“Where’s this going?” the sheriff asked.
“The Magnus my mom knew of was an artist,” Ruby explained. “A good one.”
The sheriff thought about it. “Well, I have heard of people not being able to shift because of trauma in their lives. Listen, why not go and visit Nadine? She’s good at this kind of thing. She helped her husband Kurt find his wolf when they…” She moved her hands together. “Well, they lost each other for a while and Nadine put them back together.”
“Reintegrated them?” Ruby asked.
“Yes.” Fara nodded. “I remember. Okey dokey, let’s get you over there, Magnus.”
Ruby watched as they got ready to leave. Her heart wrenched in her chest with every step he took away from her. Her dragon was right, they were mates. What was she supposed to do, let him walk away?
“Can I come, too?” Ruby asked quickly.
He turned to face her, his emerald green eyes luminous as he stared into her face. “I would like that.”
“Wait.” Natalie waved her hand between the two of them. “Are you two?”
Ruby shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Maybe what?” Magnus asked.
“Nothing.” Natalie gave Ruby a gentle look. “Let’s get your memories back and the rest will deal with itself.” The sheriff followed them to the door and watched them leave. “If you do remember anything, let me know.”
“Will do.” Fara waved at the sheriff and ushered Magnus outside.
“Where are we heading to?” Ruby asked as they stepped outside of the sheriff’s station.
“A house on the side of the mountain. You can hitch a lift with me if you want,” Fara offered.
“My car is right here, I can follow you.” Ruby unlocked her car and went around to the driver’s side.
“Can I ride with you?” Magnus asked, lifting her hopes. He did feel the same way about her and wanted to reveal his feelings to her privately.
“Sure.”
Fara laughed. “Too scared to ride with me, Magnus?”
Magnus eyed Fara suspiciously. “I have nothing to compare your driving to. If I ride with this young lady...”
“Ruby, my name is Ruby,” she told him.
“If I ride with Ruby, I can judge if it is your driving that is...”
“Scary,” Fara filled in for him.
“Lacking in control, or if it is these infernal motorized carriages themselves.” Magnus opened the car door and got in, quickly buckling the seatbelt.
“Is her driving that bad?” Ruby asked, amused by the worried expression on Magnus’s face. Not exactly the demeanor of a brave, fire-breathing dragon.
“She is a little erratic,” Magnus confessed. “But she did save my life.”
“Fara, is she the one who found you?” Ruby asked, waiting for Fara to drive past so she could follow.
“Yes.” Magnus eyed her suspiciously.
“You can trust me.” Ruby pulled out into the street and followed Fara’s rusty old truck as she weaved in and out of the other vehicles. “I see what you mean about her driving.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Magnus asked. “You would tell me I could whether or not it was true.”
Ruby considered his comment. “You don’t belong in this world, do you?”
Magnus fell silent, his eyes drifting to the mountain which loomed before them in the distance. “I don’t know where I belong. Which makes it difficult for me to trust.”
“What if I told you a secret?” Ruby’s eyes widened as Fara swung out into oncoming traffic to avoid a pothole. She was not happy about Magnus getting in Fara’s truck ever again.
“A secret?” Magnus relaxed a little.
“Yes, you know what a secret is?” Ruby glanced at him sideways.
“I have lost my memory, not my wits,” he replied lightly.
“Just checking.” Ruby hesitated, collecting her thoughts. “I’m a shifter.”
“That is hardly a secret.” He leaned toward her and sniffed the air. “I can smell you. Although you smell different than the wolves.”
Ruby blushed and turned her head to sniff her shirt. Damn, she should have showered before she came out. “I am different. I’m a rare shifter.”
Magnus inhaled deeply. “You smell metallic. It’s familiar somehow.”
“Magnus, I’m a dragon shifter.” She waited for his reaction, she barely got a raised eyebrow. “A dragon.” She reinforced the word with a nod.
“Are you trying to impress me?” he asked. If she was, she had failed.
“No.” Ruby frowned. “We’re rare, that’s all. Most people…most humans think we died out.”
