Royal Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 1)

by Charlene Hartnady

“I love you a lot. Not just a little bit.”

  He had to smile. “I know.”

  “And Coal.”

  “Yeah?” He didn’t want to leave her tight confines. Not ever.

  “I liked that thing you just did.” She giggled. “Heaven help me but I liked it.”

  “I’m glad. I’ll do it again.” He pulled out of her so that they could go to the bedroom.

  Her face paled. Julie looked down. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh god.” She gasped.

  Coal looked down as well. The condom was ripped open. Come dripped down the inside of her thighs.

  “No, no, no,” she moaned. Julie went under the spray and washed herself. Like washing him away would change things.

  “Julie.” He sounded as confused as he was feeling. They’d had sex often over the last two days, they’d used plenty of condoms, none of them had broken. Coal had never considered the possibility. “I’m so sorry.” He touched her arm. She kept washing herself.

  “I can’t believe this.” She stopped what she was doing and took a deep breath. “I’m not going to panic. We shouldn’t panic.”

  “Julie.” He turned the faucet so that the water stopped.

  His female ignored him, she turned the faucets back on and continued to wash herself.

  “Julie, sweetheart.” He cupped her jaw. “That’s not going to help.”

  Her eyes lifted to him, looking panicked. “It might. I have to try.”

  He waited while she continued to clean, this time she used soap.

  When she was finally done, she turned the faucets off, her shoulders were slumped. Her eyes filled with concern. “I can’t be a mother. I just can’t.”

  Coal led her from the shower and put a thick towel around her. She was shivering. There was a fire in the hearth and they had just had a really hot shower. The shaking was not because she was cold. He wrapped a towel around his waist and picked her up.

  Julie put her arms around his shoulder. A tear slid from between her closed lids. She sniffed. “Please tell me that we can go and get the morning after pill. That we can make this go away.”

  “Would a baby be so bad?” He kept his voice soothing.

  “Yes.” There were more tears and his heart bled. “I would be a terrible mother, Coal. I don’t have a single maternal bone in my body.” Her eyes were wide. Her nose runny. Her eyes continued to leak tears. He could see that she was trying not to freak out. She was trying not to cry.

  He put her down on the bed and held her close.

  “Why are we here? We need to get dressed. Fly me to the nearest pharmacy. Better yet, take me to the hospital. Maybe they can—”

  “None of that would help.”

  “Oh god.” She made a whimpering noise. “Please don’t say that.”

  “Shhh.” He rubbed her back.

  “Don’t you dare try and calm me down. I don’t want to be calm. This is no time for calm.” She tried to pull away from him.

  “You are not in heat yet.”

  “You said I was close.”

  He nodded. “There is a chance that you won’t become pregnant.”

  “A chance…” She covered her face with her hands and made a sobbing noise. “There is a chance I am pregnant. Oh no! I swear, if I’m not we’re never having sex again. We can’t take that risk ever again.”

  He tried not to laugh. “We will be having lots of sex, Julie.”

  She shook her head. “No! Forget it! If I’m not knocked up we can’t have sex again. We can fool around but that’s it. No sex!”

  “Julie.” He brushed the hair from her face. “Let’s see what happens. You might be having a panic attack over nothing. Besides, a baby would be—”

  “Don’t say it.” This time when she pulled away he let her. “Don’t talk about how wonderful a baby would be or how precious.”

  “Our child would be those things. He would be a perfect combination of us. He would be—”

  “Exactly, Coal. He would be… or she… would be incredible. A beautiful cherub. I can just picture his or her toothy grin and chubby hands.” Her eyes brightened up and she almost smiled. Then a cloud descended. “I would ruin it all. I—”

  “You would be a good mother, Julie. How can you be so sure that you wouldn’t be? How could you know with such certainty?”

  “My mom was awful. She was horrible…” Julie shivered. “I still loved her. I missed her after the state took me away from her.”

