Blaze locked his jaw. “They shouldn’t be alone. They might try to escape and they might hurt themselves. Did you explain to them what is happening? I’m going to assume you have given them something to eat and drink.”

“No. I was told to ensure that they didn’t escape. They cannot escape from the moon room so all is well.” The moon room was one of the only windowless rooms in the castle.

“You were also told to ensure that they didn’t come to harm!” Blaze boomed. “Those poor females must to scared to death.”

“They’re fine,” Scarlet stammered. “Perfectly fine.”

“Go back.” Blaze looked irritated. “Explain to them what is happening. Give them food and drink and anything else that they might need. I am entrusting you with this because our males might scare them. I’m relying on you and Ash to keep them safe and calm until the hunt tomorrow.”

“They are not to be left alone. Not for a minute,” Blaze growled. “If anything happens to any of them it’s on you.”

Scarlet pursed her lips. It took a couple of seconds but she finally nodded. She cleared her throat. “Yes, my lord. You will need to forgive me. I have no experience in dealing with humans. Maybe a male or one of the others would have been better.”

“I gave you the task and I expect it to be carried out. They are weaker, they don’t have our vision, our hearing or healing capabilities. They cannot shift.”

“Why then?” Her voice was filled with barely controlled anger. “Why would you agree to allow such… inferior creatures to mate with us? Mix blood with us?” Her voice quivered with the emotion and her eyes shone.

Blaze rubbed a hand over his face. For the first time, Coal noticed how tired he looked. There was a few days’ worth of stubble on his face, his eyes had dark smudges beneath them. He seemed to have lost a little weight. “You know why,” he finally sighed.

“We’re no better than those vampires with their breeding program. It’s disgusting.” She seemed to realize that her outburst was unwelcome because she smoothed her dress. “I guess there is no other choice,” she finally blurted.

All of the non-humans were in the same boat. They all had problems with procreation. The dragons were the worst afflicted. The vampires were taking human females. Their breeding program seemed to be a success. The wolf shifters had been taking human females for years. The elves were the least affected and preferred to stick to themselves. As much as Coal hated the idea of taking a human for himself, this idea had to work. For the good of his kind, this had to be a success.

“This is a trial run. We are hoping that it is a success.” Blaze said, almost to himself.