by Kate Rudolph
Crux
Dragon Brides
Kate Rudolph
Crux © Kate Rudolph 2021.
All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published by Kate Rudolph.
www.katerudolph.net
Created with Vellum
Dragon Brides
Fated mates, fierce women, and dragon princes are ready to find their mates in the new Dragon Brides series from Kate Rudolph.
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Crux
Ranger
Saber
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About Crux
Prince Crux is in a bind.
When the Dragon King commands Crux find a mate, his days of carefree bachelorhood are over. One trip to a psychic matchmaker and he's on the path to his destiny. But it all comes screeching to a halt when he meets a human woman who lights his inner fire and makes him yearn.
She's got a pair of roller skates and an attitude.
Courtney is supposed to be putting the shambles of her life back together. Getting abducted by aliens isn't part of the plan. Neither is getting rescued by a scorchingly hot dragon that makes her think of an impossible future. But they have no chance together if they can't first escape a planet full of monsters intent on their destruction.
Fated mates, fierce women, and dragon princes are ready to find their mates in the new Dragon Brides series from Kate Rudolph.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
What’s to read next: Ranger
Intergalactic Dating Agency
Also by Kate Rudolph
About Kate Rudolph
1
Courtney Lamb's feet were heavy, and she had the headache to end all headaches. She curled into herself on one side, trying to scrunch up into a ball, but her feet dragged along the floor and noise echoed off the metal walls around her.
She was still wearing her roller skates.
How? She always took them off before leaving work. She couldn't exactly drive with wheels on her feet. And yet, as she turned over and pulled her legs in, they slipped on the cold metal floor.
Where was she? This wasn't the root beer stand she worked at, nor was it the creepy, decrepit steel barn that sat on the very edge of the restaurant property. She looked around, squinting in the dim light and trying to get her bearings.
It was industrial, but the room was small. Steel walls. No windows. And a weird echo-y noise in the distance that might have been an air conditioner.
She didn't see a door.
Courtney scrambled to her knees before realizing she wasn't going to get far with roller skates on her feet. She shucked the skates off and wiggled her toes in her sweaty socks before tying the laces together. No matter what was going on, she didn't want to lose her skates.
They were expensive. And one of the few nice things she had left.
There was a shriek down the hall, or at least, Courtney assumed there was a hall, and she flinched.
What the hell was going on?
Had she been kidnapped? Was she being trafficked? She'd seen plenty of Facebook posts talking about the perils of being a woman in America, but most of it seemed like a bunch of bullshit. People didn't actually hide under cars to slit the Achilles tendons of the unsuspecting.
Right?
She ran a hand down the back of her leg, as if to assure herself that she was intact. Obviously she was. Other than the headache, she wasn't hurt.
She was just confused.
And in trouble.
She wanted to call for help, but a second scream from somewhere in the building made her throat freeze up. No, she didn't want to call attention to herself.
With her skate laces tied together, she was able to sling her skates over her shoulder and get to her feet. The room seemed even tinier when she was standing up. Was she a prisoner? Why?
Her mom was going to kill her when she found out.
Of course, Courtney hadn't spoken to her mother in months, and now was not the time to think about how this would impact her mother's career. She was in the middle of an abduction, she had to care about herself.
She stroked the top of her skate, half for comfort, half to remind herself that it was sturdy and could probably be used as some kind of weapon.
She was wearing the thick leggings and short sleeve red tunic that made up her work uniform, though her name badge must have fallen off somewhere. That furthered Courtney's theory that she'd been taken from work.
She couldn't remember clocking out. She wracked her brain, but the last thing she remembered was telling her co-worker, Sarah, that she didn't have any plans for the weekend. The same as every weekend these days.
That wasn't what she should be feeling bad about at the moment.
Was Sarah a trafficker? Had she waited to strike until Courtney was at her most vulnerable?
No. That was ridiculous. Sarah was a college student trying to make ends meet. She wasn't sinister.
Where was the freaking door?
Courtney whirled around, but she still didn't see anything that looked like it would let her out of the room. She was in a metal tomb and she couldn't escape.
Her breaths came faster and faster, and black spots danced in front of her eyes.
No. No. Now was not the time for a panic attack.
