Page 9 of Fastlander Fallen

And that was it. The interview was over. He’d pissed off the Alpha of the Fastlanders, he had overstepped his boundaries, and that was all right. He had tried, at least. He had shown up.

Deathbed promise met.

He stood and nodded respectfully to Gunner, and then to Hallie.

“Ace,” Hallie said when he was almost to the door.

“Yes?” he asked, turning.

“I saw you talking to Corey. You made her throw away a bagel.”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Because to shifters like me, a gift is a declaration of intention, and that woman doesn’t know me, nor would she enjoy being tethered to me. I set her free for her own good.”

Hallie’s lips had been pressed into a thin line while he’d been answering, but at his answer, the corners of her lips turned up slightly. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

“Thank you for your consideration,” he murmured, and then left the house.

“How did it go?” Corey asked as he passed by her on the porch.

“Not good,” he answered honestly. “You have a good day, human.”

“You too, shifter,” she said so softly, he almost missed it.

Ace jogged down the stairs and began winding through the crowd without looking back. Why? Because there was this churning feeling inside of him that said he was at risk of Changing.

Gunner was a big monster, and could drag a dominant animal out with just a look. He didn’t know if he could manage that turmoil long-term, but he was pretty sure he was safe from that risk because he’d felt Gunner’s dislike for him. He had dozens of other applicants.

He didn’t need the bastard-child heir of some Pride everyone hated as a member of his Crew.

Gunner needed submissive shifters who could keep him balanced and regulated.

Ace didn’t belong here.

Another shifter shoulder-checked him as he was walking by, and Ace clocked him across the jaw before he realized who it was.

Captain Walker lurched up in a blur and charged, his eyes bright-silver and empty.

Shhhhit. Ace backed out of the way of the first punch and socked him in the gut, then did a quick combination on his jaw, but Captain tagged him right across his face and rocked him back.

Fucking bear shifters had mallets for fists.

He ducked under Captain’s next punch and bent down, threw his shoulder into his stomach, and shoved him backward. He had to take Captain’s reach from him.

A snarl rippled out of him.

“No!” he belted out to his animal. He had this.

He went to the ground with Captain and fell into the roll, wrapped his legs around Captain’s torso, and pulled his massive arm up at the wrong angle. “I’ll snap it, pull off the fight.”

Captain struggled, but Ace had the arm-bar deep.

“Stop!” Ace barked. “If you Change I will fucking Change, and we won’t be friends at work anymore. Pull off the fight.”

“Fuck you, break it,” Captain snarled in words that couldn’t pass for human.

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