Dragon Hunter by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 3

The team flew for several hours, finding a small herd of female white-tail and their young. Not what they were after. They only killed certain game. There were a whole bunch of rules they followed. Never killing the young. Never pregnant females. They moved on, flying for a while in relative silence.

Ice made a soft chuffing sound, changing direction. It wouldn’t be long, and he’d give the signal for them to break for lunch.

Not ten minutes later, Ice made a 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. He glanced down.

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 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 going to find out what it was. 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 and teeth 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. It had shiny sequins around the neckline. That’s probably what had caught his eye in the first place. She also had a small silver purse strapped across her chest. 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! Leave me alone! Go away!”

“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 human 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 blond 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…close enough. 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 was scooting backward 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.

“You look like them. Sort of. You…” She covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were wide. She was panting hard; on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

“I’m a dragon shifter, not a cave dweller.” He shook his head. She must not have seen clearly, or maybe she hit her head.

She whimpered, backpedaling some more.

Fog had hoped that if he explained what he was, she wouldn’t freak out so much. Mistake! Then he remembered that he had just been in his scales not so long before. That he had shifted when he’d seen her. That meant… He looked down. Yep, his cock was swinging free, like it didn’t have a care in the world. No wonder she was afraid. He put his hand over his junk and winced. “I’m sorry, I don’t have clothing…I… You don’t have anything to worry about. I won’t hurt you…I swear.” He shook his head.

The human just sat there, still freaking out. Not saying anything.

“You’ve seen a naked male before?” He cocked his head. “Am I your first?” No wonder she was afraid.

“I’ve had boyfriends. What do you think?”

“Oh!” He let his cock go and took a step towards her. “Well, then—”

She backpedaled, using her arms and legs like a deformed, upside-down spider. “Leave me alone!” she shouted.

Fog put both his arms up. “Easy! We already established that I won’t harm you in any way. I’m a shifter.”

“Go away! Leave me!”

Fog looked around them. “In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re in the middle of nowhere. If I leave you, you’re liable to get eaten by a bear or a pack of wolves.”

“I’ll climb a tree.”

“What if you’re caught in the open? There are big open plains on the way to human territory.”

“I’ll run.” The human scrambled to her feet. Her eyes shone with determination.

“You’ll run?” He frowned, trying not to outright laugh.

She nodded. Her blond hair fell around her shoulders in a tumble. Her eye make-up was a little smudged under the bluest eyes he had ever seen on a human. They were big and expressive. Her cheeks were flushed pink. Her chest heaved… What a chest it was.

Fog quickly averted his eyes, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. The female was all kinds of sexy, but it would be wrong for him to notice. She was also afraid, and in a whole heap of trouble.

“You can’t outrun a cougar or a pack of wolves. Forget it! In my human form, I’m slower than both those species and I caught you easily.”

He watched the delicate column of her throat work. “I’ll take my chances. I’m trying to find civilization. I’ll bring help and—”

“I hope you can hunt?” He lifted his brows.

The female cocked her head and looked at him like he had several screws loose. “What does hunting have to with anything?”

“The nearest civilization is approximately three weeks hike from here. Although in those shoes, I’m guessing it would take you longer.”

“I’ll take my chances.” The human started up in the same direction she had been going.

“It’s five weeks of hiking if you go that way.” He pointed in the direction she was going.

Her back stiffened, and she stopped walking, sighing. “Three weeks is too long. Ashlyn needs help.” The female turned, tears glistening in her eyes. “She needs it right now. Something has her. Do you know what has her? Can you help? We need help.” A tear tracked down her cheek. The female wiped it away, sniffing. Fog could see that she was fighting back her emotions.

“Yes, I can help you. I can take you to speak to my people. Take you somewhere safe and—”

“No! We have to go and help her…right now. They’re taking her down deeper into the cave. It’s not far from here. We—”

“Calm down. I’ve heard of the creatures who took your friend. I—”

“I’m sure you have, since they’re just like you.”

That statement sent more shivers racing down his spine. “What do you mean?” Fog cocked his head and frowned.

“I only saw him properly for a second or two. His eyes were huge. They looked silver. Like mercury.”

Not at all like his. Not even close. Fog had dark eyes, like mud. Nothing special, considering how many dragons had bright eyes in various shades. Silver, though…hmmm.

“They had tattoos on their chests as well. Very similar to yours, in tribal lines.” She was looking down at his chest as she spoke.

Holy fucking shit.It looked like they were dealing with a fifth tribe, after all.