The eligible dragon shifter males must hunt a handful of females. It's first catch, first serve. The biggest problem is that the females are human. Despite feedback to the contrary, Coal thinks they are weak and breakable. In his opinion, not capable of surviving the hunt, let alone the mating that will follow. He doesn't believe that a lowly human is capable of birthing him a royal heir, so why has his brother, the king, tasked him with claiming one?

I cannot believe my bad luck when an embossed envelope arrives at my door just one week before my twenty-fifth birthday. Which just happens to be the cut-off date for being called up for the testing of the blood. I thought I was in the clear, turns out that I was wrong. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the whole dragon tribute selection process, only that it has something to do with a person’s DNA.

I’ve been told I’m beautiful to look at, but I’m a monster all the same. Barely contained. Terrifying now that the thirst is upon me. I’m a beast king, and that comes with its pros and cons. Big con: I have to take a bride. It’s built into my DNA. We all reach a point where the drive kicks in. I thought I still had time. I was wrong. I need to find her. The one. A vampiress whose blood will quench me. The hunt is on. If I don’t find her soon, I’ll be put down like a rabid dog, leaving my throne to my greatest enemy: my rival by blood. And that can’t happen.

Azure has resigned herself - just like many of the infertile dragon females - to being single forever. She's okay with that. Her feelings change when she comes into heat for the first time. Why now? Why her? Instantly, every unmated male in her tribe comes sniffing. They all want her. They want to mate her and to get her with child. All. Of. Them. Anger infuses every last cell of her body. An anger she never knew she felt. Snubbed for years and now they want her. Now they see her. They can all go straight to hell! Her king has other plans. The tribe needs offspring. 

I walk into the bar with my pack, and I scent her straight away. She’s lying behind the counter with blood trailing from an injury to her head. My desire to protect her stuns me almost as much as her beauty. But it’s the smell of her blood that stuns me the most—it’s something not quite human. When she wakes up, her fear tells me all I need to know. She definitely thinks she’s mortal. I choose to disagree.