The Bride Hunt Box Set Books 1 - 3

by Hartnady, Charlene

  Coal grinned, this time for real. “I have fully claimed you. You have nothing to worry about. They might look and sniff at you but no one will touch you. I’ll be ten minutes.” His throat worked. “Please …”

  “You’re begging a female?” Blaze laughed. It looked feral and didn’t sound very humorous. “This is a first.”

  Coal ignored his brother and kept his eyes on her.

  Julie nodded. The tension left him. “Thank you. I will be able to follow your scent trail so don’t worry, I’ll find you.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. Panic welled in her.

  She liked his lips on hers. Damn but she liked it a little too much. It was so sweet, so heart-felt. His touch sparked something in her. No! When he tried to kiss her a second time, she turned away. “I’ll see you later.” She walked out, trying not to dwell on the look of hurt in his eyes.

  She closed the door behind her and walked down the hall. They had passed the great hall on their way there, so she knew it was close. Julie arrived at the large double doors in less than a minute.

  She sucked in a deep breath and walked in.

  “Human female.” It was the big, good-looking guy she had met on her first day.

  He walked towards her, his blue eyes firmly on her. “It’s me, Flame.” That was it. “Do you remember me?”

  She nodded. “Yes, of course I do. How is Pauline?”

  The big guy’s nostrils flared. It was annoying. His eyes widened and his smile broadened. “You and Coal are getting along really well.”

  She noticed how it was a statement and not a question. He could smell that they had been going at it. How nice that everyone knew everyone else’s business.

  She smiled and nodded once.

  “He is a good male,” Flame said. “The fiercest, strongest male in the fire kingdom … aside from the king of course.”

  “I thought you were the strongest, fiercest warrior.” Pauline grabbed the big guy around his waist.

  “I am,” Flame replied, his eyes were firmly on Pauline. They had softened, his voice deepened up a whole lot. “I’m the strongest of the non-royals. Don’t say anything …” he looked around him. “I’m stronger than the youngest prince and that’s saying something. I fly quicker, am faster and my flames are way bigger.”

  These guys were too much. Julie had to suppress a laugh. If Coal were here, he’d be beating his chest and roaring about how much stronger he was. Barbarians!

  Pauline giggled, hugging him tighter. “I know that there are a lot of things you’re the best at.”

  Too much info.

  Julie could totally guess. She looked away and scratched the back of her head, noticing Lisa for the first time. At least, from this angle it looked like her. The heiress was sitting on a huge guy’s lap. Her arms were circled around his neck. They were in deep conversation. “Is that …?”

  The woman who looked like Lisa giggled like a school girl. The prissy heiress wouldn’t laugh like that. Then she locked lips with the guy. Lisa wouldn’t kiss like that. Then again, she wouldn’t have the wild sex Julie had heard her having either. Maybe it was Lisa. She had her hands all over the guy.

  “No way. It can’t be,” Julie huffed. This woman was far too happy, too carefree to be the uptight heiress.

  Pauline stepped forward. “It’s her alright. She’s all in. She and that shifter are already mated.”

  “What?” Julie said, a bit too loud. She slapped a hand over her mouth. “That’s nuts. She’s known him all of a week.”

  “They took the plunge two days ago, so yeah … it didn’t even take a week but I guess when you know you know, right?” She chewed on her lower lip.

  Julie shook her head. “No. There is such a thing as crazy hormones. Once she gets to know him, really gets to know him, she might change her mind. There’ll be no more hormones and what then? There might be a few baby dragons running around and then it’ll be too late, won’t it?” The woman was totally crazy.

  Flame shifted from one foot to the other. He didn’t look comfortable. Not at all. “Um …” he looked at the door. “There’s somewhere I need to be. I’ll see you back at our chamber.” He looked deep into Pauline’s eyes. Oh boy! It looked like these two were head over heels. More of those crazy hormones. It was just the sex and the cuddling, oh and the handholding. Such things did strange things to people. It wasn’t real and it wouldn’t last.

  “Yeah.” Pauline reached up and kissed him. The shifter picked her up off of her feet and kissed her before putting her back down. The kissing didn’t stop though.

