Page 62 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“Yeah,” he shrugs. “I’m just… Nervous,” he admits.

“Nervous? What for?” I frown.

“What if…” Stryker gulps, his eyes turning gloomy and making him appear as if he’s years younger than me. “What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Like you?” I scoff, throwing a hand on my twin’s shoulder. “She will not like you, Brother. She will love you.”

“Easy for you to say,” he sneers. “You have a perfect relationship with Olivia.”

“Not without going through many trials before we got here,” I admit. “But if there’s one thing I know, our fated mates have no choice but to fall in love with us. Just as we fall in love with them.”

Stryker finally smiles faintly. “You really have changed, Brother. It’s refreshing to see.”

“Yeah, well…” I shrug, feeling the traces of warmth crawling up my cheeks. “... You could say I’ve finally grown up.”

Stryker beams at me proudly. “Will my very grown-up twin brother accompany me to the mortal world to see my mate? I could use a wingman.”

“Of course…” I begin, then pause when I remember that Olivia and I already have plans for the night. Wincing apologetically, I tell Stryker, “Maybe tomorrow?”

“Sure, no problem,” he agrees, slipping the photograph of his mate into his pocket. “See you around, Stryder.”

Stryker leaves the boardroom, leaving me wondering if he’s truly just nervous about meeting his mate. It feels like he’s hiding something from me – and I would know what that looks like. For months, I’d been hiding something from him, working hard to keep my secret from my twin. Our connection makes it hard to hide our truest feelings from each other.

Right now, Stryker seems to be straining himself to keep a secret from me.

When the grandfather clock in the boardroom strikes the hour, I decide to shrug off my suspicions of Stryker and head to my quarters. Tonight is the night I’ve been waiting for months, and I can’t be late.

Stepping out of the elevator, I smile when Olivia’s gentle, lilting voice carries down the hallway as she sings a lullaby in the first bedroom. I gently push the door open, finding my mate cradling our baby in her arms.

“Is she asleep?” I whisper as I cautiously tiptoe inside.

Olivia smiles warmly at me, shaking her head. “She’s been waiting for her father,” she whispers in reply.

“Of course she was,” I muse as I stretch my arms out to take our daughter. A sense of completeness washes over me when I cradle her to my chest. I gaze at her soft features, her crystal blue eyes round and wide as she stares back at me and coos. With her pale skin and a tuft of red hair, Blair is a replica of her mother.

I smile down at our daughter, having never imagined myself being a father. That, too, the father of a girl. With my past track record, I thought my actions would be too unforgivable to ever rejoice in the family life.

Now that I have everything I could ever desire, my life feels complete now. The protectiveness I feel for Olivia extends to our daughter and our family, and there’s nothing more I could possibly want.

“Don’t look at her like that,” Olivia chides lightly. “You’re gonna make my heart melt.”

I chuckle lowly, noticing that Blair has fallen asleep in my arms. I gently lay her in her crib, then turn to my mate and place my arm over her shoulders, drawing her into my side so we can both admire our sleeping princess.

“I’m afraid I cannot look at her any other way, Olivia,” I whisper. “She looks just like the woman I love.”

Olivia curls closer into my arm, placing a hand on my chest. She opens her mouth to say something, but just then, Kairo knocks on the door gently.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” she assures us in a whisper as she cautiously comes in. “You kids have fun,” she waves at us.

“Kids?” I scoff, but Olivia grabs my arm and pulls me out of Blair’s bedroom.

My mate knows that I’d only waste time bickering with Kairo. Even though my sister is older than me, ever since Olivia was pregnant, I’ve been acting like an overprotective older man.

Kairo often teases me about it, and tonight is no different. But with Blair, only two weeks old, Olivia and I have decided to spend a well-deserved night out together.

Not to the mortal world but on the mountaintop where she plans on showing me her completed painting.

“What are you doing?” I ask her when she picks up her painting toolbox. “I thought you were done with your painting.”

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