The Dragon Prince's Baby Bargain: Howls Romance Read online

  Table of Contents

  EPILOGUE

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Also by Zoe Chant

  Sneak preview of Defender Dragon

  Howls Romance

  The Dragon Prince's Baby Bargain

  Zoe Chant

  Published by Zoe Chant, 2017.

  THE DRAGON PRINCE’S BABY BARGAIN

  A HOWLS ROMANCE

  ZOE CHANT

  Copyright Zoe Chant 2017

  All Rights Reserved

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  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

  Epilogue

  Also by Zoe Chant

  Sneak preview of Defender Dragon

  Howls Romance

  ONE

  Victor

  “The princess what?” Prince Victor of Rodica demanded.

  The messenger cringed before Victor’s commanding glare. “She... I...” The man suddenly flung himself at the prince’s feet. “Spare me! I’m only the messenger!”

  Victor glanced at the mirror that hung on the wall across from him. Sure enough, his eyes had gone from their usual warm amber to blazing molten gold. No wonder the man was terrified.

  “Get up,” Victor said, stifling a sigh. “I’m not going to turn into a dragon and eat you alive.”

  At that, the messenger gave a yelp of fear and managed an impressive backwards slither across the throne room’s marble floor. “Please don’t!”

  Aunt Agatha let out an exasperated sniff. “Victor!”

  “What? I said I wouldn’t eat him.”

  “That’s hardly reassuring,” his aunt said with another sniff.

  She marched over to the cowering messenger, her gold-crowned head held high, and dropped a small silk bag at his feet. Even from across the room, Victor could sense the gold inside. The messenger certainly couldn’t do the same, not being a dragon shifter, but he lifted his head slightly at the thud and clink the bag made when it landed.

  “Here’s some gold for you,” said Aunt Agatha. “Now do tell us what happened to my nephew’s fiancée.”

  My fiancée, Victor thought. Princess Eugenia of Doru.

  For the millionth time, he wished that he loved the woman he was bound to marry.

  Oh, she was pretty enough. Curly brown hair, big brown eyes, plump kissable lips. Very tempting, if you liked that sort of thing, and Victor liked that sort of thing. And yet he wasn’t tempted.

  She was nice, too. Sweet. Polite. Though perhaps a little boring.

  She is very boring, hissed his inner dragon. So much talk of numbers!

  It was true that Princess Eugenia didn’t seem interested in anything that you couldn’t attach a number or abbreviation to. She had a very pleasant voice, but when she went on and on about the effect of value-added tax on the GNP, it became a lullaby that nearly put Victor to sleep.

  So it wasn’t love at first sight, thought Victor, trying to cheer himself up. Maybe we’ll come to love each other once I’ve sat through a million monologues on tax brackets, I mean, once Eugenia and I get to know each other better.

  We will experience love at first sight when we meet our mate, hissed his dragon. Sparks will fly.

  Stop going on about mates, Victor thought at his dragon. You’re driving me crazy.

  But he had to admit that no sparks flew between him and Princess Eugenia of Doru. He wasn’t even sure she really wanted to marry him. Oh, she’d told him she did. But then she’d added, “Our marriage will strengthen trade relations and reduce tariffs between my country and yours. Both Doru and Rodica will see our economies grow by at least 2.9 percent!”

  She’ll lie back and think of Doru, and I’ll thrust in and think of Rodica, Victor thought glumly. Sexy.

  Then don’t marry her, hissed his dragon.

  Stop saying that, Victor thought back. Not to sound like Princess Eugenia of the 2.9 percent economic growth, but I really do need to do what’s right for my country. I can’t be confirmed as heir until I produce an heir of my own, so I need to marry someone and get her pregnant. I’ve already wasted years hoping my mate will come. It’s time to face facts. I don’t have a mate, and I need a baby. Princess Tax Bracket it is.

  The messenger cleared his throat, jolting Victor back to the present. The man kept his gaze fixed on Aunt Agatha, no doubt to avoid looking at Victor, as he said, “Princess Eugenia has disappeared.”

  “She’s wha—” Victor began, then cut himself off. He didn’t want to do a repeat of “yell, messenger hits the floor, messenger refuses to get up, Aunt Agatha has to bribe him with gold to make him spit out the news.” The entire point of the marriage was to make Rodica prosper, not to empty its treasury. In a tone calculated not to scare even the most delicate of infants, Victor said, “Go on.”

  The messenger shot him such a horrified look that Victor decided to keep his mouth shut from then on.

  “Go on,” said Aunt Agatha.

  Apparently Aunt Agatha’s non-scary voice was better than Victor’s. The messenger continued, “When Princess Eugenia’s maid entered her room with her breakfast this morning, she found the princess gone. The guards searched the area, but she could not be found.”

  Victor was appalled to feel a surge of relief at that news. If she’s not here, I don’t have to marry her!

  Then his relief was overtaken by guilt. For all he knew, she’d been kidnapped and was in terrible danger.

  “Was there any sign of a struggle?” he asked.

  “None,” said the messenger.

  Perhaps she ran away of her own accord, hissed Victor’s dragon. Perhaps she went to seek out her own true mate, and leave you to continue seeking yours.

