Royal Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 1) (4 page)

“No there’s not. My daddy was a multi billionaire. I live in a mansion. I have everything I could possibly need.” Her voice had a haughty edge. “I’ve never worked a day in my life, I don’t have to. I don’t plan on it either. I drive a convertible. I also have an SUV for pulling the horse trailer. I have nothing in common with any of you. Nothing.”

“Your dad
was
a multi-billionaire?” Julie asked. “You said
was
.”

“Not that it’s any of your business but daddy had a stroke a few months ago. He died.” Not a hint of sadness.

“Sorry for your loss.” Julie said since it was the polite thing to do.

“Well don’t be. He…” Lisa sighed. “Never mind. I’m not sorry he’s gone.”

Oh boy! There was definitely a story there. Prissy Lisa could deny it all she wanted but it was clear. She was hiding something. “How were you abducted?”

“I was riding my prize, imported warmblood mare when…” She didn’t say anything more.

“You were plucked up by a dragon shifter,” Candy added.

“I was taken by something resembling a dragon. My horse was so spooked. Poor Seraphina, her eyes actually rolled back in her head. She was completely terrified. If anything happened to her, I swear. I’ll see these bastards hang. They had no damned right to abduct me from my perfectly, wonderful life.”

Again, Julie got the impression that Lisa was trying too hard to convince them that everything was hunky dory. Maybe she was just trying to convince herself.

“The only negative thing that has happened to me recently was my fiancé calling off the wedding. He got wind that I planned on breaking it off with him and beat me too it. Bastard! My best friend was the one that tipped him off. It had to be Anne.” She sighed. “Like help, decent friends are so hard to find.”

This woman sure was something.

The door opened and someone else was deposited into the room. Probably another woman. Aside from breathing, whoever it was didn’t make a sound.

“Please, can you switch on a light or give us a torch? We need food and water.” Julie tried again. They couldn’t see a thing. It was strange, it seemed that there were no lights on at all in this place. Not even behind the door that was currently open. The only way she knew it was open was because of a light breeze that blew in from it. Goosebumps broke out on her goosebumps. “We’re freezing our asses off in here.”

The bully laughed. “Our males aren’t interested in that particular part of your anatomy, so I wouldn’t worry.”

“No, please.” Julie tried as the door creaked. It clicked shut.
Males
. Who spoke like that? It was bizarre.

What the hell did these people want with them?

“Am I going crazy?” The new girl whispered. “Was I just taken by a dragon?” Another whimper that spoke of terror.

Blaze paced within the chamber. Tension radiated off of him. “The last of the females are secured. The hunt will begin tomorrow at noon. I hope you’re ready?” He turned his bright green eyes on Coal.

No.
Coal nodded once. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good. Nothing can go wrong. There are only five females. You have to win one of them.”

Coal had heard this about a hundred times. Blaze was nervous. His normally together brother was falling apart. It was that important to him and to the the kingdom that he succeed. All Coal felt was extreme reluctance. “You said that if a female does not want a male that we are not to force them.”

“I also said that you are to succeed in capturing a female for the fire tribe and that you are to win her over at all costs.”

Coal made a noise of affirmation. He could catch one, sure, but to win one over. How the hell did he go about doing that?

There was a knock at the door and Blaze’s gaze snapped in that direction. “It’s about time,” his brother muttered. “Enter,” he said, projecting his voice.

Scarlet walked in. She ignored Coal completely and curtsied to his brother, their king. “Your majesty.” Her head was bowed. The female had been fire breathing mad when he’d informed her of the king’s decision. Coal was not permitted to mate with her. Not only that, he was going to have to take a human female instead. Scarlet blamed Coal even though this was the last thing that he wanted.

“Are the humans safe?” Blaze skipped all small talk and got straight to business.

Scarlet looked up from under her lashes. “Yes, my lord, they are secure in the moon room and will remain there for the night.”

Blaze’s shoulders lost some of their tension. “Is Ash with them now?”

Scarlet’s eyes widened for a second, then she looked down at her feet. “Um… no…” she shrugged. “They’re locked in.”

Blaze locked his jaw. “They shouldn’t be alone. They might try to escape and they might hurt themselves. Did you explain to them what is happening? I’m going to assume you have given them something to eat and drink.”

“No. I was told to ensure that they didn’t escape. They cannot escape from the moon room so all is well.” The moon room was one of the only windowless rooms in the castle.

“You were also told to ensure that they didn’t come to harm!” Blaze boomed. “Those poor females must to scared to death.”

“They’re fine,” Scarlet stammered. “Perfectly fine.”

