Shawn was sitting in his office with Harry and Liam, searching his computer for possible places where his alpha could be, but none of them convinced him; some were very small, some were very large, some were very dirty, and some were too clean. They had searched every abandoned building in London, Holmes Chapel and Doncaster, but the Maliks had not yet been located.

The alpha's patience began to disappear, impotence filled his being, he wanted to save his omega and he didn't know how, he refused the possibility of losing his Zayn. Harry, for his part, couldn't stay calm, he had started smoking almost like an addict and he was always running from one place to another to make sure his daughter was okay and he checked the same place thousands of times to make sure his alpha wasn't there before looking elsewhere; he asked each of his contacts if they had seen something strange at least five times a day, if Shawn didn't know Harry like he does he would say that he had just lost his mind, but he had lost something more than that, he had lost his other half and he wouldn't stop or slow down until he was back at his side.

Likewise, Shawn needed to rest due to the pregnancy, but he couldn't close his eyes, because if he did, the nightmares about him losing Niall forever would be present; he ate only what was necessary to keep the baby healthy because his mother forced him to, but if it were up to him he wouldn't eat anything. He got in and out of cars, left the house accompanied by at least a dozen guards, interrogated his father's associates and his enemies, he cared for nothing more than finding Niall.

But from one second to another a pain in his chest made presence. He felt as if hot flames were burning inside him, as if his heart were being slowly ripped out, feeling almost as if the arteries and veins that linked it to his body were being torn apart, as a part of himself was going numb.

"Niall," he said in a small voice.

The curly man looked up from the papers he was reviewing and looked around before looking at Shawn.

"Shawn? Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

Tears began to fall down the omega's face and he stood up. Shawn was shaking and his skin had turned pale.

"Niall! NO! Please don't!" He sobbed and Harry and Liam ran to him, catching him just before he fell to the ground with a slam, his legs unable to support him.

Heartbreaking screams began to come out of the omega while hundreds of tears fell down his cheeks.

"Shawn, what's wrong? Talk to us, for God's sake, tell us what's wrong!" Harry asked, unable to hold back his tears, he couldn't see his friend like this, his heart had broken.

"Niall...no...please, no...Niall, please no...I'm sorry."

"Shawn, what are you sorry about?" Liam asked, his voice cracking and suffused with despair, his eyes filling with tears.

"I... no... Niall no!" The omega sobbed again.

The office door opened and Shawn's family entered in alarm together with several guards, finding that devastating scene.

Shawn could no longer feel Niall through the bond...

Niall was gone.

☺☻☺☻

Three days before.

His arrival in Canada was a complete disaster.

Michael Mendes was desperate and as soon as the plane landed he wrapped his son in his arms, Diana Mendes hurried to have her rooms fixed near where her little one's room was, she ordered her son's favourite dishes to be prepared and a few extra things she had noticed being prepared a lot at the Maliks' house.

"What happened?" Michael asked as soon as they entered the house, Shawn quickly tried to explain the events of the last twenty-four hours from his perspective.

"We need a way to keep the partners on our side while we find Louis, Niall and Zayn, we can't just sit idly by in front of everyone else" Liam said determinedly, Michael nodded.

"Well, it must be quick, guys, because the last thing I heard was that the whole world was going crazy with the message that the great empire has fallen," Mendes explained with a serious face. "But go rest for today, you've already had enough for these last few hours."

They all nodded and were led to their respective rooms, where each one entered without any kind of energy, not even to say goodbye. With a small nod, Harry thanked Mr. and Mrs. Mendes for the room and entered it in silence, with his little daughter in his arms, leaving his few belongings on a small table that was next to the door of the room and could notice that on the bed there was already a bag of diapers for River and some clothes that she could use as pyjamas.

He laid back on the bed, his baby on his chest and the faint rustle of his alpha's scent on his silk shirt, his tears falling non-stop as he tried to rip his shirt off so Louis' scent wouldn't completely fade away, throwing it to what would have been his side of the bed..

"I'm so sorry, my puppy," Harry murmured, sobbing softly, knowing that she was now asleep and probably wouldn't understand. .

