Wedding Hunt Ylara (Blind Date Corporation 8) Read online

  Ylara just wanted to enjoy the wedding. Her heat should have been under control. Attracting one alpha would have been bad enough, but having her choice out of three makes her head spin.

  Ylara had a lovely time at Vallu’s wedding. She caught the bouquet, danced the night away, and only then noticed that her dance partners followed her every move. She panics and tries to make a break for it, but they block her path.

  She does what any sensible woman would do; she hides in a broom closet and calls for help from every friend or family member she can think of.

  When her troops arrive, they offer support and a plan. Sabine urges her to choose her alpha to help deal with her heat. They all know what a torture it is to leave it unanswered, so leave her to make up her mind.

  Picking the guy with the giant scorpion tail might not have been the most sensible thing, but it feels right. When he holds her close and promises to take care of her, she believes him.

  Whether she trusts him is another matter entirely.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  The Wedding Hunt Ylara

  Copyright © 2022 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-990635-13-7

  ©Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

  Published by Viola Grace

  Look for me online at violagrace.com and other e-book sellers.

  The Wedding Hunt—Ylara

  Blind Date Corporation Book 8

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  The bouquet tumbled end over end through the air. Ylara tried to get out of the way, but she was elbowed into the path of the projectile. Her hands went out, and she stopped the beribboned missile from hitting the floor.

  The fragrant lodestone sat in her hands, and the ladies at the party congratulated her. Ylara looked around wildly for what she was supposed to do next. Sabine toasted her from her solo position at one of the tables near the doors, her crutches leaning against her table.

  Vallu was laughing, and she approached. “Sorry, Ylara. It’s legally binding. You are the next one to get married.”

  Ylara blinked. “Married?”

  Vallu stroked her cheek. “Married. There are several good candidates here, so you might want to shop while you are at the mall. Your heat will mean that the more suitable candidates have been alerted and will be buzzing around. Just pick one, and see if you like him.”

  Ylara whispered, “He’s not a patron.”

  “I know, but he could be a lover. Give him a shot. Take this into your own hands. You choose.”

  Ylara looked around and spotted the men who had focused on her. “I don’t want to choose.”

  “If you don’t, they will. Call me if you need me. Etgar’s tail indicates he is impatient.” Vallu grinned. “I am going to head out for our honeymoon. Have fun.”

  Ylara looked at the men who had gotten to their feet and were approaching with predatory gazes and flared nostrils. Vallu and Etgar left the party, and Ylara bolted out for a trip to the restroom. Bouquet in hand.

  She used the toilet, washed her hands, and gripped the flowers. She was hoping the scent deadened the smell of her heat, but she doubted it. When she left the ladies’ room, she was sure of it. Riithan, the green male, and Denier were all grinning at her.

  Riithan smiled at her, his smooth and handsome—bordering on pretty—features. “Ylara, you seem to have been the winner in that contest.”

  She looked at the bouquet and then at them. “I don’t want to win.”

  “You are in heat, little omega. We are willing to share you, and you can choose the order of which alpha you will accept first and last.”

  Ylara looked at them. They were all quite confident, relaxed, and grinning at her as if she had no choice.

  She looked to the left and right, saw Sabine down the hall, and got the kernel of an idea.

  She put her hand with the flowers up and said, “Excuse me for a minute. I need to think this over.”

  “We will give you ten minutes.” Riithan stroked her cheek. “Don’t run, little omega. We will find you, and while you may enjoy it when we do, it will be a shock to the system.”

  “Okay. I am not a serial anything. I don’t want all three of you.”

  He chuckled. “But you will have us unless there is another option.”

  “Right. Hold this.” She shoved the bouquet at him and headed into the depths of the building, looking back often to see if they followed her. Once she was in the supply closet, she made a few calls, and after the first one to Vallu, she knew what she had to do.

  Her second call was to Brittany, and her third was to Sabine.

  Then, Ylara just had to wait while the vision she saw when the three alphas confronted her began to take place. The vision had been blurry. Everything hung on what her friend and sister were willing to do and who they picked.

  She sniffled as she briefed them, and she watched them take charge. Brit hugged her and took a bit of saliva to change her shape. She opened the door looking like Ylara, and she ran at full tilt through the hall to draw Denier away. He would know about the switch the moment he got near her. He was occasionally one of Ylara’s patrons at the BDC. He knew her scent better than she did, and he would know that the running Ylara wasn’t going into heat.

  Sabine leaned on her heavily, and they walked back toward the ballroom when Riithan and the green one blocked their path.

  Sabine told her to choose. The futures she had seen blurred together, and suddenly, things became clear.

  Ylara straightened and walked up to Riithan. “Are my ten minutes up yet?”

  The green man walked up to Sabine and offered his arm. She grimaced and took it, moving slowly toward the ballroom before Ylara turned back to Riithan. “This isn’t the way I first saw it, but it is clear now. This is the way things will be.”