  Coal felt himself frown. Julie had said that she didn’t remember her mother. He didn’t say anything. She was finally opening up to him and he was damned if he was going to interrupt.

  Her beautiful eyes lifted to his. Tears continued to fall. “She was a drug addict. More concerned with her next fix than her child. She would disappear for what felt like days. I was a tiny girl.” She swallowed thickly. “Just a little girl. I would eat whatever I could find, which wasn’t much.” Julie rubbed her face with a hand. “I screamed when they took me away. I reached for her but she didn’t reach back. Why didn’t she reach back?”

  He pulled her into his chest. His eyes pricked. His heart felt heavy.

  “I was her daughter. Her blood ran through my veins. She was a horrible mother. I wouldn’t know the first thing about being a good mother. I’ve never been taught how to be one. I wouldn’t know the first thing.”

  Coal held her while she sobbed. “I don’t know much about these drugs. Only what I have been told. I know that they take away emotion. That they strip away a person’s soul. I know that if your mother was capable of loving you that her heart would’ve burst with the emotion.” He pulled away so that he could look into her tear soaked eyes.

  “You have so much love to give. You are caring, loving and fierce. I will be so happy to call you my mate and I would be thrilled to have you as the mother of my children. If you never trust anything else I say ever again, believe that. Your mother would’ve reached for you if she hadn’t been so numbed by the substances in her veins. Know that you will never be alone again because I will always reach for you. Just the mere fact that you are so afraid tells me that you will be a great mother.”

  She sniffed. “Do you think so?” Hope filled her eyes.

  Coal nodded. “More than sure.” He knew from the way she had spoken earlier that she did want children. Deep down inside. She was just afraid, and with good reason. Julie was wrong about being a bad mother.

  She might not be pregnant. He felt a pang at the thought. If she was pregnant they had time. He would make sure that she was fully onboard and that any doubts she had were dispelled. If she wasn’t pregnant, he would work on patience. Coal was sure that there were children in their future regardless.

  Julie nodded. “Okay. We’ll get through this together.”

  “I’m not worried, Julie. We will be fine. Our children will love you and you will love them right back.”

  “I might not be pregnant, so don’t say that.” She gave his arm a slap.

  “I hope you are but if you aren’t we will work on it at some point in the future.”

  “How long do we need to wait?”

  “About a week.”

  “So long?” Her eyes were bright. If he didn’t know better he would say that she looked excited.

  Chapter 19

  One week later…

  “This is crazy.” Julie’s voice shook. “It is the craziest thing I’ve ever… I don’t know if I can do this.” She felt faint. Her heart raced.

  Coal tightened his hold on her hand. “We can do this.” He smiled at her. He was so gorgeous when he smiled. Then again, he was gorgeous when he scowled and gorgeous when he roared. He was gorgeous when… okay, he was gorgeous at all times.

  She looked down at her lacy, white dress. It wasn’t a wedding dress. Not really but it was pretty. “I don’t want to ruin my dress.” She smoothed the material with her free hand, her fingers coming to rest on her stomach. “It might be bad for the baby. I don’t want to scramble my egg.” />
  She still couldn’t believe that she was pregnant. She was going to have a baby. Scratch that, she was going to give birth to an egg. An egg. Coal could’ve told her that little detail before he knocked her up. Then again, she smiled, it wouldn’t have mattered. Not one bit. She would have this man’s egg. She would do anything for him because she… anything. Maybe anything was too strong a word. She looked down the sheer cliff and shuffled backwards an inch or two. Some loose stones clattered down the side of the drop. Oh and what a drop it was.

  She turned. There were a couple of people present. Blaze, who smiled. Pauline and Flame who had taken the plunge a few days ago.

  Taken the plunge!

  “Why didn’t you guys tell me that taking the plunge was a literal thing? I don’t know that I would’ve agreed to mating you if I had known.”

  “You would have.”

