Page 24 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“I’m er–” I step into the study, holding the door closed behind me as if what I’m about to say is the biggest secret of my life.

I mean, it is. But Stryker doesn’t have to know that.

“I wanna check what’s going on with Olivia’s mortal life. You know, with the FBI department and everything,” I lie.

Stryker buys the lie, a smile growing on his face. “Ah! How thoughtful of you, Brother. Does she know about this?”

“Nope,” I shake my head. “I just wanna make sure her disappearance isn’t such a knock to her friends back in the mortal world. I’ll tell her about it afterward.”

“Oh…. Like a surprise?” Stryker jests eagerly.

“Yeah…” I shrug. “Something like that.”

“Leave it to me, Brother,” he assures me as he sets his book on the table and rises. “I’ll take good care of her while you’re gone.”

“Don’t be too imposing, Stryker,” I warn him with a lighthearted chuckle. “She’ll probably lecture you about not needing a babysitter.”

I frown deeply as I leave the study. Since when do I know Olivia so personally, so intimately, that I’d know how she would react? Brushing the thought aside, I head out of the castle, flashing into my dragon form before escaping the island.

I need the fresh air of recklessness and pollution provided by the mortal world. After Olivia fled from my useless attempt at making dinner, I could barely get any sleep. Even now, my dragon’s vision is clouded; that’s why I’m armed with enough dragonclaw to inebriate a group of dragon-shifter males.

I need the distraction, to soothe my wounded ego and not think about my human mate for the day. At least Los Angeles is shrouded by the darkness of the night, allowing me to shift in an alley and pick up where I left off the other night.

The bar is just beside Olivia’s apartment building. Perhaps I’ll be lucky enough to bump into the women who were there the other night and get lucky between the sheets of some expensive hotel down the street.

Flaunting my wealth around here will soothe the part of me that failed to impress Olivia with the great treasures of Aurora Island. I shudder at the recollection of her disinterest, entering the bar and losing myself to the soft beats of jazz.

“Whiskey on the rocks, please,” I order at the bar. The bartender nods and heads to his station, leaving me to look around at my prospects. That’s when I spot a beautiful chocolate-haired woman down the bar. She sees me and quickly averts her eyes back to her blonde friend before stretching out a tanned, toned arm for her martini on the counter.

Her brown eyes flit over to me in intervals of ten seconds, almost as if she’s counting in her head. That’s a good sign for me – it means I have her attention exactly where it needs to be.

Smirking, I return to the bar just as the bartender passes my drink. I discreetly sprinkle the crushed herb into the glass when no one’s looking, then take a huge sip of my drink.

As the liquor mixed with the only plant known to intoxicate dragon shifters burns my throat on its way down, I will my courage forward while staring at the half-empty glass.

I’m not there yet – not where I need to be mentally. If I was, I would have considered the glass half-full.

I gulp down the rest and take a deep breath to aid its expedition into my tummy. My temples start getting tingly, and I know that the effects of the dragonclaw have already begun.

I’m good to go.

With my spine ramrod straight, I slide down the bar toward the two women. As I near them, the brunette in particular, our eyes meet, and it’s like I’ve just been struck by lightning.

Frozen on the spot, I blink my eyes to get rid of the hallucination. The woman’s eyes turn from blues back to browns, permitting a sigh of relief to escape my chest.

Perhaps I’d ingested too much dragonclaw, I decide as I compose myself. That’s the only reason I saw Olivia’s eyes in the woman seated at the bar. There’s no other reasonable explanation.

A shiver passes through me as I release the need to hang onto the strange image, and I finally approach the woman. Once we begin speaking, I’m back to being my charming self. It only takes a few sterling exchanges to have her join me for a drink before we leave the bar together.

I flag down a cab on the curbside while the brunette hangs onto my arm as if I’m the one keeping her steady. I don’t mind it, since her legs will be hanging on my shoulders tonight. With that thought, I lean closer and whisper in her ear, “We’re gonna have so much fun tonight…” before pulling back to gauge her reaction.

“Gah!” I exclaim, instinctively pulling my arm back when the woman morphs into Olivia, like a shape-shifter, but one that shifts from a brunette to a redhead.

“What’s the matter, handsome?” Olivia says, her distinctly firm but feminine voice ringing in my ears.

Shaking my head like I’ve seen a ghost, I start backing away. “Leave me alone!” I demand, raising a hand to stop her from following me. Panicking, I quickly turn and run ahead, finding shelter in a quiet building, safely away from Olivia.

Lugging in deep breaths, I start calming down enough to realize that I’m just hallucinating again. Bracing my hands on my knees, I steady my breathing until I can straighten up and get my mind back together.

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