Page 7 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

I can’t escape it, no matter how hard I try. Everything reminds me about her—like her wish to travel the world, Italy being at the top of her list of places she wished to visit.

Now, I’ll have to live out her dreams with another woman. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but one that I have to stomach.

***

The location I’d been given sends me to a suburban area in Louisa. I’m to meet with Diego Alverez and his daughter at his home and take the woman back with me to the island.

It sounds pretty straightforward, as easy as flying through the clouds with an invisibility cloak and landing effortlessly on the street. I hide behind the brick-faced house to shift into human form without being seen. I’m about to step out from the side when the screeching of tires down the road grabs my attention.

A red, dilapidated van with peeling paint appears from down the road, speeding all the way to Diego’s house. It comes to an abrupt halt in the driveway, two men appearing from the back before the two in the front hop out.

“I’ll get the door open. Bring her inside,” the man with graying hair calls to the men at the back of the van.

“Yes, Diego,” one of the two men concede with a curt nod.

What’s going on?

Craning my neck from behind the fern bushes on the side of the house, I watch as the man steps inside the back of the van before reappearing, lugging a female body over his shoulder. I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out who the woman is, but her head is covered with a brown bag. The man carries her up the porch stairs and disappears inside, the others following until the door shuts with a loud thud.

What did I just witness? Is this a kidnapping?

The private investigator is up to no good; I can tell that much. Perhaps it’s one of his quests, but something feels off.

What will his daughter think of this? Is she as crooked as he is?

All these questions flood into my mind, keeping me frozen to the spot until I’m snapped into reality. I have to help the woman they’ve kidnapped. I have to do something.

Stealing to the back of the house, I’m careful not to make a sound. It doesn’t matter that the Council has made a deal with Diego Alverez.

I can’t just stand by while he’s clearly executing something illegal.

I make my way to the back entrance, confirming my suspicions when I witness Diego pulling up a chair and facing the woman. Spying through the back window, I can hear him speaking to her, though I can’t see her face.

“There’s no other option, mi hija,” he says, his voice faint as it carries to the back of the house. “My life is in danger, and you’re the only one who can save me.”

“H-how?” the woman croaks, the high-pitch in her voice attesting to the fact that she’d been crying.

“You are to be the weredragon’s mate and bear children for him. In exchange, they will spare my life.”

That’s… That’s his daughter?

I thought he assured Nimbus that his daughter agreed to this. Anger fuels the curling of my fists as I straighten up, eyes flitting around to make sure that the other men aren’t around.

I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that he’d kidnapped his daughter, proceeding to lie to her that his life is in danger. The Council wasn’t out to harm him. He’s receiving a hefty sum of money for his silence and the security that his daughter will be taken care of.

I’ve just realized he doesn’t care about her, driving in the anger. Breathing angrily, I’m about to kick the door down when Diego moves from the chair, and his daughter’s crying face becomes visible.

I blink once… twice… a third time just to be sure that I’m not hallucinating. I can barely feel my heartbeat, the fine hairs on my neck prickling with attention.

It can’t be… It’s impossible…

Not the kidnapping. No.

The woman with her hands tied to a chair is none other than the woman bound to my heart.

Mi ángel…

Time freezes as my breath hitches in my throat, acrid bile rising to my throat as I witness fear cripple the features of the woman I love.

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