Chapter 23
Christmas Eve had Shaw wrapping one of the many presents he’d bought for Robin. He placed it under the Christmas tree he’d put up earlier that week. The pile had grown big. He knew Robin would chastise him for buying so much, but he didn’t care. Let her whimper a bit, he liked when she did that too.
He liked everything about the female. Loved more so than liked, if he was to be honest with himself.
Shaw was pulling out all the stops. He had a gorgeous ring and planned on asking her to become his on Christmas night. The day would be spent opening presents, eating great foods he’d had brought in from all over the world. He was going to throw everything at her at once, inundating her with his love and affection before asking her to become his that very night.
He had put the Christmas tree up in one of the living areas he rarely used so that Robin wouldn’t see the abundance of presents. He left the room and headed to the kitchen to see about dinner. He’d hired a chef to make them a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner that Robin would never forget.
“Hey, Chef Ram, how’s it coming in here?” Shaw asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“Great, I’ve got the duck in the oven, the roast beef is resting as we speak. That will taste divine on top of the salad made from the fresh greens you had flown in from California. I’ve got my homemade dressing in the fridge already.” Before the man could go on any further, Shaw’s cell rang.
He lifted a finger as he nodded for the chef to keep cooking then left the room to take the call from his father. “Dad, Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too, son. How’s it going out there?” his father asked.
“Great. Better than I ever expected. This Christmas will be one to be remembered.” Shaw took a seat on a leather sofa in the next room, looking out the window and loving the view. Snow-covered ground ran for a hundred yards before the forest rose up, then a mountain rose behind the trees.
“If you think it’s going well now, just you wait until you see what your dear old dad sent you,” his father chuckled. “You can thank me later.”
“For what?” Shaw asked, feeling confused. “Did you send me a present? Because nothing has come in.”
“What I’ve sent you has two legs to carry itself to you. I can’t wait until I see the two of you together. I expect you both to come see me this time next year, and I want to be meeting my first grandchild from you then, Shaw,” his father said, and Shaw had a terrible pain in his gut as he had a very good idea what his father had sent him.
“Dad, please tell me that you haven’t…”
His father cut in, “Jake Stone and I have known one another forever. When he came to me and told me his gorgeous daughter, Enya, was back home, doing little else than staring out the window, he knew she was yearning for something. Something she’d waited so long for, she forgot what it was.”
“It’s not me,” Shaw said. “I don’t even know this female. Why drag me into this, Dad?”
“Because you’re an eligible bachelor, Shaw. Why not drag you into this?” His father cleared his throat, taking on an air of authority with his son. “You haven’t met her. You don’t know if she’s the one for you or not. And even if you two don’t have an instant attraction, the way I had for your mother, then you can work on making one. Won’t that be fun?”
Shaw knew how things worked in the shifter world. Some found their mates and knew it immediately. Others didn’t find anyone and looked to other shifters to make a union with. In Shaw’s opinion, those unions weren’t nearly as stable and happy as one was when you scented the right female for you.
“Dad, I’ve found my mate.” Shaw bit his lower lip as he knew his father wouldn’t be pleased with who he’d found.
“Wonderful. I had no idea. Enya will understand then. You two can let her know I didn’t know about this. Tell your mate I’m terribly sorry. This would’ve never happened if you had just told me about this.” His father paused as it began to sink in. “Wait, why haven’t you told us about this? What’s wrong with this mate of yours? Is she barren? Is she from a pack we don’t like? Is she hideous and you’re ashamed you honed in on such an ugly duckling? Because we would never judge a book by its cover. You know that. Look at your brother Tony’s mate. She looks like a Neanderthal, but we still accept her. Their kids are cute, and that’s all that really matters, right?”
His father had every idea about why Shaw had kept Robin a secret, save one. “Um, she and I aren’t officially mated yet.”
“Why is that, son?” his father sounded completely perplexed.
“Well, because she has yet to accept my proposal.” Shaw put his hand on his forehead, rubbing his head and wishing he could rub the worry away. His father would be livid when he found out.
“Accept your proposal?” he asked. “But that’s not necessary. When an alpha male as yourself scents a female wolf-shifter, then there’s no need for something as traditional as a proposal. Nature takes its course. That’s always how things have worked in our world, son.”
Shaw had no idea how to say what he knew he had to say. “Dad, Robin, is the one I want to mate, and she’s a human.”
Silence is all that met his ear as he waited for the explosion to occur. When none did, he grew even more worried than he had been.
Only calm words came from his father as he said, “Shaw, I understand you think you’ve found a mate in this human. But you have yet to meet Enya. She’s a shifter with a wealth of knowledge. She’s a doctor and has a mind like a steel trap.”
“Then why hasn’t some male picked her up if she’s so great, Dad?” Shaw asked, because if this female was so utterly awesome, why was she still alone?
“Perhaps the right male hasn’t scented her. As a doctor, she’s spent most of her time with humans. She hasn’t been around many wolf-shifters in her lifetime. You should really give her a chance, Shaw. You two could be a very powerful couple. And your kids would all be made up of only the best DNA and genes our kind have available. Keeping your bloodline pure is important. One can never be certain when adding human DNA to our DNA. You know that, Shaw,” his father implored him. “You’ve seen the offspring of humans and shifters, some are good, some are okay, and some are off the charts messed up.”
Shaw knew what his father said was nothing but the truth. He’d seen it with his own two eyes. A couple he knew well had a host of offspring with major problems. The oldest had such an unstable system that the poor thing had no control over its wolf. He had to be kept at home, never able to go out into the world.
Sure the male wolf-shifter wasn’t an alpha, and that may have been why they had so many problems, but Shaw and his family still had doubts. He had to admit it to himself, it may be a huge mistake taking Robin as a mate. But he and his wolf wanted no one else.
“If our firstborn comes out with major problems, then we won’t have anymore,” Shaw told his father. “This female has my heart, as well as my wolf’s. You don’t understand, Dad. I love her. I adore her.”
“Love can fade, son. And if you have a life full of problems, love can fade far faster. And you would be stuck in that relationship, Shaw. Think long and hard about this before you try to change that girl. Who knows, she might not even survive the process.”
Knowing what his father said was true, Shaw had no choice but to, at the very least, meet this she-wolf. And when his doorbell rang, he was fairly certain the wolf was at his door. “I’ll take all you’ve said into consideration, Dad. I promise you that. She’s here. I can smell her.”
“And do you like what you smell, son?”
“I don’t hate it,” Shaw admitted. “I’ll talk to you later, Dad.”
Shaw made his way to the door, all the while wondering what would happen if he opened that door and found the female to his liking.
When he pulled the door open, his eyes landed on a tall, slender redhead. “My father, Jake Stone, sent me to meet you.” She extended her hand and Shaw took it in his. “Enya Stone, Shaw Lykan.”
His eyes leveled on hers as he said, “Come in, we should get this started.”