Dragon Prince

by Charlene Hartnady

  “What?” She cocked her head. “As in, you went into town with the sole purpose of having sex with a human woman? That was stupid.”

  He made a face. “Yeah it was. I was young. I found pleasure between a female’s thighs for the first time and thought I was in love. If it was true, my friends would not have been able to convince me to go on the stag run. You see,” he paused, “I had not yet made any promises to Ember. I convinced myself it was fine. I would go on the stag run and then settle down with her, only …” He paused again, staring off at the wall for a long while. They had stopped walking.

  “I take it she found out and that she was mad?”

  “Fire-breathing mad and unfortunately she got her hands on a silver blade. Not that she knew it was silver. She grabbed the knife, burned me to a crisp and then stabbed me four times. I almost died. There were days when I wished I had.”

  Meghan gasped. She covered her mouth with her hand. “I don’t care how much she loved you, she was raving mad. What happened to her?”

  "Females are in such short supply, especially the fertile ones. Ember was given a slap on the wrist. She has since mated a Fire dragon. I am told they are very happy together."

  “And you?”

  “Let’s just say that I am not the male I once was and leave it at that.”

  What did that mean? Oh … oh …

  He smiled. “You don’t have to look at me like that. I am at peace.”

  “The silver knife. She …” Meghan made a slashing motion with her wrist.

  Bay nodded. “Yep. That’s exactly what happened. She blasted me with her flames, rendering me helpless and …” He made the same sweeping motion with his own hand.

  Meghan made a squeaking noise. “That’s terrible. You have no …” She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t even think it.

  “Oh, it grew back.”

  “Oh thank god. You must have been in agony.”

  “It grew back, but it doesn’t work.” He made a pained groaning noise. “I don’t know why I’m even telling you all this. I guess, I just wanted you to know that even though you’re feeling down, things could be worse.” Bay began walking towards the lab, which was just up the hall.

  “I’m so sorry!” Meghan said as she caught up with him.

  “I’m not looking for sympathy.” He looked at her pointedly. “You can trust Tide. He is a good male. I shouldn’t talk out of turn, but I think he has feelings for you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “With lust, yes.”

  “No. Although yes, he does give you those kinds of looks too, but there is more there. I have never seen him look at a female like he looks at you. I know he has always wanted a mate and children but he has never been eager to join in on the hunt.”

  “I’ve heard mention of this hunt,” she said, as they reached the laboratory door. “What is it?”

  "We are here." Bay looked at the sizable beveled door before them.

  It was clear, by his body language, that he was done with the conversation but went on anyway. “It is an ancient dragon tradition. One Tide can explain to you if it comes to that.”

  “The hunt.” Whatever it was, it didn’t sound like anything she wanted to be a part of.

  Bay held the door open and she walked in. George dropped the notepad he was holding. “O.M.G! You’re back,” he shouted and ran over to her, throwing his arms around her.

  Meghan laughed. “It’s only been two days.”

  “I was worried.” George put his hands on his hips. “Apparently you were in heat and had to be whisked away for your own safety.” He rolled his eyes. “These dragons are so dramatic.”

  Meghan laughed. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.”

  “Who me?” he said with extra gusto as he cocked his head comically.

  She chuckled. "Yes, you. I assure you that nothing about what happened was overdramatized."

  George turned serious in an instant. “How so? Spill.”

  Meghan went on to tell George all about what had happened at the meeting with Blaze. How Tide had been injured and what had happened after that. She didn’t go into detail though.

  “You slept with him?” he whispered under his breath, his eyes glinted with excitement. “I was wondering when the two of you would get it on again.”

  “Yes, I did and really? You were wondering?”

  “You two eye each like nobody’s business.”

  Meghan ignored the comment and went on to tell him about how the other dragons had come after them. She also mentioned the fight and then the cave.

  “So, did the two of you end up having a fun-filled two days then?” He bobbed his eyebrows.

  Meghan felt her cheeks turn decidedly heated. “Yes, we did.” She forced herself to smile. She didn’t feel like talking about Tide right now, because she didn’t know how things stood between them. She didn’t know whether to be angry with him. One thing was for sure, Tide had some explaining to do. “Enough about me, what’s been going on with you? How are things here?”

  “Lots of things have been going on,” George gushed. He grabbed hold of her hands, his face animated. “I’m in love.”

  Her mouth fell open in an all-out gape. It took her a few long seconds to close it. “What? How did that happen? Who’s the lucky guy? I’m sure I can guess.” There were several more questions floating around in her head but she stopped herself from bombarding him.

  “It’s Ice. It’s been happening for a while. It became official the day you left. We had the hottest sex of my whole entire life.”

  “I didn’t know Ice was gay.”

  “You know me, honey.” George laughed. “I can turn straight guys like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Only kidding. Ice is bi.”

  “I see.”

  “We get along so well. We talked about everything under the sun. I so enjoyed his company as a friend. That was until,” George smiled, “until I caught him checking me out. Then all bets were off.”

  “And? Are you dating?”

  George shook his head. “No dating. Dragons don’t date. They tend to fall in love fast and hard when they meet the right person. I never thought love like this was possible.” He clutched his chest.

