This particular dragon was super secretive and, like in the old tales, he loved his treasure. In this case, he considered his Swan Maiden and their egg his most valuable treasures of all.
Apparently someone else could see the value in a possible dragon egg, as well. And Walter suspected that the motive would be sinister.
He turned to find Sugar staring at him. “What egg?”
Before he could stop her, Ginnie said, “The dragon egg. Or Swan Maiden. We don’t know which yet.”
Sugar’s eyes widened. “So it’s all true? This whole town is real? All the creatures?”
Ginnie said, “Oh, darn. I shouldn’t have said anything, apparently.”
Jareth just laughed. “If you’d give her one of your wishes, she’d remember that she knows all this paranormal stuff.”
Ginnie stared hard at him. “I’ve already granted all of them, so leave me alone about granting wishes.”
Jareth looked startled. “All three of them?”
Ginnie nodded. “Yes.”
Walter told Jareth, “Call Ty and Mara and tell them they need to meet us at the hospital in an hour to get their retinas scanned.”
“Come with me,” Walter said to Sugar. “We need to talk.”
As Walter drove Sugar in the countryside while waiting to hear that the retina scanner had been installed, he blew her already-confused mind.
“What I’m telling you is entirely confidential, Sugar. You must promise never to reveal this information.”
“Or else you’ll have to kill me?” she asked drily, but her heart rate increased.
“No. I’ll have to administer a forgetfulness spell on you — and I don’t know what it would do with the memory loss you already have. I’d rather not do that.”
She sat back in her seat. “You can actually do that?”
“Not me, personally, but the witches can.”
“What are you?” she asked, afraid to know the answer.
“I’m a werewolf.”
“This is amazing. This whole town is really, truly full of paranormal creatures?”
“Bump in the night. And the day, in Moonchuckle Bay.”
“What about Ginnie? Is she really a genie?”
“Yes.”
“And they only have three wishes total to grant? Ever?”
“Yes.”
“And Jareth? What is he?”
“A vampire.”
“Really? Why can he be out in the sun then? He doesn’t burn up?”
“Nor does he sparkle. The sun thing is a false rumor. Vampires aren’t afraid of garlic or crosses or holy water, either. They just have a special liquid diet.”
“Enough said on that.” She waved her hands to get him to stop. “What other creatures are there?”
“You remember Ty?”
“Sure. He’s the really big guy.”
“Dragon.”
“No way. A dragon? That is so cool!”
“He’s the last dragon.”
“Mara isn’t...?”
“She’s a Swan Maiden.”
Her eyes widened. “So if he’s the last, and they have an egg that could be another dragon, that’s really important, isn’t it?”
“That’s why people are trying to steal it.”
“What else is there?”
“Trolls and gargoyles. Pixies and unicorns.”
“Unicorns?”
Walter shot a glance and a smile her way. “Of everything I’ve just told you, it’s the unicorns that stand out?”
“I’ve always wanted a unicorn.”
He laughed. “Is that a memory?”
“No. Every girl wants a unicorn.”
Mind. Blown.
But somehow she knew everything he’d told her was true. All of it.
Walter got a call and he took it on speaker phone.
Heidi’s voice came over the car’s speakers. “The retinal scanner is active. I’ve notified Ty and asked them to meet you at the hospital now.”
“Thanks, Heidi. You’re the best assistant ever.”
“And on that note, I’m out of here.”
Walter looked at Sugar. “I’ll take you home now.”
“No way,” she said. “I’m going with you.”
“I can’t allow that.”
“Why not? Aren’t you in charge?”
“Yes, but—”
“Look. After this is all over and if my memories ever do come back, you’ll probably hit me with a forgetfulness spell and I won’t remember any of it anyway. I would really like to go with you and see this amazing egg.”
He paused and then sighed. “All right. But you can only go in if both Ty and Mara agree.”
“That sounds reasonable.” Excited, she rose with him. “Thank you, Walter.”
“I’m a fool.”
“No, you’re a werewolf. And that’s amazing!”
It took ten minutes to reach the hospital. Walter drove around the modern-looking main building, and then around to the back — and toward a building that looked old-fashioned and nondescript. Neglected, even. He pulled up in a RESERVED spot.
“This is where you’re keeping the valuable egg?”
“The exterior is a disguise. There are lots of tourists who come into the hospital’s ER and we don’t want them accidentally going into the paranormal wing. Paranormals can either get in through this entrance or through a special entrance inside the hospital that’s been spelled so humans can’t see it.”
“Wow.”
He did something at the door and it opened, and led her inside.
The door closed behind them.
Inside, it looked like a modern hospital’s reception area. A woman at the desk looked up. “Good day, Dr. Clemmons. Manfred and the security personnel are expecting you by the egg room.”
“Thank you.”
Sugar followed him down a hall. As they passed doors, some open and some closed, she peeked inside those she could. They had beds like a normal hospital.
And on the last bed was a person with green skin.
“What’s wrong with that person?” she whispered to Walter.
He looked in the room and led her away. “Not sure. Maybe a princess-kissing-a-frog event gone awry.”
