Dragon Heat by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 36

One month later…

Ice madea low rumble to signal that he had spotted something. The male picked up the pace, wings flapping almost noiselessly.

Yes!

There was a herd of bison up ahead. It was a big herd, too. Fog felt a rush of energy surge through him. It always happened this way. It didn’t matter how long or how hard they had been flying, the thrill of the hunt would hit when needed, replenishing waning strength.

There was a flash of pink in the bushes below.

Pink?

That didn’t compute. There shouldn’t be anything pink down there. He slowed while the others surged forward, the hunt firing their blood. For just a moment, he was tempted to ignore whatever it was, or might be. He’d probably made a mistake…seen wrong. It was probably nothing.

No!

It wasn’t nothing. He’d seen it…whatever it was. It was a glaring pink and it shouldn’t be there. One thing was for sure, he was finding out. Fog dove down, turning back as he did. He spread his wings, gliding, slowing his descent. Silent.

Up ahead, he could hear the sound of the bison being spooked, of hooves throwing up the earth, of claws finding flesh. He remained focused on his task, though.

Where are you? Where?

Holy fucking shit!

What?

The human yelped. Her mouth fell open as she took him in. Then she turned and ran. The little thing was pretty quick for a human. What the fuck was a human doing here anyhow? She wore jeans and a pink top. The kind of thing a female would wear if she was going on a night out. Not the right attire for a hike in the middle of fucking nowhere.

Fog shifted as his feet hit the ground. Within a few long strides, he was gripping her arm, trying to be as gentle as possible. He could scent fear on her. There was also anger and agitation there.

“Not again!” she shouted, turning and hitting him on the side of his arm. “No, you don’t!” she yelled some more. “No, you brute!”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.

She kept pummeling him, her eyes wide. “Let me go. Let me go! I won’t go with you. I won’t!”

“Stop…female.” He kept his voice even, releasing her. He could see that holding onto her was doing more harm than good.

The female turned and ran again. Fog rolled his eyes and went after her. “Wait! I’m trying to help you.” He jogged behind her for a short while. “Stop! Let’s talk.” No luck, so he moved in next to her. She tried to lose him, but he kept up with her easily. Even when she tried to suddenly change direction. Hopefully, she would give in soon.

“Leave me alone.” He noticed that she wore boots with heels. How was she running without—?

The human tripped and fell in the long grass. Not the best attire, or footwear, it would seem. He tried to help her up, but she swatted his hands away.

“Ash! Ash!” she shouted.

“What are you saying?” he asked. “What ash? How did you get here?”

“I need to get help!” she shouted, her eyes wide with fear.

“I’m here to help you,” he said, holding his hands up in submission.

“Not from you,” she yelled. Her blonde hair fell in a tumble over her shoulders. The female was quite beautiful.

Fog looked around them. “Um…I think I’m all you’ve got.”

“You’re one of them…sort of…not really, but… Ash! They have my friend. They have Ashlyn.” She was frantic. Not making much sense.

“Who has your friend?”

“Those creatures! Oh, lordy! They abducted us. They have my friend. Please.” Even though she asked for help, Fog noticed that she backpedaled, scooting back on her ass.

“I will help you,” Fog said. “I will keep you safe.”

The female seemed to relax – just a smidgen, but he’d take it.

“What about Ash?” She was breathing hard. “Can we get her? We have to find her.”

“Where is she?” Fog asked. “Where is your friend?” he added when she didn’t answer.

“With them. They took her.” She backpedaled further, breathing hard.

“Where?” he asked. “Where did they take her? I want to help you.” Fog spoke softly and carefully, so as not to spook her.

“Down…they took her down into the caves. I’m lucky I got away.”

A shiver rushed up his spine, and his blood turned cold. Those creatures had kidnapped some human females. There was at least one down there right then. Fuck! This was bad.

Dear reader,

There will be a chapter in the next book from the point of view of Ice/Azure, with an update on the couple.

Kind regards,

Charlene

Dragon Hunter is on pre-order now