Page 59 of Dragon Charmed

He studied himself in the foggy bathroom mirror for a long time before getting dressed in his jeans and flannel shirt. He needed to wash the few clothes he had. Would they let him do that, or would someone else do it for him? Having people cooking and cleaning was a strange idea to wrap his head around. Of course it was way down on the strange meter compared to the other things he had learned so far.

Now that he was home, surrounded by family, shouldn’t he remember something? Feel something?

He headed downstairs, not sure who or what he was looking for. Hell, he needed a map to find his way around the place. He walked toward the rear of the house and found the door leading to the back deck. He saw Tessa, Eric, and Sienna outside, and they appeared to be having a serious discussion. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

They stopped talking when they caught sight of him.

Sienna took a step toward him and then stopped as if afraid to get too close. “How are you feeling, Ad…Ben?”

“Better. It’s amazing what a little food, sleep, and a shower can do for you.” He looked at Tessa and she smiled.

“I see Tessa let you know that I want to be called Ben for now.” He tried to read their expressions. “I hope that’s okay with you? I don’t want to upset anyone.”

Eric nodded. “It’s fine. But don’t be surprised if we slip up and use the wrong name.”

The door opened and a woman carrying a baby came outside. He recognized them from the pictures in Tessa’s apartment. Eric wrapped his arm around her and kissed the baby on the head.

“Ben, this is my wife, Megan, and our daughter, Arabella.”

Megan smiled up at him. “I’ve heard so much about you from Eric and Sienna. I’m so happy you’re home safe.”

“Thank you.” He smiled at Bella. “Your Aunt Tessa told me how special you are.”

“Bah!” Bella said before clapping.

They all chuckled.

“Are you clapping at being called special?” Megan said, which got Bella giggling.

He blinked. He hadn’t just lost his memories. He’d lost time with his family and being a part of Bella’s life. Ben must have spaced out for a moment since everyone was staring at him. “Sorry. It’s a lot to take in.”

“We understand,” Eric said. “We’re here for you. But we can back off if you need us to.”

Ben shook his head. “No. It’s okay. I’m just trying to reconcile who I am with who you are telling me I am, if that makes sense?”

“Yes,” Tessa said, and he locked on to her for a moment to calm his nerves.

“Do you think it would help if you tell us where you’ve been the last fifteen months?” Sienna asked.

Ben nodded and launched into the story of stumbling through the woods and Walter saving him, leading to his decision to figure out who he was. His only clues being the duffel bag full of money and the paper he found with John’s and Mia’s names.

They listened with wide eyes and didn’t interrupt him, which he appreciated. “Do you know why I lost my memory? Do you think it’s due to the attack in the cave?”

Eric frowned. “You lost your memory from a memory spell.”

Ben wondered when his head was going to explode. “I remember you started to tell me about a witch and some sort of spell in the car on the way here, but honestly at that point I shut down.”

Eric’s expression softened. “Understandable. We didn’t know that witches existed until recently ourselves. When I was attacked by one, you flew in front of me and took the brunt of the spell. I had some residual effects from it and lost some memories, but I still remembered who I was.”

“And that you were a dragon,” Ben said.

Eric flinched. “Yes. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you.”

“I thought I was some sort of monster. Afraid I would hurt Lily or someone else. Wait…you said I flew in front of you?” He swallowed. “So I have wings.”

Eric smiled. “You do.”

“Do you know how I ended up in the cave if I was hit by the spell?”