“Now you’re just teasing me.”
They reached the double doors, which hissed open. At the end of the hallway were three people.
Walter waited until Sugar stopped beside him. “I’d like to introduce you to Jade Monroe. Better known as Sugar. She’s the one who found the breach in the keypad codes.”
“Thank you so much,” the woman said. She was dressed in jeans and a pink T-shirt, and an iridescent blue feather hung on a chain around her neck.
“This is Mara Thrakos, the mother. And you’ve already met the father, Ty Thrakos.”
Sugar said, “I am so glad to meet you, Mara. And thank you again for helping rescue me, Ty.”
“Sugar has asked if she may go inside to see the egg. I said she would need your approval.”
Ty and Mara exchanged glances, and the dragon shrugged. “It’s all right with me. Not to have approval on the retinal scanner, but to go in with us.”
Mara nodded.
“And this is Manfred Willis, who’s in charge of security.”
The tall man nodded curtly. “Ty and Mara and I, plus the security team, have had our retinas scanned. It’s time for you, Dr. Clemmons.”
Walter followed Manfred’s instructions. A few minutes later, the door to the room opened, and the five of them entered.
And that’s when Sugar believed she was really in a paranormal hospital.
In the center of the large room was an incubator, probably four feet square in size. It was on a platform so the iridescent bluish-green egg inside was level with her waist.
There were instruments that looked otherworldly, like something from a sci-fi movie.
So this could actually be a dragon egg? Or a Swan Maiden? Either was incredible.
Mind. Blown.
Again.
Ty and Mara went up to the incubator. Manfred placed his hand on a scanner and the front glass slid down.
Manfred explained, “We can only leave this down for fifteen minutes, and then it will automatically close to make sure the temperature and conditions stay optimal.”
Mara approached slowly. She blinked a few times and Sugar was pretty sure she was trying not to cry.
Mara murmured to the egg, and Ty reached out a hand and stroked it, too.
Ty put his large hand on his wife’s back and stood with her. Then Ty turned his head and motioned to Sugar to come closer.
She did, slowly and reverently, standing next to Mara on her other side.
When Walter put his hand on her back, heat flared within her.
Mara said, softly, “Both dragons and swans imprint on the first large moving object they see and hear. So it’s very important that Ty and I are here when the baby hatches.”
Ty explained, “We will be notified the instant the egg starts to crack.”
“When will that be?” Sugar asked.
“It could be any time. It’s been thirteen weeks. Swan Maiden eggs typically take six weeks. Supposedly dragon eggs take twelve, according to my historian friend here.” Ty motioned to Walter. “But maybe a dragon-sired swan egg takes thirteen weeks. We just don’t know. This hasn’t happened before. And it’s been longer than both so we don’t know when. Any time.”
“Do you know if it will be a dragon or a Swan Maiden?” she asked.
Mara shook her head. “We just want it to be healthy.”
“So you’ll need to be here when it hatches. Is that why you talk to it inside the shell?”
Ty nodded. “And that’s why no one else can touch the egg. We have to make sure that the imprinting happens properly.”
The egg rocked and everyone froze as they watched a tiny crack form.
Mara gasped and pulled her hand back. Then, lightly, she ran a fingertip along the crack. The egg jumped again, but the crack did not get any bigger.
Mara said, “Is it hatching?”
Walter nodded. “The hatching could take a while. A few hours to a few days.”
“Yes,” Mara insisted, “but it could also hatch right now.”
“Yes,” Walter admitted.
Sugar felt a pull toward the egg — and then the egg rolled toward her.
Mara looked at her. “What just happened?”
Sugar’s eyes were wide. “I don’t know. Just coincidence, I think.”
Ty studied her. “Walk to the far end of the incubator, Sugar.”
She did so, and the egg rolled in that direction.
Everyone turned to stare at her.
Disconcerted, she took a step back, shaking her head. “I have no idea what’s going on.”
The egg rolled another inch. In Sugar’s direction.
“It’s almost as if it wants to reach you,” Mara said with wonder in her voice as she studied the egg. She turned to Sugar. “Would you like to touch it?”
“Won’t that ruin the imprinting?”
“I don’t think so. Not if you’re not here when it hatches.”
“Then, yes. I would be honored to touch your egg.”
Sugar nodded and stepped forward. Ty and Walter stepped closer, as well.
Sugar reached out — and the egg rolled another inch. She touched the egg — and it stayed still on the cushion.
And the shell stopped cracking.
It was the weirdest freaking thing she’d ever experienced.
That she could remember, that is.
Sugar practically floated from the egg room, her heart full of wonder.
She’d touched the egg, and it had wanted her to touch it. She didn’t know why — none of them, did — but the cracking of the shell had stopped as soon as she had, and didn’t crack any more after she stepped away.
She didn’t understand any of it and wondered if she’d known about the paranormal world before she’d gotten amnesia.
She and Walter said their goodbyes to Mara, Ty, and Manfred, and drove home, mostly in silence.
Now, parked in front of Walter’s house, Sugar just shook her head. “That was the most fantastic experience of my life.”
