"No, but why would...?" Jo stammered. "This can"t be happening." Tears coursed down her cheeks.
Scarlet smiled. "You are to be mated and impregnated."
"No!" Candy shouted. "I refuse to-"
"Quiet." Scarlet pointed at Candy, who paled. "Your fate is sealed. There is no point in arguing. It"s done." She shook her head. "I can"t believe my king has brought you here. Small, frail humans. I doubt you will survive the mating let alone the pregnancy. It"s crazy they would attempt this."
"Stop it." Julie"s voice quivered this time. "We have rights. It"s not-"
"I told you," Scarlet spat. "You are on dragon territory. I would suggest that you run, that you fight and that you pray. Our males are big and strong, if they try and rut you, you will be torn apart."
Ash stepped forward. "You are scaring them. What you are saying is not entirely true. There are-"
"Are our males not big? Much bigger than human males?" She put emphasis on the word much.
Ash was silent for a time. "Yes, but-"
"But nothing." Scarlet cut the other woman off. "It is time for the hunt to begin."
"No!" Jo shrieked. The woman was completely terrified. Julie couldn"t blame her. It was how she felt inside. Julie had learned long ago that it didn"t help to panic or to scream and beg. She would bide her time and find a way out, hopefully for all of them.
"Don"t come near me." Candy tried to act brave. "I"m not going anywhere with you."
Lisa folded her arms. "My lawyer will-"
Scarlet slapped Lisa a second time, this time on the other cheek. "I will hurt you, all of you. I hate humans. You can choose which you would prefer. I will kill you quickly, I"d snap your neck like a thin twig. Or you can face our males who will hurt you a whole h.e.l.l of a lot before you finally-"
"Scarlet." The other dragon shifter looked really uncomfortable. "You need to stop toying with the humans. She won"t kill you. Our males are really big and strong but-"
"But nothing," Scarlet interrupted. "You don"t have a choice. I would recommend that you head for the waterfall. Find the river and follow it. The males will have a hard time picking up your scent. It is your only hope for escape. Be very quiet. Our hearing is extremely good. Cover yourselves with mud to try and mask your scent. We see well at night. You never know... if you are quick, quiet and careful, you might just get away. I hate humans. I want nothing more than for all of you to be gone." She shrugged. It seemed like the female was helping them. "This is your only hope for escape. Our males won"t expect it."
Even though her words made sense, she clearly did not like any of them. Maybe it was all a trap.
"You would like nothing better than for the humans to escape." Ash shook her head. "I"m sorry this happened, Scarlet, but you need to let it go."
Scarlet ignored Ash. She kept her eyes on the group. "I have a woolen shawl for each of you. It can get cold up here in the mountains. Apparently, you humans struggle to keep yourselves warm." She rolled her eyes. "So weak." She tsk"d. "Do as I have instructed and you will stand a chance. Ignore my advice and..." She shrugged. "It will be your own fault."
Chapter 5.
Her feet touched the ground and for a moment, there was a feeling of suspension. Then the dragon let her go and gravity took hold. Julie staggered but managed to stay on her feet. The others were deposited in much the same way. She pulled off her blindfold. Lisa was looking around her. Jo was picking herself up off the ground. The others were scrambling to remove their own blindfolds. Of the dragons, there was no sign. Quick motherf-ers!
They were in the middle of nowhere. The gra.s.s was about knee-high and a beautiful, bright green. The field for the most part, was clear of trees with only a few small bushes here and there. But beyond that, with thick forests as far as the eye could see. And beyond the forests, were giant, craggy mountain peaks. The tallest one, was white and covered in snow.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and terrifying, all in one. How on earth were they going to escape this? It seemed that the nearest civilization would be thousands of miles away. If they escaped the dragons, and that was a big if, they might just end up dying out here in the wilderness. There would be mountain lions, bears and G.o.d knows what else in this G.o.d forsaken terrain.
