Silverback Dragon (Return to Bear Creek Book 6) Read online

  Harlan smiled. His dragon had mellowed over the years, but could still be full of himself. He kept the word pompous hidden from his dragon.

  Walking along the sidewalk, he entered the bakery, the sense that she was close still firmly in his head. Yet this time, something felt different. The feeling was stronger. His heart beat rapidly, and his dragon took off in his head, flying around, wings flapping, fire spewing from his mouth.

  “Can I help you?” Mrs. Closh, the bakery owner, asked.

  “I’ll take a couple chocolate brownies please, and a large white loaf.” Mrs. Closh made the best bread he had ever tasted.

  “Here you go.” Mrs. Closh frowned at him. “Are you alright? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “Yes. Why?” He looked puzzled, but he had to admit he felt a little odd. OK, a lot odd. He was sure his mate was close. Closer than she had ever been before. Was it possible she had sensed him at long last and was coming to meet him?

  Mrs. Closh dropped her voice to a hushed whisper. “You have smoke coming out of your nose.” Harlan put his hand to his nose, covering it as he looked around frantically. “Don’t worry, there’s no one else here.”

  Harlan took deep breaths and let them out slowly, until he was sure he had himself, or at least his dragon, firmly under control. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. We have to help each other out, don’t we?” Mrs. Closh gave him a wink.

  Harlan took some cash from his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Closh. “Thanks.” As she fetched his change, he frowned, a sudden thought coming over him. “You didn’t seem to be fazed by the smoke.” Most people, even shifters, would be shocked by a man with smoke coming out of his nose. Dragons were rare. And secretive, after centuries of persecution.

  “Well, you aren’t the first dragon I’ve had in my shop.” She coughed, her face going pink. “Don’t listen to me…”

  “No, please…” Harlan could not hide the desperation from his voice. Another dragon, could that be what he was sensing? He didn’t care if it was his mate or not… OK, that was a lie. He did care. But any dragon was better than no dragon as far as he was concerned. “I haven’t met another dragon for decades.”

  Mrs. Closh looked nervous. “If I tell you and I shouldn’t have… Well, let’s just say Fiona is scary even when you don’t know she’s a dragon.” It was Mrs. Closh’s turn to cover her mouth. “Here. Enjoy your goodies.” She thrust the paper bags with his purchases inside toward him, and turned her back to him, looking busy.

  Fiona. He had a name. “Thank you,” Harlan said sincerely.

  “You didn’t hear anything from me,” Mrs. Closh said, with her back still facing him.

  “Not a word,” Harlan replied, and left the bakery. If the dragon Mrs. Closh mentioned was that scary, she was a woman he wanted to meet. It had been a long time since he had sparred with another dragon, a beast worthy of him.

  His dragon snuck that thought in, and pompous sprung into his mind again, only this time his dragon heard.

  Is it wrong to be proud of our lineage, of our ancestors? his dragon asked, and a puff of smoke blew out of Harlan’s nose again. His dragon was asserting himself, trying to show Harlan they were equals.

  No, but the world has changed, Harlan reminded him. We don’t need attention drawn to us.

  His dragon settled down, sitting on his haunches, blowing smoke rings in Harlan’s mind. Very well, I will contain myself a little longer. But only if you give up this notion of leaving town. We must stay and find this dragon. And if she is our mate, we must claim her.

  Whether she likes it or not? Harlan asked with a smile.

  How can she not like us? his dragon asked, his tone condescending.

  She would not dare, Harlan agreed.

  Exactly. The excitement rolling off his dragon was hard to ignore; it fed into Harlan’s veins, made his blood pump fast, his pulse racing. But he had to keep calm, had to concentrate all of his efforts on tracking this other dragon, either by using his own senses or by questioning the people of Bear Creek.

  At least he had a name to go on. Fiona. And he knew exactly where to start.

  Chapter Three – Fiona

  “Are you OK, Fiona?” Caroline asked.

  “Haven’t we already had that conversation?” Fiona replied as she leaned back against the counter. They were still in Caroline’s kitchen, but that was the only thing that was the same.