The baby began to wake up little by little, she didn't shed any tears because the scent of her father calmed her down, although complaining a little because she couldn't find the smell of her other father, that made Harry cry a little more. River opened her little eyes little by little, they were as blue as Louis's, and that made Harry's heart squeeze a little more. He knew he had to be strong for all three of them, his baby, his alpha, and himself.

☺☻☺☻

The following afternoon everyone was gathered in Shawn's old office, the youngest omega was sitting behind the desk, caressing his huge belly, while he looked at nothing, River was kicking hard leaning on the chair and the twins were with her, Liam and Harry were going through papers and looking for a way to notify the partners of everything.

A call came into Harry's phone, he could see from the identifier that it was Stella, the omega answered immediately.

"Stella?"

"Finally! Harry, I'm with mom and Ronan, where are you? Why are there so many dead bodies in the house?" She asked, upset, and Harry sighed.

"Listen to me, I need you to get on the first flight you can find to Toronto, someone will pick you up at the airport and we will explain everything that happened once you arrive, do not talk to anyone, if someone asks you to accompany them somewhere there in England say no and run, okay? Take one of the house cars." He asked the last thing in a low voice, he heard her sister sigh.

"Hazzie..."

"Please..."

"Okay, see you later, take care." Harry muttered a little goodbye and hung up, looking around the room.

Nobody mentioned anything after that, Shawn checked a few things on the computer after sending a van to be prepared that would leave on its way to the airport in about seven hours, until Michael entered the office.

"No, I already told you that my loyalty and my business stay with Icarus Rose, and I don't care that a couple of insane alphas said they disappeared," Michael growled into the phone as he plopped down in the chair in front of his son's desk. You have the last word on your loyalty, I already gave mine and you are not going to convince me otherwise, but you know what will happen to your belongings once Icarus Rose manifests itself after this."

And he hung up, looking at the two omegas and the younger alpha, sighing heavily.

"You need to demonstrate to your partners now or you're going to lose a lot guys. The rumours are already spreading and everyone is crazy, the Italians are looking for new alliances, the Bratva has already said that if you don't show up at the end of the week they will raid your house and take possession of what is left there, the others have not spoken but I don't think they will take long to do so." He informed them with a serious face, Liam agreed.

He was afraid. His mind was everywhere and he just wanted to have everything under control, he had to channel his emotions as much as possible to feel his omega, he needed to keep hope.

"Do you think we can call a meeting with all of them in two days? We need to keep the reins on all of this." Michael nodded and started texting quickly.

"Two days, I'll see to it that the meeting room is tidied up, meanwhile you hurry up and find the others." Everyone nodded and Michael walked towards the door, but before leaving he looked at his son. "And Shawn, your mother has sent you to get your vitamins and some tea with some cake, she ordered you to eat it all so I hope your plate is empty or we already know what's going to happen."

Shawn laughed weakly and nodded.

"Thanks Dad."

☺☻☺☻

Stella, Ronan and Jane were already installed in the house three days after the event, with a few of their suitcases and bags of Liam and Harry's belongings. Michael gave Stella and Ronan access to a lab near the city so they could finish whatever they were about to finish developing before the whole mess, at that time it was important for the mob to have a new product ready for when they returned to power publicly, if they had something new to offer things could be easier.

"Very good, we need to find the whereabouts of the others now, at least give the other partners the security that we know where Louis, Niall and Zayn are." Liam said to break the ice a bit when they entered the office, but everyone was very tense.

Harry was making calls every five minutes, Shawn was looking at things on the computer and making calls, sometimes they took turns taking care of the babies since they didn't want to leave them alone and didn't want to give Barbara the burden of taking care of them after the emotional meltdown she just had suffered, it kept her in bed most of the time, although Diana tried to cheer her up every day by taking her out for tea in the garden or visiting shops in the centre of town.

"WAIT!" Liam yelled, suddenly remembering what Zayn told him before he left. "Shawn, do you have the necklace Niall gave you?"

"Of course I have." Shawn replied somewhat tense, the mark itched a little.

"Lend it to me," the alpha asked walking towards the younger omega, who looked at him confused, Zayn mentioned something about him remembering the necklace and... shit. "He complained, holding his head in his hands, Zayn's omega was unconsciously calling him by the bite.

"Sons of..." Harry grumbled, covering the mark with his hand. "I'm going to kill with my bare hands whoever is beating my alpha..."