One thing was for sure, she would rather die trying to escape than to allow herself to be caught by one of the dragon shifters. She shivered, recalling Scarlet"s words. There was no way she was going to allow herself to be used in that way. She would rather die trying to escape and would fight to the death if one of them managed to catch her.
The other women were talking amongst themselves. Arguing about which direction to take.
"We need to go that way." Lisa pointed to the route that would take them further into the valley.
"That dragon woman, Scarlet, said to head for the waterfall and to follow the stream." Candy pointed to the right. True enough, a white mist could be seen on the side of the mountain. The undergrowth looked thicker and greener as it moved away.
"Yup." Julie nodded. "That looks like the waterfall alright."
Lisa shook her head. "You"re actually going to trust her? Scarlet has it in for us. She wants to see all those horrible things happen. She"s not on our side and not to be trusted."
"Yeah, but what she said makes sense." Candy put her hands on her hips.
Pauline chewed on her lower lip and Jo looked like she was about to pa.s.s out at any second.
Lisa put her hands on her hips as well. "I don"t give a rat"s a.s.s about what she said. I"m going that way. It"s easier going and I"ll be able to get further away quicker. The sooner I can find a road or some sort of civilization..." She rolled her eyes. "The better."
"I don"t think you"re going to find much of anything. Nothing human lives anywhere close to where we are right now. I think you"re fooling yourself big time," Lisa argued further.
"Well, that"s the route I"m taking. You can go wherever the h.e.l.l you want to. I"m not stopping you." It was strange, although Lisa was shorter than Candy, she still seemed to look at the other woman from down her nose.
"Whatever," Candy huffed. "You heard the brief. We only have a four hour head start."
"Yeah, I heard the brief loud and clear." Lisa pursed her lips for a few moments. "They also said that the dragon shifters have to stay in human form for the duration of the hunt."
Candy choked out a humorless laugh. "They will still be way faster than us. I think you"re fooling yourself thinking that you can outrun them by taking the easy route. I"m going to find that river and I"m going to use it to mask my scent. It"s also common knowledge that if you follow water it will eventually lead you to human settlements. Once we"re far enough away, we could even make a raft or some sort of a vessel to get further downriver even faster."
Lisa shrugged. "I"m done arguing. Good luck, ladies." She curled her hand around the water bottle that was strung around her neck and started to walk down the gentle slope that would take us further into the valley. The woolen shawl was tied around her waist. They had all done the same.
"We should stick together," Julie tried. "I agree with Candy, for whatever reason, Scarlet is really hoping that we escape. I don"t trust her, but it is the route that makes the most sense. Besides, that water bottle won"t even last until the end of today and what then?"
Lisa ignored her and continued to walk.
Julie turned back to the rest of the group. "Okay, I"m going to a.s.sume that the four of us are going to stick together and head for that river."
Candy nodded. "If we head out in a northeasterly direction we should hit that stream without losing too much time."
"Agreed." Julie nodded. "We need to be sure to keep an eye on the time, those dragon men are heading out at midday. We need to make sure we hit that river way before then and that we are completely silent once 12 o"clock rolls around."
"I"m not coming with you," Jo blurted. She sat down and folded her arms around herself.
"You have to at least try," Pauline said. There was a slight quiver to her voice.
Jo shook her head. "It"s pointless. I don"t want to die out there from hunger or thirst." She shivered. "I don"t want to be savaged by a cougar or a grizzly." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "I"d rather take my chances with one of those dragon shifters." As she spoke, her eyes filled with tears.
"They plan on raping us." Candy swallowed thickly. It was the first time that they had been able to talk about it since hearing their fate from Scarlet.
"Only one." A single tear fell and Jo wiped it away. "They have to fight and win us. One guy for each of us. I"m going to do what it takes to survive. They speak English so maybe we can reason with them and we can come to some sort of an agreement." By now the tears were streaming down her face.
Anger coursed through her. "That"s bulls.h.i.t," said Julie. "It"s complete and utter bulls.h.i.t. They have no right to use us in this way. I"m going to stand up and fight. Even if it means I end up dead."
