Page 1 of Consumed By Fire

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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.

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