Declan - Heart of a Tiger (Royal Taiga Streak #1) - J.R. Loveless Page 0,101

he were staring into a mirror. Her eyes were the same sapphire blue as his own. They had the same long, slender nose resting above full light red lips.

“Nicky?” the man said, brows furrowing, and then he followed her gaze to Sean. His eyes widened and he stood immediately. “Alpha, who is this?”

Declan nudged Sean a little further into the room. “Arthur, Nicole. I’d like you to meet Sean, my mate.”

They both remained where they were, but Sean could see they were confused. The teenage boy looked up from his phone then and Sean realized he was looking at Austin. His possible brother. “Congratulations on finding your mate, Alpha,” Arthur murmured, still staring at Sean.

“I don’t understand,” Nicole whispered. “Who is he?”

Sean almost jumped when Declan took his hand to lead him to the sofa. He’d been so focused on them, trying to gauge their feelings, their thoughts. Declan helped guide him to sit and then Declan began the long explanation of how he’d found Sean.

26

Declan

Tears ran down Nicole and Arthur’s cheeks almost the entire time Declan talked about Ronnie being abducted, Sean helping him escape, and even the exhumed bodies now home with their families. “If we hadn’t arrived when we did, Sean wouldn’t be here with us,” Declan said.

“What was the man’s name?” Nicole asked, her voice quiet.

Sean clasped Declan’s hand and took a deep breath. “Carl McNeely.”

Nicole gasped while Arthur turned the air blue from curses. Sean flinched and burrowed closer to Declan. “It’s all right, Sean,” Declan murmured.

Arthur immediately stopped swearing and gave Sean an apologetic look.

“Why does it seem you know that name?” Declan asked.

Nicole swiped at her cheeks and gave a bitter smile. “Before I met Arthur, I dated Carl. He discovered I’m a shifter, but he didn’t care. He swore to keep my secret. The year we were to be married, I met Arthur, my life mate. I couldn’t marry Carl and I broke it off. When you find your life mate, it takes precedence over everything else.”

Declan nodded.

“Carl grew angry and he threatened Arthur’s life, my life, and he told me he’d find a way to make me pay. After Arthur and I mated, we never heard from him again. It wasn’t long after that we were expecting our first child. Things were perfect and we were so excited to have a baby. I completely forgot the threat from Carl by the time the baby was born and it never once crossed my mind he would still be holding a grudge.”

Nicole looked at Sean, tears welling in her eyes again. “A few years later, when I went to town to the mall for new clothing for our child, I turned my back for just a moment and when I looked back he was gone.”

Declan passed Nicole a box of tissues from the side table. She gave him a tremulous smile in thank you. Taking one out and dabbing at her eyes, Nicole continued, “We looked everywhere. No one had even seen who took him. I still had hope he was okay, that he was alive, and whoever had taken him would care for him like I would have.”

She never stopped watching Sean while she spoke. “I loved our son before I even held him in my arms for the first time.”

Sean nibbled at his bottom lip, a habit Declan recognized as nervousness. He pressed a kiss to Sean’s temple. “Do you think I-I’m your son?” Sean whispered.

Nicole stood up and moved to sit beside him. She took his hands in hers and gave him a watery smile and a small nod. “You look so much like Arthur, but you have my eyes.”

“Is my name really Sean?” he asked. It had never occurred to Declan to doubt Sean’s real name, but it made sense to think McNeely would have changed it or not known it.

She nodded again. “You were named after my grandfather. Sean Vasiliev.”

Tears welled in Sean’s eyes and they spilled down his cheeks. Nicole pulled Sean into a fierce hug, her eyes closing as she started crying again. “My baby. I’ve missed you so much.”

Silent sobs shook Sean’s slender frame and Declan’s heart ached for everything his mate had lost and filled with hope for the future for all of them. He ran his hand over Sean’s leg in a comforting gesture.

Arthur came forward and perched on the edge of the coffee table in front of the three of them. He didn’t say anything before wrapping the both of them in