  Julie made a fake growly noise. Yes, she would have. “I’m crazy.”

  “Crazy in love with me.”

  “Arrogant much?”

  “It’s a simple fact.” He put an arm around her. “I’m nuts about you too. Now, shall we? I really want to make this official. I told you that I would never let you fall. That I would always catch you and I meant it.”

  “I understand that this is a part of your traditions but dragon shifter women can fly so it’s hardly fair.”

  “Trust me. Just close your eyes and take the plunge. Trust me, please, Julie.”

  “Is this the only way?” She did trust him but this was beyond trust. This was throwing herself off a cliff and trusting that he would catch her without ripping her apart with his talons or squeezing her too tightly or knocking her against the cliff. “If I don’t do this then that’s it, we can’t be mated?”

  He cupped both her cheeks. “You can do this.”

  “I love you but this is nuts.”

  “You might enjoy it.”

  “Doubtful, but okay…”

  “Okay?” he smiled. “I wasn’t sure if you could go through with it.”

  “Only because I don’t want my baby to be born out of wedlock. If it was just you and me I wouldn’t do it – just so you know.”

  “You so would.” He kissed her softly. “You’re already a good mother, putting our baby before yourself. An amazing mother.” He kissed her, sweeping his tongue against her lips, then plunging it into her mouth.

  Julie moaned. She was still nervous that he was wrong but she would work hard every day to be the best mother. To prove herself worthy. The last few days had been really hard. She’d suddenly realized that she really wanted to be pregnant. She wanted to be a mom but only because Coal was at her side.

  “Save it for your honeymoon you lovebirds!” Pauline shouted.

  Coal broke the kiss. “Ready?”

  She stared at the gold flecks in his dark eyes feeling more love than she’d ever hoped to feel and nodded. “Yes. I am.”

  Coal took a step back.

  Julie turned and flung herself from the cliff. There was no fear. No worry. Just love and trust. Coal caught her. Her heart beat like mad in her chest. It was a quick flight back to the lair.

  She clutched her stomach, watching as he shifted back into his human form. A royal dragon grew inside her. At least, the fire dragons held hope that the child would be royal. It didn’t matter to her. Just like it didn’t matter to Coal.

  “I can’t wait to meet him.” Her mate nuzzled her belly, his arms around her.

  “Or her. Our baby might be a girl.”

  “The vampires told us that all of their young born to human females have been males. The two human females that bore dragon young both had males, it stands to reason that our little one will be a boy.”

  “As long as he or she is healthy.”

  “He is a royal, of course he will be healthy.” Sincerity shone in his gaze. “Come, mate, let’s go to bed. I would like to show you how much I love you. Thank you for trusting me.”

  “You’re welcome. Thank you for catching me. Let’s go.”

  “I will always catch you.” Julie giggled as he lifted her into his arms.

  Water Dragon, Book 2 of The Bride Hunt, is available for pre-order now

  Author’s Note

  Thank-you for reading the first book in my new series. It is a spin off from my bestselling series The Chosen and The Program.

  This book would not have been possible without the assistance of my editor and beta readers. Thank you KR, Aisha and Enid. Also, a big thank you to my ARC readers for your invaluable input and support. Especially those of you that review my books every time without fail. I’m talking about you Judy and Ana… there are more of you. Thank you all!!

  A big thank you to you… my readers. For reading my work and for all your messages and emails. Also, to those of you that take the time to review my books. It means the world to me. You are what keeps me writing on days that I might not feel like it so much.

  If you want to be kept updated on new releases please sign up to my Latest Release Newsletter to ensure that you don’t miss out http://mad.ly/signups/96708/join. I promise not to spam you or divulge your email address to a third party. I send my mailing list an exclusive sneak peek prior to release. I would love to hear from you so please feel free to drop me a line mailto:charlene.hartnady@gmail.com.

  Find me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorhartnady

  I live on an acre in the country with my gorgeous husband and three sons and an array of pets including a ball python.