Walter tilted his head and looked at her.
She waved a hand in dismissal. “No, I don’t remember anything yet. It’s still as if my life began when you rescued me. It’s the most fantastic experience of that short life.”
“It is pretty amazing.” Walter took her hand and she looked up at him. “You’re so beautiful.”
She smiled up at him, reached up to touch his cheek. “You’re so handsome.”
He stared into her eyes as if he was searching for something, then he leaned in and kissed her.
The shock of his lips against hers shot through her entire body.
He pulled her in against him, as best he could in his vehicle, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She never wanted this kiss to end. Their lips moved, his tongue touched hers.
And then he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “We can’t do this.”
“What if I want to?” she whispered.
“I want to, too,” he whispered back. “But I don’t even know if you have a boyfriend. Or a husband. You, my dear Jade Monroe, haven’t put any personal information on the internet.”
“I might be married?” She sighed. “Well, that just killed the mood.”
He chuckled. “It did, indeed.”
“Get your crack IT department right on that. Find out.”
He laughed outright. “You are delightful.”
She had even more reservations than he did. If she were to fall in love, she wanted to know who she was and not just who he was.
She wasn’t in love with Walter, but she was certainly attracted to him.
No, she wasn’t in love. But she could be falling for him.
Pacing his study at two in the morning, Walter couldn’t believe he’d kissed her.
Her lips were just so inviting.
He didn’t even know who she was — heck, she didn’t even know who she was — but he was falling for her. Sugar. His Sugar. Sweet and addictive.
He was addicted.
But if she was married, it would kill him to give her up. If she had a boyfriend, well, all’s fair in love and war, right?
But a husband? No. He wouldn’t do that.
And she was a human.
He had to help her get her memory back. That was a priority. As soon as the egg hatched.
Then he could send her back to her real life. He touched his wife’s ring. Remember. No humans.
Not a human.
If she’s not human, then what is she?
Magic, his wolf whispered.
What kind of magic? I can’t sense anything.
His wolf remained silent.
A Paranormal Jane Doe
WALTER CALLED A MEETING IN the conference room to evaluate whether everyone was ready for the upcoming grand opening of the office.
Jareth, Ginnie, Sugar, Ty, the three agents, and Heidi gathered around the gleaming mahogany conference table.
They’d had the London office on a conference call, but those three had signed off minutes ago.
Walter asked Heidi if she’d help him bring in drinks and snacks because he wanted to bump up morale. He’d ordered paranormal pizzas, including one new on the market for Jareth — Faux Dough. It had no dough at all, but did have pizza spices in the faux blood. It was Jareth’s new favorite.
This was a celebration.
They set the food in the center of the conference table, along with a variety of drinks.
Pizzas and soft drinks all around, with the Faux Dough and a B+3 for Jareth.
Walter stood to address them all. “I just want you to know that you’re doing a great job. We’re on schedule for the grand opening. The holes in the computer system seem to be patched.”
Jareth rapped his knuckles on the table.
“Knock on wood.”
“Everything is moving along smoothly. We’ve got the new extra security measures in place for the egg.”
“So it’s time for something to go wrong, right, boss?” Ginnie asked.
“Bite your tongue,” Walter said. “Nothing else is going to go wrong.”
The words were no sooner out of his mouth than there was a knock on the window. The blinds were open but the windows were one-way glass — they could see out but the no one could see in.
Everyone turned to see a tall woman standing there. She knocked again, then she said, “I know you’re in there. I’ve been hired and had trouble getting here. I need you to let me in.”
Walter motioned to the security guy. “Would you please go see who this is?”
“Sure, boss.” The gargoyle stood and left the room.
A moment later, he reappeared. “She’s contained in the lobby,” he said, meaning she was contained in the magical spell that kept people in the lobby until they’d been approved for entry.
“Who is she?” Walter asked.
“She says she was supposed to be here a couple of days ago, but was kidnapped. She says she managed to escape last night.”
Walter lifted an eyebrow. “Kidnapped? Did she give you a name?”
The gargoyle shot a furtive glance at Sugar and motioned with his head to Walter. “Maybe out here would be better.”
“You can tell us who she is,” Walter said.
The gargoyle shrugged. “I can, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Spit it out,” Walter insisted.
“She claims to be Jade Monroe, the cybersecurity expert you hired.”
Everyone turned to look at Sugar, including Walter.
Sugar’s eyes widened in shock and maybe fear.
Had Sugar been lying to him this whole time? Or was the woman in the lobby lying?
“Bring her in.”
“If I’m not Jade Monroe,” Sugar whispered, “then who am I?”
His wolf wanted to protect her, but his brain wanted to find out what was going on, and who was telling the truth.
The gargoyle ushered a tall woman dressed in green into the office. Her eyes were a vivid green color.
Sugar shrank back, and so did Ginnie.
Walter gave a sniff, covering it with a smile. A crocodile shifter? Was he smelling correctly?
The Hacker Pushes Her Luck: Moonchuckle Bay Romantic Comedy #6 Page 6
