Finding Faith (Return 0f The Dragons Book 1)

by Grace Brennan

  “Fernandez is dead. The guards are dead. Everyone who knew we were there is gone, and the Enforcers are going after anyone who ever had contact with that bastard. Yet here we are, still in disguise, hiding from everything and everyone. If we stay on this track, what kind of life will we ever have? And you know what? We are letting him win right now. Even from the grave, he’s winning.”

  Silence filled the air, Carlie’s last sentence echoing throughout the room. Even from the grave, he’s winning.

  Olivia found herself nodding. What Carlie just said was exactly what she’d been thinking. She hadn’t expressed it out loud because she hadn’t wanted to rock the boat, but maybe she should have.

  Because it was something that had desperately needed to be said. Thank God someone had the balls to do it.

  The others were staring at Carlie with wide eyes, and it was clear that to some of them, that had never occurred to them. As Olivia gazed at them, she saw an array of emotions—everything from shock to reluctant acceptance.

  And on Paisley, dawning determination and fire burning in her amber eyes.

  That look said it all. Paisley wasn’t going to let them continue on the course they’d been on. The fire sparking in her eyes was one of the reasons they’d voted her their leader, their alpha. She’d always do what was best for them, and she’d fight for them to her dying breath.

  She’d been slow to try to make them face their futures. She mostly seemed content to let them come around on their own—but what she hadn’t realized was that they desperately needed a leader who would push them out of their comfort zones. Someone to guide them, to show them how to live again.

  Maybe that was asking too much of Paisley, since she’d been kidnapped and held captive too—but she was always the strongest of them. From the beginning, she’d taken them under her wing, comforting them, giving them gentle nudges, making them feel safe, because they finally had someone on their side.

  Only, Olivia had thought they needed more. That their alpha was being too lenient with them. That she needed to push them more. And judging by the expression in her eyes, it finally looked like that was going to happen.

  Relief slowly washed over her, but it was tempered by the sadness and regret she felt as she looked at her friends and compared how they looked when they first met to now. They all looked so different—and so did she.

  Glancing down, she fingered the tips of her long brown hair before pushing up the black frames of the glasses she wore. None of it was really her.

  Her hair was naturally a light, silvery blonde, and she didn’t wear glasses. She didn’t need them. As a shifter, she had perfect sight. Beyond perfect, actually, if such a thing existed.

  It was a disguise, and they’d all made similar changes in an effort to not be recognized. A futile effort, really. Like Carlie pointed out, anyone who’d been around when they were kidnapped and held captive, anyone who knew what they truly looked like, was dead.

  So why were they trying so hard to hide?

  The only one who hadn’t changed her appearance was Paisley. The only concession she made was wearing a ballcap when she was in public.

  The rest of them—Olivia included—could learn a lot from her.

  “I understand what you’re saying, Carlie,” Sierra said softly before looking at her with a question in her eyes. “But is it necessary, Olivia? I’m not sure I’m at the point where I can be comfortable with strangers in our home. Are you sure you can’t fix it?”

  Biting back a sigh, she stared at the soft-spoken woman before her. Sierra was a sensitive soul, and incredibly timid for a dragon shifter. Being kidnapped and held captive, nearly auctioned off to the highest bidder, had only ingrained those traits deeper into her.

  Compassion washed over her as she shook her head, extinguishing the hope in her friend’s eyes. “You know my shifter gift is the ability to look at something and know exactly what’s wrong with it and how to fix it. But I don’t need my gift to tell me there’s nothing I can do. This is an old house, and it’s in serious disrepair. The pipes are rusted through. I might know how things need to be fixed, but that doesn’t mean I have the ability to follow through. We need a plumber. Honestly, we need more than that because the problems with this house will never end until everything’s fixed.”

  Sierra’s shoulders drooped, and as she lowered her head, Olivia caught a glimpse of defeat on her face. She took a step toward her to offer comfort, but Paisley spoke before she could.

  “Carlie’s right. Olivia’s right. And we need to listen to them.” Pausing, she shook her head, disgust shining briefly in her amber eyes. “Some alpha I’ve been. I owe you all an apology. I haven’t been the leader I should have been. The leader you all put your trust in. We’ve all been through so much, and I didn’t want to push you guys. I wanted you to come around on your own.

  “But I see now that was a mistake, so that all changes today. No more hiding. No more meekly accepting this as our reality. It doesn’t have to be, and I won’t let it. No more disguises. No more living in a house that should be condemned because strangers scare us.”

  Fiona frowned. “I wouldn’t say they scare us. We’re just wary. As anyone would be, if they experienced what we did.”

  Paisley took a step forward, her eyes shining with a fierce light. “We’ve been more than just wary. But no more. Aren’t you guys tired of living like this? Afraid of our own shadows, living in a house that’s falling apart around us. Living half-lives. We’re gonna call in a contractor and get this place fixed as soon as possible.

  “And we’re gonna stop being cowards. Yeah, we lived through something horrific, but we got through it, and we can’t let the past rule our futures. And what exactly are we scared of, anyway? We’re five strong, badass, motherfucking dragon shifters. If anything, other people should be scared of us.”

