Thunder laughed. “Don’t let Storm hear you say that. He’ll think you’re serious.”
“You stopped the bolts with your arms.”
He nodded. “Better than stopping them with my chest. I got him talking so that I could pinpoint his location and then I got him mad. An angry male doesn’t think clearly. Once he loosed—” he winced as she pulled out the first bolt. Thankfully the ends weren’t barbed. “the first bolt, I was already halfway to him. He didn’t have much time to reload. I stopped the second bolt with my arm. There was no time to change weapons or reload after that, I had him.”
Tammy pulled out the second bolt. The wound gushed blood, which was probably a good thing. Hopefully some of the poison would bleed out.
There was a scraping noise. It was one of the fire dragons, it was trying to stand.
“We need to help them as well,” Tammy said.
Thunder nodded. “Let’s get the bolts out and then we’re going to fetch help. It’s only about a half hour from here to the Fire Castle.”
Tammy sheathed the blade and started walking towards the conscious beast. She was startled to see that the dragon that had fallen close to this one was back in his human form. There was a bleeding wound in the middle of his chest and another in his thigh. He looked like he was still breathing but she didn’t need a medical degree to see that he was in a bad way.
“We need to hurry.” Thunder came up behind her.
“Are they dying?”
Thunder’s only response was a deep frown.
She’d done this a few times, she fell on her knees beside the bleeding shifter. Tammy’s hand shook as she unsheathed the blade once again. She sucked in a deep breath and got to work.
Chapter 21
A few hours later …
They’d barely had a chance to wash up and eat when Blaze summoned them. The male sat at the head of a long table; he watched as they entered, his expression unreadable. Coal was in attendance. At least the younger male gave a nod of the head as greeting.
Both males rose to their feet as they entered. Thunder had to force himself to breathe slower, to unclench his fists.
“My healers advised me that you are doing well, that the wounds were superficial,” Blaze said. He turned to Tammy before Thunder could reply. It was the male’s way of establishing immediate hierarchy. It pissed him the hell off.
Tammy clasped his hand tighter, as Blaze locked eyes with her. “I am Blaze, King of Fire and ruler of the four kingdoms. This is my brother, Coal, my second in command. We are royal.” He touched his marking as was customary.
“I’m Tammy,” her voice shook ever so slightly and Thunder had to stop himself from putting an arm around her. This was a formal meeting, such a gesture would be frowned upon.
Blaze finally looked him squarely in the eye and Thunder was taken aback by what he saw written in the male’s eyes. He looked sad. His face had a pinched look, even his shoulders were slightly hunched.
Thunder stepped forward. “Are your warriors okay? It was my understanding that all of them would pull through. Is that not the case?”
Blaze put up a hand. “Thanks to your quick thinking, and to the human’s,” he motioned to where Tammy was standing, “skill at removing the bolts, the males will be fine.”
“Thank fuck,” Thunder blurted, he had thought the worst. He gave a sigh. “I am sorry it happened. I wish I had known, wish I could have—”
“There was nothing you could have done,” Blaze interrupted him. “You saved my males. You saved the human from certain death. You righted wrongs in accordance with the lores.” In other words, he’d killed Cloud.
Thunder gave a nod. He wanted Blaze to get on with it. To tell him the reason he had been summoned. Like he didn’t already know.
Blaze gestured to the table. “Let’s take a seat.”
They all sat down, everyone but Coal. “Something to drink?” The male held up a jug of water.
“No,” Thunder practically snarled. “Thank you,” he quickly added. He was not beyond licking ass. Doing anything it took.
“I read your report, but after today’s events, I can better understand what you were up against.” He looked solemn. “I poured over the rule books but the lores are clear. I could find no loopholes. You shifted during a hunt, before making it back to the castle. According to the lores, your indiscretion calls for an instant disqualification.”
