Page 41 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

This is something I need to reel in and bury for good. I refuse to say the word, or even think it. I shake my head, inadvertently shaking the thought away. All I can manage is lifting my hand to the door and knocking gently.

“Olivia… If you can hear me…” I call out, hoping my voice can carry as far into the apartment as she’s disappeared, hoping it can carry over her anger. ‘I’m truly sorry.”

That’s all I can offer her, I decide. It’s not like I chose for her to be my mate. The Cube of Knowledge decided that. I couldn’t even give her honesty, let alone love. I’d long decided against love. I’m only responsible for my dishonesty.

I waited for a while, a part of me hoping she’d open the door and forgive me. Or, at least, say goodbye. That way, I’d cure the inner dragon’s need to see her face one last time, as if it doesn’t have the image of her face etched into memory.

I always thought of this as a casual fling, a fun thing that would eventually stop being fun. I just didn’t imagine she’d return to the mortal world. Ever since we discovered our deep passion, she never spoke about coming back.

It’s something I’d taken for granted.

“Goodbye, Olivia…” I bid softly this time. As I turn to leave, I wear the cloak of invisibility and shift into dragon form, taking myself sullenly out of the mortal world and swearing to never come back.

***

“You told her, didn’t you?” I look deadpan into Kairo’s eyes, gripping the fork so tightly, that I feel the metal bending between my fingers. Ever since I arrived back in Aurora Island, my family has been traversing over imaginary eggshells around me; no one has breathed a word about Olivia, simply ignoring the fact that just over an hour ago, the woman meant to be my mate had left the island.

“Yes, I did,” Kairo bravely admits, placing down her fork and setting the tone of silence all around us.

“Why?” I ask, eyes focused on my sister as if she’s the only one in the room.

“It’s not as if my intentions were cruel, Brother,” Kairo shrugs. “It simply slipped.”

“It’s a slip that has cost me dearly,” I grouch. “I was the one who was supposed to tell her.”

“Yet, you didn’t,” she scoffs, glaring at me with equal disdain. “The mere fact that she was on the island had me naturally believing she knew why she was here.”

“You shouldn’t have gone to her,” I shake my head. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

“Well, none of us got the memo, did we?” Kairo throws back. “How were we to know that you were keeping it a secret from her?”

“What did anyone expect from me?!” I bellow, slamming a palm on the table angrily. “I was doing the best I could to salvage the situation!”

“By lying to her?”

I drop my head in shame, my chest rising and falling with each panting breath I take in frustration. Kairo doesn’t seem to understand. “It’s what the Council wanted from me, in any case. To have her fall in love with me in the mortal world and then agree to be my mate on the island. Things didn’t go as planned, and I failed at both.” I throw my hands up defeatedly. “I am a failure.”

“Brother, you’re not–”

“Save it, Draco!” I spit indignantly as I shove my weight off the chair and hear it fall behind me. “You’re in your love bubble and never realized that this is something I didn’t want! We’ve had to always follow in your footsteps! Gods save us if we actually have an identity of our own!”

With the air bitter from my venomous words, I spin on my heel and march out of the dining room, leaving my family in the silence that stretches out behind them. I know I shouldn’t be angry with them. I should be angry with myself. My bruised ego won’t allow me to admit my fault in all of this.

It’s easier to blame Kairo or the Council and Draco for their expectations of me. But truthfully, I was the one who’d kept the secret from Olivia despite her being on the island for two weeks already. If she’d known the truth, she could have decided for herself if she wanted to continue staying here.

Before everything that happened between us. Before I…

“Stryder!” Stryker calls out from the bottom of the hallway, setting into a jog toward me when he spots me at the elevator.

Groaning, I hit the button to call the lift again, hoping the doors would open in time to save me from having to face my twin.

A direct mirror of me in appearance, though we’re so much different at heart. I can’t even imagine what’s going through his mind now that he knows how I truly feel about the human mating process.

He’s only halfway down the hall when the elevator doors open up. I step inside to avoid him, relief washing over me when the doors begin sliding closed in front of me. But when his arm appears between the two doors to stop them from shutting, my heart skips a beat.

There’s no way out of here unless I shift and phase through the walls. But the effort it would take is too daunting in my current state of mind, so I relent with a hefty sigh.

“I’m sorry, Stryker,” I begin, unable to meet his gaze but feeling it boring into me as I stare at the floor. “I should–”

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