  “That is so amazing,” she gushed. “You’re so lucky.”

  “Yes and no.” George frowned. “Torrent was mad. Unbelievably mad! He was pissed at Ice. He ordered that he be strung up in a cage.”

  “Oh no.” Meghan clapped a hand over her mouth. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “I wish. It’s a big bird type cage that hangs out over the valley. The cage is silver-infused. It makes the occupant feel ill. It didn’t matter how much I begged and pleaded,” he pursed his lips together, “he just wouldn’t listen.”

  “Silver would do that since dragon shifters are allergic. I’m sorry this all happened and that Torrent wouldn’t listen. How long does he need to stay in there for?” Meghan went on before he could answer. “I can’t believe he would do that.”

  “Dragons are so barbaric. I guess it’s just as much a pro as what it is a con. Ice was only in the cage for a couple of hours.” George licked his lips. “Torrent called us both in for a meeting since then, and he’s given us permission to be together.”

  Meghan felt everything in her relax. “That’s such good news.”

  “He hasn’t made it that easy.”

  “How so?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this.

  “I have to take part in the hunt in ten days’ time.”

  “Again with the hunt. What the hell is a hunt? I’m going to assume you’re not all getting dressed up in camouflage gear and going to hunt deer or something?”

  “The hunt is where a group of people, normally women, are dropped off in the middle of nowhere. They are given a couple of hours’ head-start. Most of the single guys in the four dragon kingdoms then hunt them. They have to stay in human form the whole time. They generally tear each other limb from limb to win a w
oman. If a dragon shifter catches you, he gets to keep you for a couple of weeks to try to convince you to mate with him.”

  “That’s crazy, George. You can’t tell me that you’re going to actually do it.”

  “Of course I am.” He swallowed thickly and blinked hard a couple of times. “I love Ice and he loves me. We have to at least try. I’m lucky in that most dragon shifters are straight so, we’re in with a fighting chance. Anyway, I have a plan.”

  “I’m not sure I want to hear it, but what’s your plan?”

  “I’ll kick anyone else who tries his luck in the balls.”

  Meghan choked out a laugh, even though her stomach was wound in knots.

  Chapter 26

  Torrent opened the door to his office and gestured for Tide to go in ahead of him. His brother closed the door behind them. “What did you need to talk to me about in private? I’m hoping it’s not what I think it is.”

  It was best just to get it out in the open. “I’m in love with Doctor Roberts … Meghan. It wasn’t something I expected to have happen, it just did.”

  “Firstly, what happened to not rutting the same human female twice? Don’t answer.” He held up his hand. “We’ve already discussed this. It was something I could still cope with.” Torrent went on. “But this …” He shook his head. “Love! I thought you said you took my advice. This was not what I advised you to do. I told you to get her out of your system.”

  “Meghan could have been hurt or killed when Blaze lost it. I could’ve lost her. It made me realize that it’s more than just lust. It’s more than just wanting to rut her, although I want to do that too … all the time. Even now that she’s over her heat. I couldn’t stand being near her this morning and not …” He ran a hand over his face when he realized how horrified his brother looked. “Too much information.” Tide chuckled despite feeling nervous, maybe because of it.

  “Far too much. You’re lucky.” He was amazed at how relaxed Torrent looked. How accepting he was. This was not how he expected things to go down.

  “Lucky? How so?” It also worried him a little.

  Torrent sighed. He actually looked upset. No, that wasn’t it. The male looked apprehensive. Torrent looked at the far side of the room before locking eyes with him. “Ice came to see me too.”

  “What does this have to do with Meghan and me? We want to take our time to get to know each other.”

  “That’s not how dragons do things.”

  It felt strange, surreal even, having his own words thrown at him. “I know how things are done, but it’s not necessary in my case. I know who I want and I’m certain Meghan wants me back. Given time we can—”

  “Forget it. That’s not how things work.” A little more forceful this time. “Bringing up Ice is related because he came to see me the day you left.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “We should have had both of them sign that damned non-fraternization policy.”

  “Both of them …?” Tide frowned. He wasn’t sure where Torrent was going with this.

  “Yes! Both of them. Meghan and her assistant, George. None of this would have happened.”

  “Now you don’t believe that, do you? That a piece of paper would have kept Meghan and me apart? Would a piece of paper have kept you from falling in love with Candy?”

  “Don’t bring up my mate,” Torrent snarled, his muscles tightening and his eyes darkening. “You don’t get to speak of her or my children. You have put the entire therapy program in jeopardy. The reason I chose you for this assignment was that I thought I could trust you with what was most precious to me … my family.”

  Fuck! “I’m sorry. I know you trusted me and that I betrayed that trust but this doesn’t have to end badly. I want Meghan as my mate. That means that she’ll become family and stay here indefinitely. She’ll be here for Candy, for the pregnancy and to help with the immunization. All of it.”

  “You have this all planned out, don’t you?”

  “Yes, it’ll work out. We just need some time. Meghan—”

  “No! Stop!” Torrent’s voice boomed. “Hear me out. Ice came to see me because he and George are in love. He wants to take George as a mate.”