“Go back.” Blaze looked irritated. “Explain to them what is happening. Give them food and drink and anything else that they might need. I am entrusting you with this because our males might scare them. I’m relying on you and Ash to keep them safe and calm until the hunt tomorrow.”

“They are not to be left alone. Not for a minute,” Blaze growled. “If anything happens to any of them it’s on you.”

Scarlet pursed her lips. It took a couple of seconds but she finally nodded. She cleared her throat. “Yes, my lord. You will need to forgive me. I have no experience in dealing with humans. Maybe a male or one of the others would have been better.”

“I gave you the task and I expect it to be carried out. They are weaker, they don’t have our vision, our hearing or healing capabilities. They cannot shift.”

“Why then?” Her voice was filled with barely controlled anger. “Why would you agree to allow such… inferior creatures to mate with us? Mix blood with us?” Her voice quivered with the emotion and her eyes shone.

Blaze rubbed a hand over his face. For the first time, Coal noticed how tired he looked. There was a few days’ worth of stubble on his face, his eyes had dark smudges beneath them. He seemed to have lost a little weight. “You know why,” he finally sighed.

“We’re no better than those vampires with their breeding program. It’s disgusting.” She seemed to realize that her outburst was unwelcome because she smoothed her dress. “I guess there is no other choice,” she finally blurted.

All of the non-humans were in the same boat. They all had problems with procreation. The dragons were the worst afflicted. The vampires were taking human females. Their breeding program seemed to be a success. The wolf shifters had been taking human females for years. The elves were the least affected and preferred to stick to themselves. As much as Coal hated the idea of taking a human for himself, this idea had to work. For the good of his kind, this had to be a success.

“This is a trial run. We are hoping that it is a success.” Blaze said, almost to himself.

Scarlet’s eyes darkened and her jaw tightened. “Yes, my lord. With that in mind, I had better head back.”

It was probably Coal’s imagination but it looked like she was smiling as she left the room.

“Nothing can go wrong.” Blaze sighed.

He was a male in his prime. A royal. A fire dragon. “What can possibly go wrong?” The moment the words were out, he regretted them. Hundreds of males would assemble at noon tomorrow all vying for a chance at a female. A human. Every muscle in his body tightened.

Blaze turned to him. “Everything.”

Coal felt the weight of this responsibility come down on him. His shoulders slumped and his head bowed.

****

The next day…

The new girl’s name was Joanne, Jo for short. She was quiet and the youngest of the group. She was a final year law student. Her mom had just thrown her out of the house because her new boyfriend felt that a twenty-two-year-old should be able to support herself. She had been on her way to crash at a friend’s house when she had been taken. It looked as if she was going to have to drop out of school and get a job. She was hopeful that she would be able to finish her degree part time.

The bully ended up being a beautiful woman. Tall and slim with fiery red hair. She wore a lose fitting plain, cotton dress, no shoes and refused to answer any questions. Every now and then she would say something like,
I’m so glad I’m not you
or
Come tomorrow, you’ll wish you were dead
. She also made it clear that if any of them tried to escape that they would regret it.

On the up side, she lit the fire in the two large fire places within the enormous room. The ceilings were high. There were a few pieces of furniture that all looked like they were from the previous century. The woman also gave them food and water. The bathroom was an eye opener, all marble and what looked like gold taps and finishes. It couldn’t be though. Could it?

Another woman with dark hair and eyes also entered the room. They were careful to lock the door with a key that was on a chain around their necks. This lady was even taller. She was the tallest woman that Julie had ever seen. She brought knitted blankets and blankets made from fur. Belly full and wrapped up in a soft blanket, Julie soon fell asleep. Her dreams were of fire breathing creatures, of sharp claws and terror.

Their early morning was much of the same, at least, up until the dark haired woman came back. She was carrying a whole lot of dresses.

“We have been tasked with getting you females ready.” She said, hanging the dresses over the backs of one of the chairs.

“Each of you need to take turns bathing and dressing.”

“Why?” Lisa held her head high. “For the last time,” she all but growled. “Where the hell am I? What is going on? I will sue you if you—”

The redhead slapped Lisa with such a speed that it only registered what had happened after the fact. Her head was flung to the side and her cheek was already turning a light shade of red. She staggered backwards, her hand nursed her face.

“I don’t have the time or patience for back talk,” the redhead said. Her eyes were wide and blazing. “You all want to know what your future holds? Get washed up and dressed and I will tell you.”

“You can’t do this,” Julie said. “This is illegal. It’s kidnapping.”

