Chapter 1

Octane

I roar.

I bellow.

I caught one. A Red!

Finally, I screech, forcing the other dragon closer to our camp. I want to tear into the creature, but I don't. It's a female.

A fucking female.

I don't care. It makes absolutely no difference. A Red is a Red. They are all the same. Male or female, I will garner the information we need, come hell or high water. I have to. Our defenses depend on it. The lives of my people depend on it.

I go at her with my claws when she tries to escape…once again. It's becoming tiresome. Surely she must know by now that escape is impossible? I stop just shy of piercing skin and scale. It's tough to keep my dragon in check, but I do it. I must!

I refuse to harm a female. Make no mistake, I will find a way to get her to talk without making her bleed, but she will talk, or so help me.

"Stop!" one of the humans yells from down below. I ignore her frantic cries. I ignore the chatter between my team and the way Shadow is looking at me. I ignore all of it. I am on a mission. These Reds have to be stopped. If I am the one to make that happen, so help me, I'll do it. I'll do what it takes.

The small female dragon bellows softly. If she thinks I'm going to let her go, she is gravely mistaken. I growl at her in response. My whole body vibrates. My tail thrashes from side to side.

I force her down, down, down. Not giving her so much as an inch.

Dust billows around us as our talons hit the hard ground. I need her to shift and right now, so I roar at her, commanding her to do just that. The female doesn't listen, so I roar again, this time getting right in her face.

There is yelling from the same human who kicked up a fuss before. She does not like my treatment of the Red Dragon, which confuses me. Once again, I ignore it. I don't care what she thinks, what any of them think. We have a Red Dragon. It's what we were hoping for.

"Change!" I instruct the dragon without actually saying the word. I know she understands. I roar at her again…and again.

Blaze murmurs something or other to his female, who is crying softly.

"Everyone is to remain calm and to stand your ground," Shadow warns. "Be ready to intervene," she adds. "Octane is trying to get the female to shift. He is the most controlled unbonded dragon I know," she says. "I'm still going to kill him for this," she mutters to herself.

I knew she wouldn't like it, but I don't care.

Fuck it!

A Red is a Red.

At worst, she can help us capture more of her kind. She can give us intel on their movements, and their weaknesses. At best, she can tell us everything we need to know. She is useful. She is my prisoner.

Mine!

Once again, I get in her face and roar.

Her eyes lock with mine, and they narrow in defiance. I like it! Good, she's stronger than I thought. I can work with that.

Then she shifts. Once she has completed the transformation from small dragon to woman, I shift as well. Her eyes are chestnut with flecks of green. The same as her beast. She's small for a shifter female. I don't let it deter me.

I shift, towering over her, daring her to try something. The only thing she does is tighten her jaw, her eyes still narrowed on mine.

The human, Kim, rushes forward before Blaze can stop her. "Trinity!" she screams.

Blaze shouts the human's name as he follows her, but she doesn't listen.

"Kim," the Red female says, turning to the human. "You promised," she chokes out.

They know each other.

I frown. What the fuck is going on here?

"I'm sorry. This is a mistake," the human says; her voice is anguished.

"You know this Red?" I ask her, trying to keep the growl from my voice and failing. I clench my fists at my sides. "What is going on? Tell me right now!"

Kim nods. "I know her. You have to let her go. She's good. She helped me escape from the Red males who held us hostage. Please, Octane." It all comes out in a rush. "She brought me back to Blaze. She didn't have to, but she did because I asked her to. I begged her. I promised her that she wouldn't be hurt. That she wouldn't be detained. I promised, Octane. She trusted me. She helped me and look where it landed her. You have to let her go home right now," she begs. Her voice is high-pitched and grating.

"It's not my fault you made promises you can't keep," I tell her. "We had a plan. Capture a Red and gather the information we need. Here is our Red." I point at the female.

"Not her. She's my friend!" Kim shouts so loud I wince. "What are you not understanding? I promised. A promise means everything to me."

"I told you that you made a promise you should never have made. It's not my promise to keep, Kim. My promise is to my people. To Draig. I swore an oath to protect them at any cost. This female is the answer," I tell her.

A Red, her friend? I think not. I am going to have to proceed with caution, as it is clear that this Red is capable of serious manipulation.

