Page 25 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

“Of course,” I concede with a nod, even though my heart does a little flutter. Back when I knew Felix in Charlottesville, I always considered meeting his family without knowing that they’re a handful of weredragons on an island.

Meeting his mother was something I thought would happen if we took our very serious relationship to the next level. Now, I have to meet her for the sake of being a weredragon’s mate, and I’m not sure what to make of it. I haven’t decided if I want to be his mate, anyway. I want to make his life hell for the hell he’d put me through when he left.

My overworking mind is calmed when we step out from behind the arched, carved oak door. The intricate depictions of flames and feathers open up to the brightness of the sun-kissed land. It’s like the veil from my vision is lifted, seeing through fresh eyes the beauty of nature that stands in front of us.

My jaw drops instantly, and the sight before my eyes is overwhelming. The lush lawn is a bright shade of forest green, with pastel blues and pinks scattered about in the shape of flowers. My confusion is owed to the fact that I’ve never seen daffodils and sunflowers in those shades.

As if mesmerized, I slip my arm out from Kairo’s and reach for a cyan dandelion.

“I’m too afraid to make a wish,” I titter, holding the bloom up. “It feels like it’ll be answered immediately.”

Kairo smiles warmly back at me. “Then make sure it counts,” she says, eyes sparkling with the wonder I feel.

I close my eyes and make a wish that the Universe shows me a sign that I’m meant to be here. I’ve let go of ever wanting to control my life, and if I’m meant to be the weredragon’s mate—Felix’s mate—then I know the Universe will give me a sign.

My only qualm is that he hurt me before and broke my heart to pieces. But that’s something I can take care of myself, even if it’s for my own satisfaction.

Puckering my lips, I blow a sturdy breath to send the parachute of fuzzy bristles into the wind. They flitter out into a hundred little feather specks of cyan, joining the wind and reaching further toward the skies,

Kairo takes my arm again to lead me down the cobblestone path toward a bridge that crosses a stream. As we walked ahead, Kairo told me about each building, giving me a little background on some of the monuments and the museum. We walk for miles, soaking in the sun as it lights up the sky on the west coast of North America, warming the Pacific Ocean that meets the shore.

“What’s that?” I ask when I glance behind me to find a large steel gate reflecting the sun’s rays from where it’s tucked into a crevice in the mountain. We’d stopped in our stroll to gaze at the beach waves; this exact spot had drawn my attention.

“That’s the dungeon,” Kairo explains, then gasps when she realizes we’re somewhere we probably shouldn’t be.

I can’t blame her since the waves were crashing the most beautifully on this end of the island. I’d been the one to suggest this spot, my mind miles away from the trouble caused by the men in my life.

“My father’s in there, isn’t he?”

She nods bashfully, then reaches for my hand, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

“I know you’re angry at him, Sierra,” Kairo says softly. “I wasn’t planning on taking you inside.”

I nod slowly, digesting the fact that just behind that large metal door, my dad is being a prisoner there.

I haven’t forgiven him for what he’s done. Neither have I forgiven Felix for hurting me. It’s not like either of them has asked for my forgiveness, so I’ll just accept that their karma comes in the form of watching them suffer.

Like watching my father locked in a cage and seeing Felix suffer by my hands.

Speaking of which…

“You mentioned the boys will be playing rugby,” I bring up, prompting Kairo to take a look at her wristwatch.

“Yeah, they must have started the game already. Wanna watch?”

I nod, a smirk growing on my lips as I follow Kairo down the parade toward the rugby field.

***

When Kairo said the boys would be playing rugby, I expected to find Felix on the field. I was counting on it, in fact. But as soon as we arrived mid-game, I was disappointed that he was not there.

Watching the male weredragons run around chasing the rugby ball isn’t as interesting as I had in mind. I thought I’d get the chance to flaunt my curvy figure in this Summer dress, gaining the attention of a few unsuspecting weredragon males, and have Felix brooding over the confidence boost he’d once given me.

I always hated my skin until his soft caresses and words of praise made me learn how to love my body again. It was a matter of my insecurities deeming me unworthy of acceptance and my dad always picking on me for eating “too much.”

Thanks to Felix’s extraordinary display of love and acceptance for my figure, I’d grown to accept my curves and voluptuous breasts.

Until it didn’t matter what he thought anymore. I learned to love myself and be a bombshell in any shape or size my body chose to be.

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