Page 4 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

I sigh, but do my best not to show my father my disappointment. “Of course, Father,” I bow again. “I’ll be there.”

Father smiles proudly before leaving me at the elevator doors just as they slide open. If three months away from my future mate wasn’t enough, I now have to crawl through another few days that will only serve to remind me of my loneliness on the island.

Great!

I’ll just have to put a lid on my excitement to finally meet my human mate in the mortal world. Perhaps, by then, I’ll build up the courage to approach her and put to rest these uncouth feelings of unworthiness that seem to be creeping up as nervousness.

What do I have to lose, anyway? She’s just a human, after all. What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 2 - Camilla

The rich green vines in front of me seem to be moving, each thread pulsing with life from a heartbeat that cannot be seen. The lively tendrils weave before my eyes, forming a geometric pattern symbolic of the elements of life and existence.

Something about the way it moves feels sacred, and a gasp falls from my lips as the patterns pulsate with the life force that stems from the soil below.

I reach out instinctively, the familiar patterns greeting me as they slither away like friendly creatures. Where I hold out my hand in midair, the vines move as if commanded by my presence, opening up like a curtain on a stage where the sun’s rays hit the center like a spotlight. Those warm rays kiss my cheeks, the brightness stalling me long enough to blink to get accustomed to the light.

“Beautiful…” I whisper in appreciation, my jaw dropping in awe at the scene in front of me. A gorgeous meadow spreads out ahead, adorned with sky-blue daffodils and lilies in pastel shades. The lavender plants are so brilliantly radiant, that the color is close to that of eggplant.

Stunning.

A smile creeps on my face as the welcoming hoot of an owl echoes in the open expanse of the otherworldly garden. “The Garden of Eden”, as I fondly named it. I do believe this is the closest thing to heaven I’ll ever experience.

In the comfort of my own bed, I consider myself abundantly blessed. As I follow the symphony of birds chirping under the navy-blue sky, the crystalline waters cascading from the top of the mountain into a pool at the bottom has mytoes curling on the ground with the sudden urge to go skinny-dipping.

I giggle as I set forth, my girlish laughter carrying with the wind in sweet whiffs of a song as I’m propelled forward, my feet feeling featherlight as I dance toward the waterfall. As the stars glow bright and silvery, making up constellations of signs that always present themselves in my dreams, I beam from ear to ear as I bask in the warmth of my imagination.

When I reach the cup overflowing with the waterfall’s ample gift of cool water, I dip my toes in and close my eyes, relishing in the coolness while I begin to undress. I’m about to slip my nightdress off my shoulders when an alarming screech thunders from the skies and startles me.

“What the—” I gasp just as I see a reptilian creature plummeting toward me from the sky. Thrown off my balance by the shock of seeing something as frightening and beautiful as a white, scaled creature that remarkably resembles a dragon I’ve only ever read about, it feels misplaced.

Only the earth has ever been full of life in my imagination. I’ve never seen the birds or owls that sing my welcoming song. I’ve only ever heard them. Live creatures like the one peeling back its lips and breathing a gust of flaming red fire in the air feel like an intruder.

With my heart pounding with fear in my chest, I shut my eyes and squeezed them tightly, calling out to my body to take me out of this dream that quickly turned into a nightmare.

***

Coughing and spluttering, my throat feels scorched as I get up with a start and shriek with an indistinct croak. A hand flies up to my neck as I try to gain my sense of reality.

It feels as if I was the one breathing fire just now.

I reach for the lamp on the nightstand, filling my bedroom with soft light as I grab the water bottle off the side. Chugging down every last drop of water, I frown profusely as the image of the fire-breathing dragon from my dream flashes behind my eyelids.

Woah.

That’s a first.

It’s the first time my dreams have been visited by a live creature of such magnificent proportions. To top it all, the beast does not exist in the real world.

A work of fiction just made its way into my dreams, when I thought the craziest thing, I’d see in my sleep was the oddly colored flowers and lively vines with their strange, mystical symbolism that always enthralls me. This time, shivering from the fright I just encountered, I hug my knees to my chest and lament over what I just saw.

It’s not the first time that my overactive imagination has sent me drifting down that familiar meadow toward the most stunning body of water I’ve ever seen. My dreams have always been furnished with such vivid imagery, but I’d never encountered a fire-breathing dragon before. It seems so out of place, yet, at the same time, it’s almost as if the creature, with its ivory scales and brilliant, reptilian eyes, belonged in that scene.

Maybe I was the intruder, I think as a cold shiver courses down my spine and settles at the small of my back. I’d been having that very same dream for years, and I never consideredmyself the imposter. Right now, its bleating screech as it flew toward me has me wondering if I walked into an aspect of my mind that I wasn’t supposed to see.

Rolling my shoulders to dismiss my horror, I snap from my thoughts just in time to hear my alarm ringing incessantly on the nightstand. I groan as reality comes crashing forward and I’m reminded that despite losing myself in my dreams again, I have a job to get to.

Imagination has to take the backseat while I tend to my reality, taking a quick, soothing shower before dressing hastily and once again cutting it too close to clock in at work.

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