A Mate for Kai (The Program #6) Read online

  The Program

  Book 6

  A Mate for Kai

  By

  Charlene Hartnady

  Copyright and Disclaimer

  Copyright © May 2016, Charlene Hartnady

  Cover Art by Melody Simmons

  Copy Edited by Kimberly Reichmann

  Produced in South Africa

  Published by Charlene Hartnady

  PO BOX 456, Melrose Arch,

  Johannesburg, South Africa, 2176

  [email protected]

  A Mate for Kai is a work of fiction and characters, events and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews no part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without prior consent in writing from the author

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Author’s Note

  Books by this author:

  Chapter 1

  Ruby stood tall, she smoothed down her dress in one easy motion. Then made herself drop her hands to her sides. Then forced them to unclench and her shoulders to release their tension. She pushed out a breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding.

  Relax.

  Breathe.

  Whatever you do, don’t kill him.

  Her brother could be a horse’s ass. “You are a princess and you are fertile…” He smiled. “That makes you worth your weight in gold.” His green eyes narrowed. “You need to do this for your people.”

  “What about my feelings in this? Please, Blaze…be reasonable.” She put her hand to her chest and fingered the amulet that normally rested between her breasts. The one her grandmother had given her. Oh gram. If only the old lady were still here. She was one of the few royals able to talk any sense into these idiot males. Their leaders of the future. They were all quite possibly doomed.

  Her brother leaned back against his large ornate desk. The one that had belonged to her father when he was still alive. “You need to be reasonable. We would be infinitely stronger if the two tribes were to unite. We need this union. It is tradition. Do you care nothing for the old ways?” His cotton shirt clung to his muscled torso. The heavy jeweled ring on his finger blinked in the light streaming in through the vast windows. She kept her back to the view. To look upon the beautiful valleys and peaks of their great kingdom might just sway her. The last thing she wanted was to be swayed.

  Ruby felt her eyes fill with tears. “I don’t love him. He doesn’t love me. It’s not right.”

  “At least you have a potential mate!” he boomed. “The Air tribe is succeeded by princes, there is not one female amongst the royal ranks. Not even one. It is the same with both Water and Wind.”

  Why did he insist on telling her facts she already knew? “Why not take a human?” Her voice came out in a whisper.

  His frown deepened and anger flared in his eyes. “It is not how it is done. We need heirs. To dilute our blood is not an option. I will always put the future of our people ahead of my own needs. Always. The question is, will you? Our tribes need an heir. You are the last of the royal females. You are our last hope. All four kingdoms are relying on you.” His eyes bore into hers.

  “I don’t love him.” She choked out, feeling the tears run down her cheeks.

  “What is love?” he snarled. “It is nothing. It doesn’t exist. You would throw away our future for something so trivial? So intangible?” His eyes burned with emotion. The muscles on his forearms roped as he swiped his hand across his desk. A vase hurtled across the room. Petals, leaves and shards of broken glass crashed to the floor. Water soaked into the thick woolen carpet.

  She took a step towards him. “It’s real, Blaze. I know it is. I know it enough for both of us. Thunder doesn’t love me. He never will. We’re not even friends.”

  His throat worked. “One of the other kings then. Although I would prefer an Air royal, I am willing to meet you half way on this.”

  “No.” It came out more harshly than she intended. “I don’t even know them.” She twisted her hands into the soft material of her gown, trying hard to calm her nerves. To talk some reason into him. Blaze, and the rest of her brothers, also deserved happiness. They all did.

  “Know them.” He spat. “That has nothing to do with it. “It’s biological. You rut…you produce heirs. If you weren’t my sister I’d claim you myself.”

  She gasped into her hand. “Please don’t say things like that. It’s despicable and wrong. For me to take a male to my bed that I have no feelings—”

  “Feelings are unimportant. Why do I have to keep repeating myself? You’ve rutted with males before…” He pointed a finger at her like she was a child. “I know you have, so don’t even begin to deny it. Where were your feelings then? I don’t see you begging to mate with any of the lesser males who have shared your bed. You just seem to have a problem with the royals.”

  “Do you blame me? You’re all a bunch of arrogant idiots. Every last one of you. But I’m just expected to to roll over and become impregnated anyway. Year after year like some choice mare to stallion. In the hopes of producing a daughter who will be passed off to one of the kings on the day she comes of age.” Hot tears coursed down her cheeks. “No! I refuse. I won’t do it.” She felt so strongly about it she actually stomped her foot.

  To have a mate that didn’t love her, that didn’t look at her with love and respect. To have a mate that still went on the stag runs twice a year. That brought the scent of another female back to their bed. A male that only rutted her to get her with child or for his own selfish pleasure.

  No!