Good information to have.

"No!" Kim yells. "I won't let you," she says in a much softer voice.

"You won't let me?" I shake my head, locking my eyes with hers. "Sorry, human. That might work on Blaze, but it sure as shit won't work on me."

"You can't keep her," Shadow says, her voice commanding.

"Why not?" I growl. "It's a perfectly good Red." I point at the female in question, who is looking at me with venom.

"Not it!" Kim says, her voice animated. "She! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why can't I keep her?" I ask Shadow a second time. The human's opinion means nothing to me. I frown, folding my arms.

"She's with child," Shadow says, her eyes moving to the Red.

What?

No!

I let my eyes trace down her naked form, really looking at her body for the first time. Her breasts are heavy, tipped with dark nipples, and her belly is lightly curved. So lightly curved that you might miss it if you weren't looking for it.

I wasn't!

Fuck!

"Trinity?" Kim says, the word coming out in a gasp.

The Red puts her hands on her belly in a protective gesture. "Please," she whispers, looking from Shadow to Kim and back again.

"I'm keeping her," I say, taking the Red by the arm.

The female resists, pulling away.

"Stop!" I warn her. "I captured her. She is now my prisoner," I tell Shadow. "We had an agreement."

"To capture a male Red and to question him," Shadow tells me.

"We never specified male or female," I retaliate.

"I didn't think we had to specify," Shadow retorts. "Red females are rare. Besides, she is with child, Octane. You have to be reasonable."

"I don't have to do anything." I turn, taking the Red with me. "Don't fight me, or you will come off second best," I tell the Red.

"Octane!" Shadow yells. "Let her go! Do it now!"

"Yes! Let her go right now," the human screams, hurting my ears.

"I'm keeping her," I say, not bothering to turn around. "I won't hurt her as long as she cooperates." I glare at the Red, who glares back at me, her jaw set and her eyes blazing.

"Let me go!" She tries to pull away again.

I clasp an arm around her narrow waist. I grip her hip, yanking her solidly against me. "Don't make me carry you. I warn you, I won't be gentle."

I start walking, dragging the female along with me.

Everyone starts talking at once. Kim is begging for Blaze to do something.

Shadow walks alongside me. "We can find another Red. You don't need this one."

I stop in my tracks. "It could take months…longer even," I tell her. "We were fooling ourselves by thinking that we could get the riders up to speed so quickly. We have an opportunity, one that I am taking with both hands."

"There has to be another way," Shadow implores me.

"Not that I can see."

"I think that—" Shadow starts to say.

"Octane might have a point," Dagger says.

"Not you, too," Shadow tells the male, her eyes blazing.

Dagger shrugs. "She's one of them, and therefore, she must have answers to some of the questions that have been plaguing us. I think that Octane should keep her. If anyone can get the information we need, it's him. I want to keep my female safe. All of the humans safe. Our island is at risk. This female might just be the answer. You should have a crack at her, Octane. I think it's a good idea."

"She's pregnant," Shadow says unnecessarily.

"She looks perfectly healthy." Dagger glares at the female, narrowing his eyes. "All you need to do is talk, and we'll let you go," he tells her. "You could be home before lunch."

The Red doesn't say anything. She keeps her eyes trained ahead like she didn't hear him.

"It's settled then." I start to walk, once again dragging the female along with me. "I will throw you over my shoulder if I have to," I warn in a low voice that I hardly recognize as my own.

"If she stays, I want someone else to interview her," Shadow says, walking alongside us. "It can't be you." Her eyes narrow on me.

"No!" I growl. "I will do it."

"Octane! Be reasonable. You're not the right person for the job, and you know it." Shadow jabs a finger in my direction.

"I know nothing of the sort."

"You're the worst candidate for this particular role, and you damn well know it. What happened years ago is still affecting you, Octane. It is affecting your judgment, and no one can blame you for it. Please, listen to me."

"Of course it's still affecting me. It always will. It's also why I'm precisely the right person for the job. I won't let the fact that she is a female sway me. Nor will I let the fact that she is with child convince me to go easy on her. I can't be manipulated. Or bought. Or be influenced in any way by her innocent act. I will get the answers we need…one way or the other." I glare at the female as I say the last.