The Bride Hunt Box Set: Books 1-3

by Charlene Hartnady

  Their daughter made a little noise that sounded like an agreement.

  “You tell your dad that he talks through his … you know where.”

  Just at the second, there was a farting noise. The little one had farted. They both looked at one another and laughed.

  “You take after your mom,” Torrent managed to get out between chuckles. Then he looked down at the little one and turned serious. He even made a strange noise.

  “What’s wrong?” She’d had enough surprises for one day.

  “Um … it’s nothing.” He gave a small shake of the head. Candy could see that he didn’t mean it.

  “Tell me and right now.” She leaned forward but something inside her spasmed. It felt like the start of a contraction. Shit! “I’m about to get seriously cranky.”

  Torrent licked his lips. “I’m sure I just saw her eyes slit … like dragon eyes but that can’t be, on account of her being human,” he pointed out unnecessarily. “I’m sure I was just seeing things.”

  “Yeah, you must have been.” Torrent was looking intently at the little one. “How would that even be possible? I mean—” The contraction worsened and she gripped her belly. “Could it be possible?”

  “I don’t think so,” he shook his head.

  Candy tried to suppress a groan as the contraction grew worse.

  “Should I call the healer?” Torrent looked concerned.

  “In a minute. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say what you just saw was real.”

  He nodded.

  “How would it be possible?”

  “Well.” He shifted in his seat, moving the baby to his other arm and snuggling her to his chest. “You’ve changed in the last few months because of our bond. It’s normal after a mating that the human takes on some traits of the male she is mated to.”

  “My eyes haven’t slitted or anything.”

  “Yeah, but you are a fully grown adult. It might have affected … changed her more than you, on account that she was still developing in your womb. She’s very much a human, but,” he inhaled deeply, “there might be more to her in some way. Maybe.”

  Candy grit her teeth and moaned.

  “I’m calling the healer. We’ll talk about this later.”

  Candy nodded, her contraction was reaching its peak. Not nearly as bad as the ones she’d experienced earlier, but her body was so bruised and battered that it hurt anyway. Candy made a grunting noise. The baby cried out from Torrent’s arms.

  Torrent stumbled as he walked towards the door but quickly righted himself. “Oh hell,” he swore. “Shit.” He chuckled and shook his head before turning back towards her. “I know what I saw this time.” He was smiling broadly. “A tiny patch of scales, beneath the little one’s skin when you made those noises. She doesn’t like that you are in pain.” His eyes were wide. “I guess there is a part of me inside her after all. She must’ve experienced changes because of our mating.”

  “You’re saying your DNA affected her, just as it affected me?”

  Torrent nodded. “Although she isn’t my biological daughter, there is some of my DNA in her bloodstream. That makes her all the more my child.” He was beaming.

  She leaned back against the bedding, her contraction over for now. “I’m not sure what it means exactly but I’m glad.” Candy had to smile back at him.

  Torrent shook his head in disbelief. “We’ll have to wait and see just how much my DNA affected her. She smells of human, yet …”

  “She’s a miracle.”

  Torrent grinned. “Our little miracle.”

  Another contraction started up. “Call the healer,” Candy moaned. “This thing is coming.”

  Torrent nodded. “I must inform my family, my people. I must meet with Blaze to discuss what has happened. This could change things for non-humans. We will have to wait and see.”

  “Call the healer.” Candy would have thrown something at him if it weren’t for the fact that he had precious cargo onboard.

  “I’m sorry, my love. I got carried away. I am filled with excitement.”

  “I’m filled with something else and it’s coming out as we speak. Call the healer,” Candy fake growled; she couldn’t help but smile even though it hurt like hell.

  “Oh yes.” He walked back to her and kissed her. “Fuck, but I love you.”

  “Go now before you make me a widow.”

  He grinned wider and finally did what she asked.

  Volume Three

  Dragon King

  Chapter 1

  The room was large. The air-conditioning unit made a soft whirring noise. Unnatural light from the UV bulbs lit the windowless space.

  “Why are you here, Miss Kincaid?”

  It was weird that someone not much older than her would address her so formally. Especially since he had such a warm smile. Then again, he wore a stuffy suit and his hair was gelled to perfection. This was an interview. One that could potentially change her life, so maybe it wasn’t so strange. The guy across from her clasped his hands in front of him on the table and leaned back in his chair; his eyes were trained on her.

  Why had he even asked the question? He knew why she was here.

  “I responded to an ad in the paper, you called me.”

  His smile widened and he licked his lips. “Why do you want to date a vampire, Miss Kincaid?”

  Her blood rushed at the thought. Excitement coursed through her. It wasn’t because they were super hot and sexy. She’d seen groups of them come into town on occasion. They were tall, built and very attractive. Like Men’s Health cover models, every last one of them, but that wasn’t it. Sure, it was a huge bonus, but that wasn’t it. Not the real reason.

  Roxy sucked in a deep breath and locked her gaze with the man interviewing her. “I’m looking for love. Real love. It’s my understanding that vampires love fiercely, that they believe in forever.” She paused. “Well, call me old-fashioned, but so do I. That they happen to be vampires is irrelevant.”