  What if she did have a female child? What then? Her blood ran cold at the thought. Icy cold. She knew only too well. To have her raised to the same fate. She was lucky her dear father had indulged her and that her gram had been so fierce. Her gram had always stood up for what she believed in. She only cried harder at the memory. If it weren’t for her gram, she would’ve been mated off a long time ago.

  Her mother had been mated to her father at a young age. She had died young as well. Birthing her younger brother. It was the fate of most females of their species. At least it had been when there were still females left. There were exactly three left in their tribe including herself. About that number in each of the tribes. She was the last royal though. The last golden female.

  Their last hope.

  No.

  There were other options. The royals were just too pig headed to entertain them.

  “For the love of scales. Please stop crying. Stop all this talk of love.” Her brother’s voice softened. “You are my sister. He touched her back, ran his hand down her spine for a beat before pulling away. “Thunder is a good male. He would take good care of you. He has assured me you would be honored and treasured. You would come to care for him and he for you.”

  Ruby wiped her eye
s and sniffed softly. “I don’t want Thunder or any of the others. I’ve met the kings, a handful of times and—”

  “Don’t speak to me of love.” His eyes hardened up. As did his whole stance. “I can scent your heat is close.”

  She shook her head, a denial on the tip of her tongue but she sucked it back because it was useless.

  His nostrils flared. “Yes, you are…Thunder will be here in the morning. You will take the vows forged in fire. I am done arguing about this.”

  “No…please.” Her voice was raw, her mind in turmoil.

  His fists clenched and his chest heaved. “You will do this for the continuation of our species and I’ll hear nothing more about it.”

  “I don’t want this. It would be nothing short of rape.”

  “It would be consensual and we both know it,” Blaze growled. His dark eyes grew ever darker. “Thunder has given me his word that he will take care of you.”

  She shook her hair. The thick black curtain swept across her lower back as she did. “No, Blaze…you would do this to me? Your own sister?”

  “I have no choice.” His voice broke, belying his emotions. So there was more to him than met the eye. More than the ruthless leader and pillar of muscle that he portrayed. Much more hidden in those dark, haunted eyes. Her brother was in there somewhere…she only hoped he could forgive her.

  Guilt and shame rose up in her. It billowed and raged. Please god, just let him forgive her.

  ****

  “Thank you for assisting with this detail.” The big male nodded once, his boots crunching on the asphalt in the parking area to the left of the castle. He held out a set of keys to Kai.

  He gave Titan a smile. “Sure thing.” Kai could see that the male was nervous, from the tightness in his jaw. Tension radiated off of the normally cool and collected leader.

  All of the males assigned to this detail were feeling the same. It was risky. Escorting human females from vampire territory was not for the feint of heart. There had been incidences in the past. Seventeen human females would need to be safely returned to Sweetwater.

  He shook his head, feeling the pressure. If anything happened to any of them, it would spell disaster. Not to mention the females were counting on them in a big way.

  This was the last operation Titan would oversee before leaving for Sweetwater indefinitely. Kai was glad Titan and his hand selected team were going after the bastards who were causing all of this shit. Hopefully, now they could face the problem head on. If nothing else, this would show the fascist groups they meant business. That they were done taking things lying down.

  The president was on their side. An FBI task force had been assigned to find the ringleaders and to put a stop to this once and for all.

  Kai still felt a small pang at having to turn down Titan’s request that he join the small group of vampires assigned to the task. If he agreed, he would have to shelve his plans of finding a human mate and would have to do so indefinitely. He couldn’t do that. After seeing the females in the last round, after being close to them. No. This wasn’t something that could wait. He wanted a mate. Moreover, he wanted a human mate.

  As it was, he would have to be patient for the next few weeks while this heat finished up which was bad enough. He hated waiting.

  It was a pity about that female, Amber. Talk about being disappointed. She was exactly what he was looking for in a female. Sweet, kind, with a smile about a mile wide. She was also highly sensual, with a body so lush he sometimes lost his ability to think when he was around her. It wasn’t meant to be. Kai was okay with that.

  There was no way he was going head to head with Lance for a chance at being with her. Brynn was one thing, but Lance. Not a fuck. There was also something about the way the male had looked at the human. Watching Lance and the female’s reactions to each other had helped to dissuaded him from taking his interests any further. The look the other male had given Amber was downright possessive. Kai got the distinct impression there was more to this than a passing interest.

  “Have your team ready to roll in ten.” Titan looked at his watch. “The Sweetwater police escort is already waiting outside our main gate.” The idea was that if the locals were involved, nothing would happen. Thus far, the ploy had been to kidnap a female before she returned to Sweetwater, murder her and blame the vampires for her death. If humans were involved from the start, this type of run and frame action would be hard to prove because there would be human eyewitnesses from start to finish. The brief they received for their current mission was to get the humans back to their loved ones unharmed and he, for one, would ensure the females under his care got there safe and sound…or so help him.

