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.”