Finding Faith (Return 0f The Dragons Book 1)

by Grace Brennan

  “You’ve always been a pessimistic shithead, you know that, right?”

  “And you’ve always been an optimistic dreamer.”

  He nodded. “Guess that’s why we worked so well. We balanced each other out.”

  Axel nodded, walking over to grab a duffel bag by the kitchen island in the open concept room. Eyes narrowing at the sight, Cody frowned. They hadn’t gone near the kitchen when they walked in.

  “Did you break in while I was gone? I know the doors were locked. How do you even know how to do that? What the hell have you been up to while you were gone, Axel?”

  “This and that,” he replied evasively. “I’d just gotten here when you left with the blonde, and I wasn’t sure how long you’d be gone. Is she your mate? She’s gorgeous.”

  His gorilla let out a warning growl, even though he knew his brother didn’t mean anything with his words. It was like neither he nor his animal could control the way she made them feel. Mine. “Yeah, that’s her. Olivia. You don’t have any questions about the fact that we can have mates? Lindsey just about lost her shit at the news.”

  Axel gave an exaggerated shudder. “Nope, I’m good. You two can have all that mate shit. I never wanted one when I thought we couldn’t have them, and nothing’s changed now that I know we can.”

  Quick flashbacks of his time with Olivia sped through his mind, and he shook his head. “My mate’s amazing. You have no clue what you’re missing, Axel.”

  “I’m sure she is, but I’m still happy to wallow in my ignorance. Are there any empty houses available I can take?”

  “You don’t want to stay here with me and Lindsey? I meant it when I said this is still your home.”

  “I appreciate that, but I’m sure it won’t be just you and Linds for long. I’ve heard what it’s like between mates. I have no desire to see you sucking face with yours at every opportunity, or God forbid, actually hear you two going at each other,” he replied with a shudder that appeared genuine this time.

  Cody chuckled. “I have to agree with you there. I have no desire for you to hear it, either. Yeah, there are two open houses right now. The Miller house and the Johnson house. They both need updating though, and our crews are booked out right now.”

  “As long as they have walls, a floor, and a roof, I’m fine. It can always be updated later. I’ll stay here tonight and get furniture tomorrow. I’ll take the Miller house, if that’s okay.”

  “Totally fine, but that’s the smaller house. Tiny, actually. Sure you don’t want the bigger one?”

  “Nope. It’s just me, and I don’t need much space.”

  He nodded but before he could reply, the door slowly opened and Lindsey stuck her head inside.

  “Is it safe to come in?” she asked, her brown eyes sheepish and a little worried as they came to rest on Cody.

  “It is now,” he replied mildly. “You could have given me some warning, though.”

  Axel shook his head. “I asked her not to.”

  Closing the door, his sister made her way over to him, her eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was talking to Axel. He wanted to come to you on his own.”

  “You don’t ever have to apologize for talking to your own brother, Linds. Or for not telling me. My reaction was because of my own shit, and that has nothing to do with you.” Pausing, he watched Axel go up the stairs, probably heading to his old room. Waiting until he heard a door open and shut, he turned back to her and lowered his voice. “But what was that about the other night? When you asked if maybe he was behind the shit at the drive-in? You knew where he was and what he’d been up to.”

  Biting her lip, she shook her head. “I know only what he tells me, and he doesn’t tell me much. But I agree with you that he wouldn’t do that. That’s not the kind of man he is, and I felt guilty the moment I asked you. He was just the only one I know of who’s left the troop. He sounded genuinely shocked and upset about what happened when I told him.”

  Nodding thoughtfully, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently squeezed. “You shouldn’t feel guilty. Like you said, he’s the only one who’s left, so it makes sense to wonder. But I still stand by what I said. He wouldn’t be behind that.”

  She went up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for being you.”

  Surprised, he raised his eyebrows. “What? Why?”

  “You’ve been through so much, and you have every reason to find the negative in everything and everyone around you. But you never let anger or hurt, or even disillusionment, rule your actions. You don’t let your past define you. You’re always searching for the good in people or situations. I admire that about you so much.”

  Without giving him a chance to reply, she skipped up the stairs, and he gazed after her, his hand on his chest. If she’d stuck around, he would have told her that he admired her just as much—and next time he could get her to stand still, he would.

  She hadn’t had it easy either, and everything she said about him could be said about her.

  He wasn’t sure how long he stood in the middle of the room, just thinking about how much life had changed in a short amount of time. He’d met Olivia, learned he had a mate—and that mates were even possible for his kind—then finally stood up to Pops like he should have long ago.

  And now, his brother was finally home, hopefully for good.

  So many changes so quickly left him feeling slightly dizzy and off centered, but he wouldn’t change a single one of them.

  Chapter 20

  Olivia

  Olivia slowed to a stop in front of the gates to Cody’s compound. Pulling her cellphone out, she started to call him so he could let her in but paused as she noticed a piece of paper on the metal gate.

  Curiosity filled her as she watched it flutter in the breeze, and she got out of her truck, phone still in her hand as she walked over to it. Wrinkling her nose at the pungent scent of unwashed human in the spot, she used her phone to hold the paper down.