  Olivia nodded as that knowledge settled deep in her bones, watching as the others slowly nodded as well. Sierra’s brow wrinkled as she raised her eyes to look at Paisley.

  “But we still have to hide to an extent though, right? I mean, we’re dragons. Yeah, others might be scared of us, but we’re still scared of the hunters. So really, being dragons doesn’t seem to be much of an advantage when it comes to warning people off.”

  “But it is an advantage when it comes to someone trying to hurt us again,” Olivia replied. “As long as we know that we can stop anyone who wants to do us harm, we’re good. Like Carlie said, the immediate danger to us has been eliminated. Maybe we can try to relax a bit now.”

  “No.”

  Eyebrows raising, she looked at Paisley. “What? Isn’t that what you just said? You want us to stop being scared and worried all the time.”

  “Yes, I want that. I meant no, we’re not hiding who and what we are anymore.” She paused as a shockwave rippled through the room at her statement. “Hiding what we are never did any of us any favors, clearly. We were found and captured anyway. I’m tired of hiding, and I know you all must be too. So no more.”

  “But… the hunters,” Sierra whispered, her eyes wide with shock and fear.

  “Fuck them,” Paisley replied, her eyes narrowed and her voice hard. “Like I said, even when we were hiding, we were still captured.” Sighing, she glanced around, her voice and expression softening. “Look, there are five of us. When has there ever been a grouping of dragons like this before? We’re solitary creatures—the hunters made sure of that—and the only time you find more than one dragon in an area is if they’re mates or a family. We are five badass, strong warrior dragons in one spot. And we’ll protect each other. We’re not alone anymore. We don’t have to hide.”

  Fiona glanced at everyone else before focusing on Paisley. “That might paint a target on our backs too, though. Hunters might be more enticed to come after us if they know there are a few in one spot that they can take out at once. And what about the humans? They still don’t know about shifters. A regular shifter would freak them out, but dragons? There’d be mass
panic. We’d all either be slaughtered or captured for experiments.”

  “Five dragons, Fi. Five. One is hard for a hunter to capture or kill. Five, who are all protecting each other’s backs, would be impossible. And we’re not going to advertise what we are. Especially not to humans. But we’re not going to hide anymore either. It’s historically been other shifters hunting and killing the dragons. So they’re the ones we’re not going to hide from anymore. A shifter comes knocking on our door? Don’t hide your dragon eyes. Shifters might be in the area? Shift anyway—as long as no humans are around. No. More. Hiding.”

  Silence permeated the air as they all traded glances. Olivia felt a sliver of fear snake through her veins, but more than that, she felt relief at the thought of not needing to hide anymore. To have the freedom to be herself, to not worry about her pupils elongating when her dragon was near the surface, or whether she could safely shift. At least, not around other shifters.

  “I know this might be hard for some of us to come around to,” Carlie said, her voice strong and full of conviction. “But I love this idea. Paisley’s right, there are enough of us that a hunter would have to be suicidal to come for one of us. And hell, maybe the reason they’ve been so successful is because we all scattered and isolated ourselves from one another. If they know we’re grouping together and standing our ground, in all likelihood they’ll back off. We were making it easy for them before. We need to show them we’re not scared of them, that they’ll die if they try to take us on.”

  Olivia nodded in agreement, relief and pride filling her when her sister followed suit. She looked at Sierra, the only one who hadn’t agreed yet, and hoped she could overcome her natural timidity to see how right and natural this course of action was.

  “It’s a big jump, to go from shedding our disguises and not being afraid, to letting the world know what we are. I mean, most shifters don’t even know dragons exist anymore, because we’ve hidden ourselves so thoroughly,” Sierra said softly. Pausing, she inhaled deeply before looking up and squaring her shoulders. “But maybe you guys are right. Maybe this is what we—and the dragon community—need. I can’t promise I’ll immediately be comfortable with exposing myself like that, but… I’m on board with this.”

  Relief flowed through Olivia, but she cleared her throat. There was something she needed to address. “If we do this… if we stop hiding, from other shifters, hunters, male dragons—we need to start learning how to compromise with each other. How to have a debate without it turning into an argument. We need to know each of us has the others’ backs. We’re not just strangers thrown together in unfortunate circumstances anymore. We’re far more than that. We’re family. And as soon as everyone realizes that… Well, that’s when we’ll be unstoppable.”

  The others slowly nodded, and then one by one, they all echoed family back. Lips curling in a smile, she looked over at their alpha.

  A grin crept across Paisley’s face. “It’s settled then. No more being scared, no more hiding. We’re going to be ourselves from here on out. Ladies, you’re all a part of history now. This is officially the return of the dragons.”

  Chapter 2

  Olivia

  Olivia clutched the steering wheel of her fifteen-year-old Chevy Silverado as she slowly drove into the small town they lived next to. New Leaf was a tiny town, with a rustic feel that she loved. But because it was so small, there was only one construction company in town, so there hadn’t been any other options to choose from.

  She was a huge fan of having choices these days.

  But hell, they were lucky there was even one at all in this little town. The next closest town or city that might have one was more than two hours away.