Thunder held his breath. He willed his heart to slow. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He wanted to put Tammy over his shoulder and run. Despite the situation, his dick hardened up. Not all the way there but enough that he could feel a tightening in his pants. The need to claim rode him hard. He sucked in another lungful of air and forced himself to listen to what Blaze was saying. “You are also banned from competing in the next hunt.”
Not that he gave a fuck about the next hunt.
“I had my brother take a look, just in case I was missing something.”
Coal clenched his jaw and looked away.
“Hell, I had my mate look through several lores that I hoped I had wrongly interpreted. The three of us spoke about it at length.”
The male was dancing in circles. He was dressed for battle, he had his sword but instead of coming in for the kill, he was dancing. It wasn’t like Blaze. Thunder was out of patience. “Your point, my lord? Not that I have to ask.” It was insolent of him but he didn’t give a fuck.
Blaze frowned. “I’m sorry, there is nothing I can do.”
“Bullshit!” Thunder rose to his feet. The chair scraped loudly against the floor. “You are the king of the four kingdoms.”
“Sit down,” Blaze said, his voice even.
Thunder kept his eyes steady on the other male. His jaw was locked and his muscles bunched, he was ready for battle.
“Sit!” Blaze said again, this time using a commanding tone.
For a second he almost obeyed, every part of him wanted to do as the ruling king commanded but he forced himself to stay where he was.
“Do as he says,” Tammy touched him on the side of the leg. “Please.”
There was nothing he wouldn’t give this female. Not a damn thing. He looked at her, at her dark eyes, silently pleading, her skin looked pale. He felt himself calm and did as she said.
Once he was sitting, Blaze continued. “I wish it could be different. I feel for you …” He looked at Tammy. “For both of you, but I don’t make the rules, I enforce them. The lores are clear.”
“It’s not fair,” Tammy said.
“What happened with Cloud was an anomaly. He made a mockery of the lores. I did what I had to do under the circumstances. I would never have shifted unless there was no other choice,” he was breathing heavily, still trying hard to keep himself under control. His scales rubbed, he could feel his power simmering below the surface. “Given what I know now, I would do it again because we wouldn’t be having this conversation if I hadn’t acted. My Tammy would be gone.”
“I take it you want to be together?” Blaze asked.
The question was completely unexpected. Thunder felt something lift. “Yes, of course.” He was too afraid to breathe, too afraid to hope.
Blaze folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. He scrutinized them. His nostrils flared. “You are actively rutting.”
Tammy gave a gasp and shifted in her seat.
Blaze ignored her discomfort. “You recently,” his nostrils flared again, “marked this female and yet you haven’t mated.” He frowned. “Why?”
Thunder swallowed hard. “My female … Tammy isn’t ready. She was jilted by her previous… by a dickhead and is worried about rushing into another relationship. We are headed in the right direction, but we need time,” he cleared his throat. “She needs time and I want to give it to her.”
“I understand … trust me …” he widened his eyes. “Out of everyone in the whole damned lair, I understand better than most. If you had arrived here already mated, there was nothing I could have d
one. You would’ve received twenty lashes for breaking a lore but the female could have stayed,” Blaze looked at Tammy. “You could have stayed.”
His female lowered her gaze to the ground. A strained breath left her lips. “I don’t understand your lores. I’ve only known Thunder for just over a week, it’s too soon to take such a big step. I love being with him and we’ve been through so much together. I feel like I’ve known him for way longer but in reality, it hasn’t been long at all,” Tammy spoke quickly, giving away how nervous she was. “It would be nuts to marry, mate one another after such a short time. What if one of us is wrong about the other or our feelings?”
It hurt to hear her say it, and yet he understood where she was coming from. She’d been badly hurt. Betrayed by someone she loved.
“Why can’t we date?” Tammy shrugged. “Spend time together? It’s far more normal to do things that way. Maybe in a few months, a year …” Tammy went on and Thunder felt himself cringe with each admission. He didn’t mind, he’d do anything for Tammy but he worried about how Blaze would see things.
