Page 229 of Awakened

It was enough to drive me mad. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone as much as I had listening to the sounds falling from her lips. Even after they were finished, the silence was so fucking loud it was deafening.

So why the hell is he at my door now?

BANG BANG BANG

“Daxen!” There’s a frantic edge to his voice I must have missed before, and his next words have me flying out of bed.

“Wake the fuck up, Idril’s missing!”

I don’t even remember getting to the door, much less yanking it open.

“What the fuck are you going on about?”

I lock down my side of the Bond, so he doesn’t feel the fear thrumming through my veins.

How in the Fates is she missing? Why would she run off? How does he lose his Omega, for fucks sake?

Gods, I only just apologized. I haven’t even had a chance to explain… anything.

Caelan fists a hand in the front of my shirt and tugs me into the hall. “I woke up, and she was gone. I can barely feel her through the Bond. It’s like she’s blocking me somehow.”

He releases my shirt, and I get a good look at him. His eyes are wild, and his hands are shaking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my Packmate genuinely afraid before.

“Maybe she went downstairs to get a drink,” I suggest. “Or… maybe she went to check on her panther?”

Caelan stills, then shoots me a glare that would make a weaker male cry.

“She didn’t leave to check on Shade, asshole. She’s just… gone.”

He shakes out his hands like he’s trying to get rid of the excess adrenaline.

“I thought maybe… fuck it.” He hangs his head, fists planted on his hips. When he looks up at me, there’s real pain in his eyes.

“I don’t even know why I came to you. Habit, I guess. From the centuries I spent believing you had a fucking soul.”

Ouch.

He turns on his heel, but before he can walk away, I reach out and grab his arm. He tries to pull away from me, but I tighten my hold, refusing to let go.

I won’t let go. I can’t. Something tells me that if I let him walk away right now, I’ll be watching him walk away from far more than this one interaction.

“Let go of me,” he snaps. “I need to find her.”

“I’m not letting you go. And I’m not letting you search alone.”

He tugs harder, but I dig my heels in. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries to get away from me; I’m a stubborn asshole, and I will absolutely keep this shit up in the middle of the hall until he gives in.

Across the hall, Vae’s bedroom door swings open. Our Packmate is shirtless and sleep-mussed, wearing a pissed-off scowl.

“What. The fuck. Is going on? It's four in the morning, you psychos.”

“Idril’s missing,” Caelan snaps. “I need⁠—”

Vae slams the door in Caelan’s face, cutting him off mid-sentence. The pain in my brother’s eyes is so fucking visceral it makes me hate myself.

Fuck. We are the worst Packmates.

“Caelan…” I lift my hand and place it on his shoulder, but he shrugs me off.