Seed of the Dragon: A Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance (17 page)

CHAPTER 16

“Shawn”

I was living in the city. I had no friends here, nor any acquaintances. I let myself go. I lazed around all day and gazed at nothing. Sometimes I had nightmares, other times I had dreams, but I couldn’t escape what had happened. I blamed myself. I wish I had checked the tunnel first to see if there was anything suspicious but I  thought that at the time they  only wanted to talk to me, not to make me unable to retreat. I wished that I had done something more. I wish I had kissed Rachel just one more time, wished I had hugged Michael just one more time.

My regrets piled by the day and soon I had a heap on my shoulders that weighed me down. I became sluggish and unhappy with everything. I used up my savings to stay at an apartment but soon, it was all gone and I was left with nothing but the clothes on my back.

I spent my days on the streets, begging for money or for a scrap of food. I was beginning to lose my sense of self, of meaning, of everything. I almost had it all, but all it took was one person to make my world come crashing down and collapse in on itself. At some point, I felt nothing. The weeping stopped and the mourning stopped.

Instead I thought of what I did have back then. The possibilities that were abound with my relationships. There were numerous things that I wanted to do and was excited to share with the people around me. I wished for those days to return. One day, they did.

I was walking down the street with my head hanging low and my hands in my pockets. I heard a child laughing and I had learned long ago that even though it may sound like Michael, there was no way it could be. After all,  he was dead.

“Shawn!” a voice cried.

I looked up to see a ghost; it was Rachel. She wore a warm winter coat and held hands with a child the age that Michael might have been had they lived. I felt my jaw drop.

“R-R-Rachel?” I stuttered.

“Shawn!” she cried out and pulled me into a large hug.

I was encapsulated by her familiar smell, which instantly put me at ease. I didn’t know how this was happening but I felt joy deep within my gut as I squeezed Rachel close. Tears fell from my eyes onto her coat but I didn’t care, she was with me now!

“Am I in heaven?” I asked as Rachel pulled away.

Her face smiled at me as her tears fell like mine. “No darling, you’re alive, oh thank god you’re alive,” she said.

“I’m alive? No! You’re alive!” I exclaimed. “You and Michael, you’re both alive!”

Michael looked up at me with a smile. “I was wondering where you went, Papa,” he said.

“Papa?” I asked.

“He said he wanted to start calling you that right after you left to get Bartley,” Rachel said.

“How, how are you alive?” I asked.

“I should ask the same thing,” Rachel replied.

We both smiled at each other. Life was amazing.

“Rachel”

Shawn, Michael, and I returned to the apartment I had with Missy and Kathleen. There, I let Shawn freshen himself up in the bathroom and lent him some extra clothes. After he came out, he looked like the Shawn I had known rather than that  homeless man who  had an immense familiarity to him. Shawn sat down on the couch across from me and twiddled his thumbs.

“So, what happened?” he asked.

“Well, after you left, a large sound boomed through the city. Large rocks started to fall from the ceiling and people were running everywhere trying to escape. Kathleen led all of us through a back exit but it was really small so we had to evacuate single file. Most people made it out except the few who had refused to leave their homes,” I explained.

Shawn sighed in relief. “I thought- I thought everyone was dead,” he said.

“We thought you were dead. Kathleen checked out the entrance a day later and said she found blood and burnt grass everywhere, what happened?”

“There was a woman, a shifter. She wanted to fight me and thought I might try to escape back into the city so she bombed it. We fought, but I won.”

“There wasn’t a body there,” Kathleen said as she entered the room.

Shawn stood up and hugged Kathleen like he had hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re alive,” Shawn said. “And what do you mean there wasn’t a body?”

“When I went to check out the place where you fought, there wasn’t a body,” Kathleen said.

“There should have been…” Shawn trailed off.

“What type of shifter was she?” Kathleen asked.

“A… phoenix…. Oh no,” Shawn said.

“Can’t they regenerate?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kathleen answered, “even if you actually killed her, she won’t actually die until she’s late in her years.”

He  cursed and hit his  head with his  hands. “I can’t believe I was so stupid,” Shawn said.

“You were probably really stressed,” I comforted, “you did think we had all died, after all.”

Shawn looked at me with a weak smile. “What if she comes back to fight me again?” he asked Kathleen.

“Then you’ll beat her again,” she answered.

“What if she’s tries to hurt other people ?” Shawn asked.  “I don’t think I can go through that again.”

“I’ll be with you, no matter what,” I  said. “After all, we are engaged.”

“What?!” Kathleen exclaimed.

“You never noticed the ring?” I laughed. “I’ve had it on this whole time!” I put my hand in the air towards Kathleen to show her.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I never noticed!” Kathleen said.

We all laughed together.

“Where’s Missy?” Shawn asked after a moment.

“Missy’s working right now,” I answered. “She got a part-time job at a hunting store.”

“Hunting?”Shawn repeated.

“Apparently she knows a lot about setting traps and knives, in general,” I said.

“Probably from her assassin training,” Shawn  laughed. He reveled in the calm and warm atmosphere. He then realized that this meant that Rachel was living topside.

“Does this mean that it’s okay for Rachel to live here?” he asked Kathleen.

“Well I don’t really have a city to keep her in anymore so as long as she doesn’t mention it to anyone then I have absolutely no problem with it,” Kathleen replied.

Shawn turned to Rachel and smiled. “Isn’t that great for you?Are you going to try and model again?”

“Actually I’m opening up a fashion store soon,” I  replied.  “I’ll even get to model all my pieces.”

“That’s amazing!” Shawn exclaimed in excitement,  so happy that Rachel was able to follow her dreams. He was so ecstatic that no one was hurt in the blast with the exception of Bartley. It seemed that somehow life was back on the right track again.

