Page 65 of The World She Never Knew Existed

Dillon picked up the phone and called Jesse.

“We have some of our own people out there looking for the couple,” Jesse said. “Some are in shifter form and some are in human form. So far, no one has found any trace of them, although their clothes have been found.”

“That’s not a good sign,” Dillon said. “Are people looking for signs of an attack as opposed to a missing couple of naked hikers?”

“I’m afraid that they are,” Jesse said. “I’m going to guess that no one is going to find anything. The hunters are very good at covering their tracks.”

“I know,” Dillon said. “Let me know if you find anything.”

Jesse called back an hour later.

“It doesn’t look good. One of the searchers found some blood splattered on a rock and a single shell casing on the ground,” Jesse said. “If they are alive, I doubt that they will be much longer.”

Dillon called Brent.

“If the hunters here know anything, they aren’t talking,” Brent said. “No one has bragged about finding, hunting, killing, or torturing shifters.”

“Maybe they are getting wise to the fact that there are some people among them who don’t agree with their tactics,” Dillon said. “Be very careful.”

“I will,” Brent said.

At twilight, Dillon drove to the base of the mountain and hiked his way to a secluded spot in the woods. He looked around and sniffed the air to make sure that he was alone before he shifted and started running.

Chloe was at the gate. She didn’t even bother to shift. She merely waved her rattles at him.

Dillon reported the situation about the missing hikers and the missing mercenary to Draco.

“What do you think happened to the mercenary?” Draco asked.

“I honestly think that he left town, although I don’t know why he would. The only thing that I can think of is that one of the shifters found out what he did and took him out,” Dillon said. “Daniel swears that neither he nor Bernie had anything to do with it.”

“Do you believe them?”

“I do,” Dillon said.

“Things are heating up in Ivy Springs,” Draco said. “You need to be careful.”

“I’m doing my best,” Dillon said. “Although I did reveal my identity to a mundane human woman and her son.”

“Why?”

Dillon explained how Zeke fell into the river and he shifted to save the little boy’s life.

“I trust them both to keep quiet,” Dillon said.

“I’m sure that neither of them would intentionally tell anyone,” Draco said. “But little people have a tendency to let things slip.”

“If there is any hint that someone knows my identity, I’ll come back home,” Dillon said.

“Good,” Draco said.

Dismissed, Dillon headed back to Ivy Springs.

The next morning, Dillon asked Clara if she would like to have a picnic lunch with just the two of them.

“I would love to, but I have to leave Ivy Springs around two so that I can pick up Zeke.”

“I think that we can make that happen,” Dillon said. “I’ve already got the sandwiches packed.”

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