CHAPTER TWO
Dylan loved fine dining more than anyone else, especially if it was in a first-class restaurant where the food served was not only food, but an experience. The flair and art of it all made him smile, because there was nothing greater than dining in luxury after a long, hard day of dealing with clan politics and being the leader to all of them. It gave him a headache more often than not, and the first sip of red wine always made his mood instantly better—not that he was exactly allowed to have a temper, considering his role was all about diplomacy and tact.
Of course, the beautiful woman sitting in front of him only added to the appeal.
She was Lucy Marlow, heiress to a hotel chain and daughter of one of the most successful businessmen in all of New York. She was also a wolf shifter, just like him, a part of his clan from the high society. Lucy was wearing a simple black dress, but with the way she exuded class and grace, she might as well have been wearing a gown and a crown—that was how royal-like she looked. Fortunately, it was good for his reputation, especially with his need to consider finding a future mate—one that would strengthen his position as an ultimate clan leader without pulling down the others. Lucy was top of the line, a perfect choice now that he was in the market for a wife.
Unfortunately, she bored him to death.
It wasn’t so much the topics she discussed, because Dylan loved discussing art as much as any art enthusiast. But there was just something off with the way she tried to charm him—like it was all practiced, and she was too afraid of losing her poise to show real enthusiasm and passion. Her way of speaking was demure, even while Dylan tried to engage her in more light topics. If they got married, would they end up like this, staring at each other across the table without really getting to know each other?
He was getting ahead of himself, though. This was their first date, one he’d orchestrated, so he really needed to give her a chance. Maybe if he lured her into more conversation, she’d show off some personality and they’d end up spending more time together. It was worth the wait.
Dylan did his best to charm her as much as he could, adding a little touch here and there to show her he was on the verge of interest. She accepted his gestures almost coyly, never once losing her cool, letting a polished smile out rather than a real one.
An hour later, he was inviting her up to his apartment—one he’d acquired when he decided he needed a place for himself away from headquarters. She was definitely responding to all his signals, so Dylan thought it wouldn’t hurt to take things a step further to test the waters out. Just before he opened the front door, he thanked her for a nice night, watching as her lashes fluttered in response. Then he went ahead and placed his hand behind her neck, gently pulling her towards him for a kiss.
It started gentle at first—and didn’t really progress from there as he kept touching his lips to hers and she politely returned it. Frustration started to rise up inside him at not finding any passion at all, and he wondered if he’d made a mistake. He slid his lips across hers over and over, a slow seduction that had her becoming pliant in his arms. But the kiss was still bland, and maybe he should just take her home.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a movement at the corner of his vision caught his eye. He broke the kiss and turned his head, just in time to see one of the shifter clan leaders take a step in his direction. Henrik Mikhailov’s golden eyes shifted towards the woman before returning to him and waiting for Dylan to nod his head. When Dylan did, he stepped closer, gait casual and easy. He was an easygoing enough fellow, as long as you didn’t cross him.
He was also covered in blood at the moment.
A gasp sounded behind him. Dylan turned just in time to see Lucy’s eyes widen. Then her eyes rolled over her eyelids, and his arms reached out just in time as she fainted.
“Wow, they really do fall for you,” Henrik commented, his grin now showing. It was amused and just a little bit savage.
Dylan sighed. “I’ll get her home. You clean up and I’ll be back in a bit.”
It seemed like whatever happened to Henrik was going to take most of the night to discuss, anyway.
*****
When Dylan came back almost an hour later, Henrik was already looking clean and helping himself to Dylan’s scotch while lounging on the living room couch. He stood up upon Dylan’s arrival and offered him a glass, which Dylan took and knocked back in one gulp. He then sat down and watched the dragon shifter, waiting for him to finish his own drink. Henrik took his time, watching the glass as if in deep thought before finally facing Dylan.
“I discovered something that I think needs your attention,” he began.
Dylan nodded his head. “By all means, take your time.”
A shadow of a smile crossed Henrik’s mouth before disappearing altogether. There was something troubled about his expression, almost as if he was still trying to process something. Finally, he sighed.
“I found a slavery business while doing a mission in Brazil.”
Dylan remained silent, still waiting. There were lots of slavery business going on all over the world, and Brazil wasn’t all that uncommon to be one of them. Unfortunately, this wasn’t something they meddled with. They could simply report it to the government, but nothing beyond—a necessary thing to keep their true nature hidden from the blissfully ignorant world.
“It’s a fairly huge one, with pirates running the show and tight security all around—not necessarily high-tech though, from what I gathered, which means infiltrating would be a cinch with the proper strategy. I estimate about a few hundred men making rounds and taking care of deliveries of the slaves, with double the amount of slaves imprisoned right now.”
That was plenty. Dylan affected an unfazed manner as Henrik got into more details, painting a bleak picture that gave the wolf leader an idea of what was in store. His unfazed manner cracked a bit when Henrik mentioned there were only children imprisoned, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. Apparently, they were either placed in auctions or just bought right away, and the pirate ships were used to transport them to their new owners.
Then Henrik gave out the clincher.
“The slaves were all shifters.”
At this declaration, Dylan tensed, his brows furrowing. “Were?”
The dragon shifter nodded. “The place—it’s an island—does not allow shifting. Literally. Something prevents you from shifting there.”
“And where is this place, exactly?”
Henrik spouted off the coordinates, and Dylan’s eyes sharpened. It was one of the areas he had no control of, and one of the areas ruled by another shifter clan altogether—one who refused to form an alliance with him in the past and had completely defected from the shifter community years ago, keeping to themselves and forming their own faction. Last he heard, the leader of that panther clan was still the same person—Isaac Hart, a man who was both ruthless and ambitious. But Isaac didn’t dare cross him for two reasons: he had nothing to gain, and Dylan didn’t meddle with his affairs or his territory.
“Is the panther clan involved?” he asked.
Henrik shook his head. “Not that I know of—unless they’re good at hiding it.”
Dylan nodded. Panther shifters were generally known for their slyness and cunning nature, so there really was no telling at this point.
“I believe the children were either kidnapped, or strays,” Henrik continued. “There has been no huge report of missing children that involves a pattern, so I’m guessing they came from all over the world.”
That was the most rational conclusion so far. Dylan thought it over. Not doing anything at this point meant leaving those child shifters in the dark to a life of slavery—and that just wouldn’t do, not when they could do something about it.
The panther clan either didn’t know about the slavery island yet, or were a secret part of it. Based on Dylan’s assessment of what he knew about Isaac, he was banking on the former.
“I take it you didn’t approach the panther clan yet?”
“I passed by their area,” Henrik said. “And I took care to hide myself because I know they’d kill me on the spot.”
Dylan sighed, knowing that was the truth. Then he poured himself another shot of scotch and drank. He sensed Henrik’s hesitation, and looked the dragon shifter in the eye.
“There’s…something else,” Henrik began.
“What?”
Henrik looked down. Took a deep breath. Then he looked Dylan in the eye again.
“I saw your brother, Dylan. I saw him on the island.”