Shoving the phone back in his pocket, he ignored the growl in his chest and continued toward the hall. His beast didn’t have to worry.
He wasn’t giving up on her. Ever.
Chapter 12
Olivia
Glancing down at her phone as it buzzed with another incoming text, Olivia looked at it like it was a snake, hesitant to pick it up.
That had to make about the twentieth text he’d sent her since dropping her off the night before, and with each one, it got harder and harder to not respond.
The problem was, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. Her possible replies varied from never contact me again, motherfucker, to I forgive you for keeping this from me and I want nothing more than to see you again.
And each had a kernel of truth in them.
When he dropped her off the night before, she’d been dead set on never seeing or speaking to him again. But the more time that passed, the more she thought she’d maybe overreacted.
As her dragon pointed out, hadn’t she just been worrying about whether he could accept what she truly was? And yet, when she found out he was different, she damned near lost her mind.
And what about this being the return of the dragons? They’d agreed to no more being afraid—of hunters, male dragons, or of any shifters period. Yet, the moment she saw a shifter, she flipped her shit and totally shut down on him.
But then, he wasn’t only just a shifter, was he? He couldn’t be. There was something else going on there, and that scared her, too.
You could ask what he really is and get your answers, you know. But you have to talk to him in order to do that, her dragon pointed out.
Stop being all logical and shit, she growled.
You’d rather I be illogical and clueless? I already told you once that I wasn’t Jessica Simpson. I don’t intend to start acting like her now. Not when you need someone to tell you how stupid you’re being. Ya know, since you haven’t told anyone else about any of this.
Feeling properly chastised, she glanced at the house. Once again, she was out on the porch swing, but this time it wasn’t to get peace to read in, even though she had a book in her hand.
It was because she hadn’t told them a single thing about what went down the night before. And she felt so guilty about it that she couldn’t look them in the eyes.
She needed to tell them soon, but she also wanted as many facts as she could get first. They couldn’t make a decision without being completely informed, and to do that, she had to talk to Cody.
Because now that she knew what he was—well, sort of—the message on the movie screen might not have been directed at the dragons at all.
Hell, the odds were high that it wasn’t. It made sense, since no one knew they were in New Leaf. And if someone did know, they wouldn’t display that message at a drive-in none of them had been to before.
And despite the conflicting feelings she had about what Cody was or wasn’t, despite the bit of fear that still remained toward him, the thought that someone was after him sent a chill of dread down her spine.
She still needed to tell them, though, which meant getting over herself and talking to Cody. With that thought in mind, she reached for her phone—all the while knowing that, no matter what she told herself, that wasn’t the only reason she was going to text him.
Despite everything, she still felt that magnetic pull toward him. The one that was so strong, she wasn’t sure she could resist it, even knowing there was something unnatural about him. Something that went beyond being a shifter.
Exasperated with herself, she woke her phone up and pulled up her texts from him.
Cody: Please talk to me. I know what I am can be scary, but I’d never hurt you. Just give me a chance to explain.
That was a bit of an understatement, but without letting herself think too hard on it, she quickly typed out a reply.
Olivia: Okay. Do you have a place we can talk? I think this is a conversation we need to have in person, and I don’t want the others to overhear.
The reply was almost instant. Cody: I do. I can be there in thirty minutes.
Olivia: See you then.
Blowing out a breath, she set the phone down, a mixture of anticipation and nerves flowing through her veins. But before she could get too worked up, the door opened and Fiona walked out, her smile hesitant as she looked at her.