  “Oh.” Tide smiled. “I didn’t see that coming. Good for them.”

  “I was furious,” Torrent went on. His jaw was tight. “I put Ice in the cage for a time while I figured it all out.”

  “The cage? Was that really necessary?”

  “Yes, damn you,” Torrent growled. “There is a doctor stationed on Earth territory. Blaze is interviewing four final candidates for the Fire and Air kingdoms. All four candidates are female and even if they weren’t …” He huffed out a breath. “Look at what happened with George and Ice. Point being, these humans are vulnerable. We have rules in place for a reason. Look at what happened with Doctor Roberts and all because you couldn’t keep your hands off of her.”

  “It was also partly due to her heat. You should have informed her of what kind of birth control she needed to take and why it was important,” Tide said. He immediately felt guilty for the outburst. He was ultimately the one who had put Meghan at risk. His need for Meghan had had very little to do with her heat and everything to do with being desperately in love with her. He was trying to shift some of the blame. “I’m sorry, you’re right, it was my fault. I just … I guess I couldn’t help myself. My emotions were all over the place, I … I’m making excuses.” He made himself shut the fuck up.

  “I will take some of the responsibility. Blaze accepts his shortcoming as well. We plan to speak with the vampires. They have had far more dealings with humans. They have strict systems, security measures and rules in place. We are going to request assistance from Zane and Brant to assure we can step up measures here as well. Dragon shifters cannot go around doing as they please. Hundreds of unmated males to one or two human females, it’s a recipe for disaster. You talk of how your female was almost injured when Blaze lost his shit, well, what of when you rutted her? You put her in a far more precarious situation. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I guess I wasn’t.” Tide scrubbed a hand over his face. “It just happened.”

  “Just happened. Males can handle the scent of a female’s heat. It is not pleasant or easy but it is manageable. But when you have an unmated human female in heat and add to it the scent of sex, well it’s like putting a flame to gasoline. You did that.”

  “I know I did, but I took care of it. I took care of my female.”

  “You got lucky. You can thank your lucky stars Bay was there to assist you. I don’t think you would have made it otherwise. It took the male a whole day to recover. Were you aware of that?”

  Tide shook his head. “He never mentioned it. I owe the male my gratitude and a word of thanks.”

  “You might even owe him your life. Where is the brother I know? You’ve always been so rational. What happened to you?”

  “You’re right. I’ve fucked up big time.” He was the biggest asshole who lived. Meghan was right, he was self-centered and arrogant. This was all his doing. “How do I make it right? How do I fix this? I love her, Torrent.”

  “I understand. I do. Love will make us do crazy things but apologizing isn’t going to make things better.”

  “What do you want me to do? Name it? How do I fix this?

  “You hunt.”

  “What?” Tide didn’t think he’d heard Torrent correctly.

  “When Ice was out in that cage, I consulted with Blaze about what to do about the situation. We decided to look to the Lores on how to solve the dilemma. I don’t want to stand in the way of love, but at the same time, I can’t condone these types of actions. I can’t and neither can Blaze. There is a hunt at the end of next week. Ice must hunt this male, George. He must win him if he is to mate him.”

  Fuck! Tide didn’t like where this was going. “Ice should stand a good chance of winning George.”

  “Yes, he does. The same cannot be said for you however.”

  “What? Y
ou can’t expect—” Tide bit his tongue. Literally bit into it until he tasted the coppery tang of his own blood. He had been selfish and arrogant. No more!

  “The Lores are clear. You will need to hunt Doctor Roberts and you will need to win her if you wish to keep her.”

  Blast and damn! How could he put her through this? How could he convince her to do this in the first place? Did he even want to? “Are there any alternatives?”

  “Yes. Doctor Roberts returns home. She ends her time with us.”

  “That’s not right! We hired her. I fucked up! She’s done nothing wrong, she—”

  “We will pay her out on the remainder of her contract.”

  “What about her research? What about—”

  “We would replace her … eventually.”

  “That would mean …” Tide couldn’t say it.

  “Yes, it would mean putting a halt to the whole project.”

  “I’m sorry!” He’d fucked up so badly.

  “You need to hunt and win her to fix this.”

  “I understand that but I need all the facts. What would happen if someone else was to win her?”

  “The regular rules would apply. She would need to stay with that male for a minimum period of two weeks, after which she would be permitted to return home. If she chooses the hunt and chooses to return home, she forfeits being paid out for her contract.”

  “That’s not fair,” Tide snarled.

  “Life isn’t fair. Make sure that you win her.”

  Tide nodded. “I will put this to her. It will be Meghan’s choice. I am a royal, second to the throne. I will win my female at all costs. I will make this right.” He locked eyes with Torrent as he said the last. “I know I can do it.”

  There was a look of regret in Torrent’s stare. “There is one more thing.”

  More?

  No!

  The look of regret clouded Torrent’s eyes. Oh fuck! This wasn’t good. “As in accordance with our ancient Lores, and because you are a royal and because you fucked up, I’m sorry brother …” Torrent pursed his lips and gave a shake of the head.