He contemplated her words. “When I think of dragons, I think of family.”
“Do you remember other dragons?” she asked hopefully.
Magnus frowned, his forehead creasing as he strained to catch hold of stray thoughts. “It eludes me. I sense I know them, and yet it is as if the memories are shut away.”
“Pity. I’m sure it will come back.” Ruby accelerated as she tried to keep up with Fara’s truck.
“You said you were rare.” Magnus still wore a frown.
“Yes. I don’t know where, or when, you are from, but dragons are part of myth and legend for almost everyone these days.” A sadness filled her voice. “So, if you did know dragons, they were likely persecuted.”
“And killed.” His eyes took on a faraway look, and Ruby’s sadness was mirrored in his face.
“Perhaps.” Ruby smiled kindly. “Look, you need to talk to Nadine. See if she can help you.”
“And if she cannot, will you help me?” Magnus asked, his voice as soft as summer rain, awakening the woman in her. She’d tried to ignore the way he made her feel, but she couldn’t deny the attraction. But until he knew who he was, until he was himself once more, was it fair to heap anymore stress on him?
“I’ll try.” She returned his smile. “Look, here we are. All in one piece.” Ruby steered her car around a bend and then followed Fara’s truck as it weaved along a winding dirt road. A few minutes later, the road opened up and a large timber-framed house stood in a clearing, nestled in the forest surrounding it.
“What if I do not like the memories?” Magnus turned to Ruby. “What if I have shut them out for a reason?”
Ruby had considered this. Many times, people who had suffered traumatic experiences buried them, so they couldn’t hurt anymore. “We’ll deal with it.”
“Why would you help a complete stranger?” Magnus studied her with his soft eyes, behind which hid the man he used to be.
“Because that’s what people do. Like Fara, she helped you.”
“But you are different.” He leaned forward and sniffed her again, and her body thrilled at the closeness of her mate.
“I just want to help.” Ruby reached out and put her hand over Magnus’s. As their skin connected, her nerve endings sent pleasure signals through her body. An awareness of her mate was born that would never be broken. Her eyes flicked up to his, but in a moment of disappointment, she realized he hadn’t felt it. Not in the same way.
Sure, he looked at her with a confused expression. He’d felt something. But not that electrifying moment of connection.
Determined to help Magnus get his memories back, she got out of the car. Fara was waiting for them beside her truck. “You two lovebirds ready to go?”
“Lovebirds?” Magnus asked. “Where are the lovebirds?” He looked around.
Fara cackled her dry laugh and shook her head. “I like him.”
So do I, Ruby’s dragon said seductively.
“I’d like him a lot better if he knew who he was,” Ruby told them. “No offense, Magnus.”
“None taken. I would like me a whole lot more if I knew who I was, too.” He looked toward the house. “Shall we?”
“We shall.” Fara struck off in front of them, striding toward the house. Before she stepped onto the front porch, the door opened, and a young woman greeted them with a smile. “Fara.”
“Hi there, Nadine. How’s that bun doin’?” Fara indicated Nadine’s swollen belly.
“Another couple of months to go, but it’s a lively one.” Nadine smoothed her hand over her belly.
“Well, we’ve come to ask for your help.” Fara pointed at Magnus. “This one’s lost his memories. We wondered if you might help him get them back.”
Nadine scanned Magnus briefly, and then stepped backward, leaving the door open. “You’d better come in.”
“Is that brownies I smell?” Fara asked, leaning forward and inhaling deeply.
“It is.” Nadine ushered them all into her warm kitchen. “Sit down, let’s have coffee and brownies and you can tell me what I can do to help.”
Ruby instantly warmed to Nadine. As they sat around the table, she was sure that if anyone could help Magnus, it was this woman who had welcomed strangers into her home.
But if not, Ruby would scour the planet seeking out anyone who could awaken the dragon she was certain lurked inside Magnus.
Chapter Four – Magnus
Surrounded by three females, Magnus sat at a table drinking coffee. One thing he’d realized since he came down off the mountain, people drank a lot of coffee.
