Page 36 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

It’s not the same. She doesn’t feel the same way. Just when I thought she’d reciprocate my love, she remained silent in my arms.

Nothing I do will be enough to make up for the past. I can’t blame her; I know I only have myself to blame.

“Would you—do you want to go back?” I ask, a lump forming in my throat.

Sierra lifts her head and tentatively nods. She hasn’t said a word while my whole world is crashing down on me. The kiss wasn’t enough to reignite her feelings for me. The passion we shared was not enough either. ‘

As my heart shatters to pieces, I get to my feet and lead her back to hers. The incessant need to shed tears for my circumstances is pushed aside so that I can help her get clothed. Picking up her dress, I slide it over her shoulders, noticing that she still chooses to remain silent.

With my heart in my throat, so many words I want to say to her, I reach down and lift her into my arms. I realize that there’s nothing more I can do. She knows how I feel but doesn’t feel the same way.

The slow journey flying back to the castle is dragged out because of the slightest hope that she’ll say something. Anything to put me at ease. Once I reach the castle’s tenth floor and gently set her on her feet on the balcony, she turns and chooses silence as she heads to the door.

I hover in the air, watching her back as she enters the bedroom, hoping she’ll turn around and say something. A soft whimper of heartbreak falls from my dragon lips when she doesn't.

Where are you, Draco? I call out to my brother. Just as Sierra needed to speak to someone, I, too, needed someone to confide in.

My eldest brother is the only one who might understand.

I’m in my study, comes his telepathic reply, prompting me to saunter to the ground, hanging my head as I shift into human form.

***

“She doesn’t love me, Brother,” I admit painfully, the truth being voiced only solidifying my anguish. Now that I’ve spoken the words, there’s no going back.

I’d always been opposed to using force on a woman. When both Draco and Aragon kidnapped their mates and brought them to the island, I detested them for using force.

I know I can’t force Sierra to love me. Her unwillingness to speak to me after what we shared on the mountaintop says everything I needed to know. When she asked me to kiss her so she’d know if she felt the same way she did seven years ago, she didn’t find the answer she was looking for. Not the answer I’d hoped for, either.

There’s nothing I can do to change the way she feels about me.

“How do you know for sure, Felix?” Draco questions, passing me a glass of whiskey.

This time, I sip on the drink, reveling in the mild effect of thoughtlessness, even if it’s only a short burst of it.

“She didn’t say a word when I told her I love her,” I reveal glumly. I’d told Draco what happened on the mountain, and he’d been convinced I wasn’t reading between the lines. “That already says everything I need to know.”

Draco sighs. “What if she’s just afraid of being hurt again? Have you made it clear to her what it means to be a dragon shifter’s mate? Does she know that if she becomes pregnant, she’ll become immortal? Does she know she’s the only one whose DNA matches you?”

I hang my head from all the shame and guilt hanging over me like a dark cloud. “I’ve barely spoken to her,” I relent. “She didn’t want to speak to me before, and after what happened today, I don’t think she plans on speaking to me at all.”

“Perhaps Kairo can help,” he offers.

I shrug. “I think she might know everything, yet it changes nothing.”

“Give it time, Brother.”

Shaking my head, I chugged down the rest of the liquor and set the glass on the table with a deliberate thud. “It’s been seven years, Draco. If in that time, she lost the love she has for me, she won’t find it again any time soon.”

“What if she conceives after today? Do you think it will matter if she loves you or not?”

I stare blankly at my brother and contemplate something I hadn’t considered before. If she does become pregnant, it will not matter if she loves me or not. Except, it’s something I won’t be able to live with.

“When I made love to her, I didn’t intend on making her pregnant,” I sigh. “I doubt that’s what’ll happen after today. If she doesn’t love me, I no longer want her to be forced to be around me.”

Draco raises a brow. “Are you saying that you’re willing to let her go back home?”

“Yes,” I wince as I make the admission. “I’ll have to set her free. She can return to the mortal world. Though I’m not sure what to do with her father.”

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