Page 12 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“Yes,” Father nods. “You will meet her in the mortal world, charm her, and allow her to genuinely fall in love with you. Then, you will reveal your true identity to her, and let her decide if she wants to come back with you.”

“You want me to manipulate her?” I ask for clarity.

“No,” Draco finally speaks. “You will naturally fall in love with her, too. I’d hardly call it manipulation.”

I sink back in my seat, my whole world crumbling around me in that moment. How do I explain to them that I don’t believe in the idea of “fated mates.” Neither do I believe in love, or the loss of one’s freedom.

They’re all crazy. Mad.

Hideously insane!

“... Her name is Olivia Jackson,” Father says, his voice distant in my head. I’d lost track of anything he was saying before that, my mind reeling from the absurdity of what the dragon shifters now believe to be true. I only start paying attention because I have to pretend that I’m even remotely interested in what’s going on.

Now I have to go to the mortal world and meet the human I’m supposed to mate with. Shaking my head discreetly, my father continues giving us the background information of the woman.

“She’s twenty-seven years old and lives in Los Angeles, working as an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“Wow, that sounds exciting,” Stryker perks up beside me, forcing me to smile as if I care what she does for a living.

What does it matter anyway? It’s not like she can continue being an FBI agent when she comes here. It’s probably the most insignificant job she could have, considering we don’t need a police force on the island.

“This is what she looks like,” Father says as he slides a photograph across the table toward me.

Though I’m not interested in the woman, or having her fall in love with me, curiosity has me pulling the photograph closer. That, and my twin’s excitement. It rolls off him in waves.

Taking a deep breath and smiling at the room full of Council members, I lift the photograph and almost have a heart attack on the spot.

Staring back at me is a pair of piercing blue eyes, framed by a head full of red hair.

It’s the woman who I’d saved in the mortal world, in Vegas.

The woman tied to my bedpost in the castle.

Olivia Jackson is her. She is Olivia Jackson.

The daunting realization spins my world off its axis, my troubles worse than I thought they were.

Around me, the Council discusses the possibility of the Cube of Knowledge picking out the fated mate of a dragon shifter male. I can barely grasp that Olivia – the woman upstairs – is supposed to be my mate.

Fated?

That only makes things worse. I don’t want to love or be loved, let alone be fated to a human.

Staring at the picture of the woman, I mentally disregard the notion that she’s my fated mate. It’s impossible. The gods couldn’t have made such a grave mistake. I’ve never been attracted to a red-headed, pale-skinned human before.

Then why do the fine hairs on the back of my neck prickle the way they did when I felt compelled to rescue her?

Chapter 6 - Olivia

“Dragon shifter…” I murmur the term, mulling over the idea that such a thing exists. My whole life flipped around in a split second, and now I’m on some remote island, tied to a dragon shifter’s bedpost.

I noticed the dragon shifter had already left when I woke up in the morning. He knows that I’m capable of picking a lock, yet he’s left me alone with only weak fabric keeping me bound.

“Pfft!” I blow out scornfully, having long since removed the makeshift gag around my mouth, rolling my eyes as I figure out a way to get free. I should have done this last night, I know. But some deep, inner curiosity had me staying still while the dragon shifter snored on the couch.

It wasn’t something I was expecting to hear, but the very human sound was audible almost as soon as he hit the couch. Dragon shifters snore. I know it sounds crazy. It makes me wonder if I imagined watching him fly toward me in a dragon form, with white scales like a reptile but much, much larger.

It’s probably how we flew to this island, and my body shudders at the thought of being held in those powerful arms, against that armored chest.

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