Liam finally had the strength to pull Shawn's collar off and throw it hard to the ground, causing it to break into many small pieces.

"You're an idiot, Liam! What would you do that for?" Shawn yelled at him angrily, bending down to the floor to pick up what was left of the gift his alpha gave him, until he found a small memory among the mess, he took it between his fingers and showed it to his companions.

Liam took it and ran to the computer, plugged it in and asked for a password, he already knew what Zayn had surely put in. When the thorns were not enough to protect the rose bush.

"Niall" he heard Shawn mutter, as Zayn's desperation over the bond increased.

And while the youngest omega was suffering beyond his power, a signal jumped on the phones and other devices of the most important gangsters in the world.

Fear, those who have betrayed the rose, who swore allegiance but have now left. The rose has not withered. Icarus Rose is still around, and we'll be back stronger than ever. We see you all.

☺☻☺☻

The red liquid slipped all over his skin, mixing with the salty sweat that covered his entire body; Niall was in that chair again, still in the same basement where he had spent his days with his brothers.

"What's up alpha? You don't look like the big bad wolf you claimed to be anymore?" Said the beta who had been beating him for at least an hour. Niall spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and smiled.

"I'm just waiting for the right moment to blow your house down, little pig." He said with that threatening tone that only he had, and in response the beta hit him again.

The chairs were facing each other in a triangle, the three heads of Icarus Rose could see each other's eyes, they could see how they were tortured one by one, they could feel the helplessness of not being able to do anything to help themselves.

The beta hit Niall over and over again. Piercing screams tore from his lips as more blood fell and more bones broke. The beta had cut the side of the alpha, just where that tattoo of a rose that everyone in the house had as a symbol of belonging to the mafia was; Louis had it on his back, Liam on his right hand, Zayn on his shoulder, and Harry on his forearm.

"Enough! You're going to kill him!" Zayn yelled in one last bid for mercy, but the beta smiled and punched Niall harder again.

"Aren't you going to defend yourself? "He questioned, Niall no longer had the strength to respond with one of his jokes... Actually, he no longer had the strength to respond in any way.

The beta struck again.

"LEAVE HIM!" Louis yelled this time, he used his alpha voice, but the beta smirked again.

He hit him on the side of the face and Niall could no longer lift his head.

The alpha began to feel a pressure in his chest, a pain so intense that he had to muster all his strength not to send his suffering to Shawn, he fought with his last breath so that his omega did not suffer for him.

The beta took him by the hair and raised his head to then approach his ear.

"Don't go yet, we have much more time to have fun."

And those were the last words Niall heard before passing out.

☺☻☺☻

"Honey, what's wrong? Talk to me please, tell mom what's wrong." Diana Mendes said as she knelt in front of her son. She took his hands and pressed them to her chest, trying to give him some comfort. Shawn held his back tightly to Liam's chest, while Harry held onto his arm to keep him from getting hurt.

"Niall... I can't feel him anymore, mom." He cried. "I can't feel him anymore... I can't feel my Niall." Diana's heart broke into pieces, just like everyone else's.

Liam had lost his brother, Harry his best friend, and Shawn...he had lost a part of himself. The other half of him.

"Son, you have to be strong," Michael said as he approached him, "you have to fight for your puppy, you have to get ahead."

And at that very moment, labour pains hit Shawn, making him cry out loud as amniotic fluid trickled down his legs. The baby was coming sooner than expected.

They all looked at the omega on the ground, and prayed that the baby was born healthy even if it was premature.

"My... my baby... I can't do it... I" Shawn said in a panic, but Harry held onto his hand tightly and forced him to look at him.

"Listen to me Shawn, I'll only say it once," he wiped the tears from the omega's face and tried to look strong for his friend. "I need you to help us help you, okay? So stand up and let's have this baby... If you don't want to do it for yourself... do it for Ni." And just as he said the last words his eyes filled with tears again, but Shawn nodded and Liam helped him up.

"We need a doctor before it's too late," the alpha said as he lifted Shawn into his arms. If his brother wasn't there to take care of his omega, he would take care of his omega and his cub as if they were his own, because he knew full well that Niall would do the same for him.

