Page 12 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

I think she might have just been fired from her job. I’ve seen enough of the mortal world to understand how things work around here. It’s not my first time traveling, though. Five hundred years ago, things were… different.

Carts were used instead of cars and carriages for limousines, and the buildings weren’t as tall as they are now. People were different, too—humanity was more forgiving back then.

I’m not sure if I can ignore what just happened. I’ve seen worse and chose to only be a spectator. As a dragon shifter, we’re not allowed to intercept silly fights. But what just happened feels more than just a silly fight. It feels personal, even if I can’t figure out why I feel personally attacked.

Leaving my drink behind, I make my way out of the bar. It’s not like the alcohol would have had any effect on me. I simply ordered it just to stick around for the woman. Drawn to her, it’s outside I’m drawn to—to the alley beside the bar where I can hear her crying.

“Sierra…?” I call out gently, whispering so that I don’t alarm her. She sniffs when she hears my voice, wiping fervently at the tears on her face.

“What do you want?” she asks coldly.

I know that’s my cue to leave. To act as if I witnessed nothing and walk away unscathed. Yet, the chords of my heart pull as if I’ve just been strummed. I can’t walk away—I don’t want to. I need to know that she’s alright.

“Is everything okay?” I press gently, cautiously stepping out of the brightness of the streetlight and into the dark alley. She tenses up, gulping as she stares at my face blankly.

“Everything’s fine,” she says, a frown knitting her brows. “Why did you follow me?”

“I—I don’t know,” I admit tentatively. “You rushed out of the bar, and I wanted to, erm—order another drink.”

Sierra tilts her head to one side, her frown deepening. “I was only gone for a minute. You couldn’t have finished your drink so quickly.”

The way she gauges me speculatively has my heart racing in my chest. Gulping, I decided to quit the act and just be honest. “I was genuinely concerned, okay? Did something happen?”

Sierra drops her bold stance and sighs, shoulders drooping bashfully. “I just lost my job.” When she looks up again, the tears have returned to her eyes.

I suddenly feel compelled to wrap her in my arms, the intense desire throwing all caution to the wind. I take a step forward, and when she doesn’t recoil, I do exactly that.

She doesn’t flinch from the sudden immersion of my hug, permitting me to keep holding her. There’s just something about this woman that’s softened me enough to provide her with the comfort she needs at this time. I don’t know who she is, except for her name. Yet, I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.

“I needed this job,” she weeps, fully succumbing to the comfort. “I can’t go back. I just can’t.”

“Shhh…” I cajole, leaning back to stare into the soft golden depths of her eyes. They’re so sad, dampened by her plight. “It’s gonna be okay. You’ll find another job.”

She bats her eyelids at me, lashes fluttering like a butterfly’s wings. “I will?”

“Of course you will,” I assure her, reaching up and wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I’ll help you find another job,” I decide on the spot, realizing I’ve just changed my plans. I won’t be going back home anytime soon. Something tells me this woman needs me, and I’ll stay around in the mortal world for a little longer.

“Why are you so kind to me?” she asks with a firm frown.

I click my tongue. “I think the world needs kindness. I’m just doing what I can.”

“Thank you,” the pretty woman smiles, her eyes finally lighting up with the glow I’d seen before. I return the smile, pleasantly surprised when she sinks into my hug again.

“Are you my guardian angel?” she asks as she nuzzles her face against my chest.

“No…” I whisper at the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her floral shampoo. This is probably the strangest encounter I’ve had with a human. At the same time, it’s the most familiar one. “... But I think you might be mine.”

***

I feel empty right now. Emptier than I’ve ever felt before. Even emptier than I felt when I left Sierra in the mortal world to give her a chance of a real life.

She’s right here, on the other side of those glass doors, yet she’s a million miles away.

She hates me; I can see that. I expected nothing less than her hatred if I ever saw her again. That’s why I never went back. I am a coward who left her without a word because I thought that things wouldn’t work out between us.

This time around, she won’t let me near her. She won’t let me offer her comfort so easily. I only have myself to blame. But then again, I didn’t think the woman I was meant to have as a mate would be her.

Fate? Does it exist? The way it did when I met Sierra in Charlottesville? To her, I was the guardian angel she needed to find direction when she left her home in Louisa. She needed my voice of reason to nudge her in the direction of her dreams.

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