Wanted By the Elven King (The Chosen Series Book 7) Read online

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Wanted by the Elven King

  The Chosen Series: Book 7

  Charlene Hartnady

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  About the Author

  Also by Charlene Hartnady

  Excerpt

  Copyright August © 2017 by Charlene Hartnady

  Cover art by Melody Simmons

  Edited by KR

  Website and VA Simplicity

  Proofread by Brigitte Billings ([email protected])

  Produced in South Africa

  [email protected]

  Wanted by the Elven King 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.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  This book is dedicated to those with no voice.

  Chapter 1

  ‘Vampires are so fucking uncivilized,’ Keto thought to himself. Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he felt the vehicle vibrate as it crept along at five miles an hour. Why in god’s name had he decided to take the Lamborghini? Should’ve taken the SUV. Though in truth, he knew the answer. He hated his SUV. There was nothing sleek and sexy about a big hunk of metal with overly large tires. It was gaudy and slow. He made a growling noise as the vibrations increased.

  Slow.

  If he got out and walked, he could get there quicker. The blame for this fiasco of a situation laid less on his vehicle preference and more on who he was visiting and where they chose to live.

  Uncivilized!

  Keto was en route to the vampire castle and that meant a long stretch of dirt-fucking-road. Thank all that was green, the castle gate loomed just ahead. It took a few more agonizing minutes to actually get to the entrance. Then the guard at the gate spotted him.

  Of course the male spotted him. He was in a bright yellow sports car moving at a snail’s pace, trailed by several more sports cars of different varieties. All barely moving. The male bowed elaborately, which made him feel marginally better.

  The gates opened before him and he entered, hitting tar. He rolled his eyes up in a silent prayer. Now that was more like it. The engine purred, wheels rolling smoothly over the level asphalt. Within seconds, he was pulling into a parking spot.

  He opened the door and it rotated vertically. One downside of a vehicle like this was that it was quite cramped inside for a male like him. Keto unfolded himself and carefully slid from the opening.

  He closed the door, trying not to scowl at the layer of dust that covered his car.

  “Good morning, I mean afternoon,” a female voice sounded behind him.

  Keto held his breath as he turned, letting it out once he caught sight of the person behind him. A brunette. Not unattractive … just, not her.

  The female smiled. “Welcome to the Vampire Castle, my lord. I hope your stay will be comfortable.” She handed him a business card. “My number, should you have any special requirements.” Her cheeks heated and she chewed on her lower lip.

  He took the card from her. “Thank you, I …”

  “Oh—” she stopped, her eyes widening. “How rude of me. I’m Alison. I’m Brant’s personal assistant.” She gave a curtsy. The female’s cheeks turned a bright red. He watched the color bleed up from under the collar of the business suit she was wearing. “I hope you will forgive my—”

  “Nothing to forgive.” He smiled.

  She smiled back, looking at him from under her lashes, still flustered as she took a step towards the back of his car. “Let me fetch your bags. If you would be so kind as to pop the trunk.”

  Vampires! Clueless creatures. He held back a grin. So fucking uncivilized. “The trunk is this side.” He gestured to the front of his sports car. With a push of a button, the trunk popped open. His bag filled the small space. He was only going to be there for a night.

  Alison walked around the vehicle, her cheeks were bright red all over again. Her lip was back between her teeth. Her eyes were even wider than before. “My apologies. How silly of me. Let me take—”

  Keto frowned. “I’m a male in my prime. I’m quite capable of carrying my own bag.”

  “Of course.” She looked down at the ground and he instantly regretted his harshly spoken words.

  “Thank you for offering,” Keto added, feeling like a prick.

  “My pleasure.” Her words were breathless and a touch husky. Another sweet yet ‒ dare he say ‒ sexy smile was delivered. If he didn’t know better he’d say that she was flirting with him.

  Surely not.

  Not for the first time in his life, he wished he had better-developed senses. It was the one thing he envied of the other non-humans. The only super-human capability elves didn’t possess. It didn’t matter either way, he was not going to take her up on it anyway.

  “Shall I show you to your suite or would you like to go straight to your sister’s apartment?” Alison asked.

  “My first order of business is Esral, so lead the way, if you will.”

  “It would be my pleasure.” Another seductive smile.

  The female made small talk but he wasn’t interested. He answered with a nod or with as few words as he could get away with.