"I"m with you." She could see that Candy"s teeth were clenched and her shoulders were back.
"This just feels like some bizarre nightmare. I keep pinching myself, trying to wake up but it"s not happening." Pauline shook her head, her eyes were wide. "I just wish I would wake up already."
"Stick with us." Julie gave the other woman"s arm a squeeze. "Maybe we can get out of this thing. We have to try and we have to go right now. Please come with us." She looked down at Jo.
The other woman shook her head, still crying. Julie hated to leave her but what choice did they have?
She sighed. "If you change your mind, you know where we"ve headed. Follow us." She leaned down and squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck."
Jo gave her a half smile, she sniffed. "It"s useless you know, running. It"s useless." Her shoulders slumped.
Julie prayed that she was wrong even though a tiny voice inside her told her that Jo was probably dead on. Instead of listening to that little voice, she prayed even harder. The three of them set off for the river, they had to formulate a plan to try and disguise their scent. To try and fool the dragon shifter men.
Please lord, help us.
There were hundreds of dragon males a.s.sembled at the foot of the cliff that housed their lair. The scent of testosterone and adrenaline filled the air. The males were very much divided between the four kingdoms and chatted amongst themselves in small groups. He looked up, zoning in on the balcony off of his brother"s chamber. Sure enough, there stood Blaze. Even from here he could see that the male radiated tension.
They had already been briefed, all of the males had to remain in human form and the fire dragons could not use their fire breathing ability under any circ.u.mstance. They were not permitted to take, or use weapons of any kind. Hand-to-hand combat only and then only if the females were at a safe distance. The safety of the much weaker humans was paramount and needed to remain at the forefront of their minds at all times. Only once a female was marked with a male scent would he be considered the victor.
She would not be his though until she was properly claimed and that was only cemented after the mating. Hunt, claim and mate as soon as possible. Coal felt uneasy at the thought.
As was normal with the hunt, the females had been given a head start. It was almost a pointless exercise. When the dragon species still had females to go around, not enough of course, they would regularly organize hunts such as this. Dragon females were much faster and yet even they, were no match for the stronger, faster, more agile males. Weak humans did not stand a chance, despite being given more time than dragon females.
Logically he knew that the reason for the time delay and the need to follow the rules of the hunt was so that all males could be given a fighting chance to find and land a female. It was also done to break up the large group. Royal males and the best warriors were much stronger, able to outrun the lesser males. It normally ended with a few small groups up ahead and the ma.s.sive hordes trailing minutes behind. He could not afford any errors. He would need to work quickly and quietly.
The hunt was not just designed to test strength. It was first and foremost, designed to test cunning. Coal doubted the humans would be difficult to track so brain matter was not really a requirement. The hunt was also designed to test stamina and strength, qualities he had in spades.
Coal stood quietly to the side. In fifteen minutes, the bell would ring and the hunt would begin. Blaze would join in but he planned on staying at the back of the pack. All of the fire tribes hopes rested with Coal.
He loved a good challenge. Coal"s only yearning was that the prize was a little more substantial.
He huffed out a breath, wishing he could be anywhere but there. Wishing things could be different. Scarlet still wasn"t talking to him and maybe it was for the best. That chapter of his life was over. It was time to move on.
Another male stepped in beside him. He chuckled. "You look like you would rather be anywhere but here."
"Is it that obvious?" Coal turned to face his longtime friend.
Flame was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh yes. I still don"t understand why you"ve never been on a stag run with the rest of us. You"ve been missing out."
Coal shook his head. "I highly doubt it."
"If you"re lucky, you"ll soon find out that I"m right."
Coal raised his brows. "I will win a female but I highly doubt you"ll be right."
Flame laughed. "It"s a great pity that our dragon shifter females have always been at your beck and call. If you would have been forced to seek out a human female... just once. I can a.s.sure you that there would"ve been no turning back."
