Power Awakened (The Feral Book 2)

by Charlene Hartnady

  Sammy jumped up and down, excitement written all over her. Kerry burned to tell them everything. Mostly to tell them that they would never have to move out. That the house was theirs, but this wasn’t the time. Not yet anyway.

  She locked eyes with Cadon, who was grinning. How had she gotten so lucky? “I love you,” she mouthed.

  “Love you more,” he mouthed back.

  Chapter 29

  “What are we going to do about it?” Magnar growled.

  “Nothing.” Despite the energy coursing through his veins, Ekon forced himself not only to sit down, but to put his feet up as well.

  “Nothing,” his general spat, his face portraying his shock, his horror even. Magnar paced to the far side of the nest before turning and pacing back. “With all due respect, sire, that’s crazy. Leukos has taken another human. He could be successful this time. If he mates her and gets her with clutch, all will be lost.”

  “My spies tell me that, just as with the last one, she wants nothing to do with him. I don’t blame the poor female.” He picked up an orange and began peeling it.

  “These humans are fairly easy once you get to know the basics. They are attracted to our physiques.” Magnar rolled his shoulders. “I will help you win one. You could have her with clutch in a matter of weeks. The throne would be yours again. It’s there and ripe for the taking.”

  “No.” Ekon shook his head, placing a segment of the sweet fruit into his mouth.

  “What do you mean, no, my king? Why not? You are putting everything at risk.” Frustration was etched into every fiber of Magnar’s being. He leaned forward, bracing on the table as he spoke.

  “For my hunger to reawaken, it has to be the right female.”

  “Any human would do. They are sweet and soft. Your hunger will awaken in an instant, I am sure of it. Let us go and…” Magnar spoke softly, carefully.

  “No! I still love only Esla. She was the only female for me.”

  “This is not about love,” Magnar snorted. “Love is bullshit.”

  Ekon laughed. “Love is not bull…shit.” It was hard to get the word off his tongue since it was foreign. Ekon could well imagine what it meant though. “It is very real, and I look forward to seeing you land on your ass when you make that discovery for yourself.”

  “Ha! Not hardly,” Magnar spat. “I enjoy mounting but that is where it ends.”

  “We will see.” Ekon pulled in a breath. “My delay has nothing to do with love. I loved once and that love was lost. It has to do with vengeance.”

  “Vengeance, sire?” Magnar shook his head, his eyes burning. “If you take a mate and get her with clutch, then you will have your vengeance. I assure you. Leukos will be forced to step aside.”

  “My brother kicked me when I was down.” The rage that was always just beneath the surface bubbled up. Something dripped down his palm and he realized he was squashing the orange in his fist. He dropped the fruit. “It was the worst time of my life. My mate newly buried.” His heart gave a lurch. There were times he forgot the organ was still real. It mostly felt like a lump of stone inside his chest. Cold and hard. “I was reeling. In the worst hell when he used the lores to strip me of my throne. For that, he will need to be punished in the worst possible way.”

  Magnar frowned.

  “When a female finally accepts my brother, I will take her for myself.”

  “What?” Magnar shouted. “You could be too late,” he added. “The risk is too great. I urge you to reconsider.”

  Ekon shook his head. “No other female will do. I want his female. I hope to god they are in love when I take her. I want his heart ripped from his chest. Yes, it is risky but it will be worth it. I will bring her here and however long it takes, I don’t care, I will make her love me instead of him. Then, and only then, will I take back the crown. Leukos will be forced to watch the female he loves standing at my side as my queen.”

  Magnar shook his head, he dropped into a seat next to Ekon. He could see that his general didn’t agree with him, but Ekon didn’t care. His mind was made up. What he hadn’t told Magnar was that his prick had already grown hard at the mere thought of this faceless female. He would never love another, but he would enjoy making his twin brother pay for everything the bastard had done to him.

  It’s dragon time!

  Book one, of an exciting new spin-off series, to the bestselling Bride Hunt series, is available for pre-order now

  Or, you could start with book 1 of The Bride Hunt series. Read it now.

  About the Author

  Charlene Hartnady is a USA Today Bestselling author. She loves to write about all things paranormal, including vampires, elves and shifters of all kinds. She lives on a couple of acres in the country with her gorgeous husband and three sons. They have an array of pets including a couple of horses.

  She is lucky enough to be able to write full time, so most days you can find her at her computer writing up a storm. Charlene believes 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.

  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, as well as info on sales and freebies.

  Liked the book?

  Please leave a review so that others can find it.