  Stop going on about true mates, Victor replied. That ship has sailed. Our marriage has already been announced. For tomorrow. If I announce that it’s off, the people will riot in the streets.

  His aunt, who was undoubtedly thinking the same thing, looked dismayed. “Who knows that the princess is missing?”

  “Only the maid, the guards, the Lord Chamberlain of Doru, myself, and the two of you,” replied the messenger. “The Lord Chamberlain warned the maid and the guards and me not to tell anyone else, on penalty of instant dismissal... or worse.” He shot a nervous look at Victor.

  “I’m not going to eat you,” Victor said. His voice lowering menacingly, he added, “Unless you tell anyone about Princess Eugenia’s disappearance. Please inform the Lord Chamberlain that I received his message and wish to see him to confer upon a plan of action, at his earliest convenience.”

  The messenger gave them the world’s fastest bow, then turned and fled the room, letting the door slam behind him. Since it was decorated with gold and jewels, like everything else in the palace, it was extremely heavy and made quite a loud slam. Victor just hoped it didn’t terrify the man so much that they’d find him quaking on the floor outside when they left the room, and be forced to comfort him with yet another bag of gold.

  Victor and his aunt looked at each other. Since his parents had died when he was a child, Aunt Agatha had be
en named Queen Regent of Rodica as well as his guardian. She’d raised him herself, and had always treated him like her own son.

  But their situation was a precarious one, for Rodica only accepted rulers who had proved their fertility. Aunt Agatha, who had never borne a baby, could never be the official ruler of Rodica. She could only act as one until Victor could take her place. And he couldn’t legally be confirmed as heir, let alone crowned king, until he sired a child on a woman of royal blood. If Aunt Agatha were to die before that happened, the country would be plunged into chaos.

  “We must find the princess before nightfall tomorrow,” said Aunt Agatha. “Or, if she cannot be found, we will need to obtain a substitute.”

  “A substitute?” Victor echoed blankly. “We can’t hold the wedding with some other woman.”

  “It would be better than no wedding at all.”

  “But it can’t be just any woman,” he pointed out. “My heir must be of pure royal blood. I have to marry a princess.”

  “I know, Victor,” Aunt Agatha snapped. He could see that her temper was fraying, but he didn’t blame her. She’d worked so hard to arrange his marriage, and now, at the last minute, it was suddenly in doubt. “But if we can’t find Eugenia, you’ll need another princess.”

  Victor couldn’t decide which was worse, marrying a woman he already knew he didn’t love, or marrying a total stranger.

  That was assuming a stranger could even be produced. How did you find a princess on short notice?

  TWO

  Debbie

  “This is your captain speaking,” came a crackling voice over the intercom. “Please fasten your seatbelts. We are about to experience some minor turbulence.”

  Debbie Jameson already had her seatbelt fastened. It was her first time in an airplane, and she wasn’t taking any chances.

  But she wasn’t scared. She was on her way to Paris, and there was no way fate could be so cruel as to have her crash before she even got there. On the way back, maybe then she’d worry.

  Debbie still could barely believe how lucky she was. Her entire life, ever since she’d been a little girl, she’d entered every contest and sweepstakes she’d ever come across. But she’d never won a thing. Until now.

  One moment, she’d been living her boring everyday life, working in a boring everyday 7-11 in boring everyday Boonville, Tennessee. The next moment, she’d been informed that she’d won an all-expenses-paid weekend in Paris, complete with a free shopping spree!

  Debbie had never even left Boonville before. She could hardly imagine what it would be like to stay in a fancy hotel, wear a gorgeous designer dress, stroll the streets of Paris, and eat delicious French pastries. The closest she’d ever come to any sort of French food was French fries!

  She could hardly wait. True, it would only be two days. But it would be two days she’d treasure in her memory for the rest of her boring everyday life.

  And, who knows? Maybe she’d meet a hot French guy and get rid of her virginity in a wild night of passion between her silk hotel sheets!

  Do even super-fancy sweepstake hotels have silk sheets? Debbie wondered. She hoped that French ones did.

  And would a hot French guy want to have anything to do with an everyday American? Would he even speak enough English to let her know that he wanted to get between her sheets?

  Everyone thinks foreigners are glamorous, she thought. I sure do! And I’m American, so maybe that makes me a hot foreigner in France.

  As for the language barrier, well, they did say that French was the language of love. If she did meet that hypothetical foreigner-loving hot French guy, presumably he’d be able to communicate with his bedroom eyes.

  The plane suddenly dropped down. Debbie bit back a yelp. If she screamed, everyone in the cabin would stare at her for being a silly first-time flier who got scared at minor turbulence.

  “This is your captain speaking,” crackled the intercom. “There may be some major turbu—”

  The plane dropped again, farther and faster than the last time. Debbie again choked back a scream, but some other people didn’t. A can of Coke went rolling down the aisle.

  Her heart thudding in her chest, she looked around, hoping for the reassuring sight of a cabin full of experienced travelers who weren’t alarmed in the slightest.

  Everywhere she looked, every single person looked scared. A little girl sitting in a row all by herself looked terrified.

