Page 48 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

Rakon peeks over my shoulder, his pointed ears perking up just as his lips peel back in a sinister smirk.

“Ah… There she is…”he drawls maliciously.

“Leave her out of this!”I demand, taking another step over the boulders on the edge of the mountain. “This is between you and me!”

The bleating cries and screeches behind us, as the fight ensues between the Aurora Dragons and Fire Force dragons, are alarming. But I don’t want to drag my attention away from Rakon while he eyes Camilla standing by the window on the eleventh floor of the castle.

“Let it go, Rakon,”Is my final warning. “Tell your friends to stand down.”

The warning comes as my attempt to prevent any casualties today. He’s the Fire Force Beta, and I’d hate to see any blood being shed over a feud that happened many years ago.

The Dragon Council saw what happened when Draco’s mate was threatened. Without a second thought, Draco killed the Blaze Legion’s Alpha when he refused to accept the current mating process and kidnapped Draco’s mate, Lily.

Any dragon who defies the Council becomes an enemy.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news if it comes to that. Rakon has another chance to change his mind and change course.

But the dragon refuses to give up.

“Never!”he roars, then lunges forward, giving one powerful flap of his wings before he wraps them around his large body and spindles toward me with his sharp snout aimed at my face.

With a quick flick of one wing, I dodge his incoming attack, spinning through the air before landing on nimble paws. My blade-like claws distend with a metallic clink, but when Rakon lands upright, he isn’t facing me. He’s facing the castle.

“No, Rakon!”I bleat, but it’s too late. He plummets off the edge of the cliff, sending panic coursing through my veins.

Camilla.

“Stryder! He’s going for the castle!”I warn my twin, who’s closer to the building, fighting off one of Rakon’s friends. He successfully kicks the dragon into a tumultuous somersault toward the trees, then lifts it off the ground.

I leap off the mountain, giving chase as Rakon glides toward the window where he’d spotted Camilla. Adrenalinekicks in just in time to send me speeding through the Aurora sky and aiming for Rakon from the left as Stryder takes the right.

We strike him from both sides, sending him hurtling to the ground in a frenzy of anguished whimpers and screeches. I lift my head in time to spot a Fire Force dragon heading for Stryder.

“Stryder! Look out!”

Rakon’s friend crashes into Stryder, sending them both tumbling to the ground with a loud bang. But there’s no time to help my brother when I notice Rakon getting back onto his feet.

I nosedive toward him in a blur of rigorous thrusts with my wings and claws. Blood trickles from the gash he slices across my face, but I don’t give up.

I can’t. Not when he’s after my mate. My dragon’s veins pulse with adrenaline, as I kick and punch with monstrous rage. My mind thumps with the sounds of more dragons approaching, bellowing through the air as they enter the protective dome that keeps the island invisible from the outside world.

A fleeting moment of relief that washes over me when I recognize Draco’s voice in my head is my undoing. It’s that split second that allows Rakon to knock me down with a flying kick to my gut with his thick tail.

Wheezing from the impact when I hit the ground, and the wind is knocked out of my gut, Rakon doesn’t give me a chance to catch my breath when he steps on my chest, using the full force of his weighted dragon to keep me pinned to the ground. The sound of ribs crushing like twigs is louder than the pain I choose to ignore right now.

“I’ll be back for her…”he warns, puffing only a wisp of fire in my face as he leans down. “You’re lucky this time, Stryker Vulkan.”

With the parting threat, Rakon flaps his wings and rises into the air, joining his group as they fly out of the Aurora Island hemisphere with Draco and my brothers giving chase.

As relief washes over me from the riddance of the threat, the dull ache in my ribcage turns excruciatingly painful. Unable to ignore the pain of my injuries, my dragon cowers and retreats to the recesses of my being, leaving my human lying on the ground to deal with the aftermath of the fight.

Beneath the palm that rests on my side, I feel warmth flow as my eyes grow heavy.

“Stryker!” I hear my brother call out just as I surrender to the throes of hellish darkness that consume my vision and snatch my consciousness.

Chapter 16 - Camilla

The gray dragon with onyx crystals had been flying toward the Aurora Island castle, toward me when he spotted me behind the glass door. I can hardly believe that he’s here—that he found me.

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