Finding Faith (Return 0f The Dragons Book 1)

by Grace Brennan

  Exhaling roughly, he scrubbed a hand over his already mussed dark brown hair. “It’s a bit complicated.”

  “I’m sure I can follow along. Just talk.”

  He gazed out at the lake for a long moment before facing her head on, meeting her eyes. “First, I’m a shifter. It means I have an animal inside of me. I know it sounds weird, but it’s the truth. You saw him last night—”

  Olivia waved her hand impatiently. “I know all that, and I know what a shifter is. What I saw last night, whatever you are, is not a shifter. At least, that’s not all you are.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “How do you know what shifters are?”

  “That’s not important right now. It’s your turn. Talk.”

  His brow furrowed as he looked at her, and she swore he inhaled deeply. He was trying to figure out if she was a shifter, but he wouldn’t be able to tell that way. Dragons had no scent.

  “You’re right. I’m not just a shifter,” he replied slowly. “Our ancestors are… different. A few hundred years ago, a gorilla shifter mated with a vampire. No one expected them to have mixed breed children. They assumed any kids would be either vampire or shifter—not a mix of both. Yet, here we are. It’s happened even more over the last few centuries, and about fifty years ago, all known descendants banded together. We all live here now.”

  Stunned, she stared at him with wide eyes, not even breathing. Cody was half vampire and half shifter? How was that even possible? Vampires were on the rare side, but it wasn’t unheard of for them to mate with shifters.

  What was unheard of was for them to produce children with both traits.

  “Y-you’re… both vampire and shifter?”

  “Yes and no,” he replied, his brow furrowed with concentration as he tried to explain. “I—and my troop—have some vampire characteristics. We have night vision, better than any other shifter, and we’re even faster than the average shifter, too. But we have no thirst for blood. We’re basically shifters with some above average enhancements, who happen to look a little different.”

  “That’s why you were white, with red skin and eyes. And maybe even why you barely have the scent of fur,” she replied slowly.

  “Hybrids don’t generally have a scent like most shifter species, and when they do, it’s very faint and hard to pick up on. As for the rest… kind of. Most gorilla-vampire hybrids have dark fur with red skin and eyes. Only Silverbacks have white fur.”

  She felt her eyes get even wider at that admission. “You’re a Silverback? So, you’re the alpha of your troop?”

  He nodded, his half smile finally making an appearance. “I am. Every generation in my family has produced the Silverback for the past two hundred years or so, and that remained the case when the other hybrids joined us.”

  She remained quiet for a moment, processing all the information, and testing herself to see how she felt about it. She couldn’t lie, there was still a tiny sliver of fear there, because hello, vampire and previously unheard of hybrid.

  But her earlier suspicions were also correct. Learning what he truly was didn’t really make a difference in how she felt for him. He was just still Cody—and she was still falling for him. Hard.

  “I… don’t even know what to say. This is a lot of information to take in. What you are… it’s an impossibility I’d never believe if you told me, yet I saw it with my own eyes.”

  “It’s a lot to take in, I know.” Pausing, he studied her with intense chocolate eyes. “But I know what you can say. How do you know what shifters are?”

  She didn’t even hesitate in her choice to tell him. What she was seemed almost insignificant in the face of what he was. Still, a small smile played on her lips as she looked at him. “Because I am one.”

  His eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head slowly. “That’s not possible. You have no scent. No fur, feathers, anything. If you were a shifter, I’d know it.”

  “That’s because I have no scent. I’m a dragon.”

  Chapter 13

  Cody

  Cody’s mouth popped open at Olivia’s words. She was a dragon? No way.

  “That can’t be. Dragons don’t exist anymore. The hunters killed them all.”

  Eyes sparkling a bit, she shrugged. “That’s what we wanted everyone to think. But I assure you, we exist. There aren’t many of us left—we’re pretty much on the endangered species list—but there are some. And I’m one of them.”

  He must have still had a disbelieving look on his face, because she arched an eyebrow, then looked as if she were concentrating. A moment later, her pupils flickered, elongating and then snapping back to normal quickly.