  I would love to hear from you so please feel free to look me up:

  www.charlenehartnady.com

  charlene.hartnady@gmail.com

  Also by Charlene Hartnady

  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)

  7# Wanted by the Elven King

  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

  Book 7: A Mate for Titan

  The Bride Hunt Series (Dragon Shifter Novels):

  Book 1: Royal Dragon

  Book 2: Water Dragon

  Book 3: Dragon King

  Book 4: Lightning Dragon

  Book 5: Forbidden Dragon

  Book 6: Dragon Prince

  The Shifter Night Series:

  1# Untethered

  2# Unbound

  3# Unchained

  The Feral Series:

  Book 1: Hunger Awakened

  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

  Chapter 1

  They were damned either way. Whether the lesser kings accepted the proposal or not.

  Damned.

  The word rolled around in his mind. It made his gut churn and left a bad taste in his mouth. Coal looked at each of the four males, from one to the next. All of them were powerful specimens. Pure royal blood ran through their veins. Their golden chest markings were testament to that. As was his own. He felt such pride at being a royal prince, at being a fire dragon.

  Granite, the earth king, had dark hair and even darker eyes, like polished onyxes, much like his own. There were also flecks of black within his chest marking, to show that he was an earth dragon. Of his personality, it was known far and wide that he was both strong and a hothead.

  Then there was Torrent, the water king. His hair was so light it was almost white. His eyes as blue as the ocean itself. Flecks of green could be found in his golden chest markings to
represent their element. The male was excessively arrogant but likable, an odd combination.

  Thunder had eyes the color of amethyst jewels. As the air king, the blue flecks within his golden markings were definitely prominent. Though normally calm, the male looked agitated at the moment. This meeting needed to run smoothly. Coal only hoped that the males would accept the proposal put forward by his brother, the fire king. Blaze was the strongest of the dragons. His eyes were like emeralds. He, like Coal and the rest of the fire dragons, could breathe fire, which gave them a superior advantage over the others. Their golden markings were pure.

  The air king held the platinum goblet with such a grip that Coal was sure it would crush at any moment. His face was red. Scales were visible through the golden tattoo on his chest, making more blue bleed through. A sure sign that he was moments away from changing.

  “No,” Thunder growled. The word was accompanied by a billow of smoke. It left his mouth in a lazy, curling tendril, at complete odds with the male who expelled it. The air king was fire-breathing mad. Such a pity for him that a bit of useless smoke was all he could produce. Thunder had better watch his step. Blaze looked relaxed as he leaned back in his chair, but Coal knew better. His brother was not as calm as he seemed. The slight tic in his jaw was evidence of that.

  The air king clenched his teeth together for a few long moments, clearly trying to get himself back under control. Best he do that, and quickly. Blaze would not tolerate such outbursts, even from another king. “You can forget about having one of the air females. The agreement was, your sister for one of my tribe. A fair trade.”

  The earth and water kings moved restlessly in their chairs, as did the princes at their sides. They were not privy to the arrangement that had been made between the fire and the air kingdoms. Had the agreement worked out, it would have put both fire and air at the top of the food chain, with their own tribe, fire, as the solid leaders over the four kingdoms. As it stood though, they were still at the head of the game despite the deal falling apart at the last minute.

  Blaze twisted the ring on his finger. “I will agree to the three of you taking human mates on the condition that I get to have one of the fertile dragon females.” His green eyes blazed. He dropped his hands back at his sides. There was not a single sign of tension in his body. Not true. There it was again, that tic. Only, you had to know where to look and if you blinked you might miss it.

  Thunder laughed. There was no humor to the sound. “You are an arrogant bastard.” The male turned serious in an instant. “We are going to take humans whether you like it or not.”

  “Do that, and I will destroy you.” Blaze’s voice was even. “That goes for all of you.” He let his gaze go from one king to the next before returning to Thunder.

  The other two kings didn’t say a word. Although Coal wasn’t sure if it was because they knew their places. Something was brewing and it was clear that these three had discussed this amongst themselves at length.

  Thunder leaned forward in his chair. “You are going to single-handedly destroy our species. Just because some human female broke your heart doesn’t—”

  “Say one more word and I’ll kill you, so help me …” Blaze stood, tension radiated off of him. On the upside, that pesky tic was gone. He and Thunder stared at each other for what felt like a long time. Coal had to work to remain outwardly calm. To refrain from fidgeting like the others. He was the fire prince and heir to the throne, should anything happen to Blaze.

  “This is how it’s going to go down,” Blaze said, his voice still calm and even. “I’m going to take one of your sisters; the rest of you can take humans. If it works out, we’ll allow more of our males to take them as well.” He sat back down.