  “You look pale,” Teagan said, and grabbed a chair, pulling it out from under the solid wood kitchen table and turning it around for Fiona to sit on.

  “I’m OK,” Fiona insisted. She wasn’t. She knew it, her dragon knew it.

  “Sit.” Teagan pointed at the chair, and her face told Fiona she was not in the mood for arguments. It also told Fiona how bad she must look.

  “Very well. Although I don’t see what all the fuss is about.” Fiona reached out for the back of the chair, using it as a support before sitting down heavily. Her skin was cold and clammy, but inside her blood was boiling.

  “Shall I call a doctor?” Fern asked, coming to stand in front of Fiona, her face filled with concern.

  “A doctor? I haven’t seen one of those for years,” Fiona retorted, but it came out all wrong.

  “You are burning up,” Teagan said, her hand on Fiona’s forehead.

  “Of course I am. I’m a dragon.” Fiona searched inside of herself, trying to figure out what was wrong. Why did she feel like this? Her fingers slipped inside her purse and gripped the ring she had removed. Of course, it had to be the ring. But she didn’t understand. Why would removing the ring make her feel this way?

  Fiona cast her mind back over centuries to a time before the ring. Was this how she felt then? Or were all the years she had lived in hiding rapidly catching up with her? She placed the ring on the tip of her finger; she had to put it back on.

  No, her dragon said sharply.

  I have to, Fiona replied.

  No, you don’t. We don’t need the ring. Of course, her dragon knew what she was contemplating. The wisest thing to do would be to slip the ring back on her finger.

  Can’t you see what is wrong with us? her dragon asked.

  No, Fiona admitted.

  Our mate is here.

  Fiona sat up so suddenly, the three woman who surrounded her jumped back, their faces shocked.

  “Fiona. Fiona, honey, you have to calm down.” Teagan’s voice sounded distant, but Fiona fought to focus on it.

  “I am calm,” Fiona said. Since when had she become such a bare-faced liar?

  “Calm does not usually involve flames,” Caroline told her bluntly.

  “Flames…?”

  “You nearly singed our eyebrows off,” Teagan said, putting herself in front of Fern and her baby bump.

  “Oh.” Fiona put a hand to her face. A hand that was shaking.

  “Oh, crap,” Caroline said, kneeling in front of Fiona.

  “What?” Fern asked, her voice high with fear. “Is she OK? Please let her be OK.”

  “Oh, she’s more than OK, aren’t you, Fiona?” Caroline took hold of Fiona’s hand. “It looks as if my wish came true.”

  “What wish?” Teagan asked.

  “Fiona’s found her mate.” Caroline’s words left the room in silence. Teagan, not usually lost for words, opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, while Fern pulled out one of the other chairs and sat down, her face pale, her hand on her baby bump, rubbing it soothingly.

  “Is that true?” Teagan finally managed to form words.

  “No!” Fiona blustered, but then her confidence collapsed and she added, “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

  Caroline took both of Fiona’s hands in hers. “It’s OK, just breathe.” She looked Fiona straight in the eye and took a deep breath, which she expected Fiona to mimic. However, Fiona ignored her, scared what might come out of her mouth on the exhale. Fire killed.

  “I have it under control,” Fiona assured Caroline.

  “Are you
sure?” Caroline cocked her head at Fiona, weighing, judging, and assessing.

  “Yes,” Fiona confirmed, her voice back to normal as she pulled on her cloak of superiority.

  “OK.” Caroline let Fiona’s hands slip through her fingers, but as she pulled back, the jade ring fell into Fiona’s lap. “Oh, I pulled your ring off.”

  Caroline picked it up, holding it between her finger and thumb. Fiona reacted quickly and snatched it back, curling her palm around it. “Thank you.”

  Caroline squinted at Fiona, her eyes boring into her brain. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Fiona insisted, trying to sound innocent.

  “What’s with the ring, then?” Teagan asked, rounding on Fiona. “Ever since I’ve known you, you have worn that ring. I remember thinking how pretty it was when I was a little girl.”

  “Yes, it’s my favorite piece of jewelry,” Fiona admitted.