She hadn't had one in months, and she didn't want them to restart. They sucked.
And so did her whole situation.
"Think of the good things," she commanded herself. There weren't many. But she had to number them off. "I'm in my regular clothes. My skates are fine. I'm not hurt." She ran out of optimism after that. Any other "good" news sounded like asking for trouble, and Courtney wasn't interested in that.
She ran her hands over the metal walls, looking for a seam that might reveal a hidden door. There had to be something. She had been put in the room, so there had to be a way to get her out of it. She looked up, wondering if she'd somehow been lowered in, but the ceiling was too high to make out any fine detail in the dim light.
Where was the light even coming from?
There wasn't a ceiling light. She didn't see lights in the floor. There was just a faint, pale blue
glow all around her that allowed her to see.
It was another good thing, and Courtney decided not to question it.
She had her skates, but she wished she had a skate tool. That fancy little wrench might have helped her pry an invisible door open. But her skate tool and spare wheels were in her bag at work. Along with her cell phone, a bit of cash, and her car keys. She had no way to contact anyone for help.
And there was the hyperventilation.
She tried to control her breathing, but the walls felt like they were closing in. She heard footsteps coming her way and shrank back as far away from the sound as she could. The room was maybe six feet wide. She couldn't shrink back much.
A brave woman would have done something. Courtney wished she was brave. But she couldn't think and she wanted to live. She was pretty sure brave people died quicker than cowards.
The wall opposite her glowed a faint yellow, and a rectangle formed before sliding to one side, the invisible door revealing itself. A brave woman would have charged.
Instead, Courtney watched a monster step inside.
It—and it was clearly an it, not a person—was some kind of creature. Over eight feet tall, antennae coming out of its head, and sinister purple skin that was covered in a faint slime. It wore clothes over most of its body, but its arms were exposed, and scars or tattoos or something covered it.
One of its hands wasn't a hand at all. Instead, it came to a fine point and had an edge that made it look like a sword.
It looked like something out of Star Trek.
And she was wearing a red shirt.
Shit.
It wore pants, but judging by the giant bulge right where his dick should be, he didn't plan on wearing them for long. And she didn't want to find out if his dick was a knife too.
Working by instinct, not pausing to think, Courtney grabbed onto one of her skates and swung, sending the other one flying at the monster's head. He didn't expect it, and the wheels, metal plate, and carbon fiber boot were enough to send him slumping to the ground.
Oh god, was he dead? Had she broken her skate?
Courtney flailed for a moment and cut off the horrible noise that tried to escape her throat. She checked her skate first. Except for a bit of slime and something that might have been monster blood, it seemed fine.
Good.
She didn't know how to check for a pulse on a monster. She didn't know if she wanted him to be dead or alive.
Oh god. What was she going to do?
She had to run.
She stepped around the monster and dove through the door, just in case it tried to close. The hallway was narrow and lit up by the same ambient blue light as her cell. She chose a direction and ran, unsure if it was correct but refusing to hesitate.
She stumbled when she passed a window.
Courtney came to a halt and looked outside.
She expected a city. Maybe some trees. Something.
Instead, she saw the black of space.
Outer space.
She wasn't in a warehouse. She was on a space ship, and they were hovering above some planet that didn't look like Earth.
How was she going to get home?
She was trying to think, then something impacted the ship, and Courtney stumbled as the lights went out and all of her senses went haywire.
2
Prince Crux grinned at his brothers, Saber and Ranger, and beckoned them forward with the claws on his hand. His armor was up and fire raged inside of him, ready to burst free.
He wouldn't use it, of course. Calling on fire during a sparring match was bad form and he'd never hear the end of it.
No, he was going to beat his brothers fair and square.
Saber and Ranger were equally distant from him, and both were breathing hard. The fight had been going on for nearly half an hour, and they all knew Crux was winning. He always did.
And his brothers weren't about to change that.
He tipped his head back and laughed with the joy of the fight. Battle called to him, and he wanted to charge.
If he was in his other form, he would bat his wings and soar, raining fire down on his enemies and clashing in the sky with whoever opposed him.
But Saber and Ranger weren't defeated yet. Crux was too busy laughing to see his brothers exchange a look or read the plan that formed silently between them. The two of them charged, and Crux had to dart away to avoid being taken down to the dirt.
