Page 64 of The World She Never Knew Existed

“Listen, I need time to just get out and breathe. Would you mind holding down the fort for the rest of the day?”

“Of course not. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go to Pike’s Peak or Phantom Canyon, so that I can shift and run in relative peace. It’s a lot safer up there.”

“Okay but be careful. Just because it is outside of Ivy Springs doesn’t mean that there aren’t some crazed shifter or wolf hunters running around in the forest.”

“I will,” Dillon said.

The drive to Phantom Canyon took about an hour. Dillon could physically feel the tension leaving his body the further away from Ivy Springs that he got. His muscles loosened. He realized that he had been gritting his teeth before he left. His jaw was sore. Dillon realized that he had been under so much stress since he left the shifter world and entered the human world.

“There is a solution to that,” he reminded himself.

If the stress got to be too much to handle, Dillon could always turn the store over to Ethan and go back to the shifter world. The dragon king would understand and welcome him back.

One problem with that was that Dillon didn’t like feeling like a failure. He knew that if he left Ivy Springs and went back to the shifter world that he would feel as though he was running away from the problem. He had been sent to help keep an eye on the situation and to help maintain peace as much as he possibly could.

The other problem with that was Clara and Zeke. Humans weren’t permitted to enter the shifter world just because. Noah had been allowed to take April to the shifter world because she had fought the hunters alongside of the shifters and her life would be in as much danger as Noah’s was.

The dragon king would make an exception about allowing Clara and Zeke into the shifter world if the two of them were married or if Clara was expecting his child.

Dillon didn’t have a clue as to whether Clara would want to leave the human world behind and go to the shifter world. She would have to be willing to leave her life, her café, her friends, and her family behind and never see them again, because once she stepped foot into the shifter world, she would never be permitted to leave.

It also meant that Zeke would never be allowed to see his father again.

“That might not necessarily be a bad thing, considering the fact that John was a pretty terrible excuse for a human being who only seemed to want Zeke as a way to get to Clara,” Dillon said. “Although John is still his father and Zeke might miss him.”

Dillon had finally reached his destination. He found a little alcove where he could pull over. He walked several yards into the wooded area and made sure that there was no one around before he undressed, stashed his clothes, and shifted.

The air was crisp and clean. There was no sense of fear or dread as he ran. Dillon purposely cleared his mind of any thoughts. He pushed Clara, Zeke, Ivy Springs, and all the stress out of his mind and focused on his senses. The scent of the trees wafted through the air. The birds were singing and the insects were carrying on. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees.

He came to a small clearing next to a stream and took a long drink. The water was pure. The sun warmed his fur and Dillon was almost tempted to lay down and take a nap.

Finally, Dillon decided that he needed to head back. He took his time, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the mountain. Reluctantly, he shifted, dressed, and headed back to his truck.

As he drove back toward Ivy Springs, he felt the heaviness and darkness descend upon him once again, like a heavy veil.

“It is almost as though the entire place is cursed,” he muttered to himself. “I guess, in a way, it really is.”

Ethan was waiting with bad news.

“There are a couple of shifters who have gone missing,” Ethan said.

“Who?” Dillon asked, instantly alarmed.

“Their names are Carol and Travis Yates. They are from out of town. They texted their parents that they had arrived here and that they were going to go out on the mountain. The couple hasn’t been heard from.”

“How long ago was that?”

“They went for their hike yesterday,” Ethan reported.

“Why are we just hearing about it now?” Dillon asked.

“The parents called the authorities who wrote up the missing person report but sat on it. The parents called again and this time some of the game wardens went looking along the trails and near the waterfall. The official word is that they got lost,” Ethan said. “There appears to be a half-hearted search and rescue effort going on.”

“Something seems fishy to me,” Dillon said. “I don’t think that a couple of shifters would just go missing or get lost.”

“Their parents didn’t either. They contacted someone they knew who got ahold of Jesse. Jesse came here, looking for you,” Ethan said.

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