Page 46 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

Mentally numbing myself, I loosely place my hands on his shoulders as he stares at my lips keenly. He attempts to lean in, but my heart skips a nervous beat, a worrying knot coiling in my belly. I see Stryder’s face flashing before my eyes, but the man in front of me is nothing like him. Not his lips, not his eyes. Nothing.

“Luca…”

“Yes, signorina?” he asks, still proceeding toward my lips.

I instantly pull back when his breath uncouthly fans my face. I’m repulsed by him, and it’s not because he’s the enemy.

“I don’t think we should… Not yet…” I say with a false apology on my tongue. When he quickly steps back, I feel relief washing over me.

“Forgive me, signorina Vanessa,” he quickly apologizes, taking my hand and placing a chaste kiss on my knuckles. “I didn’t mean to rush you.”

“It’s fine, Luca,” I bat my eyes deliberately at him. “I just… I had a rough two weeks. I need time to rest.”

“Of course, signorina. I will arrange for your comfort, and perhaps, when you do feel better, we will pick up where we left off.”

“Thank you,” I smile brightly at him, grateful for his understanding. I’m hoping that we can close this case before it leads to anything more.

Maybe I would have considered doing everything in my power to have Luca Mancini in my clutches – even going as far as using my body to entrap him. But now that my heart is somewhere else, stolen by the dragon shifter, I can’t bring myself to even steal a kiss from the Italian.

Sighing, I only take Luca’s hand as he leads me back to the bedroom, where I can pretend to be sick and not have to deal with my conflicting emotions. Soon enough, I’ll have Luca in cuffs, and I’ll be able to redeem my career and carry on with my life in the mortal world.

The mortal world isn’t as gorgeous as Aurora Island, and no man will ever be able to affect me the way Stryder Vulkan did. No man will ever break my heart again, even if it breaks my heart to be back here.

Chapter 19 - Stryder

“Have you heard the news?” Stryker asks when he finds me in the hallway. “Felix and Sierra are heading back to the island. The twins will be born soon.”

“Twins?” I ask nonchalantly, stepping into the elevator with a sigh.

“Yeah… The twins, remember?” Stryker asks with deep confusion, prompting me to look up and find him frowning at me.

“Ah, yes, the twins,” I chuckle nervously to hide my sudden bout of ignorance. I’d almost forgotten that Sierra was heavily pregnant on her wedding day. She’s spent the rest of her pregnancy traveling with Felix for their honeymoon. Soon, the Vulkan family will meet the new set of twins.

Perhaps then, I won’t feel so guilty for giving up my turn in the human mating process. It’s not like I have much of a choice. I’d deceived my human mate to the extent of no forgiveness for me. With no other suitable prospects as my mate besides Olivia, I have to live with the consequence of never producing dragonspirit children of my own.

It’s what I initially hoped for, anyway. But now that it is my reality, it’s not something I’ve made peace with. It’s been a week since I had to take Olivia back to the mortal world, and I have yet to fully come to terms with never seeing her again.

Stryker simply nods his nods his head and becomes silent. He doesn’t seem to press me for my reasoning behind forgetting about the twins that will be born to Felix and Sierra. He can probably sense that I’m still in mourning, quietly observing from the sidelines as he always does.

The need to speak to him and open up about how I’m feeling hangs on the tip of my tongue. But ever since he left me with some food for thought, I’d realized my true feelings for Olivia.

It’s pointless, however, mulling over the past. It’s not like there’s anything I can do anymore. Olivia’s gone, and her silence when I took her to her apartment spoke volumes. The fact that she’d left behind her painting of me only drove in what I already sensed.

She never wants to see me again; I cannot blame her. Right now, all that’s left is for me to accept my mistakes and grieve the most important relationship of my life. Not like the one-night stands I always chased; Olivia was the only one who showed me what real love felt like.

Losing her was probably what I deserved when I was so determined to avoid such feelings at all costs. Now, I’m left with a gaping hole in my chest, her absence only digging deeper with every passing day.

Stryker remains silent even as we head to the training arena. With Draco and Aragon back on the island, we’ve resumed our weekly training. As soon as I enter the center, I’m swarmed by the recollection of frustratedly trying to invoke my dragon in the training simulator. All it took was one kiss from Olivia to reunite my momentarily lost inner dragon.

As I shift into dragon form for the sake of trailing, I wonder why it hasn’t cowered away like it did when I’d been adamant not to feel the inevitable for Olivia. Perhaps now that I’m aware of my feelings, the dragon taunts me over my misgivings.

You’re up next, Stryder, Draco instructs me through the mind link. The Alpha of the Aurora Dragons is back to his old, domineering self, despite having a human mate with their second dragonspirit child on the way. I can’t help but notice, always believing I’d lose myself to the claws of love with a human mate. Watching him in action now has me realizing it isn’t all that bad.

Forsaking my freedom with other women wasn’t the great sacrifice I thought it would be. In hindsight, I would have gladly given up my freedom if it meant that I didn’t have to nurse this wound that Olivia’s absence has created.

I was wrong to think so poorly of love. Now, I’m reaping the seeds I had sown. Seeds that grow a vast empty expanse, lacking the determination to set foot in the ring. Still, I persevere to stand off against Landon – a warrior dragon shifter in my group, and a close friend. We’d been close enough to frequent the mortal world for baseless escapades. Seeing him in dragon form now has me recalling all those times I wasted on women who meant nothing to me.

And… Begin… Draco signals the start of our round, and I’m forced to fight in the name of training.

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