The woman laughed. As in, she threw her head back and all out laughed. “You are no longer on human territory. Your rules and regulations do not apply here. We are not governed by your ways.”

“Who are you?” Julie asked. She knew she was risking this woman’s wrath but she didn’t give a damn. “What are you?” She had a good idea what the answer was to that.

“All in due time. Who wants to go first?” Before anyone could answer, she gestured to the tall dark woman. “Ash, take the insolent one.” She pointed at Lisa.

The tall woman did as the redhead said and gripped the much smaller, seemingly weaker Lisa and dragged her to the bathroom.

The normally feisty heiress didn’t say a word.

Each of them went in one by one. The tall woman, Ash, watched them while they washed and dressed.

The hot water felt good on her skin. For just a second Julie was tempted to close her eyes and enjoy the sensations. Once she was done, she toweled off and was handed a cotton dress. Just a dress.

“Um… I need underwear.”

Ash frowned. “No. Put that on.”

“What do you mean by no? I need a bra and panties. The basics.”

The tall woman shook her head. “We do not wear such items. Put it on.” She thrust the overly large garment into her hands.

“Fine.” Julie bent down and picked up her already worn underwear. She’d just have to put on her panties inside out.

“No,” the woman growled. “Only the dress.”

Julie narrowed her eyes at the woman. “I don’t think so.”

“Why do you females give so much trouble? Put on the dress, we are running out of time. I can’t believe it takes so long to get ready.”

Flip!
Julie didn’t like this. Not one bit. She never went braless. Never. Her boobs were on the bigger side. Big enough to be an irritation when trying to move quickly. There would be no running or jogging for her.

She put on the dress. It was far too big.

Jo went last. By the way they all had their hands folded over their chests, Julie would say that the braless situation was an issue across the board. They had also been refused shoes. Dragons didn’t wear them.

“It’s nearly time,” the redhead announced.

“Time for what?” Julie asked.

“Time for the hunt.” The redhead smiled. It was cold and calculated. She really was a bully.

“Don’t toy with them, Scarlet,” Ash said.

“They wanted to know why they are here, who we are and what their fate is, well, I’m going to to tell them.”

“Blaze said that we are to reassure the females.” The dark haired woman’s brows were raised.

“We were also to enlighten them.” Scarlet looked smug before turning back to the group. “We are dragon shifters.”

“I knew it.” Candy muttered under her breath.

Pauline whimpered. She hugged herself tighter. She was the smallest of the women. A tiny little thing with fine blond hair and huge blue eyes.

“The reason you are here is to take part in the hunt.”

“Hunt.” Lisa rolled her eyes and shook her head. “That’s barbaric. I would never hurt anything. I refuse to hunt. I won’t and you can’t make me.”

“I feel sorry for the male that gets you.” Scarlet shook her head.

A feeling of dread unfurled in Julie’s stomach.

“You are not going to hunt anything, stupid female,” Scarlet spat. “All of the males from all four kingdoms are assembling as we speak. You will be given a head start and can choose to remain in a group or to go it on your own. They will hunt
you
, on foot…”

“What?” Jo asked, her face was pale. “That can’t be right.”

“From the frying pan into the fire.” Candy swallowed hard.

“You are here for our males.” Scarlet smiled. “Such small frail beings.” She cocked her head, looking at each of them like they were bacteria under a microscope or bugs in a nest. “I think it’s lunacy. You’ll be torn to pieces.”

This elicited another whimper from Pauline. Jo moaned. Candy grit her teeth but Julie could see her lip tremble despite her trying to be brave. She couldn’t blame them.

“Stop it!” Julie tried to keep her voice even. “You’re scaring them.”

“Good,” Scarlet snarled. “They should be scared. Our males will hunt you and fight for you. The successors will get to keep you. To rut with you.”

There were cries of outrage and disbelief.

“No, but why would…?” Jo stammered. “This can’t be happening.” Tears coursed down her cheeks.

Scarlet smiled. “You are to be mated and impregnated.”

“No!” Candy shouted. “I refuse to—”

“Quiet.” Scarlet pointed at Candy, who paled. “Your fate is sealed. There is no point in arguing. It’s done.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe my king has brought you here. Small, frail humans. I doubt you will survive the mating let alone the pregnancy. It’s crazy they would attempt this.”

“Stop it.” Julie’s voice quivered this time. “We have rights. It’s not—”

“I told you,” Scarlet spat. “You are on dragon territory. I would suggest that you run, that you fight and that you pray. Our males are big and strong, if they try and rut you, you will be torn apart.”

Ash stepped forward. “You are scaring them. What you are saying is not entirely true. There are—”