  You can usually find me typing frantically on the computer completely lost in worlds of my making. I believe that it is the small things that truly matter like that feeling you get when you start a new book or a particularly beautiful sunset.

  Books by this author

  The Chosen Series:

  1# Chosen by the Vampire Kings

  2# Stolen by the Alpha Wolf

  3# Unlikely Mates

  4# Awakened by the Vampire Prince

  5#Mated to the Vampire Kings (Short Novel)

  6#Wolf Whisperer (Novella)

  The Program Series (Vampire Novels):

  Book 1: A Mate for York

  Book 2: A Mate for Gideon

  Book 3: A Mate for Lazarus

  Book 4: A Mate for Griffin

  Book 5: A Mate for Lance

  Book 6: A Mate for Kai

  Demon Chaser Series: (No cliffhangers)

  Book 1 Omega

  Book 2 Alpha

  Book 3 Hybrid

  Book 4 Skin

  Demon Chaser Boxed Set Book 1-3

  Excerpt

  The Chosen Series

  Book 1: Chosen by the Vampire Kings

  Chapter 1

  It had been many years since he had been in such close proximity of his birth enemy. Zane looked as arrogant and as full of shit as ever. Barking orders at his royal guard like they were his servants instead of trusted subjects. In some cases, those receiving the harsh treatment were probably his best buddies. Then again, the bastard probably didn’t have any friends. Shaking his head, Brant turned and surveyed the crowd. He felt sorry for the female that would soon be chosen to become queen to the likes of that ruthless king.

  It wasn’t his concern though. His own queen was out there. Brant shuddered, praying that the events of one hundred years ago would not repeat themselves. A bloody war between their fathers had been the result of the last choosing. It couldn’t happen again, the vampire species would not survive another war at this point.

  As his mind returned to thoughts of his own female, he knew that he would not be able to remain sensible where she was concerned. His focus was on protecting his coven, and he would dispatch the other male without hesitation if he so much as looked at what was his. No matter the odds, and the knowledge of Zane’s ruthlessness, Brant would allow nothing to harm her. She was too valuable, too precious of a gift to him.

  Turning, he surveyed the crowd again. Feeling the electric pulse of her closeness. According to the lores, he wou
ld be able to sense her and to tell of their compatibility almost instantly even in a crowd full of females. From the noise projecting from outside, he could tell there were many females present. He hoped his chosen would be willing from the start. The last thing he wanted was to force her, to have to go caveman on her and throw her over his shoulder. The thought did not appeal to him, but the choosing was not something that could be ignored. She would feel it as well, whether she wanted to or not.

  “Ready?” his head guard Xavier asked as he moved in next to him. His brother’s eyes never faltered as they stared straight into his. Brant knew the reason for the intenseness. Xavier harbored similar feelings of distaste and distrust for their neighboring king. In order to maintain their strenuous hold on the truce between them, it had always been necessary to keep interactions between the two covens to a minimum. This event was no exception.

  “Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be,” Brant replied while taking a moment to scan the room.

  “Your eyes are glowing my lord, maybe you should stop looking in that direction.”

  Brant looked into Xavier’s clear grey eyes. Always the cool one in a situation. “My eyes have nothing to do with that bastard at the moment, and everything to do with my female. I can sense her, and the urge to mate is strong. I just hope that she’ll be agreeable to a speedy union.”

  “I told you to take a female, ease your need. Humans are…easily broken. We don’t want any accidents.” Xavier spoke softly, ensuring that no one else would be privy to their conversation.

  “I have a plan.”

  “Please, tell me you at least drank recently,” Xavier’s eyes narrowed. When Brant didn’t reply, his brother’s eyes narrowed even more. He made a sound of disbelief and continued, “Brother, should you harm our future—”

  “Enough,” Brant growled.

  Xavier lowered his eyes.

  “I said I have a plan. My future queen will come to no harm.”