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’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.

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.

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.

Emmett Lasker is impossible to work for. He might be model handsome and stupidly wealthy, but he also has it out for me. He’s given me more last-minute and weekend requests than anyone else, ruining any plans I make. I should quit. And I will. Just as soon as I hit my two-year anniversary and earn out my signing bonus. But after a particularly awful day at work, a breakup (via text!), and my computer crashing, I’ve had enough! So at 11:59 Friday night, I barge into Emmett’s office to tell him what I really think of him. Only, that’s not what happens. AT ALL.

I keep my head down. In this backward pack, females rank low, and my bad leg makes me damaged goods. It doesn’t help that I’ve never shifted. I don’t mind the late-20s single life, though. No one’s paying any attention as I build an illicit farmer’s market empire. My roomies and I are doing it for ourselves, and if life under Killian Kelly is stifling, at least it’s predictable. We can deal. But when biology finally kicks in, I lose my mind. I claim our alpha as my mate. And he rejects me in front of the whole pack.

I didn’t know bridesmaid was code for babysitter for the bride’s brother, but if that’s what my best friend needs of me for her dream wedding to go off without a hitch, that’s what I’ll do. Even if Theo Monroe has been a pain in my rear since third grade. Even if he should be responsible enough to not wreak havoc at his sister’s destination wedding.

Tate is not the sort of neighbor you can ignore. Especially when he walks around half naked for all the world to see. I can't help that I got a weak spot for bad boys. But that was before I became a single mom, and I’m not so weak anymore. Besides, Tate lights my temper without even trying, and I swear he enjoys teasing me. Well, two can play at that game, and I think it’s time someone teaches him a lesson. 

As a boss, Gage Griffen is intense, driven, and demanding. But under his layers of Armani and grumpy exterior, he’s also generous, kind, and treats my kids the way I wish their dad would. I need to keep my distance, because this job is our fresh start. And messing up this opportunity could ruin everything, including my heart.