Page 19 of Pregnant Forced Mate

“Except my mind,” I murmur despondently as I press my fingers to my temples. She’s right—I have nothing to lose. Except my sanity. Except the things that I knew as reality up until yesterday.

I’m so caught up in my thoughts I don’t realize Lily has come over until her hand rests on my shoulder. I didn’t even realize that I’d been tearing up until I noticed how blurry my vision was.

“Oh, Yazmine…” Lily coos reassuringly. “I can only offer you friendship to ease your discomfort. I wish it wasn’t like this. I wish he’d waited for you to attend my wedding and give you the time to decide on your own.”

Sniffling, I stare up at Lily as realization dawns on me. “The invitation…” I breathe. “The gathering was your wedding?”

Lily nods as a smile forms on her face. “Yep. In Seattle, a month from now. My wedding.”

“What changed then?” I shake my head, refusing to believe this wasn’t meant to go this way. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if things had been different. “Why did he kidnap me?”

Lily lifts her shoulders as if to shrug. “He’s afraid, Yazmine.” A discontented sigh escapes her lips. “He’s afraid that the existence of dragons will be exposed.”

“Huh?!” I gasp as another realization hits me. My heart skips a beat, knowing I’m at the center of that exposure. “The bone…”

Lily frowns. “What bone?”

“The dragon bone I’d been studying. The fossil I found in—”

I’m interrupted when the bedroom door comes crashing in. Rude! I think. I was finally making sense of my situation by putting together the puzzle pieces. What infuriates me more is when I see the dragon shifter man standing in the doorway.

Eyes raised expectantly at Lily, she hesitantly throws me an apologetic grimace before getting to her feet and heading toward him. It’s almost as if they’ve communicated without words.

After everything I’ve learned, I can’t disregard the idea that they might just possess a sense of telepathic communication between them.

“We need to talk,” he near-growls with commanding intent.

Oh, so now he wants to talk? After getting more information from my conversation with the human than I did with him…

Refusing to give him the pleasure of my attention, I turn my face toward the balcony and fold my arms defiantly.

“We have nothing to talk about,” I grate with distinct retribution in my icy tone. “Unless you’re letting me leave.”

I must admit, with Lily gone, a mild sense of fear hovers above me like a dark cloud. Though I’ve learned that Lily is a human girl who’s happy to be the dragon’s mate, I’m not quite sure what they’re capable of.

“That’s not possible, human,” he spits out the last word as if it’s bitter on his tongue.

“Okay, dragon,” I enunciate equally as bitterly, turning my face and glowering at him. “But I am not mating with you.”

Aragon scoffs. “That’s still up for debate. But there are more pressing issues on hand. The—”

“More pressing than forcefully bringing me to this island and—”

“Shut up!” he roars, taking a menacing step forward with his fists curled at his sides. A fleeting alarm settles in the base of my spine when my eyes flit to the arm of a tattoo sleeve.

There’s something about how he just disrespected me, which has heat pooling in places I could never have thought they would. And I’m not the type of woman to just accept being blatantly trampled on that way.

Perhaps I’m being hypnotized by his masculinity. Maybe it’s a tactic they use to lure in their human victims, Like Lily.

I have a lot to learn to unravel. But I will not stand to be disrespected or to fall into his trap.

“No!” I get to my feet with determination coursing through my veins as my heart pounds in my chest. Adrenaline courses through me and rushes to every nerve-ending, curling my fists. “I will not shut up! I will not accept any of this!”

When Aragon takes another step forward, partially closing the distance between us, I realize how tall he is. He was so much taller, towering above me and forcing me to crane my neck just to look him square in the eyes. When I do, I’m faced with the imposition of his eyes that have turned a shade darker, causing me to gulp.

“You will listen to me very clearly, human,” he grates lowly, his eyes narrowing at me. “You are going to tell me where you found that bone.”

My brows slowly furrow into a frown. “The fossil?”

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