Page 18 of Dragon's Rejected Mate

Luke sucked in a huge breath of air and wished that he hadn’t said anything to his father, because he knew exactly how the old man would react.

“Alexis has decided that she has a thing for me.”

His father stared at him in disbelief.

“Damn. That’s unfortunate.”

Luke was a little surprised that was his only reaction. He figured that his father would go off about how much danger he was putting the family in and that he had better figure out a way to fix the problem.

Carl didn’t say much for the rest of the night, for which Luke was grateful. He just didn’t have the energy to deal with his father’s attitude.

Luke was tense the rest of the afternoon, because he half expected Alexis to come in and trap him into a conversation. He was relieved when it was time to go.

Josh introduced Dillon and Ethan, as well as a few other guys to Luke. They had enough people to play a five on five basketball game. Luke was pretty proud of himself. It had been years since he had picked up a game, but he made several baskets and did a decent job at defense.

After the game, Dillon looked at his watch and said, “I need to head out. Clara and Zeke will be waiting for me.”

He gave Josh a meaningful glance and a nod before taking off. The rest of the crew followed.

Josh went into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of Gatorades.

“Let’s sit in the back room for a few minutes.”

Luke followed Josh to a small room with a tiny table and a couple of uncomfortable chairs.

“Are we about to break up or something?” Luke joked.

“I didn’t know we had a thing.” Josh laughed. “Seriously, though, the basketball game was more than just hanging out. I wanted you to meet the crew, especially Dillon and Ethan. They trust me and I trust you, so they gave me the greenlight to talk to you.”

“Okay,” Luke said, thoroughly confused.

“All of them are shifters. Dillon is the head of a group, sanctioned by the dragon king, who tries to keep the shifters in the area safe, which, as you know, is difficult. I told you about Noah and April, who were cornered by the shifters and were almost killed. There have been several other shifters who were either killed or just went missing before and after that attack.”

Luke shook his head, wondering again whether he had made a huge mistake coming back to Ivy Springs.

“Dillon and Ethan and the rest of the group make an effort to check on all of the shifters in the area to make sure that they are okay. They also keep reminding all the shifters in the area to go out of town when they need to exercise. The group also patrols the mountains, watching the movement of the hunters and trying to track stray shifters, like tourists, who sometimes wander onto the mountain without knowing the danger,” Josh explained.

“It sounds like they spend a lot of time spinning their wheels,” Luke said.

“They feel that way. They were wondering if you would like to join the group and spin your wheels along with them. As a dragon, you can fly over the forest and keep a close eye on what is going on, while covering more territory than a wolf, bear, panther, or any of the rest of us could do,” Josh said drawing in a huge breath. “Of course, on the flip side of that, there is a lot more danger to you. A bear or wolf and most of the other animals could be explained if they are seen in the woods. A dragon, not so much.”

“A panther in the woods is just as odd as a dragon in the woods,” Luke said, raising his eyebrows at Josh.

“True, but it is a lot easier for me to hide in the brush and shadows.”

“If I was caught by hunters, I would just roast them, literally.”

Josh laughed and said, “I envy that particular talent.”

“If I join the group, would I be able to meet the dragon king?”

“Only Dillon is allowed to go into the shifter world and come back out again. You know the rules – once you cross over, you are there for good. No going back and forth.”

“Bummer. I would like to meet him.”

“What do you think? Do you want some time to ponder on it?”

“Nah, I’m in. A little danger is just what I need in my life.”

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