  Argh!

  Where to look? Where to look? Lisa was kissing her mate’s face right off of his head. Mate? Nuts! The big guy stood up with the heiress wrapped around him. Lisa looked like she was climbing a pole. If poles were thick and made of muscle. “She’s in heat,” Pauline whispered. She’d obviously come up for air while Julie was gaping at the spectacle.

  “What did you say?” Julie blurted.

  “It makes shifters just a little gaga.” She twirled her fingers around her temple and made a humming noise. “Yeah, they’re driven to procreate.” She winked at Flame who blushed. Such a big guy blushing.

  Flame smiled. “Goodbye, Julie. I really hope you give Coal a chance. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” He nodded once.

  Julie nodded too. She didn’t say anything.

  “He is a catch,” Flame added. “There are many females who would be happy with a male like him. If you were to mate him, you would become a princess and bear royal offspring.”

  Happy days! In that case, she was all in. Not! “Coal and I are friends.”

  Flame grinned. “If you say so.” His nostrils flared and she felt like punching him in the snout. “I’ll see you in five,” he said, bending down to kiss Pauline again. Lisa and her shifter were long gone.

  “Enough already.” She rolled her eyes. “Stop with the face sucking.”

  “We are in love,” Flame said. “Give us a break.” He was grinning from ear to ear.

  Say what? “Coal said that dragon shifters don’t do the whole love thing.”

  Flame laughed. It was a booming noise that irritated the hell out of her. “That’s because there was no one for us to fall in love with. Scarlet and Ash treat us like playthings. The stag runs last one night, twice a year. We fall in love quickly but not that quickly. There has never been an opportunity to fall in love even though we are more than capable of the emotion. I am head over heels in love with this female.” He hugged Pauline close.

  “I love you too, babe,” Pauline hugged him back.

  “I can’t wait to take the plunge,” the big shifter breathed into her neck.

  “I’m a little nervous but I can’t wait either,” Pauline squealed with excitement. “I’ll try not to scream too loudly.”

  What?

  “We can wait if you’re not ready,” Flame pulled back so that he could stare into the other woman’s eyes.

  “I’m ready,” she sighed. “I can’t wait to spend forever with you.”

  “Are you sure I can’t change your mind about the other thing?”

  Pauline nodded. “I’m too young for that.”

  Flame seemed to realize that Julie was still there. He gave her a sympathetic look. “I’ll see you soon, Julie.”

  She nodded. He was finally leaving. She almost looked to the ceiling in order to say a prayer of thanks.

  “I’ll see you in a few,” he winked at Pauline.

  “I’ll be counting the minutes,” Pauline sighed.

  “I’ll be counting the seconds, honey.” He kissed her, yet again. It was a wonder their lips weren’t chapped and bleeding.

  “Enough, you two. Go away,” she muttered at Flame. “Neither of you will die without the other.”

  Flame grinned. “I think I might. You’ll need to resuscitate me when you get back to the chamber.”

  Julie groaned. “Kill me if I ever sound like the two of you.”

  Flame laughed. “No can d
o. Coal would kill me. He’ll kill anyone who even looks at you funny. That male is smitten.”

  The thought both scared and warmed her. No, it scared her. “He’s not smitten. We’re friends …with benefits. That’s all it is.”

  “If you say so, Julie.” He winked at Pauline. Flame finally walked away. Pauline watched him until he was out of sight. She had a goofy smile on her face.

  “You have it bad,” Julie said as the shifter rounded the corner.

  “Oh so very bad. I’m seriously in love. Like totally and utterly.” The woman grabbed her chest and sighed. “Look at him. Just look at him.”

  “Um … he just left.”

  “You know what I mean. He’s so damned hot and so sweet. Do you know that he won’t let me do anything? He insists on cooking, cleaning … doing everything. I’m not allowed to lift a finger. The only thing he lets me …” she trailed off, blushing. “Never mind.”

  Julie could imagine. “What’s with this whole ‘taking the plunge’ thing?”

