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If he had known that all of this drama was going on, he might have made a different decision about staying with his unit. He liked being able to go out into the woods and shifting without having to be afraid that there would be a hunter lurking behind every tree. Luke usually went deep into the woods to shift anyway, because a dragon wasn’t the usual forest animal that could easily be explained away. However, if what his father said was true, not even the deep forest would be safe.
“So, what do the shifters in the area do? Shifters have to shift every once in a while.”
“Usually, they take the drive to Pike’s Peak, Phantom Canyon, or one of the other heavily wooded areas to shift.”
“Shifters here are so afraid of the hunters that they will drive an hour just to shift, get their exercise, and then drive an hour back home?” Luke asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
Luke sat in shock. There had always been tension between the Faisons and the shifters, but it hadn’t been an out and out war like it seemed to be now.
“It’s bad enough that a lot of the older shifters have left. Greta and Frank sold the café and their house and moved to Florida. Some of the other older folks have decided to either move to another place in the country or just go the shifter world. They feel like they are too old to fight.”
Luke looked at his aging father.
As though Carl could read his son’s mind, he said, “I’m not going to be forced out of my home. I’m a dragon shifter, and we are the top of the food chain. I will not be intimidated by mundane humans, whether they think that they are big bad ass hunters or not.”
His father crossed his arms over his chest and raised his head high. There was nothing humble about Carl Abrams’ character.
The doorbell peeled, letting them know that someone had just come into the store. It was an old friend of the family who had heard that Luke was back for good.
“I’m so glad to see you, Luke. Your dad will be glad to have you around. It’s all he ever talks about,” Jasper, an aging wolf shifter, said.
“It’s good to be back,” Luke said.
It seemed that Luke’s return had gotten out to everyone in town and people flocked to the hardware store to say hello. Luke was pretty sure that his arm was going to fall off after he spent the day shaking everyone’s hand.
The store was just about to close when his best friend Josh, a panther shifter, came into the store.
“I was thinking that you might could use a couple of drinks,” Josh said.
“You were thinking right, my friend. Let me finish closing up with dad. I’ll meet you at that club that’s downtown.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.”
Josh was there waiting with a beer for Luke.
“How does it feel to be back?”
“Crazy. Dad told me about all of the drama that has been going on in Ivy Springs since I’ve been gone. I’ve got half a mind to call up my old commanding officer and tell him that I want back in.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. There are a lot of terrified people here. The hunters have managed to get a couple of the shifters to talk. One of them even named a couple of names not too long ago. The rumor is that the Faisons are torturing them.”
“That’s barbaric. Something needs to be done about them.”
“I agree,” Josh said, taking a long swallow. “The question is what. Even if someone killed the Faisons all at once, the trouble would increase. It would just prove to the rest of the world how dangerous shifters are and the fear, hatred, and subsequent war would spread everywhere.”
Luke acknowledged that Josh was right. Violence wasn’t going to solve the problem.
“Speak of the devil,” Josh said.
Turning his head toward the door, Luke saw Alexis Faison saunter into the club. Outwardly, she was a stunningly beautiful woman with the perfect figure. However, her incredible outside hid the evil that lurked inside.
“What is she doing here? She has her own place that she reigns supreme over.”
“Maybe she feels like slumming it tonight,” Luke said.
She paused at the entrance as though she was waiting for all of the loyal subjects to bow down to her. However, most of the people in Ivy Springs didn’t care one way or another if she was a billionaire who was partial owner of the Forest Resort. The arrogance she carried about her like a sticky aura and the condescending way she treated other people made them dislike her.