  And at the same time, her moss green irises took on a light, silvery blue iridescent hue. They were absolutely gorgeous, and his breath caught as he gazed at them. His mind flashed back to the day they met, when he thought her eyes changed color a bit, but he’d dismissed it because she had no scent.

  But now it made sense.

  Fuck. She really was a dragon.

  “How did you guys hide so thoroughly that no one knew you existed? Are all the women at your house dragons? What does your dragon look like?”

  She laughed at his rapid-fire questions, and he felt his heart swell. The fact that she not only didn’t freak out about what he was, but could laugh just moments later, was everything to him.

  And he felt his soul tether even tighter to hers.

  “I guess we hid our existence just like your hybrid species hid yours. Yes, we’re all dragons. We met in… unfortunate circumstances. And then once we were finally free of them, we wanted to stick together.” Her face went dark as she said those words, and he yearned to ask her about it, but then she brightened as she glanced around. “As for what my dragon looks like… how isolated is this spot?”

  Heart jumping at the implication behind her question, he felt his smile grow a bit, happy he’d chosen this spot. “Very much so. No one ever comes here. It’s close to my troop’s land, and the humans in town know not to come close. And my people never venture to this side of our lands. Only me.”

  Her eyes turned questioning as she cocked her head. “How do you manage to keep the humans away from your land?”

  “With rumors of monsters and hauntings,” he replied with a wry shrug. “When we started the rumors, it was at a time when people were very superstitious, so it worked then. And it stuck. The legends were passed down from generation to generation, and whether they believe it or not, humans never come here. It doesn’t hurt that there are humans in the know here, and every so often, if someone gets bold, they start circulating the rumors and supposed sightings again.”

  Her look was contemplative as she nodded. “Okay. I’m going to shift. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to, so my dragon wants out for a bit anyway.” She must have seen his eyes light up, because she held up a hand. “But only for a few moments. Don’t look while I’m undressing, and when I give the signal, turn away while I shift back and dress. If you can’t agree to the rules, I’m not doing this.”

  “I absolutely agree,” he replied quickly. He probably would have agreed to anything to see her dragon. Her stipulations were easy.

  “Okay then. But afterward, we need to talk.”

  “Agreed to that, too.”

  “Let’s go then.”

  Anticipation coursed through his veins as they exited the truck. She motioned for him to turn around and he did, waiting impatiently for her to disrobe.

  Fuck. He was about to see a real dragon, up close and personal. How was this his life?

  And the fact that the dragon would be Olivia… he had no words for how he felt in that moment.

  It felt like forever, but really only a few minutes passed when he felt a shift in the air. A brush of magic touched his spine, and when he heard the telltale sound of bones breaking and reforming, he turned around.

  Immediately, his jaw dropped open. Olivia was in dragon form, her body as big as a two-story house, and intimidating as all hell.
He’d tried to prepare himself for the impact she’d make, but nothing could have prepared him for this.

  And still, he found himself walking around the truck to get a closer look. Maybe he should be scared. Maybe he should be running. The dragon standing so close could eat him in one bite or burn him alive with one exhalation of fire.

  But he did none of those things. Because that was still Olivia.

  That was still the woman he was falling for.

  The admission didn’t surprise him. He just hoped like hell that when all was said and done, he didn’t crash and burn.

  Olivia’s dragon was just as gorgeous as she was intimidating. She was the exact same color of her moss green eyes, her scales shimmering with the iridescent blue in the sunlight. Her large eyes blinked, her cat like gaze watching his reaction closely.

  She had curved horns at the top of her head, and spikes following her spine from her head down to her powerful tail. She had so many weapons available to her in this form—the tail that could toss him clear across the lake while breaking every bone in his body, large, razor sharp talons that dug into the earth, and knife sharp rows of teeth.

  Not to mention, the fire he knew she could exhale as easily as she breathed air, and he felt as small next to her as David next to Goliath.