  There was nothing wrong with Alison, it was just that he had avoided females like the plague since Cheri. The female had only been with him for his crown. It wasn’t that he was greatly affected by their break-up, it was just … he wasn’t sure what the problem was. Maybe it was simply a case of not feeling like going back to rutting chamber maids. Not that he had done that very often before Cheri. There were also plenty of highborn females available. As Prince of the Elven Kingdom he could pick and c
hoose, but he wasn’t interested in mating anyone right now. Pity he didn’t have too much say in the matter. Within no time they arrived at a door.

  Alison gave a curtsy and bid him farewell. “Call if you need anything.” She held eye-contact for a couple of seconds before leaving. Yeah, she wanted him alright. Even though, he could be as arrogant as fuck, in this instance, it was a simple fact.

  Before he could knock, the door was flung open and Esral pulled him into a hug. “Brother,” she said, the words muffled because her face was against his chest.

  He found himself smiling and hugging her right back. As much as he hated to admit it, he missed his baby sister. “Good to see you.” He tightened his arms around her for a moment before letting go. It had been a few months since she’d visited with him.

  “Brother,” Xavier grinned broadly. He was standing in the hallway behind Esral.

  “That’s brother-in-law to you, you blood-sucking-bastard.”

  Xavier frowned. “I would love to call you a pointy-toed-fucker but I see you dressed like a normal person for a change.”

  Keto shrugged, looked down at his attire and shrugged again. “When in Rome.” He went inside. “How are the two of you?” He frowned. “You said that you needed to discuss something with me. It sounded serious.”

  Esral looked down at her feet. Her forehead was creased.

  “Take a seat.” Xavier gestured to one of the couches in the living area. “What would you like to drink?”

  “I have some freshly squeezed berry medley or some still water if you would prefer?” His sister looked nervous. She clasped her hands in front of her and hovered somewhere between the living room and the kitchen.

  “The juice sounds perfect.”

  Esral gave a nod and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Xavier went from lounging on the couch across from him to sitting upright in a second. The male was frowning heavily. “Whatever you do, I need you to take this seriously and to be sensitive to your sister’s, Esral’s …” he fumbled over his words, “to our predicament.” The male spoke under his breath.

  “What predicament? What the hell is going on?”

  “Keep it down,” Xavier whispered. “I swear if you hurt her … if you make her cry …”

  “What then?” They often gave each other shit. This time, however, Keto sensed that although there was a humorous tone, the vampire prince was deadly serious.

  “I’ll have to hurt you, elf.”

  “Yeah right,” Keto laughed. “You can try but I’ll flatten you like the vampire bug you are.”

  “Fuck you, you’ll flatten me?” He snorted. “We’re both princes … we’re fucking equals.” Xavier’s hands curled into fists. “Although, I’m a vampire which makes me stronger.” Keto could see that he was preparing to stand if need be. “I have these.” Xavier flashed him a set of healthy fangs.

  Keto rolled his eyes. “Big deal! I have these.” He pulled his lips away from his teeth, knowing what Xavier would see. Every tooth was sharp. “Two fangs … how puny.”

  “Look!” Xavier sighed, looking defeated. It put Keto off kilter. Something was definitely wrong. Xavier wouldn’t normally give up this easily. “Please … I’m begging you.” The male’s whole stance changed. What was going on?

  “What are you guys talking about?” Esral looked tense. Keto didn’t like this one bit.

  “We were just messing around.” Xavier smiled. It looked forced. “I like giving my brother shit.”

  Keto grunted.

  Esral handed him his drink. Keto had to force himself to take a sip.

  “So, how are things? How is Father?” Esral asked.

  Keto looked his sister in the eyes. “You spoke with him this morning. You know how things are. Our father is doing as well as can be expected. He is still recovering.”

  Esral nodded. “I worry about him.” She took a sip of her own drink.

  “Father is getting old. It is what it is.”

  “The poison aged him though.”

  Keto nodded, thinking back on the attempted assassination of his father and king. “Father is stronger than he looks. I am sure we will still see further improvement. Now, what’s going on? Why did you call me here?”

  Esral raised her brows, a ghost of a smile toyed with the corners of her mouth. “I miss you and wanted you to visit us.”

  Keto choked out a laugh. “Yeah right!”

  “I couldn’t believe it when you agreed to come. You hate coming to the castle. I don’t even need one hand to count how many times you’ve been here. I’m talking about your whole life. You haven’t been here once since Xavier and I mated. It’s been years.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah well, fact of the matter is that I will be made king one day and I want relations between our people to be strong.” He glanced at Xavier. The male nodded. “I am here to visit you and I will also be meeting with the kings.”