  In an instant, her blood ran cold as she read the note.

  This isn’t over. You might think it is, and it might be a while until we’re back—or maybe it’ll be as soon as tomorrow—but we will be back. And then the abominations will be eradicated from the face of the earth.

  Her dragon hissed, and Olivia quickly looked around. Whoever put this here was gone, and his scent was fading fast—but maybe she could catch them if she acted now.

  She just had to find her bravery. The problem was, there wasn’t an ounce of it anywhere inside her.

  I’m here. I’m right here, ready to end any threat to you or our mate. Don’t forget that for a second, her dragon hissed.

  Her animal was right, but the traumatized human side of her had trouble making her feet move. Fuck.

  With shaking fingers, she brought up Cody’s number and hit send, sending up a prayer of relief when he answered immediately.

  “C-Cody,” she stammered, inwardly ordering herself to get her shit together as her voice shook badly. “I’m at the gate, but someone else was here, too.”

  “Oliva, breathe for a second. I can barely understand you. I’ll be right there, okay?”

  Nodding even though he couldn’t see her, she ended the call, standing there for a moment with her phone clutched in her hand.

  Dammit, she was a fucking dragon shifter, not a terrified little girl. She could do this. It wouldn’t take Cody long to get there, and she’d have a head start on finding the person who left the note.

  Inhaling deeply and wincing as the smell of the human burned her nose, she forced herself not to shy away from it. Moving slowly, she followed it down the road, hesitating at the curve in the road that would take her out of sight of the gate.

  You’re a motherfucking dragon, Liv. Get your shit together, she ordered herself.

  Firming her resolve, she moved cautiously around the corner, frowning when the scent vanished abruptly. Eyes narrowing, she looked at the ground where fresh footprints met fresh tire
tracks.

  Shit. The asshole who left that note had gotten in a car and driven off. There was no other explanation, since his rank smell had been so strong and easy to follow, and the clues to why the scent vanished were all there.

  “Olivia!”

  Jumping at Cody’s frantic call, she cursed as she turned around and quickly moved back around the bend in the road. But when she saw him, crystal clear with her dragon’s vision, she broke out into a run as she called his name.

  He looked even more frantic than his voice had been, pacing around her truck, his body vibrating and eyes bright red.

  Fuck. All she’d been thinking about was finding her bravery. She hadn’t thought about how it looked to him—her calling him, her voice shaking so badly he could barely understand her, and then when he got to the gate, her truck was there, but she was gone.

  He was about to lose his shit, and it was all her fault.

  Turning at her call, his shoulders sagged as he saw her running full tilt toward him, unharmed. But even once she reached him, he didn’t calm down. His body was still vibrating, his eyes were still red, and when he tried to speak, his words were so garbled and growly, she couldn’t make them out.

  His gorilla was taking over, and he was doing his best to fight it, but he couldn’t get control of himself—basically a nightmare come true for him.

  She might have been terrified a moment ago, but she wasn’t now. This was Cody, and she knew there was nothing to fear. Calm descended on her as she walked right up to him and put her hands on his face, forcing him to look at her and staring straight into his bloodred eyes.

  “Hey, Silverback,” she said soothingly, ignoring Cody and focusing on his animal. “Look at me. I’m right here. I’m fine. You have to calm down, mate. Let Cody have his control back. Everything is fine.”

  Continuing to murmur soft words, she stroked her hands down his cheeks and stubble, over and over, never breaking eye contact. She wasn’t sure how much time passed when the vibrating started to slow and the red began to fade from his eyes. All she knew was she would have kept this up forever, as long as it helped him.

  When the vibrating eased into tremors, he gasped out her name and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

  “You were scared, and when I got here you were gone. I didn’t know what happened. I’m sorry I was so far lost to my animal, but I can’t stand the thought of losing you too, Olivia.”

  Guilt welled up inside of her when she thought of all he’d already lost, and the thoughts that must have been running through his head when he found her empty truck, with her nowhere in sight.

  “God, Cody, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think that through. It was a human, and I knew you’d be here soon. I told myself I couldn’t be so terrified that I let a human get away, so I followed his scent until it ended just around the bend. You must have gotten to the gate right as I walked out of sight. I’m so sorry.”

  Shaking his head, he ran his hand up and down her back, like he was still reassuring himself that she was actually there. “Don’t ever apologize for finding your bravery and strength, especially when you thought you lost them. And especially because of my hang ups. I know how much following that scent scared you, and I’m proud as fuck that you did it. Just promise me, if you do something like that again, that you won’t hesitate to call on your dragon. I don’t give a fuck who’s around to see her. You let her out and let her protect you.”

  She nodded without hesitation. “I promise. She was right there, on the surface and ready to take over if anything happened.”

  “Good. Now, what set you off? It couldn’t have just been that scent. Although, I can still smell traces, and it’s horrible.”

  Giving him a strained smile, she nodded at the gate. “There’s a note up there. I’m surprised you didn’t see it when you came out.”

