Page 39 of Fastlander Fallen

“Maybe, maybe not. Shifter one-oh-one, you don’t ask about animals. You let a shifter tell you when they’re ready.”

“And if they’re never ready?”

“Then you still don’t ask.” He tilted his head toward the Smoke door. “Ace ain’t gonna tell you. I don’t even know if the blue dragon knows what he is. There is speculation, but no one knows for sure. Other than his dad, who died a few months back.”

“So you’re part of Gunner’s logging crew. Is that why you applied for the Fastlanders?”

“Honestly? I would’ve applied to any Crew in Damon’s Mountains. The blue dragon hasn’t expanded territory in my lifetime. Rumor has it his dragon is needing more. Needing bigger, but no one can figure out why. The Fastlanders have been in the works for a while. I heard the daughter of Beaston is a seer, and she’s been in talks with Damon about the next Alpha. Apparently Gunner is it. He has the full support of the blue dragon, so why wouldn’t I want to join?”

The bartender set their drinks in front of them, and Owen slid his card to her and said to keep a tab open.

Corey was deep in thought. Owen might be a prick, but he was open with information, not a closed vault like Ace was. “What’s the benefit?” she asked.

He took a swig of his beer. “Benefit of what? Being in a Crew?”

She nodded.

“It’s complicated. Part of it is a sense of security. Of safety. But then, every member’s beef with the outside world becomes the beef of the Crew. I’ve got a past. Probably everyone sitting out there by that firepit does. If that past ever comes back to haunt us? They will have the entirety of the Fastlanders crammed down their throat.”

“So it becomes like a family?”

“Yes, but in some ways deeper. The Alpha can form bonds to his members. The strength of that bond depends on the Alpha. Some Alphas can even feel where a person is, or hear their thoughts if they are loud enough. Time will tell what kind of Alpha Gunner is.”

“Do you just share this information with anyone?” she asked. “Seems like this is only for shifters.”

“You’re Hallie’s cousin, right?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He shrugged. “You will probably be the one she asks to take care of her body while she’s being Turned. You’re going to find all of this out by observing it, or by someone telling you.”

“Oh.” She frowned and sipped her mango margarita. “So do I say yes to taking care of her…body? Even if I am unsure of her decisions?”

“Yes.” He lifted his chin higher into the air and canted his head. “Being asked to be there when the animal comes into existence is an honor. Even if you don’t see it that way now, someday, you will. She’s your family. You take care of family. Now, my turn to ask questions. Why don’t you want to be a part of the Crew? I heard you were given an official invite during your interview.”

“Because…” She frowned and thought on her answer. “Because I don’t know if I believe in all of this.”

“Believe in shifters?”

“No, I know they exist. I’ve been around the mountains long enough to know they’re real. Everyone knows they’re real. I just don’t know if I understand the culture enough to want to be a part of it. It’s all very intense.”

“For a human, I could see that.”

“But for shifters too, right? It’s intense?”

“From the day we are born, we learn that life is chaos. It’s fighting and pain and choosing loyalties carefully, getting hurt, and getting stronger. It’s war, and peacetime, and war and peacetime, and that cadence will never change, and it will never ease up. We learn early to appreciate the hell out of the peacetimes. So no, it’s not intense for us. We are born into chaos, we live in chaos, and we die in chaos.”

“That part. That’s the part I don’t know if I want to tether my life to.”

“It would be a more peaceful, easy life if you walk away. If you stay on the outside.”

“Yes.”

He took a drink of his beer, his eyes on her. “You’ll also never know the absolute happiness in those peacetimes.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll live your mediocre, boring, human life, and things will never get bad enough for you to pause in a happy moment and know true joy.”

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