Dragon Hopes: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Dragon Island Hideaway Book 3)

by Rinelle Grey

  And yet, he didn’t.

  Something in him stubbornly refused to just give up. He might not be able to move forwards, but nor could he accept going back. He wouldn’t accept going back. He was sick of this fear. Sick of it controlling everything he did.

  He would not let it win.

  Yes, maybe there was a chance a dragon was going to eat him one day.

  Maybe it was worth the risk. Anything was better than living in fear.

  He wanted to deliver his warning to Mora in person. He stubbornly didn’t want to let the fear stop him from doing that.

  Hell, who was he trying to kid. He just wanted a chance to see her again.

  That was when it hit him—he was looking forward to seeing a dragon.

  And suddenly his heart wasn’t pounding, his palms didn’t feel clammy, and he wasn’t frozen in fear. He took a step forwards, then another, his heart lightening with each step.

  He hurried up the path, his steps eager. Now he just needed to find Mora and tell her. Maybe it was too late, maybe it wasn’t, but there was only one way to find out. All he needed to do was get to the top of this path.

  Finn hurried on, impatient to get there. Every step he took brought him closer to Mora. Even so, he was breathless before too long. Surely it couldn’t be too much farther to the waterfall. But he’d only come this way once before, so he wasn’t completely sure of the route. Either way, he wasn’t going to stop until he got there.

  The area looked familiar. He was pretty sure the waterfall was around the next stand of trees.

  Hopefully Mora was behind the next stand of trees too.

  Finn was surprised to find himself eager to see her. He’d almost forgotten she was a dragon.

  As soon as he remembered though, fear hit him almost like a physical wall. He stumbled back, his heart racing and his legs weak.

  He couldn’t go in there and face a dragon. What had he been thinking? Was he crazy?

  Especially not after what he’d told her just a few hours ago, that he was a police officer investigating her. If she was here, and she knew he was coming, she was probably waiting to breathe fire on him. Or eat him.

  Or mate him.

  That last one didn’t sound so terrible. That was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Why he was here? All those other humans seemed happy to be dragon mates. And this was Mora. He trusted her.

  Loved her even.

  But it didn’t matter how he tried to rationalise his fears. His heartrate wouldn’t slow, and it was getting hard to breathe.

  What the hell was going on? How could he be so certain one minute, and so terrified the next?

  Because this wasn’t real. It was fear talking. And now Finn knew what he needed to do to overcome it.

  He needed to not give in. To not listen to it.

  Maybe it was the faint memory that he’d decided to do this, that he’d been determined before this fear hit. But whatever it was, it kept Finn putting one foot in front of the other.

  He rounded the last corner, and there was the waterfall crashing over the rocks in front of him.

  The fear was completely gone.

  And the area was empty.

  Finn’s heart sank. He’d been wrong. She wasn’t here.

  Rocks shifted behind him, and Finn’s heart gave a leap, but it wasn’t in fear. It was in anticipation, pure and simple. Mora had come after all.

  But when he turned, it wasn’t Mora he saw, but her brothers. He recognised Damien and Hayden, and though the third was unfamiliar, he was sure the man had to be Rowan.

  “We thought we might find you here,” Hayden said, his voice holding a hint of a threat.

  For a moment Finn was confused. Why had her brothers been looking for him? Were they angry he’d upset her? They had every right to be, but surely they’d understand as soon as Finn explained.

  He wasn’t scared of her anymore. He wasn’t sure what had changed or when, but when he’d thought she was here a moment ago, he hadn’t had any fear at all.

  “We hear you’ve been investigating dragons,” Damien said, his voice holding a threat as well.

  Finn might not be scared of Mora, but he suddenly remembered that her brothers had to be dragons too. And he couldn’t count on them being reasonable. Especially not now.

  As if to confirm his suspicions, Damien and Hayden’s eyes narrowed into slits. Dragon eyes.

  Finn was facing up to three potentially angry dragons.