  “So, you don’t specifically want a vampire. It could be a human or say…” He looked like he was thinking on it. “… a shifter maybe?” His eyes met hers once more.

  It was a bit of a strange question considering she had answered an ad that was headlined – Would you like to date a vampire? She shrugged, hadn’t given it much thought. “I guess, although, I hear the shifters breeze in and out and that it’s mostly about hook-ups for them. Don’t get me wrong, I like sex as much as the next girl but I want more. I know on occasion, some women do disappear into the mountains with them. So some have to be in it for the forever part, but you don’t hear about that happening as often. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I would be okay with a shifter as long as we were dating with the intention of it going somewhere. It would need to be serious.”

  Shit! It didn’t look like he liked her answer. He folded his arms across his chest.

  “Um…” She needed to get this back on track. She was losing him. This interview was slipping away from her. “I want love. Real love. The species of the man is of no concern. I would prefer a vampire for the reasons already given.” He didn’t look convinced. “Look, about a year and a half ago, my boyfriend of eight years left me.” A dull ache rose up in her. It didn’t hurt so much anymore. Not like it had before. “I should’ve guessed that something was wrong when he wouldn’t take the next step. Marriage…” she whispered the word. “He kept on saying ‘next year, next year’… well, next year became a whole lot of years. I’m thirty-one, I’ll be thirty-two in a few months. I can’t end up wasting my life on someone who won’t commit. Not again. I’ve dated a couple of men, human men… no offense.” She didn’t wait for a response. “They want sex nowadays. Forget marriage, they don’t even want a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. It’s all about the sex. I’ve stopped using the online dating services.” She gave a laugh. “Try meeting someone organically in a small town like this.” She waved her hands around the interview room. “Forget it, not going to happen.” He did
n’t say anything. He seemed to be mulling it over. “I want a chance at love. These vampires are in need of women, not just for hook-ups but for real relationships and that’s what I want. I want marriage, I want forever…” She swallowed thickly. “I want love.” It wasn’t too much to ask, surely?

  The guy across from her – Sean, he’d introduced himself as Sean – gave a nod of the head. “We’ll be in touch, Miss Kincaid. Either way, we’ll be in touch.”

  ‘Either way’ – did that mean that he wasn’t sure? Relax, it probably didn’t mean anything. Her gut churned.

  Had she done enough?

  Had she said too much?

  Roxy had to bite down on her lip to keep from saying any more. After standing, she reached out her hand and shook his. “Thank you for your time.” She forced a smile. Her nerves were getting the best of her. She wanted this. She really did. Roxy had initially applied on a whim but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted this. The more she felt that this was just the thing for her. By this time next year, she could have it all. A man who loved her, a family.

  Chapter 2

  “Would you like something to drink, my lord.” The female vampire gave a small curtsey. Her cheeks flushed red, her eyes remained on the ground at his feet.

  “Just water.” His throat was parched from the flight there.

  The female lifted her gaze and stared at him from under her lashes. “Yes, my lord.” She smiled at him. Ten seconds later and she was still there, unmoved, her eyes still glued to him.

  “That will be all, Charlotte,” the vampire king, sitting across from him said. His mouth twitched, even though his words came out sounding harsh.

  The female’s eyes widened and she chewed on her lower lip before scampering from the room.

  “You have had quite the effect on our females,” Brant said, his expression deadpan. He huffed out a breath sounding part bored and part irritated. “There will probably be a crowd of them waiting to catch a glimpse of you when you leave. Are you sure you don’t want to court one of the vampire females instead? Your offspring would be just like you, a dragon shifter – as evidenced by little Tinder. Although, the baby drinks blood because of her father, she is very much a dragon shifter like her mother.” The male smiled. “She burned down Kai and Ruby’s bedroom. She keeps wrecking furniture. The little mite leaves piles of ash in her wake.”

  The second vampire king, Zane, choked out a laugh. “Yeah, we were forced to ban the little one from certain parts of the castle. At least until she can control her flames. One burp or extra loud giggle and whoosh.”

  Blaze nodded, he couldn’t help but smile. “My niece is a strong dragon. The combination has worked well. Unfortunately, we don’t know if she will ever be able to shift or if a shifter male with a vampire female will produce similar results. I’m afraid, as the Fire King, it is a risk that I am unwilling to take. Your females are… delectable but…”

  Zane gave him a pat on the back. “Brant wasn’t being serious. We are in discussion with the wolf shifters. Our females and their males are highly compatible. We are in the process of conducting a census to check how many of our females would be interested in pursuing such a union. So far, the results have been positive.”

  Thank fuck! Blaze didn’t want to offend either of these males. He hoped that they had made a decision and that it was favorable for the dragons. That things would progress as planned. Then he could visit his sister and niece. Ruby was pissed that he hadn’t stopped by when he was here last week.

  “Have you had a chance to consider my proposal?” Blaze was done with the small talk.

  The taller king, Brant, crossed his arms across his chest. The black pinstripe suit he was wearing pulled tight across his shoulders. Zane’s arms remained relaxed at his sides. The male wore tight leather pants and a thick leather vest. Blaze shuddered at the thought of wearing such stifling garb. He wore a pair of loose-fitting cotton pants, as was customary.

