Bonded to her Royal Mates

Bonded to her Royal MatesA reverse harem dragon shifter romance: Book 1 of the FireStorm ChroniclesClaire Heat Copyright © 2023 Claire HeatAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Contents Title PageCopyrightChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FiveChapter Twenty-SixChapter Twenty-SevenChapter Twenty-EightChapter Twenty-NineChapter ThirtyChapter Thirty-OneChapter Thirty-TwoChapter Thirty-ThreeChapter Thirty-FourChapter Thirty-FourChapter Thirty-FiveChapter Thirty-Six Chapter OneAlyseThree dragons soared overhead as I walked the cobbled streets of the old town. People stopped and looked up like they always did. Girls fawned, children cheered, and even the elderly looked at the sky with bright smiles plastered across their faces.“Ugh,” I only realized I’d voiced my disapproval out loud when a shopkeeper scowled at me like I’d insulted his mother. And I might as well have. The royal dragons were revered all around the kingdom, and it made sense that the height of their fanfare would sit in the capital city.“They aren’t all that,” I sneered at the shopkeeper again, before continuing on my way, the fish inside my oversized barrel sloshing around in all their wet glory. The shopkeeper hurled a few curses at me as I walked away from him, but I didn’t pay him any mind. I was used to it, of course. After all these years of living in the capital as a fish seller, I had developed some slimy scales of my own. Insults and curses bounced right off me. Which was a good thing too, because I had an overabundance of both hurled towards me every day.I exited the narrow, crowded marketplace, the cobbled path beneath me disappearing as I made my way onto the last patch of land before the royal palace. The field that surrounded the castle was lush with tall, green grass. Which was an almost shocking contrast to the monstrosity that sat within the compound walls.The castle was a marvel of ancient engineering – or magic – there were conflicting theories. It sported four huge towers that jutted out into the sky from its four corners, looming above the rest of the city and even many of the smaller peaks that surrounded the valley. Between these towers was a network of bridges that connected one edge of the castle to the other. The bridges cut across the entire structure in such a way that they created four quadrants. Each quadrant dedicated to a different cause: from living quarters for the royals, training centers, storage areas, and servant quarters.I had fallen in love with the architecture the moment I’d seen it, but I would have appreciated it much more often if it wasn’t occupied by those filthy reptiles.The grass kept getting shorter as I neared the compound walls, and a few hundred meters before the door to the castle, the cobbled path appeared once more. The guard at the front knew me of course, as I knew him. I waved to him as he opened the gate and let me inside.“That’s a lot of fish,” He said, hefting his spear from one hand to the other.I only sighed as I walked past him, knowing he was going to make another lame attempt at a jibe.“It’s gonna be troublesome carrying it all back when you don’t sell none of it.” He started laughing – very loudly – mind you, at his own joke before he’d even gotten the words out of his mind. The guard sitting on the other side of the gate shook his head from side to side, embarrassed once again to realize that he was sharing a profession with a complete oaf.“I can set up in my usual spot?” I asked the second guard. His name was Raine.“Afraid not.” He pushed the gate closed. His colleague was still laughing his arse off. “One of the head functionaries came down from the tower today. He wasn’t too pleased with how things were organized down here. He changed up a bunch of stuff. I think you’d be safe to set up by the royal tower.”I scowled deeply before answering him. “Can’t you pull a few strings, Raine?” I asked. “You know I hate being near that tower. Plus, you know no one from the royal family ever buys any of my fish.”He just shrugged where he sat, and gave me an apologetic look. “Out of my hands, Alyse. Orders come from high up.” He pointed upwards with one finger as if to imply that the orders came from the heavens themselves.I just let out a frustrated grunt and started walking toward the area of the courtyards surrounding the royal tower. The last thing I wanted was to set up shop there. I had been there before – a couple of times – and I hated that area. It was always infested by self-important royal servants running around doing mundane things and thinking they were changing the world.But I was in no position to defy any of them. I needed to sell the fish. I needed to make the money. For more than just myself.I walked through the courtyard, noticing how all of the stalls had been moved around here or there. I knew for a fact that there was no real reason behind this, just some sycophant assistant to some bored minister trying to add importance to his life. They did this every couple of months, and every time it messed up life for the likes of us. People who labored here, down in the sun, while the royals and their ministers sat high up in their towers looking down at us like we were pieces to be rearranged for their entertainment.I was frustrated.