guilt doesn't take the pain away. I wish I could have been there. And when I finally got the chance to be your dad, I pushed you away. I'm so sorry I couldn't be who you needed me to be at one of the hardest points of your life."

"Dad..." she murmurs, a stray tear falling from her lashes.

"One second," I whisper and lean forward to grasp her hand in both of mine. "I will forever regret not holding onto you with everything I have, but I need you to know that I am now, and I am never letting you go. Do you hear me, darling?"

With a wobbly lip, my daughter replies softly. "I hear you." She hesitates and asks, "What about Vincent?"

My stomach drops at the realization that she knows how I treated her bonded. I nod in understanding. "Amaya, I'm sorry for blaming him. I really, truly , am. It was so wrong of me and I won't make an excuse for my behavior. I'll speak with him myself and apologize. He's a good man."

She nods with a soft smile. "He is, I love him. And I love you too." Her golden eyes bounce over my face like she's thinking about something, then she says the one thing I never would have felt worthy of asking for. "I forgive you, dad."

The familial link that bonds father and daughter brightens and warms, just like our mutual smiles of love.

"Can you take me somewhere?" she asks shyly.

"Anywhere, Amaya," I respond. I would take her to see every inch of this fucking world if she asked. Nothing is as important as my daughter, just as she always should have been.