  “We have.” Zane nodded once. “We’re torn.”

  Blaze had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Of course they were. Two kings with equal power, he wondered how on earth they got anything done. The males were very different. Blaze wasn’t surprised in the least.

  “I don’t like the idea of misleading the females. They are responding to an advertisement to date vampire males, to be a part of The Program. They are not expecting to be hunted and mated by dragon shifters.”

  Blaze clenched his teeth. “We spoke about this.” He worked hard at keeping his voice even. “The females would sign those human papers.”

  “Non-disclosure agreements,” Zane added.

  Blaze gave a nod in the male’s direction. “Yes. Non-disclosure agreements. They would be fully briefed and able to choose whether they wanted to take part or not.”

  “Briefed.” Brant gave a small shake of the head. His jaw was tense. “They will not be told that you are dragon shifters. They will assume wolf shifters. It’s misleading.”

  “And necessary.” Blaze growled, unable to keep the emotion from his voice. “We can’t let word get out that dragon shifters exist.”

  Brant gave a shrug. “It’s lying by omission, I’m not sure I want any part of that.”

  “We are being forced to abduct females.” Blaze dug his fingers into his hair. “The current situation is much worse.”

  “We have no association with your current situation,” Brant said.

  “The females would know enough prior to coming to dragon territory. They will be told that the destination is remote. They will be briefed fully prior to the hunt. That shifter males will track them and fight over them. As well as the fact that there is more of a chance that they will end up becoming mated than if they were to take part in your program.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Brant said.

  “There are plenty of females who wish to mate non-humans. We adjusted some of the interview questions in order to probe which females would be—” Zane paused, choosing his words carefully, “—open to mating males who are not vampires and, for the most part, the results were favorable.”

  Blaze nodded.

  “It sounds promising, but it would still be so much better if the human females were willing participants from the start,” Brant said, still looking unconvinced.

  “That’s not an option.” Zane looked relaxed. “I think we should allow a trial. Let’s see how it goes.”

  Brant’s stance tensed. “This could come back to bite us.”

  “This would go a long way to strengthening our alliance.” Blaze had hoped to avoid the whole ‘dragons are stronger than vampires’ card.

  Brant snorted. “Your sister is mated to one of our elite warriors, we are in an alliance already by default.”

  Blaze shrugged. “Do this for the dragon shifters and we will be indebted to you. A mere blood alliance will only get you so far.”

  Brant clenched his jaw so tight for a second or two that it looked as if he might crack his jaw from the sheer force. “Fine,” he finally huffed. “But if there are any fuck ups it’s over. I will do the preliminary briefing of the females myself. I want a team of five vampire males to observe the hunt and—”

  Blaze snarled, the vampire king was going too far. He had clearly forgotten his place. Blaze needed help from these males but he wasn’t about to bow down to them to get it.

  Brant snapped his mouth shut, his eyes widened. The other king didn’t flinch, his arms remained relaxed at his sides.

  “There won’t be any fuck ups.” Blaze could hear the growl in his voice but it couldn’t be helped. “We will handle it ourselves. The females will be properly briefed once they arrive. Nothing will go wrong.”

  “I’m sure it will all work out fine,” Zane said. “Blaze will inform us if there are any… issues.”

  “Yes.” Brant’s eyes went from Zane to Blaze. “We will need to be informed of any problems.” His face was red, his hands fisted at his sides. “I am responsible for these females
.”

  “They will no longer be your concern once they are on dragon territory.”

  “That’s where you are wrong.” Blaze could see that Brant was working hard to keep his voice even. “I will recruit them and, in my opinion, under false pretenses, so it is important that they are happy and safe.”

  “Agreed.” Zane’s eyes narrowed.

  “They will be. Females are worth more than gold and jewels to us. These humans would be our future. They will be cherished. I will report back… as a courtesy.” He quickly added the last.

  Brant finally nodded. “Okay then.” He held out his hand and they clasped at the wrist. He did the same with Zane.

  A weight eased. At least no more females would need to be abducted.

  The little girl gurgled and smiled. Such a happy little thing. He shifted her on his lap so that her head was resting between his knees. He had to smile, there was more drool around her mouth than inside it. Her eyes were wide. It was like looking down into his own. They were a bright, emerald green. Tinder gave a little squeal and smoke wafted from her nose.

  “Don’t get her too rattled,” Ruby warned. “Last week she set the curtains alight with a squeal.” His sister was smiling broadly. She sat across from him, looking the picture of happiness.

  “An accident here or there is perfectly normal.”

  Ruby looked at him like he’d grown a pair of horns. “Not this many accidents and never this severe. She’s burned down half her bedroom several times already. If she screams, she becomes a flame thrower.”

  Blaze choked out a laugh. “Good to know our blood is so strong. Tinder is a royal after all.”

  Ruby raised her brows. “Yeah, she is a royal alright.”

  “She’s beautiful.” Blaze ran a hand over the baby’s soft head, feeling her downy hair beneath his fingers. Something in him blossomed. A deep-seated need. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a while.