Chapter Two

Ace Holland scented the air as he walked past the human woman holding the clipboard.

She was pretty. She wore her hair shoulder-length and had it flopped over in a messy style, with a streak of burgundy in her dark locks. She had blue eyes, but not bright blue. They were a stormy blue that would look dark from far away. She was taller, maybe five-eight or nine, and had that hourglass shape that would easily attract the monsters out in the clearing.

Ace stifled a growl as he thought about leaving her alone with those assholes.

She’d thrown the bagel into the woods.

She wasn’t his.

“Hey,” he said, turning in the open doorway.

“You going to declare your love?” she asked, her dark eyebrow cocked up.

He laughed darkly. “You’re trouble.”

“It’s my middle name,” she said, confidence oozing from her tone, and ooooh, he liked that.

He watched her redirect her attention to the clipboard. He studied her profile—that pretty bone structure, the high cheekbones, the sharp jawline, that pretty hair sweeping down the other side of her face.

She was funny, with her exposed feelings and her little human tantrums. The animal inside of him was paying attention.

But…perhaps it was because she’d given him a gift, and he’d felt his animal’s shift. He looked at her differently than just a lady walking on the other side of the sidewalk from him. He couldn’t take this feeling of interest seriously.

His animal was to blame.

“Ace?” Hallie asked.

“Yep, that’s me.” He dragged his attention away from her cousin and nodded with respect, forced a smile.

“Gunner is ready for you.” She led him to a table near their kitchen.

“Are you local?” Gunner asked before he’d even sat down.

Ace didn’t meet his eyes. Straight to the personal questions, huh? Gunner felt heavy right now. “Would you like me to pull my chair over there?” he asked.

Gunner was quiet for a few moments and then asked, “Why?”

“You feel heavy. Like you’re ready to fight, and it makes me ready to fight. Makes me look for something that’s agitating you, but most likely it’s me that’s agitating you. The fix is giving you some space.”

“Mmm.” Gunner was still, arms crossed over his broad chest, staring at Ace.

His mate, Hallie, sat next to him, and he relaxed slightly. It wouldn’t save Ace from a brutal fight if he said something wrong though. Humans couldn’t feel how heavy dominants were, so Hallie likely had no idea what was happening with her mate.

“Does she plan on being Turned?” Ace asked.

“Why?” Gunner asked.

“Because of what you are. Humans have a hard time around dominants long-term, and you, Alpha, are fuckin’ huge.”

“He isn’t your Alpha,” Hallie said softly.

“Isn’t he?” Ace asked. “Isn’t he the Alpha of everyone here? Who can fight him?”

Seconds of heavy silence ticked by before Gunner asked, “What are you?”

“A shifter,” Ace said automatically. “And yes, I’m local. I’ve worked at Moosey’s for years. The gas station side. My dad brought me to Damon’s Mountains for protection when I was a cub.”

“A cub, huh? Who is your dad?” Gunner asked in a cold tone.

“Tony.” He glanced up at Gunner just in time to see Gunner’s eyes narrow.

“Tony who?”

“Tony Holland.”

“Holland,” Gunner repeated softly.

“It is the same Holland you are thinking of,” Ace admitted quietly.

“You’re the only son? Or do you have brothers?”

He nodded once. “Only son. I’m the last Holland.”

“Why haven’t you joined a Crew before now?” Gunner asked, and now he could hear it—the curiosity.

“Because my father was my Crew.”

“Is your father well?”

“My father passed a few months ago.”

“Fuck.” Gunner leaned forward, his elbows on the table, his hands clenched as he leveled him with a look. There was a hint of feeling in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Would rather not talk about it if that’s okay. I’ll answer your questions, but that one is still fresh.”

Gunner canted his head, and Ace allowed himself to hold his gaze. One of the bear shifter’s eyes was blue, and one was silver.

“What is your animal like?” Gunner asked.

“Up until a few months ago, middle of the pack. Not submissive, not dominant.”

“And now?”

“Dominant.” Ace allowed a faint smile. “Which you can tell.”

“I want to kill you,” Gunner admitted.

“Fair enough. I’m sure we could put on a good show for the folks outside.”

Gunner’s empty smile stretched bigger. “That’s a temptation, isn’t it?”

“Unless you only want submissives who will never question you when you’re wrong? If that’s the case, I will not fit in your Crew well.”

“Thank you for your honesty. Why do you want to be in this Crew?”

Ace shrugged up one shoulder. “I’m not entirely sold on being in any Crew. It was my father’s last request that I try for a spot if one came available in Damon’s Mountains. He didn’t want me to be alone after he was g—” His voice cracked on the last word, and he composed the dead look in his eyes as his mind constricted against the hurt. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, said it as emotionless as he could. “He didn’t want me to be alone after he was gone.”

“Mmm.” Gunner sat there for a few heavy seconds before he said, “You mentioned you work at Moosey’s? Do you know Captain?”

“Your brother? Yes, I do. I saw him here. I saw you throw him out of your house. Family drama there.”

“Has he ever mentioned me?” Gunner asked.

“Yeah. He calls you Asshole. Everyone knows who he’s talking about when he says Asshole.”

A smile took Gunner’s face. “I like how honest you are.”

“Well, then you’ll love this.” He knew he should stay quiet, but he couldn’t. “There’s a woman out there, a human, who was hurt by your mate.”

“Careful,” Gunner rumbled, and a hardness took his expression.

