Dragon Hunter by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 4

Riley watched as his mouth fell open. As confusion flared in his eyes.

“What?” she asked. “What’s wrong? You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve heard of them.” He was looking somewhere over her shoulder; he looked deep in thought. He seemed genuinely surprised. That made her relax some.

Riley pushed out a breath. “You’re not one of them, then?”

“No.” He shook his head. “We’re not in the business of abducting human females, although—” He looked sheepish. “We haven’t abducted a human in the longest time.”

She felt adrenaline hit her system all over again. “What?” Riley took a step back. “You used to abduct humans? Since you don’t do it anymore, that’s supposed to be okay?” She looked at him head-on.

“Not me personally.” He held up his hands again, looking defeated, which was saying something since he was about six and a half feet of pure muscle. No wonder she had crapped herself when she’d first seen him.

He was a dragon.

Dragon shifters existed. They were real!

He was larger than life and not human.

“You look like you’re freaking out again. Don’t!” he used a soft tone even though his voice was a deep rumble. “Please,” he quickly added, lifting his brows. “We may have made mistakes, but no females were hurt in the process. I swear it.”

“That’s what they always say,” she mumbled.

Men!

“No, really. I give you my solemn vow to protect you myself.” He touched the silver tattoo on his chest. It had blue swirling through it. There was a similar marking on his right bicep. “I am Fog of the Air tribe, and you are now in my care.”

His dark eyes were locked on her. They were gorgeous, reminding her of milk chocolate. His eyes were framed by dark lashes. His hair was black and overgrown. It didn’t matter, though, because he had this whole caveman, beast vibe going on, which was somehow sexy on him…even though it shouldn’t be sexy. Not in this situation. Maybe she had knocked her head during her ordeal. That was probably it. Thing was, he ticked almost every box on her no-go-list. There was one no-go-zone she desperately needed to add – not human. It was a biggie, too. It was now on her list. Done!

Not that she was looking at him in that way…because she wasn’t. She was trying not to look at him too much beyond his eyes and face. On account of him being naked. Talk about awkward! That needed to be added to her no-go-list as well. Meeting someone and they were naked…big-ass no!

“This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me your name. I just pledged that I would die for you if need be.” He shrugged.

“Why would you need to die for me?” Her heart started up its galloping in her chest all over again. Just when she’d started to calm down. Riley was not normally a panicky person. Her mom was the panicky one, prone to attacks. Riley had to be strong. It was how it worked. “Are these other creatures going to come after me? Are your own people going to harm me in any way? Is there a reason I should be worried? Something you haven’t told me about?” She’d never been one to overreact. Then again, she’d never been abducted before. Meeting dragon shifters for the first time was all new to her. New and freaking terrifying.

He shook his head slowly during her whole stress session. “That’s not what I meant, I…” He paused for a few beats and then looked up at the sky.

Riley followed suit. She made this squeaking noise at the back of her throat. There were four more of them. Dragons. Huge, winged beasts. They carried something in their sharp claws. She made another squeaking noise when she realized what they had in their razor-sharp talons.

“Don’t be afraid…” the naked dragon guy, Fog, said.

As if!

“They’re—” She licked her lips. “They’re—” she tried again, but one of them screeched. The sound was terrifying.

“Don’t—” Fog started to say.

Riley didn’t wait to hear him finish his sentence. She took off running. Why the hell had she worn these boots? Riley knew why; they made her legs look longer. They somehow made her look slimmer than she actually was. Thank god her top had built-in support, or her boobs would’ve bounced themselves free by now. Possibly given her black eyes. Why did she have to be so big-breasted? Why had she let Ashlyn talk her into wearing this? It wasn’t her normal style.

The guy, Fog, jogged next to her. He jogged. Freaking jogged. She was running as fast as she dared in these heels, and he was keeping up easily. “You’re safe,” he casually threw her way. “No one is going to hurt you.”

She pumped her arms harder, praying she wouldn’t trip over something like last time. “Go away!” she shouted.

“I could do that, but back to my point earlier about you getting eaten by bears and wolves, or dying of starvation.”

Damn, he had a good point. What he was saying made logical sense. Riley was in the middle of nowhere with zero survival skills, completely inappropriately dressed. She would freeze her ass off come nightfall, and yet Riley couldn’t bring herself to stop running. She made a noise that hopefully told him she rejected his offer of help, because unfortunately, she couldn’t talk anymore; she was too out of breath.

“Also…” he said. The annoying asshole was still keeping up with her easily. He hadn’t so much as broken a sweat; neither was he out of breath. “You’re headed towards the direction you just came from.”

Crap!

Riley stopped dead. She hunched over her middle, breathing hard. How had she not noticed that she was indeed headed back towards the caves…towards them, those monsters. In a couple of hours, it would be dark. They’d come for her. She knew it. They’d come and take her back into those caves.

“Why is there a human on dragon territory?” someone said from behind them. It was another deep voice. Another one of them.

Riley’s whole body turned rigid as soon as she heard the voice. Then she registered footfalls. Twigs cracking and grass rustling. She turned. There were four more of them. They were all covered in blood in varying degrees. The guy in the front had a big splatter across his chest. They all had the same markings. They were all big. Only one was bigger than Fog. His whole face was covered in blood. He grunted, his eyes narrowing on her.

“Don’t be—” Fog started to say.

