Page 23 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

When I reach the window, I spot the source of that beckoning sound as Sierra and Kairo walk down the stone path toward the bridge. Sighing with a sense of yearning gripping my heart, I stare at Sierra’s back as the breeze billows out her colorful kaftan, swaying enticingly as if calling me to follow her.

I would follow her to the ends of the Earth and beyond, I realize. I wouldn’t stop following her if only she’d be the one to call out to me.

“Felix…”

The call isn’t the one I’m longing for. It’s Draco from behind me, snapping me out of my daze. Jolted back, I turn around with clouded vision.

“What’s wrong?” he frowns when his eyes meet mine, rushing off the chair and cautiously coming forward. He reaches out a hand on my shoulder, and that’s all it takes for me to finally let loose.

Those pent-up emotions I’d been keeping to myself for the sake of being strong come crashing forward. It’s not until the sob lodged in my throat is choked out that I realize the weight of everything I’d been holding back.

Draco remains silent as he gives me the space to be vulnerable for a change. It’s always me who has the answers, the advice. This time, it’s my turn to face the hard fact that I have no idea how to deal with my human mate. Only because the situation isn’t as easy as it seems.

When I’m done pouring my tears out from their hiding place, I sniff and steel my shoulders, assuring my brother that I’m done.

“Want a drink?” he offers, making a rather tense situation much easier.

“A drink?” I chuckle. “Only if it’s strong enough.”

“Of course,” Draco winks as he heads to the drinks cabinet on the wall. Unlike the liquor in the human world, our drinks are steeped in dragon claw—a special plant that amplifies the effects of alcohol in our systems. Because of our fast-working metabolisms, ordinary liquor burns out almost as soon as it’s down a dragon shifter’s throat.

The thought of having a laced drink is welcome right now, but when Draco passes me the whiskey glass, I’m again reminded of the first time I met Sierra.

“Fuck…” I murmur under my breath, taking the whiskey from Draco and staring at the surface as if I’m contemplating if I should drink it.

“Drink up and talk,” Draco suggests, chugging down his drink.

“I wish it was as simple as that,” I huff, still staring at the surface of the drink and seeing the pools of Sierra’s amber eyes staring back at me.

She haunts me even when she’s right here, on the island.

Draco perks up a brow at me. “Your life seems pretty complicated since yesterday. Out of everyone in the family, you were the most promising brother. Are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”

Sighing, my shoulders drop regretfully when I realize there’s no point in hiding. I just broke down in front of my eldest brother, the alpha of the Aurora Dragons. There’s no point in keeping this a secret any longer. I’ve done it for seven years, which should be a drop in the ocean of time for a dragon shifter. Yet, it felt like a lifetime to me.

“I—” I pause, swallowing down my hesitation and puckering up my resolve. “I know Sierra.”

“Your human mate?” Draco cocks his head to one side.

I nod. “Yes. I know her.”

“It’s only been a day, Felix, I don—”

I click my tongue to stop him. “I mean, I know her from before,” I explain, running a hand through my hair. “I know her from the mortal world.”

“On one of your travels?”

“The last one. We er—we had a relationship.”

Draco stares at me blankly for a long time before he blinks. “You had a fling with the human who’s here to be your mate?”

“No,” I admit regrettably, hanging my head in shame. “We were madly in love. She was the reason why I didn’t return home for another year.”

Draco’s brows rise as realization dawns on him. “I thought you didn’t come back because you wanted to experience what having a mortal job felt like.”

“Yeah…” I sigh, plopping on the couch with the whiskey glass still untouched in my hand. “... I wanted to experience that, experience moving in with the woman I love, experience supporting her in her dreams, and everything that’s meant to follow. I didn’t get to the part where we get married and have a family.”

“Lemme guess…” Draco offers. “... She didn’t know you’re a dragon shifter until today?”

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