Page 67 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

“Finally!” she exclaims, grabbing my hand from Stryker’s and leading me further into the room. “Everyone!” she clears her throat to pull everyone out of their conversations before she announces, “This is Camilla Torres!”

The silence turns to the shuffling of feet as Stryker’s family comes over to introduce themselves. I meet the family with warm hugs from every single one, including his mom, Phoenix, and father, Dedrik.

“And who is this fine young lady…?” Diego, Sierra’s father, who still remains an aging human on the island, lifts Abuela’s hand and kisses the top in a chaste greeting.

“This is my grandmother, Maria,” I respond curtly when I notice how flustered my grandmother becomes.

I’ve never seen her like that before. When Diego lifts his eyes to meet her gaze, he says gently, “Abuelita…si…”

Abuela’s cheeks fill with rosy color when Diego calls her “grandmother” in a cute, friendly way. Something tells me that I’m not the only one destined for romance on Aurora Island, andwhen I glance over my shoulder at Stryker, he wiggles his brows knowingly.

Once the formal introductions are done, I meet each of their children, who are all under two, thanks to the human mating process. As the day dragged on, I soon realized I had nothing to worry about.

The Vulkan family is a tight-knit unit that oozes warmth while remaining demure and radiating their innate strength. Everyone shares the same sentiment, wishing their sister, Kairo, were here to meet me.

According to them, she’s the resident mediator between the dragon shifter men and their human mates. Slowly, I learned that each human woman on the island had been through the wringer with their dragon shifter mates. Stryker and I exchange glances while we listen to Lily’s account of how she came to the island. Now, as the Lady Dragon beside the clan’s Alpha, she leads with a graceful demeanor.

Stryker clears his throat when we’re all seated at the table, the hearty spread of lunch calling my name and forcing me to purse my lips while my tummy rumbles with painstaking hunger.

“There’s something you should all know…” Stryker begins, taking my hand on his lap as if he needs to draw courage from the scar, but he doesn’t stop skimming with the pad of his thumb.

“... Camilla is my fated mate, but she’s not an ordinary human from the human mating process. She’s a descendant from a long line of earthly white witches.”

A chorus of surprised gasps fills the room, but I keep my eyes on my empty plate, t afraid to find any look of disdain from his family.

“A witch, huh?” Aragon, Stryker’s third-eldest brother snickers. “You know… I dated a witch once.”

“Hey!” Aragon’s mate, Yazmine, scolds him with a fist thrown at his shoulder. “You’re not supposed to say that in front of me!” she growls, but Aragon continues to chuckle while the rest of the room falls into lighthearted laughter.

“What, baby? I’m just happy for my lil’ brother, that’s all.”

“Sure you are…” Yazmine grunts. “Just wait until we’re alone.” She rolls her eyes, and Aragon grins nervously at Stryker.

“Seriously though, Bro. Watch your back,” Aragon warns him.

“You need to watch your back,” Yazmine mumbles, but she throws me a wink through the curtain of her long, dark lashes, and grins.

Their playfulness eased the tension I’d been feeling, and everyone seemed so accepting of who I was.

I guess I was overthinking.

After all, I’m in a room full of the scariest preternatural beings who hide on a remote, invisible island.

As the day progresses, we share lunch in the dining room and chat away. Soon, the children become restless, and their parents disperse to tend to each of them.

When the dining room grows silent, I look up from my second helping of pudding and frown. The room is empty, save for Stryker and me.

“Where’s Abuela?” I ask as I turn to Stryker.

A coy smirk curls his lips. “She’s being shown around the castle.”

“By who?” I ask, but his mischievous chuckle already gives me an answer.

“Oh, my God!” I giggle, rolling my eyes and stuffing another helping of pudding onto my plate. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when she forgets my grandfather.”

“Hm…” Stryker muses. “... I hope I see the day you get over that pudding,” he teases with a light chuckle, and I look down at the generous heap of the pudding on my plate and blush bashfully.

I hadn’t even realized that I’d been eating more than my fair share of dessert. Usually, I’m so self-conscious about my eating habits in front of others up until today. The only time I’m caught stuffing my plate is when I’m in the confines of four walls without any eyes to spy on me.

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