  And still… “You’re fucking gorgeous, Olivia.”

  Her large eyes gleamed with pleasure, and she slowly inclined her head. Awe filled him as he took her invitation, touching her scales gently. He wasn’t sure why—everything he knew about dragons said they were nearly indestructible in this form—but the reverence he felt for her demanded he treat her gently.

  He ran his hands over her large face, watching as she titled her head and closed her eyes. A loud, deep rumble came from her chest, but it didn’t phase him at all. It was a sound of pleasure, not a warning.

  He wasn’t sure how long he stroked her smooth scales, but finally she pulled away and nodded her head toward the truck. Knowing what she wanted, he walked back around it and kept his back turned as she shifted back.

  “I’m finished,” she replied softly after a few minutes went by.

  Throat still tight with awe and emotion, he nodded, turning and walking to the back of his truck. Still not speaking, he lowered the tailgate and gestured for her to join him. Once she was standing next to him, he took her hand and gazed deeply into her eyes.

  He wanted to speak, but he couldn’t find his words. Something was happening inside him, something he didn’t understand at all. But whatever it was, he was on board with it. With all of it.

  With Olivia.

  Mine, a voice whispered through him. She’s mine. Mate.

  Stunned, he froze, not breathing. Was that… had that been his gorilla? His animal hadn’t spoken to him in thirteen years, but he still recognized his voice.

  And had he said mate? Olivia was his mate?

  How was that possible? Gorilla-vampire hybrids didn’t have mates. It was something they lost during the fusion.

  Or was it?

  Fuck. He didn’t know what to think, but he knew he sure as hell wasn’t arguing with his animal’s declaration. Because that was what she felt like to him.

  His mate.

  Olivia’s slender fingers gently squeezed his hand, pulling him from his thoughts. “Are you okay? You went pale for a moment there. Was my dragon too much for you?”

  Swallowing hard, he shook his head as he tightened his fingers on hers. “Not at all. It wasn’t something I ever expected to see in this lifetime, but your dragon is beautiful. I was just surprised a moment ago because my gorilla spoke to me.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Your animal doesn’t talk? Mine does, incessantly sometimes. She’s a snarky, sarcastic bitch most of the time. Is that a hybrid thing? Your animals lost the ability to speak to you when the vampire gene was added?”

  Helping her up onto the tailgate, he hoisted himself up beside her, still in shock—that his animal spoke, and what he had to say when he finally chose to.

  “No, our animals talk to us. It’s just… There was so much that happened when my parents died. So much grief and tragedy, and my animal stopped talking to me in the midst of it all. I’ve always thought maybe he blamed me for not doing more, but I think a large part of it is that it was all too much for him. Everything that happened… like he couldn’t handle it, and he lost his voice in the process.”

  “I’ve heard that tragedy can change our animals,” she replied softly, her eyes gentle as they rested on him. “What happened? I mean, if you can’t talk about it, that’s fine. But I’m ready and willing to listen if you want to.”

  “I do.” Stopping to clear his throat when his words came out rough, he took a moment to get a handle on his emotions before continuing. “First, I guess, is you have to understand that we did lose some things with the fusion. Or at least, I always thought we did. When the hybrids came into existence, none of them found a mate. Ever.

  “Mates can be rare, and some shifters never find theirs, that’s true. But after decades of none of us finding mates, we assumed it was something we lost. And this was a time of confusing transition for my people. They didn’t know who they were. So, they chose the gorilla side, and stuck to it. In the wild, Silverbacks have multiple mates. And my ancestors followed that. Each Silverback had three or five women, give or take, that were his.”

  Olivia recoiled at that bit of his history, her lips curling with what he thought was disgust. “Silverbacks never stayed true to one woman? They just took as many as they desired?”

  “Trust me, I know how abhorrent that sounds. But it was the only way they knew. They were clinging to the more dominant side of their heritage, hoping it would make them less torn between the two sides. Until my dad.