Blaze all out frowned. “Date? Normal?” He huffed out a breath. “Dragons don’t date.”
“Why not?”
“We just don’t. We mate or we move on. Either you love this male and want to be with him or you don’t, it’s that simple.”
“It’s not that simple,” she looked mortified.
“It is if you’re a dragon,” Blaze frowned.
“I’m not a dragon. I keep having to defend that important fact.”
“No, but Thunder is and you are on our turf. Again, either you’re down with that or you need to go home.” Again, Thunder cringed at each statement. He worried how Tammy would take the statements this time.
“Now, I’m going to give you this one chance and one chance only,” Blaze narrowed his eyes. “I shouldn’t but I will. I can see that the two of you are crazy about each other and I don’t like the idea of tearing you apart.” He locked eyes with Thunder, whose heart was beating wildly. “Are you willing to take twenty lashes with a silver-tipped whip?”
“Yes,” he growled. “I’d take a whole lot more than that, although I didn’t think we possessed such a weapon.”
Blaze smiled. “The vampires have plenty. Their kind are far more prone to breaking the lores, or so it would seem. Alternately, you could spend a week in the cage. It’s your choice.”
“What is he talking about?”
Thunder squeezed Tammy’s hand, excitement coursed through him and a silly smile had taken up residence on his face. He could feel it. “I’ll take the lashes, I don’t want to be separated from my female for so much as a day. A week would feel like a lifetime.”
Blaze nodded, looking like someone had pissed on his parade. Thunder felt his smile wane. The male looked at Tammy. “If you agree to mating tonight, I will overlook this meeting ever took place.”
“Oh my ...” Tammy gasped. She was frowning and shaking her head like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Thunder’s hope plummeted, for whatever reason he had expected Blaze to say that they could date. That they could have as much time as they needed, but he was an idiot for believing it. “It’s fine,” he turned to face Tammy. “I know that you cannot agree to such a thing.” He swallowed hard.
Her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t want to leave you. It’s too soon though. I can’t leave you … I don’t want to.”
“And I don’t want you to go, but unless we mate tonight …”
She shook her head, a tear fell. “You’re nothing like him and this last week has been the best of my life,” her voice caught. “I’m one hundred percent behind being with you for the foreseeable future. I never thought I would want to live with someone so quickly again but I’m fully behind doing that too.” She sniffed and another tear fell. “I don’t want your family jewels … okay, not the diamond and gold ones,” she gave a nervous laugh. It held zero humor.
Thunder felt his throat close and his eyes sting.
“This thing between us is already moving so quickly … too quickly. I can’t mate you so soon, it wouldn’t be right because I’d be doing it for the wrong reasons. I’d be doing it to stay and not because …” she shook her head. “I have strong feelings for you, but I can’t be in love with you already. It’s not possible. Not after such a short time. I can’t do this … I just can’t.”
Fucking hell! So this is what a broken heart felt like. He completely understood where she was coming from. After everything she had been through, it was a miracle she’d made it this far this quickly. She had strong feelings for him. He knew she did. If she wasn’t all the way there already, she would be soon. It was a damn shame. A crying shame.
“Are you sure, female?” Blaze asked. “There is no going back. If you decide to leave, the two of you may never see each other again. The penalty would be your throne,” Blaze looked him head-on. “You stay away from this female or you will be banished.”
Thunder hadn’t been aware that the penalty was so harsh. It felt like he was drowning without a drop of water in sight. Like his world was collapsing.
“I thought you said you would come for me,” Tammy’s eyes were wide and tear-soaked. Her lip quivered.
“I will,” he choked out.