  Why is that girl all alone? Debbie wondered, her maternal instincts kicking in. Why isn’t anyone comforting her?

  Debbie leaned over. “Where’s your mom? In the bathroom?”

  The girl shook her head. Debbie could hear that she was trying to sound grown-up as she said, “I’m by myself. I’m an ‘unaccompanied minor,’ so the flight attendants look out for me.”

  Debbie sure didn’t see any flight attendants looking out for the poor kid. She craned her neck, but the only ones she could spot were strapped into seats at the back of the plane. Debbie shot them a shaming glare and jerked her head in the little girl’s direction, but they either didn’t see her or pretended not to see her.

  Debbie turned back to the child. “Are you scared?”

  Shamefaced, the girl nodded.

  “Want me to come sit next to you?” Debbie asked.

  “Yes,” the child said in a tiny voice.

  Debbie unsnapped her seatbelt and stood up.

  “Hey!” yelled one of the flight attendants. “Stay where you are!”

  “I’m just moving to sit next to the little girl,” Debbie called back. “She’s all alone.”

  “Well, sit back down,” snapped the flight attendant. “You’re not allowed to change seats. There’s turbulence—it’s dangerous. You could fall.”

  “It’s OK,” the little girl said. “I’m fine now.”

  “Are you sure?” Debbie asked.

  “I’m sure,” the girl said.

  Debbie wasn’t sure she believed her. She stayed where she was.

  “Miss, sit down!” yelled the flight attendant. “Now!”

  “Please, sit down,” begged the little girl. “I hate it when people yell.”

  Reluctantly, Debbie sat down and put her seatbelt back on. She’d rather have given that flight attendant a piece of her mind, but the woman’s yelling was obviously upsetting the poor kid. Maybe the best thing to do was just talk to her and take her mind off the turbulence.

  “What’s your name?” Debbie asked.

  “Chloe,” the girl murmured.

  “That’s pretty. My name’s Debbie. How come you’re flying by yourself?”

  “I’m visiting my grandparents in Paris,” Chloe explained, visibly calming down as she spoke. “Mommy’s French, but she fell in love with Daddy when he was visiting Paris, and she moved to America to marry him. I go every year. Usually Mommy and Daddy come with me. Sometimes just Mommy. But this year they could only afford one ticket, so when I said I wasn’t scared to fly alone, they decided to let me go by myself.”

  “What a sweet story,” Debbie said. “Do you know how your parents met?”

  “Sure!” Chloe’s fear was clearly forgotten as she went on, “See, Daddy loves sweet things, so he was in this pastry shop trying to order chocolate cake. But his French was so bad that it sounded like he was asking for—”

  The plane dropped again, leaving Debbie’s stomach in mid-air. Chloe let out a shriek of terror.

  The intercom broke in with a loud crackle. “We need to make an emergency landing in Rodica. Everyone, please stay calm. And hold on tight!”

  Chloe burst into tears.

  Before that, Debbie had been scared. But once she saw the little girl crying, all alone, she didn’t think of anything but protecting and taking care of her.

  “It’s all right,” Debbie said soothingly. “I’ll hold on to you.”

  She once again unsnapped her seatbelt and stood up.

  The flight attendant bellowed, “Miss, sit back down now, or I’ll have you arrested wh
en we land!”

  “You do that!” Debbie shot back. She would have said more, but remembered that Chloe hated hearing people yell.

  Ignoring the flight attendant’s threat, Debbie clung to the backs of seats and made her way through the pitching, plunging airplane until she finally managed to sit down beside Chloe.

  Well, maybe she fell into the seat rather than sat in it, but it was the thought that counted. Debbie hurriedly clipped herself in and put her arms around Chloe.

  “We’re going to be fine,” she told the sobbing girl. “Nobody’s going to get hurt. The captain knows what he’s doing. We’re just going to have a little adventure in... Rodeo? Radical? Redial?”

  “Rodica,” Chloe whispered.

  Debbie had never heard of it before the captain had said they were emergency-landing there. “Where’s Rodica?”

  Chloe sniffled, then said, “Dunno.”

  “Well, that’ll be extra-exciting, won’t it?” Debbie said firmly. “What’s more of an adventure than being in a country when you don’t even know where it is?”

  That’s the most unconvincing “it’ll be an adventure!” argument since “taking out the trash is fun, fun, fun!” Debbie thought.

  But it seemed to impress Chloe. That, or she just felt better when someone was holding her. She stopped crying and let Debbie talk to her about the cool adventure she was about to have as the plane continued to make its terrifying, jolting descent.

  Part of Debbie was scared to death. But another part was able to set that aside to take care of Chloe. And yet another part thought, Maybe it really will be an adventure.

  When the plane finally slammed down into the runway with a jolt that made Debbie’s teeth knock together, she and Chloe were the only ones who didn’t scream. A huge man with a bushy black beard let out the girliest shriek Debbie had ever heard.

  Chloe giggled. “I’m not scared.”

  “No,” Debbie agreed as the plane taxied to a halt. “You’re a very brave girl.”

  Chloe shook her head. “Don’t need to be brave. Why should I be scared? It’s an adventure!”