Captive Bride

By Goldie McBride

Princess Eugenia was terrified of the man her father had arranged her marriage to. She didn’t know whether to think she’d been saved by the magical beasts that snatched her or if her life had just taken yet another detour towards hell. But she discovered she was grateful for any respite. As long as she was being held, she could put off the horrible fate that awaited her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Concepts Publishing
• Release date: Aug 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005452308

Book preview

CAPTIVE BRIDE

BY

Goldie McBride

© copyright by Madris DePasture writing as Goldie McBride, 2021

Cover Art by Jenny Dixon 2021

ISBN 978-1-60394-

Smashwords Edition

New Concepts Publishing

Lake Park, GA 31636

www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter One

Princess Eugenia was terrified. In truth, she barely remembered a time when she had not been fearful, on some level, about something—certainly since the death of her mother. She vaguely remembered that there had been some fragment of security—not happiness precisely—but she thought contentment in the time before. Her nurse was not an especially kind or gentle sort and she had worried about displeasing the woman, but she had not been really fearful because she had known her mother stood between her and the old woman.

After the death of her mother, everything in her small world seemed to change and she was constantly having to watch herself to make certain she did not displease else she would feel the weight of nurses’ hand—or sometimes even her father’s, although, for the most part he seemed pleased to pretend she simply did not exist.

There had been morsels of affection, though, when her mother had been alive. Not a great deal, which had made those bits all the more precious, but some sprinkled here and there to bring little tidbits of joy to her existence.

That had been many years ago, however.

Now, she was a woman grown, according to her father, the king, old enough to be wed.

To a man who was even older than her father and twice as cruel—according to gossip, at any rate.

In vain, she had pleaded with her father not to tie her to King Carlo. All she had gotten for her troubles was a sound thrashing and imprisonment in her room until the details of their contract had been ironed out.

She had had one glimpse of the toad she was to wed and that was the reason she was absolutely terrified now.

Because she had been guarded until she could be put into the carriage that was to take her to her ‘beloved’—given no chance to elude the dreadful future intended for her by seeking death.

Not that it had even occurred to her to choose death instead until they had suggested it, but, having done so, planted that seed that she might try to escape her fate through that route, they had, at the same time, removed the possibility of it.

Her nurse, the hateful witch who seemed to have been chosen specifically for her ability to make Eugenia most miserable, was escorting her.

To make certain she did not fling herself from the carriage in the hope of catching the wheels if she could not throw herself under the hooves of the horses.

She had faced many trials in her short life and managed to survive them.

Something swifter than the long, drawn out misery she expected would have been welcome to her, a fleeting pain and then nothing, she thought morosely.

She did not know if it was a blessing or a curse that she was to travel so far.

A little of both, she supposed wryly.

She had a little time to enjoy her life before she was wed to the horrid man her father had chosen.

But she would have to face life with him until she bore a child for him.

And hopefully died in childbed so that she would not have to endure producing more of his offspring.

She pitied the child.

She pitied herself more. She had had some hope, for a short while, that she would finally find love in a child—someone to love who would love her. But she could not believe any product of such a horrible man would love her even if she could find it in her heart to love it.

She was certainly not set against it.

She could not avoid the marriage bed—no matter how badly she might want to.

That being the case, a child would be the only possible reward for it and she thought it might be some consolation for having to endure.

But she held little hope of that now.

If he could even sire a child at this stage in his life---.

And the possibility that he could not weighed almost as heavily as the possibility that he could.

For if he could not, he would not be blamed.

She would.

A king could not fail.

A lowly female, princess or not, certainly could. It was entirely her fault if she did not produce a healthy heir for her king.

And entirely his doing if she did.

Life was not fair, not for anyone, and less so for anyone who had the misfortune of being born female.

Shifting around until she found some modicum of comfort in the bouncing, swaying conveyance carrying her to her doom, Eugenia sought sleep to try to escape—just for a little bit.

* * * *

Kiran Black-Dragon folded his wings and allowed himself to drop heavily to the ground while he was still several feet shy of actually touching it. He was not pleased when he had looked around and seen that those who were to join him on quest had not arrived yet. He was hungry and he hated waiting for his dinner.

Not that anything about his current situation pleased him.

He did not care to do any man’s bidding—from the lowliest to the highest. They were all the same to him—humans—and not to be trusted.

And the Wizard King, Konstantin, was the worst of all in his humble opinion, mostly because he had magic to bend others to his will that the others could not command.

Shifting into man-skin before any of the vile bastards could spot him and set up a screech, he turned to pacing impatiently along the side of the road that led to the village, and thus, the inn, from which delicious smells were wafting and making him hungrier by the minute. While he was pacing, trying to ignore his grumbling stomach, a shadow fell upon him and he looked up to see the other two poor bastards that had been roped into Konstantin’s machinations had finally dragged their asses up.

Reuel Gargon-Gryphon landed first. Jaden Pegasus lit so closely behind him that he almost ran him down. Reuel, still in Gryphon form, whirled to meet him and reared up on his hind legs, uttering a lot growl of warning.

Jaden stared him down, turned and kicked a couple of clods of dirt and grass at the Gryphon with his hind quarters, and then shifted into man-skin as he headed toward Kiran. Foul tempered bastard, he muttered under his breath.

He did not like your nose up his ass, Kiran retorted and then laughed. I would not mind that if you placed it just right.

In your dreams, dragon, Jaden growled. You dragons are always such horny bastards. I have never figured that out.