Page 29 of Fastlander Fighter

Captain stabbed at the potato with a plastic fork to mix it all together with a plan to ignore Owen completely for the rest of his break.

But when he heard a little kid call for his mom, he jerked his attention to the side and tried to see if it was Ruger playing on the playground just at the edge of his vision. It wasn’t.

“It sucks at first,” Owen said low.

“What does?” Captain growled, annoyed.

“What the females do to us.”

Captain took a giant bite and glared at him, considering. After a few seconds, he took the bait. “What do you mean?”

“When I first met Silver, I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Didn’t matter how much I didn’t want to go after her, it wasn’t really up to me. The animals pick just as much as the man picks.”

Captain swallowed and took another bite, and then another, stalling for time to think. “She’s human.”

“Oh shit,” was all Owen said.

“And she has a kid.”

“Boy or girl?”

“Boy.”

“How old?”

“Young. Six. He’s in kindergarten.”

Owen’s blond brows went up. He got real quiet and busied himself with eating.

“See?” Captain said. “Even you know I can’t go after that.”

Owen shook his head. “No, you cannot. Not unless you Turn them.”

“Want to hear something fucked up?”

“Yep.”

“It’s the first thing I thought. I’m that selfish. I had this stupid vision of kissing her again, and baseball games, and taking him to school, and their eyes are the color of my animal’s. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you. That’s the bear. He knows you can’t keep them if they’re human.”

“I can’t Turn a kid.”

“No, you can’t.” Owen pushed his plate of chopped brisket back, ran his hands through his hair, and stared at the table. “Does she feel big?”

“I’ve checked to see if she’s here like fifty times today, and she’s not even supposed to come.”

“You already kissed her?”

“In high school. I knew her back then. Dated for a minute.”

Owen looked surprised. “Have you attached to any female since?”

“What? No. I’m not the settling-down type.”

“Well, congratulations are in order, I guess,” Owen told him.

“Congratulations for what?”

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