  His fear kicked in then without a doubt. Finn’s heart thumped in his chest, and he was breathing as though he’d just sprinted up the mountain. Adrenaline flooded his body, and he was ready to fight.

  Or run. Running would be more sensible. He had no hope in a fight against three dragons.

  Finn calculated the distance back to the path and whether he could duck around them and race them down the mountain. But it was immediately clear he stood no chance, and that was if dragons were no faster than humans, which he certainly couldn’t count on.

  No, his only hope was to talk his way out of this.

  With that thought in mind, he put up a hand. “Not investigating dragons, just investigating a woman who visited a dragon lair. But I’ve already informed my superiors that everything seems to be in order here. They will be sending someone to question Mora some time soon, but I’m sure she can handle that. She seems very capable.”

  Damien and Hayden were still staring at him suspiciously, but the third brother, Rowan, cracked a grin. “You know, he doesn’t seem so bad.”

  “Not so bad isn’t good enough for Mora,” Hayden growled.

  “Definitely not,” Damien agreed.

  “Especially not if he’s afraid of dragons,” Hayden added. “How could that ever work? No, it’s best he leaves now.”

  They were talking about Finn as if he wasn’t even there, and he was disinclined to interrupt them. After all, while they were talking, they weren’t roasting him. He wondered if he could edge his way around and get past them while they were arguing with each other.

  But Rowan was regarding him thoughtfully. “He doesn’t seem that scared. Are you sure you were right about that bit?”

  And he was right. The unreasonable terror was completely gone.

  Sure, Finn was scared, who wouldn’t be when three angry, defensive, big brother dragons were standing in front of you, but his fear was completely in proportion to the situation. He was still able to analyse his position and consider action. He wasn’t frozen up, unable to think clearly.

  Who knew all he’d need to do to beat his dragon phobia was fall in love with one.

  That realisation brought so much relief and joy, Finn couldn’t help laughing out loud. Somehow, against all the odds, he’d beaten his phobia. He wasn’t afraid.

  Suddenly he felt free. A whole world of possibilities opened up in front of him. Maybe, just maybe, he might stand a chance with Mora. So long as he could get past her three brothers.

  Rowan was watching him with a half-smile on his face, but Damien and Hayden weren’t so impressed. Both of them were scowling. Damien’s hands were clenched into fists. “You think this is funny, do you? I’ll give you funny.”

  And right in front of Finn’s eyes, scales began to sprout on the man’s skin, and claws erupted from his fingertips. His body writhed and shifted, his clothes bursting apart at the seams, and wings sprouted from his back.

  This time, Finn was frozen. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight as, right in front of him, Mora’s brother turned into a huge scaly blue dragon. It was unbelievable. Amazing.

  “Damrian, now might not be the best time.” Rowan’s voice was reasonable. Patient even. He didn’t sound in the least afraid.

  Then again, Mora’s brother wasn’t angry at him.

  Damien put his head right down next to Finn. That dragon eye was even more alien up close, staring into Finn’s face unblinkingly.

  Finn took a step back.

  Damien gave a low growl.

  Briefly, hopelessness w
elled up in Finn. What did it matter if he’d beaten his fear? Even if he wasn’t frozen in terror, he couldn’t possibly fight a dragon to prove he was worthy of its sister’s love.

  He wasn’t even sure if Mora would want him to do such a thing.

  He remembered how it had felt to kiss her right here in this pool, how tempted he’d been to take things further, much further. And how he’d been ready to throw his entire life away for the chance.

  Well, nothing had changed. He still wanted that chance. And if meant facing up to a dragon, even an angry, overprotective, big brother dragon, then dammit, he was going to do that.

  So he stepped forwards again and stared into Damien’s dragon eye.

  “I don’t think any of this is funny. What I feel for Mora isn’t funny at all, and it certainly isn’t funny that you’re trying to keep us apart. If she cares about me the way I care about her, then what right do you have to stand in our way?”