Riley didn’t listen. She grabbed his arm, scrambling so that she could get behind him to hide. Pushing herself firmly against his back. She wasn’t a child anymore. Riley realized that just because you couldn’t see whoever it was, didn’t mean that they couldn’t see you. This was like a game of peekaboo gone wrong. It didn’t matter. This had all been too much for her. All of it had. Being abducted. Dragon shifters. The blood. She’d seen the animal carcasses hanging from their talons. She knew that was where the blood had more than likely come from. They were killers. Riley whimpered.

“You are safe, female,” Fog assured her. It didn’t help.

“I repeat,” the same one from before said. “Where did the human come from?”

“It seems that the cave dwellers have been busy. They abducted her and one other that we know of. This human managed to escape.”

“What?” There was silence for a few moments. “That’s fucking crazy,” the same guy added, sounding almost human. She wasn’t fooled, though. There was nothing remotely human about them. “How did she escape?” His voice softened. “Human, you have nothing to fear. Tell us how you escaped the cave dwellers?”

Riley was trying to pull herself together enough to answer when Fog answered for her. “The female is fearful. I was just making headway when you arrived and spooked her.”

“I’m not a horse,” she grumbled. Shit! Riley pressed her lips together. She’d always had a bad habit of saying things as they came to her head. This was particularly true when she was in nerve-wracking situations, and this was a doozy. Her little outbursts had gotten her into trouble in the past. This was not the time to court trouble.

“Lucky for you, you’re not one, since,” the voice was so deep she could barely understand what he was saying, “horses are delicious.”

“We weren’t asking you, Avalanche,” Fog said.

“Forget horses. Humans are delicious,” someone else said.

Riley was tempted to run again. She pressed herself even more firmly against Fog instead. What choice did she have here? None! There was no way she could outrun these guys. She didn’t care that he was naked. That part didn’t matter right then. He had promised to protect her. Riley prayed he meant it. Did dragon shifters eat humans? She thought that guy in the cave had been sexual when he’d rubbed her arm. Maybe he was checking to see how much meat she had on her bones. Poor Ashlyn! She bit down on her lip, trying not to cry. Her poor friend.

“For fuck’s sake, Sun,” Fog said. “That’s not funny.” He looked back over his shoulder. “He doesn’t mean it like you think. Not eat as in… Not…” He looked forward. “Shit, Sun! You’re an asshole!” he growled. Then he turned to look back at her. “Rest assured that dragons don’t eat humans.”

“Oh yes, we do,” the same guy chuckled. There was a slapping noise, followed by a yelp.

“Quit your shit!” It was the first guy who spoke. “We won’t eat you, human,” he said.

“Well, you’re technically speaking for yourself, Ice, since you don’t eat humans anymore. I mean, you mated Azure. The rest of us, on the other hand—”

“For the love of dragon wings. Shut the fuck up, Sun. I swear to god…” Fog started to say.

Sun chuckled. These guys had weird names. Then again, they were dragons. Riley squeezed her eyes closed. “Humans relax when you joke around with them. The female must know I don’t mean it like that.”

Fog reached around and clamped a hand on her back. It soothed her in some strange way. “She doesn’t know that you’re joking. She thinks you’re being serious. I can scent her fear. Stop being an ass.” He let her go. “I have taken you into my care. Nothing will happen to you,” he soothed, in a calm, even voice.

“Why do you get to look after the human? Why can’t I get the privilege?” It was Sun.

The other one grunted loudly. “What about me? I am stronger.” It was the one with the bloody face. The one who liked eating horses.

“As the newest member of this team, I probably have very little chance of getting this right, but I would be more than happy to take the human off of your hands.” It was a voice she hadn’t heard before. Were they going to start fighting? Over her? This sucked!

She thought she heard Fog sniff. “Relax,” he soothed. “I’ve got this.” He cleared his throat. “Firstly, I found her, and secondly, I made a promise to the human. The female accepted. She is now in my care.”

“I say we fight for the opportunity,” Bloody Face growled the words, making her whimper.

“You’re scaring the human, Avalanche,” Fog warned. “No fighting!”

“The female was running away from you. I highly doubt she accepted anything,” Sun said.

“I second that,” the other guy added.

“Can we stop the arguing?” It was the commanding voice. “Please!” he added.

“Fog doesn’t even know the female’s name, and yet we are expected to believe that she accepted his care.” It was Sun. The guy was a jerk in the first degree.

“Riley,” she whispered.

“Her name is Riley,” Fog said.

“We all heard her tell you that,” Sun said. “Proves my point.”

Enough was enough. Riley sucked in a breath and stepped out from behind Fog. “I’m in his care.” She pointed at Fog. “The rest of you can leave me the hell alone.” She glared at them, trying hard to forget what they were. Namely, bloodthirsty dragons.

Shit!

One of the men – make that shifters – rolled his eyes dramatically. “Fine, whatever.” It was Sun. “You might live to regret that. Fog is…in a bad place right now. He recently had his heart broken. I, on the other hand,” he rubbed a hand over his chest, “promise to—”

“No!” She shook her head hard.

“It’s settled then,” the commanding one said. It was Ice. “The female stays with you, Fog.” He looked unsure for a few minutes. “Just until Thunder decides what to do with her. I think we should head back to the lair. You are safe, female,” he addressed her. “You won’t be hurt in any way.”

Riley didn’t hear much of what he said after one word was thrown out there. “Lair?” Her throat instantly clogged. “I’m not going back underground. No! I refuse.” It took everything in her to stand her ground. Not to hightail it out of there.

“Our lair is above ground, and you are safe,” Fog said, still in that soothing tone.

Almost against her better judgment, she believed him. Riley nodded once.