Free Royal Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 1) by Charlene Hartnady Page A

tiny woman gave her an attempt at a smile. She looked exhausted. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how long I can go on like this,” Pauline whispered.
    “We can’t stop now,” Candy whispered back.
    “Just a little bit further.” Julie added, keeping her voice as low as possible.
    Just then, a loud roar erupted from somewhere behind them. They all turned. There was a sharp bend in the river about a hundred feet behind them.
    “Shit,” Candy murmured. “We need to move. Now.” She began to run.
    The stream was no longer a stream but an honest to God river. It was deep and strong. They needed to be careful not to go in too deep because the currents would sweep them away. Thankfully the pebbled edges were muddy with flat stones. By now she was so cold that she could barely feel her feet. It didn’t matter, she picked up her pace behind Candy and could hear Pauline right behind her. They made their way to the bank since they no longer needed to mask their scent.
    There was another roar, louder this time.
    Julie heard Pauline stop dead. The other woman whimpered softly.
    “Keep going!” She shouted, not daring to look back. Candy leapt out of the river and Julie followed suit. The hunt was on and in full force. They were gaining on them. It terrified her but it also fueled her. They all picked up the pace.
    There was a loud splashing noise as Pauline began to run once more. She made more whimpering noises. “I see them. I see them!” She shrieked. “Oh God.” There was another loud splash and then the sound of footfalls on the ground behind her. It sounded like Pauline had also jumped out of the river.
    Julie’s arms were pumping and the muscles in her thighs burned but she kept on going. It wasn’t long before she heard them. The hard pounding of their feet against the ground behind them. The ragged noises as they breathed in and out. She risked a glance over her shoulder and wished that she hadn’t. They were huge. At least six and a half feet of raw muscle. There was no way they were escaping this. That bully, Scarlet, had been right. If they were caught, they were going to be torn apart. She glanced back a second time, locking eyes with one of the men. His orbs were pitch black and filled with determination like she’d never seen before. A shiver raced up her spine.
    For a moment she thought of dropping to her knees and begging for a life. Screw that. She picked up the pace, coming up alongside Candy. The other woman didn’t look like she was going to last for much longer. They had to keep going. The river turned sharply this time to the right and as it did, she could see how the water rushed faster. How it swirled, gurgled and surged. Deep and wild.
    In that moment, she realized that there was only one chance of getting away. It certainly wasn’t on foot. She would need to give herself over to the mercy of the river. There was only one little problem with that, she hadn’t been taught how to swim. It wasn’t like swimming was high up on the list of subjects at the orphanage she was from. Foster families were so busy trying to put food on the table or they just didn’t give much of a shit. Swimming hadn’t featured much. It was a luxury. Sure, she could swim from one side of the pool to the other. Slowly and carefully. Doggy style. But could she actually keep herself afloat long enough to survive the immense power of the surging river?
    There was a loud scream behind her. It was bloodcurdling and so filled with fear that it almost had her stopping and turning. Pauline, they had Pauline. There was no other explanation.
    “Let go of me!” She screamed. “What are you doing?” She screamed even louder.
    Everything in her told her told her to stop, to help, but it would do no good. There was no way that she could stand up to these brutes. Julie glanced at the river. It was either stay here and face these men, with very little chance of survival or take her chances in the river. She glanced over her