Page 8 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

The human woman I’d left in the mortal world because I didn’t think it would work out between us was the woman to be my mate.

I don’t know if this is some twisted joke dealt by the Universe. If it is my punishment for leaving her, my penance comes in the form of knowing that I’ll have to face her again.

Not before I save her from the clutches of her own father.

“You have no choice, Sierra,” the man tells his daughter as he towers over her.

The mention of her name is all I need to know, and I imagine it’s her. Still, the question of Diego Alvarez’s motives remains.

He wasn’t supposed to force her into anything she wouldn’t agree to. The fact that he’s forcing her means he cannot be trusted. Not to keep our secrets or deceive us once the exchange has been made.

“... Whether you believe me or not changes nothing,” Diego goes on. “Weredragons exist, and your mate will be here to pick you up soon. Get it together.”

Sierra drops her head, tears falling from her eyes and pooling on her light blue yoga pants. She was probably doing what she loved the most until her father snatched her by force.

The thought is horrendous, filling me with anger that has me seeing red. I take a step forward, about to unleash my wrath on the man, when I remember the Council’s decision. Not to mention that there are humans around, and I can’t risk being seen.

So I wait until the man has left the room, leaving a vulnerable Sierra to sob quietly to herself. I know I can’t just swoop in there and risk letting her see my face. Not yet. Perhaps it’s cowardly of me, but with the memories of the past flooding my mind and reminding me again that I love her, there’s a dire need to protect her, too. To save her from her father, who she’d worked hard to run away from, chasing a better life.

Only to have him ruin it all over again.

I close my eyes and cloak myself in the haze of invisibility, just as my dragon is called to the fore. Shifting entirely, I walk through the wall thanks to the power of intangibility and pause.

I’m so close to Sierra, but she can’t see me. Not yet. Not until we’re safely out of harm’s way. I grab the chair into my arms, scooping her up carefully. She gasps, frightened eyes flitting around as she tries to discern how she’s hovering in the air. Her breath catches in her throat when my nose brushes against her cheek.

I know she’s probably wondering where the heat is coming from. I have no choice but to extend my supernatural powers to her, cloaking her with both invisibility and intangibility to make it through the roof. I don’t want to risk bursting through the ceiling. The only trouble is that when I’ve radiated the shield around her, she’s able to see me.

“What?!” she exclaims, her tormented eyes widening with horror as she stares at my dragon face. She meets my reptilian eyes, pupils slitted and softening when they encounter the hazel depths I remember so clearly. All I can do is whimper to give her assurance as I flap my wings and send us out of her father’s house.

All while my eyes are focused on her face, her heart-shaped lips trembling with fear as long, scaly fingers rip the chair apart from under her. The broken pieces crash to the ground behind the house just as Sierra’s eyes roll to the back of her head, and a sigh escapes her lips.

She just passed out, but it’s better this way. I’ll take her to the island, where it’s safe for her, away from her father.

But then again, I can’t just leave him out here, in the mortal world, to deceive us. I’d much rather have him under permanent surveillance.

Aragon… Can you hear me? I send a mind link call to my younger brother, who promised to be on standby if anything changed.

Yes, Felix, what’s up?”

I need you to come to Louisa and bring Diego Alverez into our custody.

Why? What happened?

I shake my dragon head, hovering over the house and watching Diego suspiciously as he speaks to his minions. I’ll explain it later. But Diego cannot be trusted.

With that, I flap my wings and carry Sierra higher, above the clouds, with my pointed nose toward the island’s direction. Thank the gods, she’s passed out, so she doesn’t have to see my human face just yet. I’ll lay her down on the bed prepared in the guest bedroom in my quarters, and figure out how I’ll face her.

I wasn’t expecting to see her ever again. I’d made peace with that. Now, she is to be my mate, and I don’t know if I’m capable of facing her after leaving her without notice.

Chapter 4 - Sierra

“...Whether you believe me or not changes nothing,” my father says sternly. “Weredragons exist, and your mate will be here to pick you up soon. Get it together.”

There it is—the traces of the man I know and resent. Wanting things done his way or the highway. I would have chosen the latter, but it doesn’t seem to be an option now. I chose it before when I left home as a fresh-eyed eighteen-year-old.

Now, I’m back at square one, and there’s no way out.

According to my dad, I’m meant to be a weredragon’s mate, to have his children, and to probably be his slave. Having been enslaved to the brutalities of this world for so long, I don’t see the dangers in the idea.

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