“So, what can you remember, Magnus?” Nadine asked after a few minutes of small talk and introduction. Her voice was gentle, he liked her immediately.
“I remember how to walk, how to talk. How to do most things. But I do not remember who I am.” Magnus considered this statement. “Apart from my name.”
“Your name. Magnus Dumas. And you are certain that is your name, you didn’t read it anywhere, or maybe hear it spoken?” Nadine asked.
“No.” He shook his head.
“When I found him, he told me that was his name. We were way up in the mountains, the fella wore old-fashioned garments that were in tatters. I figured he might be one of those larkers.” Fara reached for another piece of brownie.
“Larkers?” Nadine asked, shaking her head in confusion. “I haven’t heard of a larker.”
“You know, they like to dress up in costumes and act out games and stuff. Sol does it for his Dungeons and Dragons stuff.” She took a big bite of the still warm cake.
Nadine looked to Ruby for help. “I think she means LARPers.”
Nadine’s eyes widened as she understood. “Makes sense. Perhaps you hit your head.”
“Doc in Bear Bluff said no.” Fara sighed. “I’m telling you, it was as if he just walked out of the mountains with the clothes on his back and nothing else.”
“And you don’t remember where you came from or where you were going?” Nadine asked Magnus.
He shook his head. “It is all hazy. I remember being cold, there was snow on the ground… I… All I kept thinking was I had to go down, I had to get somewhere warmer.” He shivered at the thought.
“Okay, don’t try to force it. We’ll get to the bottom of what happened.” She glanced across to Ruby. “How did you get mixed up in this? I don’t know you from town.”
Magnus shifted, feeling the need to jump to his lady’s defense. Wait, she was his lady? Something stirred in his mind. She was. But he didn’t understand how he knew this with such certainty. “Do I know you?”
Ruby’s cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. “I’m from Bear Creek.” Her eyes flicked toward Magnus and then back to Nadine. “I saw the article in the newspaper. Well, my mom did, and she told me...”
“You aren’t an ambulance chaser, are you?” Fara asked, her tone accusatory, and Magnus felt the heat build up inside his body. Was this what the phrase letting off steam meant? Any minute now steam would come out of his mouth like a kettle coming to boil.
Nadine watched him closely, assessing his reaction. “Wait, do you know Ruby?”
Magnus shook his head. “I have never seen her before in my life. At least as far as I am aware. But I sense a connection and when you speak to her cruelly, I want to tear you to shreds.” His voice drifted off. “Not that I would. That would be uncivilized.”
Fara burst out laughing and slapped him on the back. “I think we all have a theory on why that is, but let’s hear the little lady’s story first.”
Ruby stifled a retort at being called a little lady. “My mom showed me the article, and I came over here to meet Magnus to find out if he was a dragon shifter.”
Fara’s mouth fell open, and Nadine’s eyes widened, but she kept it together. “Why would Magnus be a dragon shifter?”
“My mom said she recognized his name.” Ruby shrugged, looking uncomfortable, as if she had told a big secret and wanted to take it back.
“From where?” Magnus asked, hope that he might soon be reunited with his memories exploding inside him. Along with the hope that he and Ruby meant something to each other. She spoke as if she had been searching for him for a long time.
“From...” Ruby looked at Nadine. “Isn’t it better for amnesia patients to figure this stuff out on their own?”
Nadine sipped her coffee thoughtfully. When she placed it down on the table, she said, “That can be true. However, if you can give Magnus a memory, that might be the thread he follows to find the rest. I think it’s worth a try.”
“Okay.” Ruby clasped her hands together. “My mom remembered your name. She said she thought you were once a famous artist.”
“Famous.” Fara snorted. “We did a search on Gooble.”
“Google,” Ruby corrected.
“Whatever,” Fara began. “The thing is, we searched and there was no one by the name of Magnus Dumas. Not that matched this description.” She pointed at Magnus, moving her finger up and down from his head to his feet.
“And if he were famous, he would have been at the top of the search,” Nadine interjected.