  He smiled slowly. “Is that so?”

  “It is. And I am in heat, and you look very good to me right now.” She looked up at the tail that was gleaming with venom. “You said it could do some fun things?”

  He offered her his arm. “Let’s go find out. I have a place nearby.”

  “You... have a place?” She slid her hand around his forearm, and he handed her the bouquet again.

  “We had to have residences to be on the Daycross polo team.”

  “Wait, you ride horses?”

  He chuckled. “Just one at a time. But yes.”

  He paused and kissed her. The suddenness caught her by surprise, but just because it wasn’t expected didn’t mean it was unwanted.

  Ylara leaned up, and as his lips caressed hers and urged them to part, she ditched her BDC training and let him do all the work. She made him work for it before she parted her lips and teased his tongue between her lips. He tasted like strawberries. She ran her hand through his hair and kept his mouth sealed to hers as she met his tongue, stroke for stroke. He cupped her hips and lifted her against him. She folded her legs up and started rocking against him. The heat in her body was starting to make her judgment a little blurry.

  Ylara leaned away from him. He stroked his thumb over her lips, and she sucked on his digit out of reflex. She swirled her tongue around it, and his eyes flared black.

  He began to emit an energy pulse that zipped along her nerves and started to wake her up. Ylara let his thumb go, and Riithan swallowed slowly.

  “You are very good at that.”

  She looked up at him through her lashes. “Some girls learn to cook.” She shrugged. “I got training for sex.”

  He chuckled and walked to the entryway where Vallu and Etgar had recently departed. A low car pulled up, and the driver scampered around to open the door for them.

  Ylara looked into the shadows inside the vehicle, and she hung back. A wide hand pressed in the middle of her back, and she stumbled forward.

  “Whoops. Pushed a little too hard. Apologies.” He caught her around the waist.

  “I am fine. I can walk.”

  “Yes, but I finally have an omega choose me, and I am not going to let you out of my sight until your heat is over.”

  She walked forward and ducked into the car. She scooted over, and he entered, tucking his tail tight over his shoulder as he settled on the seat. The door closed, and there was a minute before the vehicle began to move.

  “So, is your place close?”

  He chuckled. “Everything on Daycross is close. Just the other side of the island. We will be there in ten minutes. Are you in a hurry?”

  She looked at him, and she sighed. “Doing this during a heat is weird. I usually subdue it and get on with my day.”

  “Subdue it?”

  “Stay home. Meditation. Kill a few home entertainment units. Popcorn. Old movies. I just wait it out, just like a lot of women in my situation do.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “You know others?”

  Ylara realized how badly she had stumbled into things when his astonished gaze didn’t waver.

  “Riithan, can you forget I said anything?”

&
nbsp; “I seriously doubt that. The Sethir-Nin spend their lives fighting the wars of other nations and looking for omegas. If we are very lucky, the two coincide.”

  “I am going to be in so much trouble if they find out it was me who blabbed. I have a bad case of heat on the brain.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Do you ever set off the others around you?”

  She paused. “How did you know?”

  “Because my companions eagerly went after your friends, and if they hadn’t caught scent of their heat, they would be in the car with us.”

  She blinked. “Oh, shit. I have to warn them.”

  He grabbed her arms and held her close. “You invited them in, and they decided to help you. They are your friends. They would know the effect you have on other omegas.”

  “My sister would; Sabine would not.”

  He chuckled. “That was your sister? Even better. Denier rarely moves that fast when he isn’t walking through shadows.”

  “I need to call Sabine.”

  “She’s fine. He will take good care of her. The Hyreno alphas are careful around the ladies. The strength required to move around at pressure is controlled at all times.”

  Ylara bit her lip. Sabine’s activation was well known in their circle.

  He whispered in her ear, “Your faculties are remarkably intact for someone who smells as hot as you do.”

  She shivered. “I am fighting it. I usually fight it until I can get safely home.” She tugged at her wrists. “Something seems to have foiled that procedure.”

  “It was a lovely wedding. Etgar’s bride seems to be a woman who knows what she wants.”

  “Vallu knew what he was and knew it was what she wanted. Well, at least for the father of her child.” Ylara remembered the ferocious look on Etgar’s face the night the assassins came for Vallu. The tender care that had also filled Etgar’s canine features had also been undeniable. Those two were in love, and she could see it at a glance.

  Riithan kept her against him during the drive. While her brain was scrambling to deal with her situation, her body was cataloging the muscles under the tux and the hard press of his thigh at her hip. Her heat was progressing, and her instincts really liked him. He was very suitable for her body’s purpose, which was to have him inside her as often as possible over the next few days.

  “I didn’t think I was that far along,” she muttered.

  “You aren’t, but I can sense faint traces per million. I tasted you in the air before I even saw you, and once I did, I did not let you out of my sight.”