  Pauline sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve decided to mate him.”

  “What? You too?” Julie shook her head. “One week isn’t nearly enough. You know that don’t you? I don’t care how cute he is or how gifted in bed he is, you can’t possibly know him well enough.”

  “I don’t need to know everything about him. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. I don’t have much to go back to but that’s not the reason I want to stay. I love him … that’s all there is to it. I was also a little skeptical of Lisa when she told me she was mating Scorch.”

  “His name is Scorch?” She could hear the disbelief in her voice. These dragon shifters had the weirdest names. Coal was the most normal of the lot. She only hoped it was spelled Cole and not Coal or that would be weird.

  “Yes,” Pauline nodded. “Fire dragons all have fire related names.”

  “I had noticed. You were telling me about Lisa.”

  Pauline made a noise of affirmation. “Yeah. I thought she was just using him. Each of us has a sob story. I was about to lose my house and you lost your job and had just become homeless.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Julie muttered.

  “Anyway,” Pauline continued, “each of us had our own problems. We were chosen by the dragons because they hoped that they could help us as much as we could help them.”

  “I’m still not entirely convinced, but okay.” Julie folded her arms across her chest. Pauline was young and innocent. She’d obviously led a sheltered life. Well, up until her parents had died.

  Pauline licked her lips. “Remember how high and mighty Lisa acted?”

  Julie nodded.

  “She told us that her dad died and left her a billionaire … well, it’s true that he died but he didn’t leave her anything. All of his wealth went to to his young wife. A woman only two years older than Lisa. The dumb cow had her dad change his Will while on his deathbed and not thinking clearly.” She took a deep breath. “Can you imagine? Lisa was contesting the Will but it was her word against the wife’s. There was a good chance Lisa was going to lose. Especially since her dad’s doctor was bonking the stepmom and is standing in as a witness. It was only a matter of days before she was kicked out of her own house. How horrible is that?”

  Her eyes were wide and she used elaborate hand gestures while she spoke. “Poor Lisa cried when she spoke about her father. She blamed him initially but it clearly wasn’t his fault. Anyway …” Pauline raised her brows. “My point is that I thought Lisa was using Scorch, since the dragons live decently,” she gestured around the opulent lair that was really more of a castle. “But I was wrong. She seriously loves him. They’re already trying for a baby.”

  “This is getting more crazy by the second.” Julie rubbed her face.

  When she looked back up, Pauline’s eyes were bright. “A tiny, little baby with big blue eyes and blond hair. He’ll be so cute and—”

  “Are you talking about your own baby or Lisa’s?”

  Pauline frowned. “Okay … maybe I was talking about mine. Mine and Flame’s little one. I’m not ready though and he’s not going to pressure me.” She scrunched up her face. “No, he will put pressure on me. He won’t be able to help himself. It’s their instinct to reproduce. That’s why we drive them so mad when we’re in heat ‒ ovulating,” she corrected. “I’m too young to have a baby though.”

  “Far too young. You’re too young to get married.”

  Pauline nodded. “I’m too young for marriage but not too young to be mated, I’m taking the plunge. I’m ready. Flame is the guy for me.”

  Vomit.

  These women were losing their minds. “Have you heard anything about Jo and Candy?”

  Pauline’s eyes widened. “Jo is also taking the plunge and mating her guy but Candy isn’t happy at all. I’ve heard that she keeps demanding to be sent back. She’s with some crazy king from one of the other kingdoms. He’s a meanie so no wonder she’s unhappy.”

  “Oh no! I’ll have to ask Coal about her.” Poor Candy. Julie hoped that she was okay. Coal had promised her that none of them would be forced or hurt. Was the same true for the other kingdoms? Her heart was beating fast. Her mind raced at a hundred miles a minute.

  Chapter 15

  Coal watched as his brother walked from one side of the room to the other. His fists were clenched. His eyes blazing.

  “Calm down,” he growled. “I have things under control.”

  “Do you?” Blaze growled right back. He stopped and wheeled towards Coal. “Send her back. There is another hunt planned for next month. Thanks to you, Granite didn’t get a female. Torrent has not had any success with his human, so chances are good there will not be a child any time soon. Neither of the dragon females is anywhere close to their heat.”