“You will not!” Blaze smashed the table with his fist. “You would give up everything for a female who won’t take a chance on you? She doesn’t love you, she said it herself.” It hurt to hear the male say it. “You would be fucking crazy. This is how it’s going to be, the human will stay the night, at first light …” Blaze locked eyes with Tammy. Her chest rose and fell in quick succession. “You will be taken back to your human settlement. Do not try and contact Thunder. If you have any feelings for the male, you will turn him away if he ever goes to you. He is needed here, he has a kingdom to run, heirs to produce. He has family and friends here who do love him. There will be someone in his future who will deserve him and cherish him … ask me, I know.” Blaze clasped a hand over Thunder’s wrist. Thunder’s first instinct was to pull away. To punch the male, but he couldn’t do it on both counts. Blaze had tried. The male had been willing to bend the rules. To bend them so hard that they might even be considered broken afterwards. He was trying to show Thunder that he cared even if his methods sucked.
“Don’t let him do this,” Tammy was crying openly. Her shoulders shook. “Please, don’t. I’m not ready for marriage but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you, because I do. You do understand that, don’t you? Please understand.” She sounded desperate.
Thunder nodded, his eyes were hurting so damned badly. “I understand,” his voice sounded funny as well. “I do.”
“Thunder,” Blaze drew his attention back to him. “You will also stay in my lair tonight. You are in no state to return to your kingdom and when you do,” he paused, “you will be watched day and night. Storm can take over your duties for a while. I won’t let you fuck your life up, do you hear me?”
Thunder nodded, he was feeling numb. This wasn’t happening.
“You will take place in the next eligible hunt and you will win a female.”
“No!” Tammy gripped his arm, using both of her hands. “This is crazy! I can’t believe this is happening.” She mirrored his feelings in that regard.
“He doesn’t have a choice. You made your decision and now you must accept it.”
“I won’t!” Tammy shoved her chair back. Within seconds four Fire warriors surrounded them.
“Don’t fucking touch her!” Thunder shot to his feet as well. Two of the males grabbed each of his arms, another wrapped his arms around his chest. “Blaze!” he yelled. “Don’t let them touch her.”
“I’m sorry,” Blaze paused for a moment, “it’s going to be a long night.” The Fire king shook his head. “Take him to his chamber,” Blaze commanded the warriors. “Make sure he stays put.”
Tammy was trying to pull free from the fourth warrior. “Take her to her ch
amber,” Blaze addressed the warrior.
“Get your fucking hands off of her!” Thunder roared.
His female screamed his name, the sound was filled with anguish.
Adrenaline pumped through him and he fought against the three males but together they were too strong for him. They dragged him from the chamber. His female kept screaming for him all the while. The male who was holding her grunted. “Stop kicking,” he ordered.
“Fuck you!” she screamed, before shouting Thunder’s name. Each time she said it, it was like a silver-tipped spear to the heart.
Chapter 22
There was a knock at the door. Tammy pulled the pillow over her head. It wasn’t Thunder and she didn’t care about anyone else. She didn’t want to see anyone else, so she buried her head even deeper. She went from feeling like an idiot for letting Thunder go, to feeling angry they had been torn apart because of some ancient rule.
The pillow was tugged off of her head and a sympathetic stare greeted her. “I’m so sorry this happened.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it,” her voice broke and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn’t think it would be possible for a person to cry this much. Tammy rolled onto her side and away from the other woman.
“That’s too bad because we are going to talk about it.” Roxy’s voice was stern.
Tammy turned back. “Thank you for your concern, but …”
Roxy narrowed her eyes. “I am not here to show my concern or to rub your back and dry your tears.”
Tammy could feel she was frowning. She used the back of her hand to wipe her nose.
“I’m here to kick your ass.” Roxy lifted a hand. “Not literally.” She looked down at her belly, which was rather large. “Obviously. I am due pretty much any minute, so I would appreciate it if we kept my stress levels down.”
“Go right ahead,” Tammy snapped. “Do your worst. There is nothing you could say to make me feel any more shit than I do.”
“You love him. Why couldn’t you just admit it?” She took a seat on the edge of the bed.
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