  Thunder shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair. His blue eyes were bright and filled with a multitude of emotions including anger, frustration and longing.

  “Deny the males human females and it’s a surefire way to an uprising. Do you want to be overthrown by your own dragons?” Granite’s deep voice reverberated around the large room.

  “It wouldn’t happen. One example and the coup attempt would be at an end.” Blaze narrowed his eyes. “We need to make it clear that their turn will come. Patience.”

  “Their patience is waning.” Granite’s brother, the earth prince, piped up. “Our males get two opportunities per year to be with a female. They are driven to mate and to reproduce. The testosterone in the air is nauseating. I haven’t been with a female for months so I can relate.” His neck muscles bulged. He was a second prince, as was the case with the water prince. It was puzzling that he was here. It was protocol for the first princes to be present at such occasions.

  “I thought I could scent something odd.” The earth king choked out a laugh and some of the tension in the room eased. Even Blaze managed a half smile.

  “It’s enough to drive even the most level-headed male completely insane.” Granite took a sip of wine from his goblet. “They will not wait.”

  “What do you propose?” Blaze cocked his head and raised his brows.

  “We need to stick with tradition. All of our males need to be afforded the same opportunity despite their standing within the tribe,” the earth king said.

  “The hunt,” Coal muttered.

  Blaze nodded. He looked like he was deep in thought. Coal couldn’t believe that his brother was actually considering this. Human mates. It was absurd. Humans were far lesser beings. So far below the dragon shifter species. They were small and weak. Coal had never once contemplated going on a stag run. Why, when there were two perfectly good females in their tribe and several more scattered across the kingdoms? He was lucky to have been born a prince. Human females for the lessors maybe, but for the royals, it was a travesty.

  Lately, he and Scarlet had been spending more and more time together. The female had hinted about wanting to become his mate. They were discussing the possibility. The only downside was that she was infertile. The female had never gone into heat and probably never would. Granite was right when he said that they had a built-in need to reproduce. Coal wasn’t immune to this drive but neither did he want a human. Scarlet would make a good mate. She would keep his bed warm, his hearth lit. He enjoyed rutting her and … making conversation. She was adequately attractive. No sparks flew when they were together but that wasn’t important. What more did a male need?

  His mind immediately moved to thoughts of emotions. His sister had often spoken of love. Of long lingering looks. Of one’s heart beating faster when in the presence of another. Of lust so all-consuming that it was impossible to keep one’s hands to oneself. She spoke of wanting to know everything about another person. What nonsense. He didn’t believe that love truly existed. He certainly didn’t need it.

  No. Once they got out of this meeting, he would discuss mating Scarlet with Blaze. Surely his brother wouldn’t refuse him. It wasn’t like he planned on taking her for himself. As the fire king, Blaze was destined for a fertile female. There was no other way.

  “Yes,” Granite paused for a beat. “The hunt. Tradition and lores cannot be refuted.”

  Blazed laughed. He shook his head. “You speak of taking humans, which is completely against our lores to begin with. Diluting the blood of our species is wrong. Diluting our royal blood is a sacrilege.”

  “It cannot be helped!” Thunder boomed. “Offer another alternative if you have one. We have no choice.” He looked down at his lap, refusing to meet Blaze’s gaze for a few beats.

  “I agree.” The water king leaned forward. “We need to follow this path. Our warriors deserve mates, as do the rest of us.”

  “Agreed,” Granite added. “We are becoming desperate.” He gave a humorless chuckle. Sweat dripped from his brow. There was a nervous tension in the air.

  “Taking human mates is the only solution. We cannot take too many at once though, a handful of females. Males who take part in the hunt can win themselves a female. The usual rules will apply, including the no fire ru
le.” Thunder looked pointedly at Coal before turning his gaze back on Blaze. “Equal opportunity for all.” The fire dragons were the only dragons capable of producing fire.

  The idiot actually thought that he, prince of fire, would lower himself and take part in such a hunt? For a human? Hardly a prize. It was absurd.

  “Where will we find these females?” Blaze asked. “The vampires advertised in the local newspapers, and females came flocking in droves. We, however, do not possess such luxuries. We need to remain hidden. Humans are not permitted to find out about our existence. We were all but wiped out by the humans two centuries ago and our numbers were strong back then. Humans have always feared us, and rightly so.” He looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “We may be much stronger but they outnumber us by at least a hundred thousand to one. In today’s age, they have weapons of far greater power. We would be doomed. Back to my original question, where will we find these females?”

  Granite smiled. “We’ll simply take them.”

  Royal Dragon is out now