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“So, what about you?” Ethan asked.
“To be honest, Clara has me thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts. I’m not ready to say that I love her, but I do have strong feelings for her, and I think that her son is tops,” Dillon replied.
“Will I be getting an invitation to a wedding any time soon?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t think so.” Dillon laughed. “Although, I will tell you that hanging out with her and Zeke has made me think that I might like to have a family of my own someday.”
“Not me,” Ethan said. “The idea of being tied down to one woman and kids is terrifying. I like being able to live my life without having to ask permission.”
“There is something to be said for that,” Dillon said.
They talked for a little while longer and then Ethan yawned.
“I’m heading for bed. It’s been a long day,” Ethan said.
Dillon laid in bed, awake for a while, unable to fall asleep. He was thinking about Clara and Zeke. Before their relationship went any further, he needed to find a way to tell her the truth about his identity. She had to know that associating with him could be dangerous. If the Faisons ever found out that he was a shifter, she and Zeke would be in danger, even though they were mundane humans. Clara had a right to make that choice for her and her son. How to tell her was the problem.
Raf dropped by the next morning.
“I was out taking care of some business and decided to stop by,” Raf said.
He looked at Ethan and said, “I heard that you have a visitor,” Raf said.
“My best friend decided that he wanted to see the beauty of our fair city for himself,” Dillon said. “Plus, I think that he missed me.”
“Welcome to Ivy Springs,” Raf said, holding out his hand to shake.
Ethan shook his hand briefly and then dropped it as though the hand was poisonous. Dillon didn’t think that Raf noticed.
“You guys should come up and have some drinks at the resort,” Raf said. “First round is on me.”
“We’ll have to do that sometime,” Dillon said.
Raf’s watch beeped.
He looked at it and said, “Damn, I have a meeting that I completely forgot about. I’ll see you later.”
After he left, Ethan looked at Dillon and asked, “What was that all about?”
“Raf is the eldest of the Faisons and is in charge of the hunters. He has eyes and ears all over this town,” Dillon said.
“I’m surprised that he didn’t ask me point blank whether I was a shifter or ask me for an agenda.” Ethan laughed. “That way, he would know how long I was staying and what exactly I would be doing while I was here.”
“Don’t talk too loudly. Someone might overhear and give him the idea,” Dillon said.
Over the next couple of days Ethan managed to talk to several of the shifter families in the area. Most of the shifters were worried. Ethan encouraged them to stay calm and lay low. He told them that they should avoid shifting in the area. If they wanted to shift then they should go out of town where it was relatively safer.
“How are your conversations going?” Dillon asked.
“They’re going,” Ethan said. “I let them all know that the shifter world is open to them, but once they cross, they can’t come back.”
“What is their response to that?”
“Although they feel that it is dangerous in Ivy Springs, they don’t want to go to the shifter world. They have their whole lives built here. Plus, they have their pride. They aren’t going to let the Faisons run them out of their homes,” Ethan said.
“As long as they don’t shift here, they should be fine,” Dillon said. “Unless, of course, the hunters happen to catch a shifter who starts naming names. Then, everyone is in danger.”
“Most shifters won’t,” Ethan said. “They’ll protect each other no matter what.”
