27. Sean

27

Sean

S ean leaned against the railing on the deck of Howlers' , staring vacantly into the sky. The sun had dipped behind the mountains and the sky was streaked with purple, dark blue, orange, red, and yellow. He didn't notice the beauty of the sky, the cold evening air, or the sounds of the cars driving by. Sean's thoughts were a million miles away. He could still see her face when she chose her father over him.

He felt like a complete idiot. Sean had told her that he was in love with her and he knew she was his fated mate. He asked her to go through the mating ceremony with him, and she had one word for him – "Goodbye."

That's it. "Goodbye, after all they went through. Making love to her had been magical. It was more than a connection of their bodies. It was a connection of their souls – at least that's what he had thought.

Sean felt like he had been punched in the gut. She chose her abusive, hateful father over him. He tightened his grip on the railing, his knuckles turning white. He thought that Xyla had gotten past the hatred her father had for shifters. She had even told her father that they had been together. Yet, she still chose him.

"Hey, man, are you alright?"

Startled, Sean whirled around. He never heard Sawyer coming out of the bar.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look fine," Sawyer said sarcastically. "What you look like is someone who hasn't slept or eaten in a month."

"You know, when Ivy and the baby died, my world was destroyed. A part of me died, too. I was certain that I would never love again. Then, here came Xyla. We connected – at least, I thought we did. I let myself feel something for the first time since I saw my dead wife holding my dead child on that hospital bed."

"She's your fated mate. Eventually, she'll come to her senses. She just needs a little bit of time."

Sean shook his head. "I doubt it. She'll go back to her life. Her father will be a constant influence on her and she'll start believing that our relationship was nothing more than a vacation fling."

"I don't think so. She's your fated mate. Besides, I saw the way she looked at you. Everyone at the resort, including her father, saw how she looked at you. The woman loves you. She's afraid of losing her father. I can understand that. That's a feeling that starts at birth."

Sean growled. "I feel like an idiot. I'm a grown man, and I'm moping around like some idiot teenager. At least when Ivy died, I had a reason to be upset."

"You have a good reason now. She'll come back. But if she doesn't, you'll be alright. After all, you have the second-best thing – me. We might not do all that smoochy smoochy stuff, but we can watch movies and play pool."

Sean laughed, which was Sawyer's intention. "Next, we'll be painting each other's toenails and talking about which character on Criminal Minds is the hottest."

"Garcia, of course," Sawyer said as they walked back into the bar.

That evening, Sean was in his office. Jade knocked on the door. "You have a visitor."

"Who?"

Jade stepped aside and Xyla walked in. Sean's jaw dropped and his heart started beating a million miles an hour. Jade closed the door.

Sean didn't say anything. He just stared in disbelief at the woman sitting in the chair across from his desk.

"I guess you hate me and you have the right, but I had to come and talk to you."

"What about?" Sean asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"I was an idiot. I didn't tell you ‘No' because I didn't love you or I didn't want to be with you. I said it because I felt like a traitor to my father. He raised Edward and me after Mom left. I thought that I owed him."

Sean didn't move. He simply looked at Xyla, trying to figure out why she had come. It was as though someone had ripped a band-aid off a cut and it started to bleed again.

"I was wrong. Sean, I love you. I'm in love with you. I don't know what you meant by fated mates. All I do know is what I feel for you. I hurt so bad when we were apart. If you still want to go through the mating ceremony with me, I would be honored. Nothing would make me happier than spending the rest of my life with you."

He simply looked at her in shock.

She fidgeted nervously. "Sean, please say something."

He stood up, walked around his desk, and knelt in front of her. "Of course, I still want to go through the mating ceremony with you. I'm in love with you."

Xyla smiled. Sean pressed his mouth to hers, telling her with that single kiss how much he loved her. It was a love beyond words.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure you want to choose me over your father?" Sean cringed at the vulnerability in his voice.

"Yes. I'm absolutely positive. I will always love my father, but I love you more. I told him this morning that I was coming here to tell you I loved you and to beg you to be with me."

Sean smiled. "I don't think I heard any begging in your speech."

She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "You'll probably hear begging soon enough when we make it to the bedroom."

He laughed.

"There's two other things, though."

His heart sank. "What are they?"

"One is that I would like Edward to live with us. Dad is toxic. He adores you. Dad threatened that he wouldn't let me see Edward anymore, and I blurted out that I would take him to court for custody."

"Absolutely. I love the young man. I would actually look at him more like my son than my brother-in-law."

She grinned. "Funny that you might say that because there is something else we need to talk about."

"What might that be?"

"I'm pregnant."

"You're what?"

"Pregnant. We're going to have a baby. I was hoping that Sawyer would be my doctor because I understand that having a shifter's baby is a lot different than having a regular baby."

"We're going to have a kid? Really?" Sean's heart thumped hard and he couldn't catch his breath.

"Yesssss," she said, drawing out the word.

"We're going to have a baby. I'm going to be a dad."

"Yes."

Terror struck his heart. "But what if…"

She put her fingers on his lips and shook her head. "What happened to Ivy was tragic. However, it doesn't happen very often. I know that the baby and I will be just fine. Then, we can work on making another."

"How many babies do you want?"

"I don't know. Two or three."

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. Their lips met and the rest of the world disappeared around them. Heat, love, and passion exploded inside of him.

Sean pulled back and stood up. "Come with me."

He grabbed her hand and led her out to the bar.

Sean grabbed the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you bums. Can I have your attention please?"

It took a few seconds for the bar to quiet down but eventually, everyone looked at him.

"I just wanted to introduce my soon-to-be mate, Xyla."

Everyone jumped up clapping, laughing, and whistling.

"Thank you. There's something else, too. I'm going to be a daddy."

The crowd erupted with cheers. Someone yelled out, "Drinks are on the house."

"No, I don't think so, unless you are drinking water, but nice try," Sean called back.

Laughter filled the bar.

Sawyer walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Congrats, Brother."

"Thank you. It looks like you've got your first patient."

"Terrific. I should close on the deal next week and I'll be official."

"Congratulations to you as well," Xyla said.

Sawyer hugged her. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses. My man here was about to drive me insane with all his moping and carrying on."

Sean shot Sawyer a dirty look and then laughed.

"What's a girl gotta do to get some food around here. There's a couple of us who are hungry."