Page 29 of Pregnant Forced Mate

“I’m Aragon’s captive,” I muse with a grin. “Though I can’t make out if the rest of you are just decoys.”

“Decoys?” Kairo frowns.

I raise a skeptical brow, glancing at Lily. “Did Aragon put you all up to this? To act nice to me? Is that how he hatches his grand plan?”

Both women burst out laughing. I follow with a nervous giggle.

“I can assure you, Yazmine, this isn’t an act,” Lily giggles, looking remorsefully at me. “I take it he hasn’t eased up on the whole “grumpy dragon act.”” She makes air quotations.

“So that’s an act, then?” I scoff, rolling my eyes as I turn back to my screen. “I find that very hard to believe. His grumpiness seems ingrained into his being.”

“He wasn’t always like that,” Kairo replies, the sadness in her voice prompting me to frown at her. “Not until he left the island.”

“He left the island?”

Kairo nods at me, glancing at Lily before pulling a chair up beside me. She appears despondent as she takes a seat, slouching her petite shoulders.

“Something changed him out there,” she continues. “Aragon was following Draco’s footsteps by traveling the word. The human world. You see, we don’t get to experience life the way mortals do. But occasionally, one of us ventures out undetected in the world to understand life.”

“He returned shortly after I arrived,” Lily adds. “But everyone agrees that the Aragon I met isn’t the Aragon who left the island.”

Kairo nods, her eyes softening. “He was vibrant before. So full of life. He headed the rugby football team for many years until he became restless and decided to travel.”

“You have a rugby football team?” I quiz.

“Used to. It was Aragon’s favorite sport. And he started a team.”

“Wow…” Lily murmurs. “Even I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah…” Kairo grows sad again. “He doesn’t seem interested to start again. I think the horrors of the outside world really got to him.”

“H-how old is he?” I ask, realizing how little I know about the dragon man. If he’s immortal, he must have lived a long time.

“He’s ninety-nine years old.”

My jaw drops as soon as Kairo responds. “Ninety-nine?!” I exclaim, eyes growing wide. “He doesn’t look a day over thirty!”

“Of course not!” Kairo giggles, playfully throwing a hand on my lap. “None of us do. We stop aging when we’re mature enough.”

“Speaking of which…” Lily begins, a mischievous grin curling her lips. “It’s actually Aragon’s birthday tomorrow.”

“Which is why we’re here,” Kairo continues. “We’re throwing him a surprise party, and we’d love for you to be there.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m meant to join any festivities. I was instructed not to go anywhere besides the lab or Aragon’s quarters.” The instructions were made clear by the twins, who were asked to pass on the message.

“Nonsense!” Kairo bleats. “Lily has already picked out a dress for you.”

“Uh-huh!” Lily agrees, nodding smugly. “It’s the gold dress in the closet.”

I blow a breath through my lips, shaking my head. “Well, if you didn’t notice, I don’t wear dresses.” Referring to the wardrobe filled with women’s clothing I discovered last night, I can see now that Lily is behind all the pretty dresses and skirts that I’ll never be caught dead in.

“Come on!” Lily protests. “It’s a special occasion.”

“Special?” I scoff. “Aragon’s birthday isn’t special in my eyes. If you haven’t heard, he’s as reluctant about me being his mate as I am.” I gesture at the screen. “The only thing I’m here for is my research, which serves us both.”

From my periphery, I catch the way the two women glance at each other warily.

“If you do change your mind…” Kairo says as she stands up, touching my shoulder warmly. “... The party is at breakfast tomorrow morning, in the dining room down the hall.”

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