  She felt the brush of his lips against her temple, and she felt him inhale deeply. Something happened in his chest. It wasn’t a purr. It was a thrumming that relaxed her from her womb outward. Her hand gripped his thigh, and she bent her neck. His fingers brushed her hair from her neck, and he pressed his lips to her skin with the delicate touch of rose petals caressing her.

  She let out a soft, shivering sigh. The thrumming continued, and her thighs parted. The logical portion of her mind was getting smaller as the heat grew. When she moved her legs, she could smell her own heat. Part of her was mortified, and the other portion was impressed. Her heat had never progressed this quickly before.

  Ylara was a quivering mess by the time they got to the house near the hill. The driver pulled up to the walkway that led to the door, and Riithan helped her out of the car, where she wobbled on the stone walkway, and he supported her with an arm around the waist. The door was opened for them as they approached, and the woman at the door smiled.

  “Mr. Riithan, you have found a companion?”

  Ylara shivered and pulled upright, which startled the woman.

  Riithan muttered, “She thought I drugged you.”

  “Oh, no. He didn’t do that. I am doing this to myself. Not on purpose, but it is here nonetheless.” She looked at the woman, who was golden-skinned with brown hair up in a serious twist.

  The woman met her gaze and stepped toward her to touch her cheek. “Dilated pupils, dewy skin, scent wildly out of control. You are in heat, miss.”

  Ylara chuckled. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was melting.”

  The woman was startled.

  Riithan helped her out. “Food and beverages for prolonged heat, please. Leave them outside my door. Oh, and some extra sets of sheets and a soft robe for my companion.”

  “Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” She smiled and bowed.

  Riithan kept a hand at her back and steered her up the steps and into the depths of the house. There were staff and busy personnel every sixty feet.

  “Why are there so many people here?”

  “The other guys were staying with me before the wedding. No sense in outfitting the other homes when one supported us all.”

  “This is a lot of people.”

  “I am moving in. It requires a lot of people.”

  “You don’t have a job or something with the Sethir-Nin?”

  He chuckled. “Sort of. This is the new and only embassy on Daycross. Well, until the Hyreno embassy opens next door.”

  “The green guy.”

  He chuckled. “Yes. The one helping your wounded friend. What happened to her?”

  She shivered. “Oh, nothing good. It was on the news.”

  “But what happened?”

  “An active was engaged in illegal activity at the port, and Sabine was port security. She took out most of his accomplices, but he dug his claws into her and crushed her spine as she screamed. When he heard her voice, he dropped her.”

  “Why? Why not kill her?”

  She smiled as he opened a wide door at the end of a hall and ushered her in. “He recognized her voice. He was one of her patrons through the BDC.”

  “She’s an escort?”

  “On medical leave, but her patron will never get a date again, male or female. No one messes with the escorts.” She chuckled. “Not if they don’t want to deal with re-entry to our atmosphere. The teams are desperate for bedmates, and taking even one out of circulation is considered a disaster. They react in a manner that indicates they take it personally.”

  He nodded. “I could see that. If I had a lover that was suddenly injured, I would be furious.”

  She glanced up at his stinger. “Ah. Right. Gotcha. Well, all the flowers and stuff went through the BDC, and her attacker confessed immediately. That probably saved his life.”

  “Probably. I still would kill him, though.”

  His chambers were made of a few rooms. The front room had a table, a backless couch, an entertainment unit, and two chairs.

  Riithan pulled at his tie, unravelling as if he wore one all the time, and it was a casual action. Ylara watched him shrug out of his jacket and drape it over a chair.

  He spoke softly, and music played. “Would you dance with me?”

  She thought he would get to sex immediately. “Dance?”

  He nodded. “Dance. There is time enough for everything else.”

  Ylara looked at him and saw them tangled together, her leg wrapped around his hips. Her eyes were the same solid black as his, which shook her. She stumbled back, and he stepped forward to catch her.

  She put her hands up to stop him. “No. Please. I just need a minute.”

  He frowned. “Are you all right? You look pale.”

  She swallowed. “I just... my mind flashed. It is disorienting.”

  She straightened and smiled, not meeting his gaze. “There. All better.”

  She swallowed as he took her hands. He was concerned. “Are you sure? What did you see?”

  She didn’t look him in the eye. “Nothing. It was just the change of perspective that threw me.”

  “You aren’t looking at me anymore.”

  “It’s been a long night. I am tired.”

  He caressed her jaw, and she throttled her foresight down into something she could control. Riithan’s eyes on an infant in her arms was an image that made her ache.

  She swallowed and looked up at him. He looked down at her. “What are you seeing, Ylara?”

  “Stuff and things.”

  “Do your visions always come to pass?”

  She bit her lip. “When they do, they are always accurate, which can be disconcerting.”