“I do know how a search engine works,” Ruby retorted. “But you are missing one vital clue.”
“Which is?” Magnus asked eagerly, sensing Ruby was telling them the truth, and yet holding something back.
“My mom remembers Magnus from a long time ago.”
“How long?” Magnus asked. “Fara said I was wearing tattered clothes.”
“Do you still have them, Fara?” Nadine asked.
“I was going to put them on the fire, but since they were the only thing that belongs to you, I figured we should keep them. I couldn’t risk putting them in the washer, they looked as if they would fall apart. I folded them up and put them in the barn.”
“The barn?” Ruby asked, turning the full force of her attention on Fara.
“They were wet and muddy by the time we got back,” Fara said indignantly. “Any other circumstances and I would have burned them.” She picked up her coffee cup and drank deeply, averting her eyes from the others around the table.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Ruby asked.
“Nothing that concerns you,” Fara said snarkily.
“There was a gold coin in the pocket of my jacket.” Magnus earned himself a glare from Fara.
“We agreed that wouldn’t be mentioned, we don’t want gold diggers coming after you.” Fara aimed her words at Ruby, who hardly seemed to notice.
“What was the date on the coin?” Ruby asked eagerly.
“What date do you think will be on the coin, Ruby?” Nadine asked calmly.
“The Magnus Dumas my mom heard of...” Ruby searched all their faces, but finally, her gaze came to rest on his. “Was alive in the seventeenth century.”
Fara puffed the air out of her cheeks. “Well, I’ll be.”
“That matches your date?” Nadine asked in some confusion.
“Yeah, the coin was old. I figured it was most likely a fake. A good fake, mind you.” Fara’s eyes narrowed. “So, where’s he been all these years?”
“I can’t say for sure.” Ruby looked down at her hands, collecting her thoughts, before lifting her eyes and holding his captive. “But there is a spell, or a curse, called Ancient Slumber. It was used on dragons to put them to sleep for a long time. A really long
time. Like forever.”
Fara cackled loudly. “Wait, you’re saying that Magnus is a dormant dragon shifter?”
“Why not?” Ruby turned on Fara. “It makes sense.”
“Except he woke up.” Fara pointed at Magnus. “He’s not exactly sleepwalking.”
“Fara is right. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a reason he woke up.” Nadine studied Ruby. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“A mate can wake up a dragon shifter.”
“Oh.” Fara’s expression cleared. “Now that is making it all sound more plausible.”
“When I was flying in the mountains this morning, I thought I smelled something.” She inclined her head toward Magnus. “Maybe if I took you to the place, it might jog your memory.”
“Well, wait a goddamn minute,” Fara ground out. “What do you mean by flying?”
“I’m a dragon shifter, too.” Ruby shrugged. “I could fly Magnus up there. We could have a poke around.”
“It’s a good plan,” Nadine agreed.
“As long as there is room for two on your scaly back,” Fara told Ruby. Were they fighting over him? If they were, he didn’t like it.
“He is an adult, he can go on his own,” Ruby bit back.
“With a woman he’s just met?” Fara slammed her fist down on the table, making the cups jump and the coffee slosh in the pot. “How do I know you aren’t planning on taking advantage of him?”
“Because, Fara, Ruby is Magnus’s mate.” Nadine’s words caused the older woman to close her mouth and study Ruby closely. “She can’t hurt him.”
“What is a mate?” Magnus asked as the gravity of the situation struck him.
“Nothing,” Ruby said quickly. “It’s just like a really, really good friend.”
“But you said you did not know me.” He frowned, confused by the tension in the air. There was so much unsaid, so much they were not telling him. He had sat and endured their conversation, and now he wanted an explanation. “Tell me the truth.”
“Fara, why don’t we go outside and let these two young people talk?” Nadine got up awkwardly, her hand rubbing her swollen belly.
“No, you stay, we’ll go outside.” Ruby got up abruptly and stalked to the kitchen door, where she stood waiting for him to join her.
Awakened Dragon Page 3
