Page 62 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

“What is this place…?” I ask in awe.

“You already know, Camilla,” Abuela says softly when she turns with only a smile. Her lips are unmoving, but her voice is crystal clear in my mind.

Was that a mind link?

“You can hear me?” I frowned with the thought when my grandmother nodded briskly.

Abuela’s voice enters my mind again. “Yes, my child,” she says without moving her lips except to smile broadly as she nodsand offers e her hand again. Suddenly, a white cloak appears to cover her from head to toe, flowing in soft whiffs of silk.

I gasp in awe. “You wore a black cloak before…” I murmur, this time using my voice.

“It was only your perception,mi hija,” she responds with words that vibrate with immense power in the air, just as I slip my hand into hers again. “Your fears made you see the opposite of what truly is. You were afraid of your own power, Camilla. But it’s time to know the truth.”

“What is the truth?” I whisper, just as the night sky slips away to give way to the sun’s dominance, its warm rays shedding light on the truth my grandmother is about to tell me.

“You are a powerful witch, Camilla,” she explains. I should have been surprised, but hearing those words felt normal, as if I already knew what she was going to tell me. “You belong to a bloodline of witches and warlocks who practice white magick.”

I nod slowly, letting the information sink in as she continues.

“The magick skipped your mother when I married a human.” Her eyes softened with sadness at the mention of my grandfather, who I’d known briefly until he passed on when I was just a toddler. I barely remember him, but somehow, I have vivid memories of him—memories from Abuela’s eyes.

“... I thought it ended with me,” she continues. “But it came back through you. I noticed it when your parents died. You had an innate knowing that could only lead back to the Order of Elder Grove.”

Behind us, Stryker coughs to clear his throat. “Sounds like the elders of the Dragon Council.”

“Order of Elder Grove?” I ask Abuela.

“It’s the coven of witches that my—our ancestors plead allegiance to,” she sighs. “The knowledge will be passed down to you once you’ve completed your rite of passage.”

Abuela reaches beneath her cloak while she nods at Stryker, who comes forward and sinks to his knees in front of us. Frowning as I watch, I turn to my grandmother who produces a knife from under her cloak. I gasped, horrified by the recognition of the handle and blade that resembled the one I’d seen in my dreams.

The one that terrifies me, sending panic through me like a cold shiver as I take a step back. That’s when I see Stryker with his head hanging in front of Abuela.

“No!” I shake my head profusely in disbelief. “I won’t do it! I can’t!” I declare, tears pooling in my eyes. “I’m not gonna kill him! I refuse! I don’t care about the powers! I don’t want them!”

Shutting my eyes and pressing my fingers to my temples, I can only pray that I’m dreaming—caught in a nightmare that I can escape from like I have in the past. But when a warm hand of soft, delicate fingers touches my arm, Abuela’s presence only confirms that this is very real.

“Camilla,mi hija…” she cajoles softly. “You are not meant to killhombre dragón,” she sighs, prompting me to open fearful eyes and frown at her. She glances at Stryker, who lifts his head and smiles with reassuring warmth.

“... He is, by the instruction of the gods, your soulmate. He is the key to unlocking your powers and walking your destiny.”

There it is again—that one word I heard many times before. “He is?” I perk up, suddenly hopeful, until I glance at the knife Abuela wields in her hand. “B-but what is that for?”

“For this…” Abuela takes my hand and turns it over. Then, without warning, she slides the sharp blade across my palm. Too stunned by her actions, I watch in shock as blood seeps through the crack of the cut while Abuela turns and does the same to Stryker.

She doesn’t say another word as she steps back, and suddenly, I know what I need to do. Moving closer, I sink to my knees in front of Stryker and place my hand in his.

The fusion of our blood between our palms begins to pulse with an electric current that shoots from the base of my spine, stopping in intervals and coiling warmth in my core, my stomach, my ribcage, my heart, my throat, and finally, between my eyes. When my forehead pulses, the charged sensation grips me, and with my eyes wide open, visions come forward, and I see everything.

Everything I’m meant to see and understand flashes in my eyes. Universal truths, galactic knowledge, the reason for my existence. It all makes sense. Every piece of the puzzle comes together to make up the perfect picture. There isn’t one I can focus on, until the energetic current releases my eyes and drifts up into the crown of my head.

That’s when I see Stryker again, but I’m too overwhelmed by what just took over my being. My body tingles, but I suddenly feel exhausted, as if I’ve traveled for eons. My eyes become heavy as I fall forward, only for Stryker to catch me effortlessly. I stare into his eyes, a faint smile on my lips as I recognize my eternal mate before sighing and allowing a peaceful and contented wave to wash over me.

Chapter 21 - Stryker

“She will wake up, won’t she?” I ask Camilla’s grandmother while I keep her hand pressed between both of mine, blowing warm air on her fingers while I have her hand lifted to my lips.

Abuela mutters reproachfully under her breath in her mother tongue as she goes about the room in the retirement home, packing her things in a bag. “Of course, she will wake up,hombre dragón…” she grunts when she’s done packing and turns to me, perching her hands on her hips as if I’m about to receive a royal scolding from the elderly woman for asking a stupid question.

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