  Kai nodded. “No problem.” He watched as Titan moved away to go and talk with the next team leader. Kai pulled his two-way radio free from his vest. He pressed the button on the side. “Jupiter one, come in, Jupiter one.”

  He watched the male in the next vehicle pull his own radio out and turn in Kai’s direction. “This is Jupiter one, go ahead.” Even though they were close enough to be able to talk normally, he followed the necessary procedure anyway.

  “Be ready to move out in eight.”

  After a static crackle. “No problem. Thank fuck we didn’t get Uranus.”

  Kai chuckled. “No one got Uranus.”

  There was a chuckle on the other side. Jenson’s smile took up half his face. Kai shook his head and smiled back. He went through the same process with his other team member as they prepared to move out. Comms were working just fine. Both Jenson and Stuart were decent warriors.

  Piece of fucking cake. If anyone got in the way, they were dead. Simple.

  There would be two human females per vehicle, with a human, police escort between each vampire SUV. There were a total of nine SUVs and eighteen police vehicles. It would be slow going. In some ways, doing it this way would make them a bigger, easier target. They had tried keeping the procession small in the past. Sneaking a female out in the middle of the night. It hadn’t worked. In keeping with the agreement with local authorities, the chief had been informed of every movement. That meant one thing, there was a mole. Someone in the department, maybe even the police chief himself, was an informant. If anyone could get to the bottom of this, it was Titan. Kai felt sorry for the people responsible even though they deserved everything coming their way.

  The fascist group had access to short-range missiles and rockets and could easily shoot a chopper from the sky. That was the main reason for the decision not to use an airborne method of transport. The presence of the human police force would be a major deterrent on the ground.

  Kai planned on being on his guard. On taking down any fuckers that tried to get in the way.

  The females filed out of the human accommodations. They were escorted by guards, one to every two females. Kai had to bite back a laugh. The males were heavily weighed down by a ton of bags. Why did the humans need so many things? It was nuts.

  He moved forward and helped the frowning guard by relieving him of some of the luggage. He nodded to the females who giggled and looked at him under fluttering eyelashes. “I am Kai. I will be escorting you home today.” He said, even though he had met the females during the first heat of The Program.

  One smiled and twirled her hair between her fingers. The other one giggled some more. It was going to be a long trip.

  Chapter 2

  The male’s eyes were wide and bright. “Let’s go for a beer.” Jenson pointed to a building. The sign on the establishment said Beer Hut in big red letters. It looked classy and upmarket. As in, not so much.

  He started to shake his head. “We’re not permitted—”

  “What are you, a pussy?” Stuart slapped him on the back. “One beer and then we’re out of here.”

  “What would be the point?” Kai could feel himself frowning. “Alcohol does not affect us. The females would be out of bounds.”

  “It would be fun.” Jenson’s eyes lit up. “Something different. Beside
s…” he smirked. “I doubt we would be interested in any type of female in a place like this. A quick beer and then we can head back. Humans interest me, and I plan on making it into The Program one of these years…” He chuckled. “A little research on them will only make it easier to make a connection when the time comes. Come on, the castle gets boring.”

  It was probably the high emotions from the day. All seventeen humans were home safe. The drop-off had been a great success. Of any of the faction groups, there was no sign. The adrenaline had been pumping hard for hours. This was probably just a way for them to blow off steam. A crazy, stupid way but he understood the reasoning behind it. They only had one bar at the castle and it was boring going to the same place all the time.

  “No fucking with the locals,” Kai growled. “We observe only.”

  “Does that mean you’re game?” Jenson looked excited.

  Kai hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. Both of his team members chuckled. Stuart gave him another goodhearted slap on the shoulder.

  The first thing that hit them as they went into the bar was the scent of stale beer and cigarettes. Then the pungent smell of oily food and vomit. A fucking fantastic combination. He grimaced. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. He was about to voice his opinion when the scent of something entirely different caught him deep in the nose.

  It was a scent so sweet it overrode all the others. Even though the bad ones were far more pungent. It was a scent so fucking divine that he felt his dick lurch. His leathers suddenly felt far too tight.

  There was a group of males playing a game on a table with sticks and small balls. There was a female with them but the scent wasn’t coming off of her. There were a couple of more at some of the spread out tables. No hits! An older human female was eyeballing them something fierce. A lit cigarette hung loosely from her wrinkled lips.

  The scent.

  It couldn’t be her.

  Not a fuck.

  The bartender frowned. He wiped the surface of the gleaming wood even though it was already spotless. Strangely, it was the only clean thing in the place. Kai scanned to the left, and he spotted her. It had to be her. There was just no other way. Motherfuck. His cock vibrated and buzzed inside his pants.