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“What? Why?”
“Ryan told Alexis that Jamie was a bear shifter. Hunters were coming after her. She had to go.”
Luke smacked his forehead and growled.
“Oh, my lord. I can’t believe this,” he said.
Luke headed back home and sat on his back porch nursing a beer, trying to figure out what to do. He loved Jamie, but could he leave the human world and everything that he had ever known to go to the shifter world? Once there, he could never return to the human world.
A couple of hours later, Josh pounded on his front door and then came in before Luke could answer.
“You have to go,” Josh said.
“The hunters had a trail cam in the area where you shifted and saved Jamie. They know that you are a dragon shifter. Your parents have been warned. They are heading north to Montana to be with the clan. You have to get out of here, too. Hunters are on their way.”
“I’ll fry them,” Luke growled.
“You can’t kill them all. They will just keep coming in droves, putting everyone in danger.”
Luke wanted to fight, but he saw the wisdom in Josh’s words.
He grabbed his to go bag, hugged Josh, and shifted into his dragon form in his backyard. For a brief second, he thought about joining his parents in Montana. However, his heart was in the shifter world.
27
Jamie
As Jamie ran up the side of the mountain, a million thoughts ran through her mind. She had no idea what the shifter world would be like. She had money in the human world, but she didn’t think that the shifter world would have a branch of her bank.
She worried about Clara and Zeke. Jamie knew that Dillon would let Clara know what happened, but she was pregnant and would need help at the café. Zeke wouldn’t understand. Jamie was sad that she was leaving her parents behind, although she knew deep in her heart that they had already moved on to whatever realm came after death.
Jamie hoped that Luke would understand. She liked to think that even though their last parting had been awkward, they could have worked something out.
Mostly, though, she just hoped that she could make it up the side of the mountain to the portal. The snow was deep and she hadn’t been out in bear form often lately. Her sides were starting to hurt and she had a hard time breathing. It would be ironic if she passed out or died while on the run from those who wanted to kill her.
Finally, though, she could see the shimmer in the air. The sun was just starting to come up and faint lights were streaking through the trees. There were no sounds of anyone following her.
A large moose stepped out of the trees as she approached the portal.
“State your business.”
“My name is Jamie. The hunters found out that I’m a shifter and they are after me. I don’t think they followed me up here. I need to move to the shifter world.”
The moose stepped aside and let her through. Much to her surprise, the landscape on the other side of the portal looked pretty much the same as it did in the human world.
There was a large building off to one side, and Jamie decided that was probably the welcoming center.
After explaining herself for what seemed like another hundred times or so to different people, she was given a small apartment and an allowance to tide her over until she found a job. There were a lot of places looking for someone with a business background, so Jamie was certain that she would find something soon.
It didn’t take her long to get settled in. She had enough money to furnish her apartment, buy clothes, and stock the kitchen. Jamie had interviewed for a few jobs and was certain that there would be an offer on the table soon.
Her heart ached. She missed Luke. Images of his face filled her mind each night before she went to sleep. Replays of conversations went through her head. She smiled as she closed her eyes and could almost feel his touch caressing her.
Jamie looked out the window and sat back down on the couch. She stood up and walked around her apartment a few times. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and stepped outside into the brisk morning air.
There were a bunch of small shops in the downtown area and she roamed through each one. Her favorite was the shop that sold homemade fudge and other goodies. As the bright lights twinkled, Jamie was reminded that she would be missing Christmas with her friends – and with Luke.
“It’s better off this way,” she told herself. “There is no way that we could be together in Ivy Springs, even if he did decide that he wanted to continue the relationship. There were just too many people who interfered with our relationship.”