  “Yes, what right do you think you have, Damrian?”

  Mora’s voice rang out through the rocky clearing.

  Finn’s heart rose as if it had grown dragon wings and was ready to take flight.

  She was here.

  And she strode forwards and poked her giant dragon brother in the face. “I told you to stay away from Finn. If you scare him away, then I’m never going to forgive you. Any of you.” She included the rest of her brothers in her fierce glare.

  “He doesn’t seem to be in much danger of being scared away,” Rowan pointed out.

  Mora turned to stare at Finn. Her eyes widened slightly. “You’re not scared. And you…” She stared at him in disbelief. “You made it past my protections.”

  Finn had no idea what she was talking about. “Protections?”

  Mora nodded solemnly. “I used some of my magic to prevent anyone finding this place, just in case the sign didn’t deter them. It basically uses their fears against them to convince them to turn back. No one has ever made it past them before. I didn’t think you stood any chance.”

  That explained a few things. It explained why Finn had thought he’d beaten the fear, only to have it come back.

  And it suddenly made him even more sure of everything now. If he could beat a dragon’s magically induced fear, then he’d really beaten it, hadn’t he?

  Mora was still staring at him, a little uncertain, so Finn rushed to reassure her.

  “Well, I think that might be a bit of an exaggeration,” he said calmly. “Anyone would be a bit uncertain when there’s a dragon standing in front of him. But I think I’m coping admirably under the circumstances.”

  Suddenly, he knew it was all going to be okay. Mora wouldn’t let her brothers fry him, would she?

  The smile she gave him, like the sun had suddenly lit up the world in front of her, only confirmed it. Ignoring her brothers, and their two mates standing behind her, she jumped forwards, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

  There was nothing but love and excitement filling Finn’s heart as he kissed her back. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the feeling of her lips against his, not even caring that her brothers, one of whom was an actual, honest to goodness dragon right at that moment, were right there.

  Somehow he suspected even their overprotectiveness couldn’t stand up to the feelings between them. Together, they could do anything. He was sure of it.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Hayden said loudly.

  Finn ignored him.

  Mora though, broke off their kiss. She turned to glare at her brother. “What are you still doing here?”

  Hayden cleared his throat.

  “I think Hayrian is trying to remind you that your… uh… boyfriend… is investigating dragons and is in a position to put not only us, but the whole resort, at risk.”

  Damien’s voice, somehow inside Finn’s head, sent a shiver up his spine. It sounded vaguely familiar. Had that dragon leader done something like this? Finn couldn’t be sure, but he suspected he might have.

  From Mora’s brother though, it didn’t seem quite so ominous. He wasn’t doing it to scare Finn. He was probably doing it because, as a dragon, his vocal cords couldn’t make human speech sounds.

  Perhaps this whole fear thing had more to do with dragon magic than actual dragons?

  Finn turned towards them, keeping an arm possessively around Mora’s waist. “I’ve already told you I have no intention of informing anyone of your existence. In fact, I’m happy to do anything I can to throw the police off the trail.”

  Mora turned to look at him, a trusting smile on her face. “I knew you wouldn’t.” She sounded so sure that it warmed Finn’s heart.

  “We’ll see if you actually do.” Damien didn’t sound mollified.

  And he was still glaring at them, assuming dragons could glare. Maybe that was the only expression their dragon faces could make.

  “Finn can’t do more than that right now,” Mora pointed out. “So you’ll just have to take it on trust.”

  All three of her brothers were staring at her as if waiting for something. It took Finn a few moments to figure out what was going on.

  Right, the overprotectiveness. That must really be coming out in full force, and all of it was centred on him.

  That should have made him afraid. Even if he’d managed to beat his dragon phobia, these dragons were pretty irritated at him, and yet, he wasn’t bothered by it.

  Possibly because he had his own protective dragon glaring at her brothers for him.