"My brother says the same, yet he hasn"t been on one of your stag runs in many years." Coal folded his arms across his chest.
"I cannot speak for Blaze. My king will have my head."
"Excuses, excuses. I"m pretty sure he found them lacking and decided not to go anymore."
Flame c.o.c.ked his head. "Could be that the opposite is true. You will have to ask your brother for an explanation sometime."
"I have," Coal said. "I"ve asked him on several occasions but he"s tightlipped about the subject." He allowed his gaze to drift across the sea of males before spotting the water king. The air king was not in attendance. Blaze had banned him from taking part. Served him right. None of this would be happening if it weren"t for Thunder"s insolence. If Blaze had been allowed to take one of the fertile princesses, Coal would not be here right now.
Flame b.u.mped shoulders with him, bringing his focus back to the conversation. "Like I said, I can"t speak for your brother but I can definitely speak for myself. I have enjoyed each and every stag run, each and every human female that has shared my bed. They love us, can"t get enough of us. And I can say without one ounce of doubt that I feel the same way in return." His face had taken on a dreamy look. "I f.u.c.king love human females."
Coal smiled. "Good luck to you, my friend." They clasped wrists. "I hope that it does not come down to the two of us and the last female, because I will win."
"It seems like such a waste." Flame frowned deeply. "You don"t even want a human." Then he laughed.
"What"s so funny?" Coal asked.
"If you do get your hands on one, I wish I could be a fly on the wall." He chuckled. "You must remember that she won"t understand that you are royalty. She won"t be so quick to do your bidding. Human females are a strange species. Although they are attracted to us, they often fight their desires and needs. It will mean nothing that you are a fire prince. You will probably need to win her over."
Coal frowned. "Yeah, Blaze has also warned me of that. I"m not sure how to go about it."
"Be honest. Try and be nice to her."
"Nice," he growled. "I"m not sure what you mean. I am nice, I always made sure that Scarlet was satisfied. That she had the things that she needed, that"s nice isn"t it?"
Flame shook his head. "No. You would need to tell your human that she is beautiful and special. You need to make her feel needed, valued and respected. You would also need to mean it when you say it. Sincerity is key."
"She will be mated to the prince. Of course she will be all of those things. As to being beautiful, I doubt that a human would be attractive to me, but I will do my best to see the good qualities in her." Coal meant it. He took his position seriously. The king had given him a task. He would fulfill it even if it killed him.
"That is a start my friend but first, you must beat me to it." Flame slapped him on the back. "I can only pray that this hunt is a success and that there are many more in the future."
"Blaze is concerned at the methods used to obtain these females. He doesn"t like that they have been brought here against their will. He says that it is not right and although I"m not a huge fan of humans, I have to agree with him."
"These females had bad lives. We have rescued them. They will be loved and cherished. I"m sure that they know that. They will welcome us with open arms." Flame smiled.
Coal didn"t know what to think. He had no clue what to expect. He had heard from the males that humans found dragon shifters attractive. That they were drawn to their big size and muscular frames. Females would often beg males to be allowed to return with them to dragon territory. Of course, they didn"t know exactly what it was they were asking since the males posed as foreigners from another country. Coal couldn"t help but to smile while thinking about how they would react if they knew that the males were shifters. They would probably run away and as fast as their weak, human legs could carry them.
He was a big male. One of the biggest and strongest, thanks to his royal blood. Would a human female be drawn to that or would she fear him? He doubted he could ever be attracted to something so weak and beneath him. He sighed. He would soon have his answers.
The bell rang once to signal the ten second countdown. When it rang again, they would be off.
The tension was so thick it was stifling. Males jostled for a place at the front.
Three... two... one... the bell rang out. A shrill clanging noise that was barely audible over the sudden groans and grunts. Males elbowed one another. Others took off at a sprint. Many more fell from blows or after being tripped. Coal surged forward, he took no prisoners, if any were in his way, they were felled. If any came at him, they would bleed. His eyes remained trained on the path ahead, a path of bodies were left in his wake.