  “How can you be so sure?” His brother just looked at him, his face deadpan. Blaze had his sources. Spies who did his bidding. Coal ran a hand over his head. “What if your information is incorrect?”

  “It isn’t,” Blaze growled. “Torrent’s human is on her way back to Walton Springs as we speak. The male couldn’t make her happy. The human refused to mate him. My sources tell me that she hit him in the face.” Blaze laughed. “The male is pissed. He has locked himself in his chamber and refuses to speak with anyone.”

  It was strange to see his brother smiling. Blaze hadn’t looked happy in weeks … months.

  “Things are not as desperate as they were. There will not be a royal birth any time soon. You do not have to beg the female. If she isn’t interested, send the human back. We do not need her. You do not need her.”

  To think that a week ago, he would have leapt at the chance. Any reprieve would have been welcomed with open arms. A chance to change Blaze’s mind.

  “Her name is Julie,” he tried to keep the anger from his voice and failed. “Julie,” he repeated, more evenly delivered this time.

  “It doesn’t matter what her name is. That female does not want children and she doesn’t seem even remotely interested in you. I think she’s a lost cause.”

  “No!” A snarl. His heart raced at the thought of sending her back. Adrenaline coursed. The need to protect and defend rose up in him. The need to smash his brother’s smug jaw rode him hard. Julie wasn’t going anywhere. Not while he was still breathing.

  Blaze shook his head, looking disappointed. “You do seem quite taken with her. All the humans are the same. The next batch will be just as enticing, I assure you.” His brother’s features tightened. He clenched his jaw. “They all scent of heaven, taste of heaven and feel like heaven but they are not to be trusted. Let her go, and hunt for someone else. I can see that you are becoming emotional about this particular one. It will bring nothing but heartache.” His eyes took a faraway look. The male spoke from experience. “Do both you and her a favor and send her away. You will find solace with the next one.”

  “You haven’t been with a female for at least a year, so don’t give me that nonsense talk about finding solace
in the arms of another. You’ve never told me about it. Who was she?”

  Blaze looked at the ceiling. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. “Yeah. I didn’t take someone else after … after … things ended with my human. Not mine!” he quickly added. “I should’ve just taken a replacement. I’m pathetic. You don’t want to end up like me. She was just a human. She was everything and nothing. It doesn’t matter. I will never trust another human. They are all the same, fluttering eyes and deceitful mouths. I hope not to have to take one as a mate and yet it would solve all of our problems, so what choice do I have? I need to be sure that it’s absolutely necessary first. You need to either mate that human and get her with child or take her back.”

  “I thought that there was no rush.”

  Blaze narrowed his eyes. “Either you impregnate her during her coming heat or I’m sending her back. I can tell that it won’t be long before you start making rash decisions. You might end up mating her even though she is against having young. Where would that leave me? Where would it leave us as a kingdom?” He paused, closing the distance between them. His jaw was set. “We need to know if a royal child is a possibility and we need to know soon. Get her with child, Coal. Do not let me down. Our future is in your hands.”

  Coal gave a quick jerk of his head to show affirmation. He would like nothing more than to fill Julie’s womb with his seed. To see life grow there. To raise children with this female … but she was as timid as what she was fierce. Julie would need time. Like Flame had said, he needed to cherish her and to show her what she meant to him. He needed to prove himself as a potential mate. It wasn’t going to happen overnight. It would probably take weeks, maybe even months, heaven forbid but it might take years. Days. He had a few lousy days. No way in hell. He may as well forget it.

  “Let me have until the next hunt,” he blurted, his blood rushing through his veins.

  Blaze shook his head. “You have until the end of her heat. I am doing this for you.”

  Coal roared in anger and irritation. Most of all, he roared in frustration. Maybe it would work out for them. Julie slept in the same bed as he did but the agreement was that he wasn’t allowed to touch her. They stayed in the same chamber. It was more than he had hoped for and more than she normally gave.