  “But you aren’t going to put it back on?” Fern asked.

  “I could,” Fiona said, opening her hand and staring at the ring.

  “But you won’t.” Caroline placed her hand under Fiona’s and curled her hand up, enclosing the ring in Fiona’s palm. “A secret shared…”

  Fiona met Caroline’s eyes and opened her mouth to blow her off with some story. But she couldn’t lie; she was tired of the games, tired of the secrets, but also more afraid than she had ever been. “It’s a ring of invisibility.”

  Caroline’s face set firm. “Have your secrets. I was only trying to help.”

  “No, Fiona means it,” Teagan said. Sweet Teagan, whom she had known for so long, whom she had watched grow from a small abandoned child into the wonderful, confident woman she was today.

  “But we’ve always been able to see her,” Caroline stated.

  “It keeps my dragon hidden,” Fiona admitted.

  “Oh, Fiona.” Teagan rushed to hug her. “You’ve been in hiding? Why?”

  “Because of what I am,” Fiona said.

  “A social worker?” Caroline asked, earning a scowl from Teagan. “Sorry. But being a dragon shifter is no different than being a bear shifter. If the wrong person found out…”

  “Years ago, we were hunted for our treasure, and for our hides. There was a bounty. A big bounty. If we were captured, we lost our lives and our treasure.”

  “You really have treasure?” Fern asked. “That’s an actual thing?”

  “I had treasure, my mother traded a large part of it for this ring.”

  “I can see why your mom would do that.” Teagan nodded in understanding. “That sucks, Fiona. I’m so sorry.”

  “But we know you are a dragon,” Caroline said. “You’ve never hidden it from us.”

  “No… Because I trust you. I trust the people of Bear Creek. It’s why I’ve made it my home. If you can call it a home.” She smiled wryly. “A social worker’s salary does not pay much.”

  “Is that why no one knows where you live?” Caroline asked, shock in her voice.

  Fiona blushed, her defenses down. “You and Carter have such a beautiful big house. And I could have bought it a thousand time over or more with my treasure.” She smiled apologetically. “A dragon can have flaws, can’t she?”

  Caroline snorted. “We all have flaws. I just never put yours down to being pride.”

  “It’s a trait I have never been able to shake off,” Fiona admitted.

  “OK.” Teagan clapped her hands together. “So, this ring makes your dragon invisible. But we’ve seen the smoke…” She waved her hand around her ears as if indicating Fiona was crazy, which she most likely was.

  “Yes.”

  “So in what way does the ring make you invisible?” Teagan asked, her journalist’s head firmly on her shoulders.

  “From other dragons. We can sense each other.” Fiona took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I have not thought about the old days for so long. It’s difficult.”

  “I’ll make some tea,” Fern said, getting up and waddling across the kitchen to the kettle.

  “You are full of surprises, Fiona,” Caroline said in awe. “I never knew such things existed.”

  “It’s surprising what you find when you chip away at the surface of life.” Fiona wasn’t usually so philosophical, but then she hadn’t been herself for centuries.

  “And now you think your mate is here in Bear Creek?” Teagan asked.

  “That was Caroline’s suggestion, not mine,” Fiona insisted.

  “There’s nothing to be scared of,” Caroline told her soothingly.

  Fiona hated being treated with kid gloves, but she appreciated the concern the three women in the kitchen showed. “I’m not scared.”

  “Really?” Teagan asked. “Because I know I was, and I hadn’t been hiding for centuries.”

  “I’m not scared, because I don’t think it’s true. I don’t believe there is a mate out there for me,” Fiona said, her words catching in her throat.

  “There is someone out there for all of us,” Fern said, placing a cup of tea on the table, next to Fiona. “And we are going to do whatever it takes to help you find him. Even though, as the only nonshifter in the room, I have no idea what that is.”

  Teagan shrugged. “There isn’t too much we can do. Not unless we have a clue. Only Fiona can feel the presence of her mate.”

  “Will he be a dragon?” Fern asked. “Because if he is, that sure would narrow it down some.”