“Shawn”

We spent the night chatting and discussing the wedding plans. Rachel was going to design her own wedding dress as well as get me my own tailored suit. Missy and Kathleen were going to be our bridesmaids and all of Rachel’s family was going to be invited. Everything was happening so fast and the world was turning.

“I’m sorry, I’m just so tired. Can we continue planning tomorrow?” I asked.

“Of course,” Rachel replied. “It’s about time for bed anyway.”

“Rachel”

I was so happy to have Shawn back in my life. I was still in mourning and couldn’t get over how simple it all seemed when Kathleen had returned with the uncertain news. I was glad to finally have closure on that tragedy and have it end on a good note. It  felt like it was  so long since I had seen Shawn… when in reality it was only a few weeks. I hadn’t even broken the news to Michael since I was too heartbroken to do so.

When Michael asked if he could call Shawn Papa, my heart nearly broke in two. I didn’t have the confidence to tell him what had happened to Shawn, so I simply told him that yes, he could call him Papa.

Shawn and I were getting ready for bed. It would be the first time in weeks that we would sleep together. I was so sick of my cold, empty bed and was glad that I finally had my fiancé back to fill it. And after thinking he was dead for so long… I couldn’t help but be ecstatic. We both lay down next to one another. I leaned my head onto Shawn’s arm and chest while I wrapped my arms around his torso.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

“I missed you too,” Shawn replied.

I smelled his familiar scent in my nostrils, which calmed me. Finally, everything was back to the way it was supposed to be and my gut wasn’t screaming out in suspicion.

“What happened to you these past weeks?” I asked remembering how ragged and tired Shawn had looked when I found him on the street.

“I thought you were dead. I thought everyone was dead,” Shawn whispered.

“Well we aren’t,” I whispered back in a breathy tone. “We are all safe.” I squeezed Shawn closer. “Stop worrying,” I said.

Shawn sighed and turned towards me, holding me close. I turned away so we were spooning. Shawn’s form fit against mine perfectly. I felt so safe in his arms. It felt so right, so fitting.

Shawn put his face into my neck and whispered,

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” I replied.

Shawn squeezed me in his arms. I held his hand and caressed it with my thumb. I felt sleep pulling at my eyelids. The warmth of Shawn’s body was lulling me to sleep.

*   *   *

“Rachel”

The weather on my wedding day was beautiful. It was spring and the flowers were blooming. We had invited all of Rachel’s relatives along with the few people that I knew from the underground city including Missy, Kathleen, the doctor, and the nurse. It was a small ceremony but perfect for Rachel and I.

It was even more perfect as the music began to play and Rachel began to walk down the aisle. Her dress was a perfect snow white and her eyes looked like sapphires. It reminded me of the first time we met at that fateful party. That was the night that started it all. That was the day that spelled  out our future together, a one night stand that would end in a happily married life together.

As the minister went through the ceremony, Rachel and I kept gazing at one another. Then the time came for our vows.

“Rachel, I promise to always love you. I promise to take care of you in sickness and health. No matter what, I won’t leave you because I’ll never want to, and you know that I was never the lying type. I may not know about the future but I know about the present, and right now I plan on spending the rest of my life with you and Michael,” I spoke.

Rachel smiled and then began her vows. “Shawn, I want you to know that I do love you, and have ever since we met. Even though our reunion wasn’t on the best terms, I’m still glad it happened. I'm happy when I’m with you and I hope that you are when you are with me. I'm happy that Michael has accepted you as his father and you have accepted him as your son.

I'm glad that we are now together as one big family, and I can say that we have a web of people we can trust with our lives and it is all because of you. You have made my life an exciting adventure and I’m glad you took me with you along for the ride. I hope we can explore the world together, forever and always. I love you,” Rachel said.

I felt my eyes water a little bit at her touching vows.

“Do you, Shawn, take Rachel as your lawfully wedded wife?” the minister asked.

“I do,” I replied.

“Do you, Rachel, take Shawn as your lawfully wedded husband?” the minister continued.

“I do,” she answered.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the minister said.

I wrapped my arms around Rachel’s waist and pulled her close as I planted a kiss on her lips. The crowd cheered as we officially tied the knot and became Mr. and Mrs. Angelo. We decided to take Rachel’s name because I long ago discarded mine. From today onwards I was proud to be known as Shawn Angelo.

“Rachel”

“Rachel!” Auntie exclaimed as she pulled me into her embrace.

“Auntie!” I replied, “I missed you so much!”

“You wouldn’t believe how surprised I was when I got your wedding invitation in the mail!” Auntie said.

“I’m so sorry, Auntie, but things just happened that way,” I apologized.

“No need to apologize, darling, I understand that life has a way of getting
in
the way, ha!” Auntie laughed. “So you married the weird guy who waited out in the rain for you, eh?”

“Yes I did,” I replied, “and it was the best decision of my life.”

“I’m glad to hear you are happy, Rachel,” Auntie replied. “I was so worried something had happened to you when you didn’t return my calls.”

“No, no, I just was not able to answer them at the time,” I tried to explain.

I could feel Kathleen’s eyes on me as I spoke to my aunt. I had to be sure not to mention anything suspicious or about shifters to my aunt.

“If you can’t tell me, that’s fine child,” Auntie said with a smile. “I know what it’s like to need to keep a secret.”

I looked up at her and smiled. I was so glad that Auntie was so forgiving and thoughtful when it came to things like these.

For our honeymoon, we went back to London for a little while to walk around and take in the sights together. We were considering going to America but we were afraid Shawn’s old boss might try something if he figured out we were visiting the country. Kathleen and Missy promised to look after Michael so it was just the two of us.