  “He never wanted more than one woman. He hated the idea of it, and he fought Pops for years over it. But Pops told him he was weak, that he wasn’t a true Silverback. Told him if he didn’t follow the rules, he wasn’t fit to lead our people. And my dad caved, even though he hated it.”

  Pausing, he inhaled deeply. That part was hard to tell, but it was all stuff he knew secondhand. This next part was what he had personal experience with, and it was going to be the hardest to get out.

  Like she knew how rough this was, like she felt his pain, Olivia reached over and took his hand, threading their fingers together. Giving her a smile, he squeezed her hand in thanks, took another breath, and carried on.

  “He met my mom and fell madly in love with her. He didn’t want anyone else, but he also thought he had to follow the rules. And it didn’t help that Pops rode his ass about it. My mom was a gorilla, too—she’d grown up with the knowledge of how the troop worked. So even though she loved him madly and didn’t want to share him, she agreed to follow the system our ancestors put into place.

  “She gave birth to me just three months before another woman my dad brought in gave birth to my brother. From what I understand, the change in her started then. I can understand that. Because I can’t imagine what she went through. My dad brought in one more woman at my grandfather’s instance, and eight years later, Lindsey was born.”

  He heard Olivia’s swift intake of air and saw the shock and sympathy in her moss green eyes. “So Lindsey and your brother are your half siblings?”

  “They are,” he replied with a nod. “My mom tried, but she was never able to give my dad any other kids. And she had to live with his other women, with Axel and Lindsey, in her home every day. There was no way for her to pretend my dad was monogamous. She knew he truly only loved and wanted her, and I think that’s what kept her going for so long, but the truth slowly ate away at her.

  “And when I was fifteen, she killed herself.” Pausing, he swallowed hard, fighting down his emotions and memories of that day. “I was the one who found her. She loved my dad so much, and she just couldn’t handle the fact that she wasn’t the only one for him anymore. She knew no other way of life, knew of nowhere else to go, knew even if she did, she�
�d never be allowed to take me with her. So, she did the only thing she knew to do that would end her torment.”

  Olivia gasped, her hand tightening around his. “Oh my God, Cody. I’m so sorry.”

  Glancing over, he met her sad eyes and tried to force a smile. “Believe me, I am too. She was sweet and loving, even though she was hurting more than I could ever understand. Everyone loved her. Even my dad’s other women. They looked up to her and respected her. To know her was to love her, and they were no exception.

  “My dad went crazy after she died. There’s no other word for it. He was inconsolable. His moods were wide and varied, from furious, to upset, to manic—basically every single emotion, besides happiness. He was hurting, grieving, and no one could help him. I can’t say that he meant to kill himself, but I know he had no interest in living. He took ridiculously crazy risks. He had zero fucks to give about living. And that was how he died—taking a curve on a mountain road with no guardrail at eighty miles per hour when I was seventeen.”

  Hugging his arm to her chest, she shook her head, and he could feel the sadness and compassion rolling off of her. “Cody… saying I’m sorry seems so inadequate.”

  He leaned his head onto hers, inhaling the wildflower scent of her hair. It calmed him a bit, enough to loosen his throat so he could speak. “I understand. Anyway, that was when my gorilla lost his voice. I loved my mom and we were close, but my dad… he was my best friend. He changed when Mom killed herself, but he was still everything to me. And life has never been the same.”

  “I’m sure it hasn’t,” she replied softly, still hugging his arm and clutching his hand. “You’ve endured so much tragedy. It’s amazing to me that you’ve turned out the way you have. Experiences like that would have broken most people.”

  Inhaling deeply as he gazed into the distance, he nodded. “It did break me. For a long time, it was hard to function. But I had to be strong, for Lindsey and Axel, even though he left shortly after our dad died. But for Linds especially. After my dad died, her mom lost all interest in her. It was like she had no reason to be a parent anymore, like the only reason she’d been trying was to look good for the Silverback and win his approval. With him gone, she didn’t care. Pops started trying to raise her and, well… you’ve met Pops. I couldn’t let that happen, so I toughened up and did what I had to do.”