Dillon listened intently as Luke explained the situation he had encountered the day before and what had ensued.
“You are sure that their bodies won’t be found? Hunters attacked by a bear or wolf could be explained, but bodies that look like they spent too long in a deep fryer is another story.”
“They won’t be found. I dropped them down a very deep hole in the back of a huge cave near the top of the mountain. I don’t see anyone ever spelunking that far. By the time anyone did, they would simply be skeletal remains.”
Dillon nodded and said, “I’m sorry that you had to do that, but I understand why you did. I would have done the same thing. I guess I’ll take a trip to see the dragon king and give him an update. He likes to keep apprised of everything significant that happens around here.”
“Please assure him that I had no other option,” Luke said.
“He’ll understand. You aren’t the first shifter who has had to deal with the hunters and their unfortunate consequences,” Dillon replied.
“I just hope that it isn’t going to escalate the situation here.”
Dillon sighed heavily.
“To be honest, I’m not sure how it could be escalated. If they are out there willing to kill someone because the hunters assume the person is a shifter, it’s bad.”
Luke nodded in agreement.
“How is Jamie?” Dillon asked.
“She says that she is okay. She knows that what happened wasn’t her fault and that what I did was necessary for our safety.”
“Good. I’m sure that she’ll talk to Clara about it,” Dillon said.
Luke figured that he did all that he could do about the situation and hoped that the dragon king would understand. He didn’t live in the shifter world, but he still didn’t want the man angry with him.
As he got closer to his father’s store, he had a sudden urge to drive away. However, he had left early yesterday, so he needed to make an appearance.
About an hour after he arrived, the doorbell jingled and Alexis walked in.
Doesn’t that woman ever give up?
She smiled and said, “Look, I know that you said you were dating someone else. But there is just something about you that gets to me. I don’t know what it is or how to explain it. It isn’t anything that I have ever felt before. I know that if you just hang out with me for a while and get to know me, you will feel it, too.”
“Alexis, I am sure that you are a wonderful woman. However, I’m just not interested in pursuing a relationship with you. I’m sorry. I know that there is an incredible man out there who is going to make you the happiest woman in the world. Unfortunately, it can’t be me.”
Her face turned red and she looked at Luke for a minute with an unidentifiable look in her eyes.
“You are being blinded by Jamie. She is keeping us apart,” Alexis said.
“I’ve been trying to be nice, but it has nothing to do with Jamie. I’m just not attracted to you. You are not the woman for me,” Luke said.
She pressed her lips together and left. He hoped that she wasn’t going to try to cause trouble for Jamie because of him.
21
Jamie
Jamie looked at the clock impatiently.
Where was Clara? She should have been here by now.
Then Jamie remembered that Zeke had a program at school and Clara was going to be late.
A jumble of emotions coursed through Jamie’s mind and she wasn’t sure she even knew which side was up. She had feelings for Luke. She knew that she loved him, but didn’t want to scare him away by telling him so. Then, there were the events from the day before. She had told Luke that she was okay with everything, and she was, but she was still shaken up. Jamie also hadn’t told Luke the entire truth. She hadn’t lied to him, but she didn’t mention that the reason they were planning on killing her whether she was a shifter or not was because of Alexis.
“How do you tell someone something like that?” she muttered to herself. “They really wanted to kill me because Alexis wants you. They thought that they would be rewarded if something happened to me, leaving you free to date her.”