Royal Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 1) by Charlene Hartnady Read Free Book Online

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