Page 69 of Dragon's Rejected Mate

Brent was a shifter who worked as a bartender at the Forest Resort. The Faisons acted like he was invisible and talked freely around him.

“They think that a shifter is responsible. Jerry thinks that the shifters are getting tired of having to be on guard all the time and had suggested that they back off, at least for a while.”

“I’m guessing that the others found his comment to be laughable,” Jesse said, dryly.

“They did. Jerry said that he was tired of it all and left the table,” Brent reported. “Raf asked if Jerry was getting soft. Xavier said that he wasn’t getting soft, but thought that the whole war was getting out of hand. It was over something that happened a long time ago, and Jerry thinks that his time and efforts could be focused on something more productive. There was no point to it. Raf stared Xavier down and asked if that was how he felt. Xavier just shrugged but didn’t say anything.”

“I bet that went over well,” Dillon said.

“Raf was pretty pissed,” Brent said.

“It’s interesting that there is trouble in the ranks. My guess is that Alexis doesn’t care about anything but spending money and chasing Luke,” Ethan said. “That leaves Raf as the biggest problem.”

“It doesn’t really matter if it is one or all of them, the war will still be ongoing. And if it came down to it and their hands were forced, both Jerry and Xavier would stand with their brother,” Daniel said.

“This whole issue is tiring,” Luke said. “They are picking off shifters one or two at a time on the mountain, but they aren’t even getting the shifters they are after, because all of the local shifters go out of town. It’s pointless.”

“I wish the Faisons would realize that,” Dillon said. “Then, we could all relax.”

“Maybe one of them already has. It’s a start,” Jesse said, optimistically.

Josh and Luke headed out for the bar to play some pool once the meeting ended. Luke told Josh the latest about Alexis and his visit from Ryan.

“Sucks to be you,” Josh said. “I wonder what it is about you that makes Alexis want you so badly.”

“I don’t know. If I did, I would fix it. Maybe I should get a bowl haircut, thick glasses and start wearing my pants up to my belly button.”

“I want to see you do that,” Josh said. “Please.”

Luke playfully swatted Josh.

“So, Jamie’s old fiancé actually had the nerve to ask you to step aside,” Josh said. “That must have been amusing.”

“The guy was pathetic. I almost felt sorry for him.”

“Poor Jamie has been having a rough time lately. First, a couple of yahoos try to kill her and now she is being haunted by her past,” Josh said.

“She seems to be holding up okay. She is more embarrassed about the situation than anything.”

“I imagine so,” Josh replied. “How are things going between you guys?”

Luke smiled and said, “They are going great. Last night we hung out watchingForensic Files.”

“Sounds very domesticated,” Josh teased. “Are you thinking about making the relationship more permanent?”

“Hold your horses, there, brother. I wouldn’t go that far. I really like her a lot, but we’ve only been seeing each other a couple of weeks. I’m still getting adjusted to civilian life. Becoming domesticated, as you call it, with a wife and kids is far in the distance.”

“No need to rush things,” Josh said. “You’ll know when you are ready.”

“That’s my thought,” Luke said. “When are you going to find yourself a woman?”

“I know all the women who are permanent residents of Ivy Springs. Some of them are pretty, some of them are smart, and some of them are both, but none of them are for me. There’s no spark.”

“You could use one of those dating apps,” Luke suggested.

“I don’t think so. I’ve heard stories about catfishing and other kinds of things that happens. Plus, it’s just too much effort. When the time is right, the Fates will plop the perfect woman down right in front of me with a sign that says, ‘here she is.’”

“You think that it’s really going to work that way?” Luke laughed.

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