  He could get used to this. He’d never have to be afraid of dragons again if he had his own protector.

  Chapter 19

  Morian couldn’t believe it. Finn had finally gotten past his fear of dragons and had apparently accepted her for who she was. His secret was out in the open, and he’d promised he wasn’t going to expose them. Everything was set for her to finally mate with him.

  Except that she had three angry brothers hanging around.

  Well, that wasn’t quite true. Hayrian and Damrian were angry. Rowan only looked amused. Which was strange. Usually he was the most protective of all.

  “What are you all still here for?” she demanded. “And you,” she glared at Damrian, “why are you still in dragon form?”

  “Well, if I shift back I’ll be naked.” Damrian’s dragon voice at least sounded a little sheepish.

  “So you think I care?” Morian spoke out loud, even though Finn hadn’t heard her brother’s stupid comment. She just wanted them all gone, now, before she had to get really angry.

  And she would get angry.

  “Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Hayrian asked. His voice was reasonable, but his comment wasn’t, not even when he explained further. “Only a few hours ago you were in tears because he was scared of you. Not to mention the fact that we only have his word he won’t expose us to the police. You really haven’t thought this through, have you?”

  Morian put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “And you thought your mating through thoroughly, didn’t you, man who mated the ex-fiancée of a senator involved in the dragon case?”

  Hayrian glared back. “That was different.”

  “How?”

  Hayrian opened his mouth as though he thought he actually had a valid argument, but before he could say anything, Rowan stepped in. “How about we all go back to the house and discuss this,” he said reasonably.

  Only his suggestion wasn’t reasonable at all. Morian had no intention of going anywhere. She and Finn had things to do first, and this was the perfect place to do them in her opinion.

  “There’s nothing to discuss,” she said firmly. “But you’re all welcome to go and talk about it all you like while I stay here with Finn.”

  “Over my dead body,” Damrian growled into everyone’s head, including Finn’s.

  Morian glanced at him, worried her brother’s thoughtless, or maybe not so thoughtless, comment would have freaked him out again. But though he looked nervous, he wasn’t bordering on
panic. He did step slightly closer to her though, as if he were counting on her to protect him.

  And she would.

  A fiercely protective urge surged through Morian, and for a moment, she had an inkling what her brothers must be feeling. What she wanted to do was transform into her dragon form and wrap herself around Finn so no one else would ever bother him, especially not her brothers. And she would have if she’d been certain it wouldn’t trigger his fear.

  Instead she lifted her chin and said, “This is getting old, Damrian. I’ve chosen Finn for my mate, if he’ll have me. That arrangement is between him and me and has nothing to do with you. With any of you.” She glared at all of them.

  Into her brothers’ minds she added, “And if you really feel he might betray us, then isn’t my mating him the best way to ensure he doesn’t?”

  “That’s not the right reason to take a lifemate,” Hayrian said, his comment almost reasonable. “You should mate someone you trust with your life, someone you want to share the rest of your life with.”

  “And that’s Finn,” Morian insisted. She had no doubts about that. They hadn’t come all this way for her to give up now. She was going to find a way to convince them to back off if it was the last thing she did. It had been bad enough when it was just her they were hassling, but she wasn’t going to let them to do it to Finn as well.

  “Morian has the right to make her own choice,” Rowan said firmly. “I think we should leave her to it.”

  Morian stared at her oldest brother. His use of her dragon name showed he was being serious. She just found it hard to believe. Rowan had, at times, been the most overprotective. He was protective of all of them in some ways since he was more than ten years older than even Hayrian. She hadn’t expected him to be the first one to agree with her. And from the knowing smile he gave her, he knew she knew that.

  Rowan couldn’t speak into her mind, he had no dragon speech, but she couldn’t help wondering what he’d say if he could.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Hayrian said firmly. “Not until I have a guarantee that this human isn’t going to betray us. Or hurt Mora again.” This time, his glare was for Finn alone.