  “Good.” Esral nodded. “I am glad.” She paused for a long while, just staring at her glass. “I’m having some difficulties,” she finally blurted.

  “We are having some difficulties.” Xavier reached over and took his female’s hand. Esral sucked in a deep breath and turned towards her mate. Adoration shone in her eyes. For just a second he felt like he was intruding. That even though he had been invited, even though the conversation was directed at him, he was still intruding, such was the bond between these two people. It was rare connection, almost impossible to find, and he was infinitely grateful that Esral was happy.

  His sister nodded once. “We are having some difficulties. Xavier and I have been mated for over a year and I still haven’t—” she held in a breath for a few seconds, “I haven’t had my heat.”

  “Heat?” he frowned. “Oh!” It dawned on him what she meant. “You haven’t produced a garden?”

  Esral shook her head. “No garden and therefore no heat … no.” Worry filled her eyes and she pursed her lips.

  “Maybe the fault lies with Xavier. Your seed might be defective.”

  “What the fuck? Really?” Xavier jumped to his feet, he raked a hand through his hair and paced towards the kitchen door before turning back. “Here I was, worried to death that you would say something to hurt Esral.” He huffed out a breath.

  “Xavier has perfectly good seed,” Esral practically growled. Her eyes were narrowed, her hands balled into tiny fists.

  “Um … nope or you would be with child by now.”

  “Fuck you, you pointy-eared fucker!”

  “Honey,” Esral pursed her lips together for a moment. “I have pointy ears. You love my pointy ears.”

  “I so love your ears.” Xavier sat back down and hooked an arm around Esral’s waist. It was as if Keto completely disappeared, because Xavier began kissing his sister’s ears. Her ears, for tree’s sake! Esral moaned.

  “Stop that,” Keto snarled. “It’s fucking rude.”

  “What?” Xavier frowned.

  Esral giggled. She was blushing wildly. “I’m sorry, Keto. I wasn’t thinking.” She looked back at Xavier. “I’ve told you that touching and fondling an elf’s ears is sexual.”

  “You may as well have stroked my baby sister between her—”

  “Don’t fucking say it.” Xavier closed his eyes.

  “It’s the same,” Keto chuckled.

  “Yeah, okay, fine, I’m sorry.” The male directed the apology to his sister, which was good. Fact of the matter was, he liked this male.

  Keto settled back a little more in his chair. “I will look into why you are not producing a garden. I’m not sure I’ll find much on the subject, considering yours and Xavier’s is the first ever cross-mating with an elf.”

  “Please. I so long for a child.” Esral’s eyes filled with tears.

  He might tease her, might be hard on her, might even have made some serious mistakes in the past where his sister was concerned, but he loved her very much. Keto wanted her to be happy. “I will do my best. I don’t want you to get your hopes up tho
ugh.”

  “I won’t.” By all that was green, her lip trembled and he knew that she already had.

  No fucking pressure.

  “There is something I need to tell you.” Keto leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs. “Some news. It needs to stay quiet for the time being, so I need you both to agree that this stays between us.”

  Esral and Xavier exchanged a look. They turned their gazes back to Keto. Xavier nodded.

  “Yes, of course.” Esral’s eyes were wide. “It sounds serious.”

  Keto raised his brows. “Yeah, it is very serious and part of the reason I’m meeting with the kings.”

  Chapter 2

  Keto had asked to meet the vampire kings at their offices and not in their private abode. The reason ‒ this was business first and foremost and he’d keep telling himself that until he was blue in the fucking face.

  Just business. Damnit!

  The moment her gaze landed on him, Alison’s green eyes lit up like someone had flipped a switch. Her chair scraped in her haste to get up. “Oh … oh … um … hi … good morning … afternoon.” She cleared her throat and curtsied. “Good afternoon, my lord. I’m so sorry … you’re early. I wasn’t expecting you just yet.” She looked at her watch. “Let me check if they’re ready for you … if you don’t mind. It won’t take a minute, please, take a seat.” He looked over his shoulder at the chairs in the waiting area.

  Irritation caused him to clench his teeth for a moment. He sucked in a lungful of air and then gave a nod. Keto looked about the reception room. Aside from a waiting area, there was only one desk and chair.

  The female cleared her throat, bringing his attention back to her. “Oh … would you like something to drink … a coffee? A tea?” She obviously caught his look of disdain. “Something else?”

  He shook his head, both declining the beverages and dismissing her at the same time. Alison disappeared through double doors but returned within a half a minute as promised.

  “Zane and Brant will see you now.” Her smile was bright.