Reaching the house, she ran up the stairs, dumped her bag in her room, and immediately went to the bathroom and reached for the hairdryer.
A few minutes later, her long blonde hair was mostly dry, and the hot air from the hairdryer had warmed her up some. Thank God. They desperately needed the house renovated so they could turn the water back on.
Thoughts of the renovation immediately led her thoughts to Cody, and she shivered again—but it wasn’t from the cold this time. It was because she immediately conjured up a mental image of him, his huge body towering over her as he smiled down at her with that half smile and twinkling dark brown eyes.
But entwined with all that were racing thoughts and confusion. Had she smelled a hint of fur on him or not? Could he possibly be a shifter, too?
She didn’t know. Every shifter she’d come ever come across had a scent she could smell the moment she was close enough. She’d been close to Cody multiple times, especially the day before when he toured the house.
And not once had she smelled it. Not until she was brushing right next to him, so close they were nearly touching, and that was when she caught a hint—and even then, it was so faint and smelled so different than anything she’d come across, that she couldn’t place it.
Or even decide if it meant anything at all. Maybe she was imagining it.
You weren’t, her dragon said quietly. I smelled it, too. But I still haven’t figured out what it is.
And that was even more concerning. If her dragon, who could sense and smell other shifters better than she could, couldn’t figure it out…
Swallowing her unease, she set the hairdryer down and pulled her brush through her hair. She and the other women had decided they weren’t hiding from anyone anymore, other shifters included.
So she kept trying to tell herself that even if he was a shifter, it changed nothing. He still gave off no bad vibes. Her instincts still said he was a good guy.
But that fear she hated so badly to feel was still creeping into her soul when she considered that he could be like her.
You’re right. If he is a shifter, that doesn’t change anything. He’s still the same man he was before you scented him. And I know, deep down, you feel like you can trust him. I think you can, too. Her dragon hesitated, and Olivia could feel her trying to make up her mind about something. If I’m being honest, I sense something in him. Something powerful, heavy, and just a little bit dark. But I’ve also seen the wa
y he looks at you, even if you don’t see it yourself. I’ve faintly felt his emotions. He would never hurt you. I’d stake my life on that.
Stunned, she went still as she stared at herself in the mirror. Whatever she’d thought her dragon was debating on telling her, it hadn’t been that.
Swallowing hard, she watched as her moss green eyes swirled with iridescent silvery blue and her pupils elongated briefly, showing that her dragon was near the surface.
Something powerful, heavy, and dark? And you just now thought to tell me?
Of course that’s the part you’d focus on first, her dragon sighed. Which is exactly why I hesitated to tell you. I also said he’d never hurt you, and you can trust him. We all have a little bit of heaviness and darkness inside us, Olivia. You know that better than most. I lived it with you. I felt your pain. I felt your thirst for vengeance on Fernandez. You wanted to kill him. The only thing stopping you when we watched the Enforcers fight was that you didn’t want to leave Fiona.
Her animal was one hundred percent right, as per usual. She had wanted to kill him. She’d wanted to do more than just kill him, if she were being completely honest. She’d wanted to make him suffer first—as he’d made countless female dragons suffer over the years.
My anger and darkness were justified, she replied firmly.
They absolutely were. I’m not denying that. But maybe his darkness is justified, too. And I sensed no anger in him, human. You have no reason to fear him. I stand by that, and I will continue to tell you that until you finally believe. You. Can. Trust. Him.
Olivia didn’t respond, slowly pulling her brush through her hair. She honestly wasn’t sure how she felt about any of that. Darkness, trust, power, heaviness… all wrapped in with her animal wanting her to accept the rough parts of him, because he wouldn’t hurt her.
She trusted her dragon, she did. Her animal would never lead her astray, and she’d definitely never put her in danger.
But she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Maybe it was that she trusted her dragon, but she didn’t trust that Cody wasn’t somehow able to manipulate people—and even intelligent shifter animals, some of whom could sense practically everything—into thinking he was something he wasn’t.
You just need time, and then you’ll sense what I do, her dragon said quietly. That’s all I’m asking from you. Give him a chance to prove everything I said to you. Give him time.
Why are you pushing this so hard? You’re usually in my head with the sarcastic, ludicrous thoughts, trying to cheer me up, make me laugh, or just to annoy me, she replied, wryly stressing the word annoy. Why are you so focused and serious about whatever this is with Cody?
Because seeing you in pain, feeling your fear, your distrust in everyone—well, it hurts me, too. And not just because I feel everything you feel. But because you’re the other half of me and I care about you. I hate seeing you struggle like this. You’re trying so hard to heal and move on. Cody is the perfect opportunity to begin doing those things, and I don’t want you to miss that chance. You can do this, Olivia. I believe in you.
A rush of emotion washed over her, but she fought it back, knowing if she didn’t, she’d be crying in no time. Everything her dragon said was hitting home, but it was that last bit that nearly did her in.
You can do this, Olivia. I believe in you.
She hadn’t known just how much she needed to hear those words.