  When they decided to stay together rather than return to their previous lives, they chose Montana. It was one of the biggest states, but it had the smallest population out of all of them, something that appealed to them after everything they’d been through.

  But she didn’t think any of them considered how hard that could make things—like trying to find someone who could fix up their old house that they could try to trust. It was going to be hard enough to let strangers into their home. If this contractor seemed sketchy in any way, it wasn’t going to work.

  They were all committed to being unafraid and coming out of hiding, but that didn’t mean it was going to be a smooth transition or happen overnight. It was going to be hard as hell, and starting it off with strangers in their home was going to be tough on all of them.

  Finding the building she was looking for wasn’t difficult—New Leaf consisted of one main road, with only a few offshoots. Pulling into a parking spot, she stared up at the sign for Aaron Construction, her fingers flexing around the steering wheel.

  Please, please, please don’t let them seem shady. No bad vibes. Only good vibes, she prayed.

  If it seems like you’re in any trouble, I’ll just eat them. Problem solved, her dragon said nonchalantly.

  She snorted. Funny. We’re not maneaters. Besides, letting you out in the middle of town is probably the worst idea in the history of ideas.

  Probably not the worst, her animal replied with a hum. Remember when they released diet water that one time?

  She couldn’t help the smile curling her lips. You’re ridiculous. Seriously though, no shifting, spitting fire, anything like that. We still have to hide what we are around the humans.

  Who do you think I am? Jessica Simpson back in her MTV days? Give me a little credit here.

  Huffing a laugh at her dragon’s mock offended tone, she peeled her fingers off the steering wheel and opened the door. Slipping out, she grabbed her purse, shut the door, and faced the building again.

  Nerves rose up in her belly, displacing the amusement her dragon worked to conjure up. She should have come into town more than once a month. Gone to more places than just the grocery store and then straight home. Gotten a little more interaction in with the strangers in this little town.

  Maybe her hands wouldn’t be shaking so badly if she had.

  Blowing out a breath, she shook out her hands and then clenched them, trying to still the tremors. She ran her eyes over the building, noting that it had been kept in pristine condition. A good thing for a construction company.

  Her eyes flitted up and down the street, seeing that some of the buildings were in disrepair, and some looked as nice as this one. And even the ones that weren’t in as good shape still weren’t too bad.

  The buildings on this main strip were clearly old, but they’d been kept up well. A point in this small town’s favor.

  A small group of women walked past on the sidewalk, casting curious glances her way. She forced a smile in their direction, wondering how long she’d been zoned out, consumed with irrelevant thoughts while she stared at the building in front of her.

  No more stalling. She needed to go in and get this over with. Wishing that she’d taken Carlie up on her offer to accompany her, she squared her shoulders and opened the door. A bell dinged as she stepped through, and the innocuous sound made her nerves shoot right up into her throat.

  Dammit, she had to get it together. She couldn’t talk with a throat this tight, and the nerves were making her so sick to her stomach, she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, all that would come out was her breakfast.

  Fernandez and his men are dead, she sternly lectured herself. You’re safe. Get a grip and try to act normal.

  Forcing her head up, she glanced around the room, absently noting how nice it was inside while she searched for someone who worked there. There was no one behind the counter, or in the room at all, but there was a set of gleaming swinging doors that probably led to the rest of the building.

  Relaxing just a bit at the small reprieve, she gripped her purse tightly as she walked cautiously toward the counter. As much as she was glad she wasn’t immediately face to face with a stranger, she knew she had to push her fear down and find someone who worked there. Maybe there was a bell she could ring.


  She was about two steps away from the counter when the doors swung open and a grizzled old man stalked in. He started scowling the moment he saw her, and her knees locked, keeping her from completely reaching her destination.

  “Who the hell are you and why are you here?”

  It felt like the blood in her veins froze. She couldn’t move, couldn’t look away, couldn’t breathe. His voice was harsh and angry, his eyes hard and narrowed on her. She could have sworn that was disgust—or maybe it was hate—in his liquid blue gaze, but that must be her fear talking, right? He didn’t even know her.

  Tearing her eyes from his, she looked down at the floor as her fear amped up, bordering on terror that made her even more nauseous. It felt wrong to not be looking at someone who might be a threat, but she couldn’t risk her dragon showing through her eyes.

  No. No, no, no. They weren’t hiring this construction firm. The fees to hire someone two hours away would probably be astronomical, but between her and Fiona, they could swing it. The other women would protest, wanting to be able to help pay the whole cost, but she doubted they’d keep arguing once she told them about her reception here.

  The doors behind the counter swung open again, making her startle almost violently. She desperately wanted to raise her eyes and see if the person joining the old man was a new threat, but she felt frozen.

  And she fucking hated it. She’d spent too many days and nights like this while she was locked up, and she’d be damned if she’d allow herself to feel like this again. She shouldn’t feel like this again. Her dragon wasn’t suppressed now—she had her animal and all her shifter abilities at her disposal.

  “What are you doing, Pops? You don’t treat customers that way. Get on back to the workroom.”

  Silence followed the words, and she got the impression they were glaring at each other. She, on the other hand, had started to calm down. Something about the other man’s voice soothed her ragged nerves and made her feel a little safer.