  Taking her by the hand, he walked over to it. “I was looking for you. And once I saw that you were gone, nothing else even registered.”

  Reaching up, he took the note, stiffening as he read it. “Fuck. It’s not over, then.”

  “It doesn’t look like it. But Cody, that’s a human scent. I mean, we don’t want any humans knowing about us, but it’s better than shifters, right? Shifters are harder to fight against.”

  “That’s true.” The look in his eyes turned distant. “Now that I think of it, when I was fighting the men at the drive-in and one of them shifted, the humans looked horrified. Maybe the shifter was a traitor, and he was leading the humans to other shifters, hoping the humans would help him kill them.”

  “That sounds like a good possibility, especially since the man here was human, too.”

  “Either way, it’s not over. And by the words on this note, it won’t be for a while yet.”

  “It doesn’t look that way, unfortunately. But I know we’ve got this, no matter what comes our way.”

  Giving her his knee weakening half smile, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Come on. Let’s get inside the compound. I don’t like you being out in the open like this, not right now.”

  She nodded, following him back to the truck as warmth spread through her chest. She’d been terrified earlier, but she knew, if it came down to it, she could protect herself.

  But she loved how much he wanted to protect her, too.

  Her pulse skittered as she slanted a look at him, her next realization hitting her hard, although she wasn’t sure why. She should have already known.

  It wasn’t just his protectiveness, or kindness, or sexiness she loved.

  It wasn’t just his caring nature and giving heart.

  It was him. She loved him, and she knew that even if he wasn’t her mate, there wasn’t another man in the world who could ever have her heart like he did.

  Chapter 21

  Cody

  “I really don’t think they’re going to go for that, Cody,” Olivia said as she followed him inside his house.

  “You need to try to talk them into it, Liv. The humans are clearly coming after the troop, and I don’t want any of you caught in the crossfire because of us. My company will be renovating your house, remember? I’ll be over there a lot. Plus, if they see you and I together—which they might already have done—then you could already be on their radar.”

  “Okay, say that’s true. That still doesn’t change the fact that we’re dragons. We’re not defenseless, and we’re more than capable of fighting a battle.”

  “And how much more might damage might that do to the other dragons while they’re trying to heal? Just try, is all I’m asking. We have plenty of room for all of you until the threat is over.”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “Or maybe it’ll help them realize they don’t ever have to be scared of a threat again if they win a battle, and that will help them heal. But okay, fine. I’ll ask them, but I’m telling you, they’ll say no.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up at the barely there eye roll she gave him, and he was just about to take her into his arms when they were interrupted.

  “You’re a dragon? Sweet. I didn’t know they still existed.”

  Olivia startled, her wide green gaze flying to Axel as he walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich in his hand. She looked rapidly between the two of them, probably taking in their similarities, as her brow furrowed.

  “Olivia, this is Axel. Axel, Olivia.”

  Axel nodded at her. “Nice to meet you. Don’t worry, guys. I’m not staying. Just ran over for some food, since I haven’t made it to the store yet. Feel free to get freaky as soon as I’m gone.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened more, if that was possible, her gaze staying on Axel until he’d left. “Axel, as in your brother?” she asked the moment he was gone.

  “Yeah. He came back last night.” He quickly filled her in on their conversation. “I guess I understand why he did things the way he did them. I just wish it hadn’t had to happen like it did.”

  “It’s a good thing that he’s home now though, isn’t it?
”

  “Definitely. I’ve missed him,” he replied, not afraid to admit it.

  “I can only imagine. I would have missed Fiona desperately if we were separated for thirteen years with no contact.”

  He pulled her into his arms like he’d wanted before his brother interrupted. “Plus, that’s just one more person around to protect you and the others.”

  This time, she gave him a full eye roll. “I already told you I’d talk to the others about it.”

  “I want to burn it into that gorgeous head of yours, Liv.”

  Hell, he wanted to ask her if she’d move in, no matter what the rest of the dragons wanted to do. But he knew her, and he knew that even if she wanted to, she’d hesitate to leave them with a new threat looming on the horizon.

  He understood it, he really did, but he couldn’t say he liked it.

  He thought back to the panic, the way he nearly lost control, when he thought something happened to her. He didn’t ever want to experience that again.

  Freezing as the words she’d whispered to him suddenly became clear, he pulled back to search her eyes.

  Had she really said what he thought she did?

  Her brow furrowed as he stood frozen, searching her face. “What? What’s wrong?”

  Swallowing hard, he forced the words out of his tight throat. “Did… did you call me your mate? When you were trying to get my gorilla to calm down. Am I remembering that right?”

  She froze too, staring at him in silence, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t read her. Had she said it? Had he imagined it? Was she freaking out on him?

  And then a tiny little smile curled her lips up. “I did. My dragon told me the day you and I talked about what you are and about our pasts. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you right away, but maybe I should have.”

  These next words might be some of the hardest he’d ever say. “If you’re not ready to be my mate… it’s okay, Olivia. I’ll wait for you. I already told you that once, and I’ll say it as many times as you need until you believe it.”