It was on.
And now he felt the challenge.
Working together, Saber and Ranger were an actual threat, and as the minutes ticked by, Crux began to worry his winning streak might be coming to an end. His face was smudged with dirt from a lucky hit, and his muscles were starting to cry out from heavy use.
He wanted more.
But before he could make a counter move and show his brothers exactly where they stood, a gong sounded, calling the sparring session to an end. Ranger skidded, colliding into Crux, and they both tumbled to the ground.
Saber punched a hand in the air. "I'm victorious. Last dragon standing."
"The stars deceive you, brother." Crux and Ranger got to their feet, and judging by the look Ranger was shooting him, the two of them were ready to team up against Saber.
Last dragon standing. Ha!
A servant stood beside the gong, holding onto the mallet, a worried look on his face, as if he wasn't sure he should strike it again.
Crux checked the time. "Our session is not scheduled to end for another turn of the dial, Yotar. What is it?" He wanted to fight more, but Yotar wouldn't stop them for something trivial.
"The king has requested your presence, my prince," Yotar said with a slight bow. "He instructs me to inform you that the younger princes are welcome to continue to train."
Crux didn't like the sound of that, and his first instinct was to let Yotar know it. But Yotar was a servant and merely the messenger. Crux leashed his anger and let his form bleed away so that he was fully a man. In peace time, it could be seen as an act of aggression to approach the king in warrior form. And he didn't want his father to think that he was scheming to take the throne early.
No. Crux was more than happy to leave his father to rule while he lived his own happy life.
"I shall attend him once I've showered off this muck," he said, gesturing to his face.
Yotar's lips flattened into a thin line of disapproval. No doubt the king wanted to see Crux immediately.
There was no winning. If Crux didn't wash, his father would censure him for being dirty. If he did, he'd be censured for making the king wait. So rather than take a relaxing dip in the royal baths, Crux wiped himself off quickly and splashed scented water on his hair to cover most of the scent of sweat.
It would have to do.
Not ten minutes later, he was presenting himself in the throne room and its empty throne. Still, Crux bowed. Who knew if his father was watching?
A side door opened, and his father stepped out as Crux stood. He beckoned Crux over to his private office, and once Crux was inside, closed the door behind him.
So it was to be a private upbraiding. Crux tried to think of what he'd done wrong recently, but nothing came to mind. Well, there had been the prank with the water bucket over Saber's door, but that was nothing.
"Sit," commanded King Venin as he took a seat behind his giant desk. This was where most of his work actually happened. Here and at the desks of the countless clerks and advisors who made the kingdom function.
Crux sat. He kept quiet, waiting for his father to name his grievance.
He didn't. "You were sparring with your brothers."
"Training comes along well," Crux confirmed. "They will honor the army one day as true dragon warriors."
King Venin nodded in agreement. "That is not why I wanted to speak with you."
Of course not. But Crux wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud. "Is that so?"
The king steepled his fingers in front of him while resting his elbows on the d
esk. "You've stalled for long enough. It's time you took a mate. I'm sick of having two sons who refuse to do their duty. At least your youngest brother has taken my advice on the matter."
Crux had known this was coming. His thirtieth birthday had just passed. His father had sired all three of his sons by the time he was Crux's age. It didn't make Crux any more eager to find a mate for himself. "Have you chosen a woman for me?" It had always been a possibility. Crux was the crown prince and his father's heir. Choosing his own mate was not necessarily his right.
Surprisingly, his father shook his head. "This is your final chance. You have until the next full moon to present your desired mate to me for my approval." He stared at Crux for a moment, daring him to make a challenge.
His father no doubt wanted the challenge. If Crux complained, his father would rip the condition away and present Crux with someone who would make the aristocracy happy.
Someone Crux couldn't stand.
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the ladies of the kingdom. It was that Crux was a warrior and had nothing in common with them. And the ladies who fought in the army were not the kind of ladies his father would approve of.
Crux didn't argue. He could feel his choices beginning to slip through his fingers, but he refused to ruin his chance so early. There had to be at least one lady out there who he could stand to mate with.
Perhaps his fated mate.