Michael started ordering everyone around and things moved quickly, they vacated a nearby room and Liam laid Shawn down on the bed; Harry helped undress him while he tried to remain calm, for he knew that his scent was already too overwhelming on its own and it would intensify even more if he was frightened. Liam immediately went to wash his hands in case someone needed him and when he returned the doctor was already there, a beta not too old but not too young either.

"Okay Mr. Horan, I need you to start pushing, you're already dilated enough to start labour." The doctor said and Shawn immediately complied.

The screams began to fill the silence of the place. Shawn was screaming not only from the pain the birth was causing him, but from the fact that his cub would grow up without knowing his father, and Niall had left without knowing his baby. It burned inside him to know that he couldn't find it in time, he was furious... but he was also soul-broken.

And after three hours in labour, Shawn finally delivered a healthy baby boy.

The doctor took charge of covering the puppy's body with a blanket and passed it to Liam to make sure Shawn was okay. Harry wiped the omega's forehead with a wet towel while holding his hand and he just struggled to control his breathing .

"Congratulations, you just had a healthy boy." The beta said with a smile once he finished covering Shawn with the bed sheets.

Liam reached out to Shawn to give him his baby and the omega's eyes filled with tears as he held it to his chest.

He was identical to Niall.

"Avery James Horan." Shawn whispered with the last breath of hope left in him.

And his father came slamming the door in with a huge smile on his face at seeing his son holding his grandson so lovingly, and even more so at the news he had.

"You guys got a message," he announced happily, everyone paying attention to Swallow's boss.

"What happened, Mr. Mendes?" Harry asked.

"They have already found the whereabouts of the others, we are sending someone there immediately.

☺☻☺☻

"Niall!"

"Niall, open your eyes please!"

"Niall! Don't leave us brother... please don't leave us alone"

The voices sounded distant, I felt fatigue taking over me causing my head to remain leaning against the back of the chair, unable to move.

Don't cry, I'm here, I can hear you, I was saying in my mind, but my voice didn't seem to want to cooperate.

And I felt another blow to my face, my head fell onto my chest, and footsteps moved away from us in a direction I couldn't place.

"Niall, brother, wake up, open your eyes for me, please"

I tried to raise my head, but it was impossible for me to do so; my mouth was full of blood, but I couldn't open it to spit it out...I couldn't breathe either...maybe the day had come...someone had finally managed to defeat me. I was going to die.

Shawn... Shawn, what do you have, love?

Shawn... I'm fine... don't suffer for me.

Shawn... Shawn...?

I snapped my head up and started coughing hard, all the blood pouring into my chest as I tried to breathe. Everything hurt, but I could feel Shawn hurt, and my pain couldn't compare to his.

"Niall" Louis said, "Niall are you okay?[

I widened my eyes and took a deep breath. I blinked several times to try to get used to the light in the place, it wasn't too much but it had made my eyes watery.

"Sh... Shawn... I..." I tried to speak, but a huge pressure in my chest prevented me.

I can feel you love...

I'm here, don't cry...

I am with you... I will always be with you.

"Niall, please tell us if you're okay," Zayn said between a sob and I looked up at him.

Tears began to fall down my cheeks and a wistful smile appeared on my face.

"No, please speak...[

"Shawn...h-he just g...gave birth." I said in a whisper using all my strength. I watched as the expression on my brothers' faces changed.

"Wh-what? How do you know that?" Louis asked.

"How did you feel when Harry gave birth?" Louis raised an eyebrow and met my eyes. He was holding back the urge to cry, I could tell, he wanted to be strong for me, that had always been the way to take care of him.

"I felt like my heart was full."

"I feel like life is coming back to me..." I smiled, unable to stop more tears from falling.

I was already a dad and I couldn't be with my family.

I promise to come back to you, Omega, even if it's the last thing I do.

August 17, 2005

Dear Niall,

I'm so sorry about what happened with your mother, I honestly didn't think the hatred of Richards and his people would go this far. I knew that one day the time would come for us to see each other again, for me to tell you everything up front, my son, but I didn't want things to be like that.

Right now surely that agent that I paid to take you to the boarding school with your brother must already be with you. I hope they treat you properly, because I swear that heads will roll if I find out that they did the least bit to scratch you.

See you soon, pup.

Sincerely yours, your father.