Chapter 2

Trinity

No! No! No!

This can't be happening.

The big, burly shifter puts his arm around me, grabbing my hip and yanking me against him. He's huge, towering over me; his arm is like a tree trunk. He's bigger than any of the others. Meaner, too. Why does it have to be him holding me prisoner? His eyes bore into me…it feels like he can see into my soul. They're golden and bright. Full of keen intelligence…indifference, too. They're both beautiful and freaky. Filled with fire and yet still so cold. I don't like him at all.

"Let me go," I try one last time, even though I know that I am wasting my time. "I don't know anything of value. I'm a nothing. A nobody."

"If that is true, why are you on Draig? Why did you come here? How did you get onto the island without anyone seeing you?"

I can't tell him anything.

I won't!

I can't trust the Draigers. I can't trust my own kind, either. I have nowhere to turn. No one to trust. I should have left well alone. I should never have come to Draig. Should never have looked for answers.

It's too late now.

"Has the cat got your tongue, female?" he asks.

"My name is Trinity. I am a Red Dragon. I have nothing to say to you," I say as we arrive at a building. It's round with a thatched roof and a thick wooden door that creaks as it swings open. The shifter drags me inside. I note that the interior is functional. There are no niceties. Nothing warm or inviting, much like the shifter himself, whose features are rugged. His jaw is lightly stubbled. His hair is long and wavy about his broad shoulders. I look him over, noting that he is packed with muscle. His chest is broad, his abs are out in full force, and his cock is long and thick, his balls heavy. It's his piercing golden eyes that take my breath with their cold indifference. I'm in trouble here. Huge trouble. I'm not sure if I'll make it out.

"Trinity," he repeats. "Know that I am not fooled by you."

I glare at him, defiance bubbling up inside me despite the sick feeling churning in my gut. I refuse to show weakness, even as I stand in the presence of this formidable shifter who could easily crush me with one hand. I hold his gaze.

He pushes me into a chair. I want to say that he is rough, but he isn't. But neither is he gentle. I've faced worse than this before; I can endure whatever he has planned.

"I will ask for food and water to be sent," the female shifter, Shadow, says. "I'm sure we can rustle up something suitable for her to wear as well." She looks my way; her face holds pity.

"No food! No clothes!" the male snaps. "You're going to tell me everything you know," he growls, his voice low and dangerous. "Or else."

"Be reasonable," Shadow implores him. "She should at least be allowed to dress. You, too, for that matter." She gives him a look.

He stares down at himself, looking like he just realized that he is naked for the first time. He shrugs. "No need. This is going to be over soon. The Red is going to tell me everything she knows."

"And then what?" I ask. "Let me guess, you'll let me go?" I raise my brows. "You'll let me leave the island? Let me go home?"

"Yes," Shadow says.

"No!" Octane growls. I have to say that the name suits him perfectly.

Shadow frowns. "You can't be serious. She is a female with child."

"She is trespassing. The penalty for leaving the perimeter of Mistveil is death. I will let the female choose whether she wants a swift death by my hand, or we could send her to HQ, where I can't guarantee what would become of her. All I know is that they are a bunch of vicious bastards."

"You may as well kill me now," I tell him. "You won't get anything out of me. Not so much as a whisper. You hate us. You want to destroy all of us. Every man, woman, and child, regardless of guilt or innocence. To you, we are all the same."

"A scourge that needs to be neutralized," he says in a low voice that has me breaking out in gooseflesh. "Our lives would be so much easier. Peace would reign. We would finally be able to live in harmony with the humans. Without the threat of extermination hanging over our heads at all times. Our families would be safe. It's because of you Reds that we have to live like this."

I laugh. I can't help it.

"What is so funny, female?" he snarls, getting into my face.

"You're deluded if you think that's true."

"Explain," he throws out.

I shake my head. "Not all Reds are bad, just as not all Draigers are good."

He stands tall, folding his arms. "I have yet to meet a Red I don't want to kill. You're all vermin in my book."

"You made that very clear."

Shadow pulls in a sharp breath, reminding me that she is still here. "This is precisely why I don't want you interrogating Trinity. Your judgment is clouded, Octane," Shadow tells him. "For the love of—"

"Leave us. It's clear that you don't have the stomach for this, Shadow."

"No, I won't leave until I know what you are planning." Shadow shakes her head. "I don't like where this is going. I refuse to walk away and bury my head in the sand."

"Leave us. I can't work with you hovering over me."

"I don't trust you with her," Shadow snarls.

"I won't kill her. Not yet!" His jaw is tight, and his golden eyes are blazing. "Don't you want to know how they are getting onto our island? More humans could be abducted…or worse. If I let this Red go and something were to happen, I would never forgive myself. Would you be able to live with yourself? This Red has answers. I know she does." He glares at me.

I see the fight drain out of Shadow. Her shoulders slump, and her eyes lower to the floor for a moment. "Okay, fine, but you can't harm her in any way. No torture. No killing her unless I give you permission."

Octane stares at Shadow for what feels like a long time. He finally sighs. "Fine. I won't hurt her…or kill her. But other than that, all bets are off. I'm going to get her to talk, come hell or high water."

"I urge you to tell us what you know, Trinity," Shadow tells me, looking worried. "Please, help us. Help yourself." Her eyes are pleading.

"Help you make it easier to kill my people? I don't think so." I shake my head.

"Looks like we're going to have us some fun, Red." The big shifter rubs his hands together, his eyes glinting with anticipation.