  Three faces turned to look at Fiona. “I have no idea. But goodness, if fate has chosen to match me up to a rabbit, or a dog, I am seriously going to have something to say about it.”

  Teagan nearly sprayed her tea across the room. “Only you would decide to take fate on, Fiona.”

  Fiona snorted. “I think fate has led me on a merry dance for enough years. I am entitled to some kind of payback if it jerks my chain in the mate department.”

  “Oh, Fiona, I don’t think even fate could jerk your chain,” Caroline said.

  “Then what do we do?” Fern asked.

  “We finish our tea, and then we go and get in the car, and drive Fiona around Bear Creek until we figure out who it is,” Caroline replied matter-of-factly.

  “I don’t need babysitting,” Fiona told Caroline.

  “Who said anything about babysitting? I’m just curious as to what kind of man is going to tame you, Fiona.” Caroline smothered a smile.

  “He is going to have to be quite a man,” Teagan agreed, her face serious.

  Fiona huffed, grateful that no smoke came from her nostrils this time. “I am glad I am able to offer you girls some amusement.”

  “We care, Fiona. Probably more than you realize,” Teagan said. She drained her cup. “OK, I’m ready.”

  The others quickly drank their tea, and after grabbing her purse and keys, Caroline led them out to her SUV. With Fiona in the front beside Caroline, and Teagan and Fern in the back seats, they left the big house behind.

  “I feel like a child,” Fiona stated as they exited the gates at the end of the long driveway and joined the road into town.

  “We all need looking after sometimes,” Teagan said. “Tell us how you feel.”

  “How I feel…” Fiona was about to make a sharp retort but reminded herself that they were doing this for her. And to be nosey. All things she could understand. “I feel… I can sense something.”

  “If you say indigestion, I will stop the car and make you get out,” Caroline warned her.

  “Take a left,” Fiona instructed.

  “A left, into town?” Caroline asked, her voice rising in excitement.

  “Yes. It’s getting stronger.”

  “Are you joking?” Caroline asked, but the look Fiona cast her way told Caroline Fiona was deadly serious. “OK, then.”

  Caroline drove within the speed limit, but Fiona could tell the other three women in the car were dying to know if she really was leading them to her mate. Was she? Her dragon was on edge, flapping around in her head like a demented bird. So if she had to ha
zard a guess, she would say, yes.

  “Right up here.” Fiona closed her eyes, trying to center in on the sensations flooding her mind and body. It was as if someone had hooked her on a line and was now reeling her in.

  Fiona’s heart began to beat rapidly, and she had a terrible thought. “What if it’s a trap?”

  “A what?” Caroline asked, sending her a sidelong glance.

  “A trap. For a dragon. You know, a lure of some kind.” Fiona was deadly serious; she had seen enough dragons lured to their doom to know such a thing existed.

  “Then we will call Sheriff Brad, and I will kick the butt of anyone who tries to hurt you.” Caroline was not a woman to be argued with.

  “Maybe we should call in reinforcements,” Teagan suggested. “We’re close to the newspaper office. Theo and Nevis will be there.”

  “Yes, we could grab Theo and get him to come with us.”

  “Do we really need a man to protect us?” Caroline asked hotly.

  “Yes, since we have Fern with us. If anything happened to the baby…”

  “OK.” Caroline steered the SUV toward the newspaper office. At the same time, Fiona felt a jerk of recognition.

  “He’s here,” Fiona said in a strangled voice.

  “Who is here?” Caroline asked.

  “My mate.”

  Caroline pulled into the parking lot of the newspaper offices, and they all got out. After a moment’s hesitation, they walked as one unit toward the office. As they approached, the door swung open and there stood a man, his hair tinged with silver, his eyes burning bright green, masking their normal pale blue.

  “I guess we found him,” Teagan said in a small voice. “He looks like George Clooney.”

  “I guess we have,” Fiona agreed, not really knowing who George Clooney was, but unable to keep the awe from her voice. Her mate was a dragon shifter. After all these lonely years, she had met one of her own kind. It was all she could do not to swoon.

  But Fiona had never been the swooning type, and she was not about to begin now, not for a man.