Page 30 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

It all makes sense now—why my brothers couldn’t stop themselves from picking up their mates and flying them to the island.

I always thought it was a bad idea. But the only thing that’s worse than kidnapping our mates, is leaving them in the mortal world, vulnerable to the dangers that lurk there. The dangers that always seem to weasel their way into the lives of the human women meant to fulfill the prophecy of the Cube of Knowledge.

Fated mates.

This is what it means for us. The Vulkan brothers have been ordained by the gods to protect the human women, who will soon receive the gift of immortality when they’re ripe with dragonspirit children.

It was the dragon side of me that gave me the strength to get back on my feet and send Rakon off the cliff when I knew his intentions to get back at me for the past.

That’s the reason he snatched Camilla out from under my nose in that alley. I knew from the moment I met him at the Dragon Ball that he was looking to stir up the animosity from before.

He has a personal vendetta against me, and my mate isn’t safe in the mortal world.

Her seething anger will soon be diffused when she calms down. I know that much. I need to give her some time to do just that and take care of the situation we face.

As each step I take away from the bedroom door builds my regret, I force myself to the elevator to take me down to Father’s study. As soon as we arrived on the island, I’d laid a passed-out Camilla on the bed in the bedroom beside mine and called my father in.

He needs to know what happened, even if his disappointment fills me with dread.

***

“So, he pretended to be there to check up on your progress?” Father asks, his fingers steepled in front of him as he stares at me through the slitted jets of his narrowed eyes of contemplation.

I feel like I’m facing my judgment day, and wish that my brothers were here to give me support before I’m convicted of my crimes and sent to the chopping block.

Nothing could be worse than keeping me away from my mate for three months. Now that she’s here, on the island, I can’t imagine what form of punishment I might face.

It’s not like I had a choice. I can only hope that the Council sees that.

Right now, it’s as if my father can hardly see that through the glaze of disappointment in his eyes. I’d been building up thecourage to face him, anticipating that awful look. But now that it’s here, I feel too ashamed to be facing him.

“At first I thought that’s why he was there,” I explain, keeping my head down and staring at the pencil stand on Father’s desk. “But when he left, Draco confirmed that no Council member had set out to check up on me.”

“Of course, not,” Father concedes. “He should not have been there at all. Everything was going according to plan…” he sighs his irritation, and I look up to find him leaning back in his chair as he stares blankly past my shoulder.

“Father, I am truly sorry for what I did,” I apologize remorsefully, hanging my head in shame. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did the right thing, Son,” he commends, and a wave of relief washes over me when I lift my eyes to find him smiling at me.

Was that pride that flickered in his eyes?

“I did?” My brows furrow as Father rises to his feet and rounds the desk. He places a hand on my shoulder and nods.

“I wouldn’t have expected you to leave her in the mortal world when Rakon kidnapped her. Though…” He crosses his arms and frowns. “... I don’t understand why he’d do what he did.”

“He wants revenge, Father. You know what happened back then.”

“It was years ago,” Father huffs and shakes his head, his eyes returning to mine with confusion. “What happened in the past doesn’t warrant going after your mate. He knows that better than any other dragon shifter. He’s on the Council.”

“Maybe it’s something he can’t get over,” I shrug.

Father continues to shake his head as he crosses the room to the bar. He seems to be in deep thought as he pours himself a drink, then turns and chugs it down in one go.

“I always suspected something was wrong with that boy…” he laments despondently. “He was always too aggressive, but I thought he’d be wise enough to honor the human mating process.”

“This is personal, I’m afraid,” I implored. “I didn’t think it would come back to bite me on the ass.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this, and put an end to this disaster once and for all,” Father assures me, but not without a fleeting hint of regret flashing through his eyes.

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