“Respectfully, she should be the first in consideration for the Crew. I’ve followed your story a little. Miss Hallie is human, and from the way that woman out there reacted, she’s from Hallie’s life before she met you. She was her Crew before you were her Crew. This life is hard on humans. They need support. You should keep her from feeling alone or resenting you. From a man who left his people behind, and just lost his father? It’s lonely if you have no one. You want a happy mate? You make sure her family is good. Especially if they care about your lady, and it seems like Corey does.”

“Humans aren’t up for discussion for this Crew.”

“And that’s your choice,” Ace said with a nod. “But I’ve got to say my piece. She’s feeling pushed out. I’m not telling you to induct her into this Crew. I’m just saying she should be considered.”

“Mmm,” Gunner said, lifting his chin higher. “And what would you say if I do consider her, and she takes the spot you would’ve had in this Crew?”

Ace shrugged. “My father would be proud that I made that space.”

Gunner’s lips curved up a little at the corners. “You’re dismissed.”

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.

Idiot.

Ace tensed his muscles to break his massive arm, but a deep voice cut through the jeering crowd. “Stop.”

The moment he realized who had said that, the red melted away from the corners of his vision.

Damon Daye stood at the edge of the ring of now-silent shifters around them. He stood tall and lean, his silver eyes glowing, the elongated pupils looking so unsettling. His dragon was near the surface, then.

He wore black suit pants with a dark blue dress shirt, and had his hands in his pockets.

Ace released Captain in a rush and scrambled away from him. He stayed on his knees with his neck exposed to the blue dragon.

Captain did the same beside him.

A laugh escaped someone, and Ace dragged his attention over to Gunner, who stood on the edge of the crowd with his arms crossed over his chest. Corey and Hallie were beside him. “Next time you fight Captain, don’t show him mercy. Break his arm.”

“Fuck you, bro,” Captain spat out.

“Why are you even here?” Gunner barked out, and now the clearing was getting heavier.

“As a favor!” Captain exclaimed.

“A favor for who?”

“Our parents.”

“Oh geez.” Gunner rolled his eyes heavenward and blew out a steadying breath. “I would rather piss on an electric fence than let you in my Crew. Go home. Ace, stick around.”

There was an order in Gunner’s voice that drew a snarl from Ace’s throat.

Gunner rounded on him. “You got a problem with that request?”

“My animal does,” Ace growled. “Obviously.”

“You’re sure about that one?” Gunner asked Damon Daye.

Damon didn’t so much as twitch. He looked like a stone statue, staring at Ace, unblinking.

Gunner waited a couple loaded seconds for an answer, and then threw his hands up in the air. “Great.”

“See you at work,” Captain threatened as he stood.

As Captain walked toward the woods, Ace stood and spat blood from his split lip.

The crowd was dispersing, but Corey was still hanging around.

“What?” he muttered, feeling his jaw to see if it was broken.

“Are you some sort of ninja shifter or something?”

Ace frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You were in a fistfight, and then you were on the ground blurring into some move I’ve only seen in UFC fights.”

“Uhh, I used to wrestle.”

“I have one of those ice packs that you pop and shake up in my car. I’ll go get it.”

He gestured to the clipboard in her hand. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“Working for the zero dollars an hour I make building a Crew that has nothing to do with me? I’m sure my non-boss would understand if I take a break. That was the coolest fight I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t need an ice pack,” he gritted out, scanning the other shifters near them. He didn’t like their attention drifting to him, but he enjoyed their attention hovering on Corey even less.

“My car is over there,” she said. She grinned. “I promise I won’t kidnap you. I’m slightly terrified.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You don’t smell scared at all.”

“Okay, then you can stay right here and I will be right back. Wow, your lip is already closing up.”

Ace pulled the neck of his blue shirt up to his lip and wiped it well. “It’ll be healed in a few minutes. Why did Gunner tell me to stick around?”

“I think we are doing multiple rounds of interviews. Maybe you made it to round two. Was that really Damon Daye? Do you think he would be mad if I ask him for his autograph?”

“Oh, you’re one of those weird ones,” he murmured, running his hand through his hair to dislodge the leaves and grass from it.

“I’m not weird,” she argued.

“You’re one of those shifter chasers, right? A groupie?”

“I don’t like what you are implying. I’ll have you know I only date humans. You people are crazy.”

“That’s accurate.” He was probably going to have to finish that fight with Captain tomorrow at work. Why did he stalk off into the woods? Where was his car? Had he really walked all the way up here?

“What about you?” she asked conversationally.

“What about me?”

“Do you only date shifters?”

His jaw might actually be broken. “I’m single,” he said distractedly as he rubbed his aching jaw. Captain could throw a punch.

“No, that’s not what I’m asking. I mean, do you only date your own people?”

“My own people. Lady, what do you think I have? A tentacle dick? I’m not that different from you.”

“So it’s settled then?” she asked.

God, his face hurt. Were his teeth loose in the back? He tested them with his tongue. Crap, a little. “What’s settled?”

“You may take me out.”

He’d never been struck dumb before this moment right here, but there was a first time for everything. He just stared at her with his hand wrapped under his jaw. “Come again?”

“So you’re saying you can make me come multiple times?” She waggled her eyebrows.

His eye twitched.

“You winked at me. That’s a yes.”

“It was an eye twitch, not a wink, and absolutely not. I’m not in the mindset to take anyone out right now. Especially not a human.”

“Why not?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“How about I’ll go get you the ice pack, and you process your feelings about me, and then when I come back you can give me the list of reasons you shouldn’t go eat food with me at the same table where I will buy my own sustenance—”

“Sustenance?”

“I read it in a book once. It means food. And where I will probably eat a salad or something from insecurities because I don’t want to show you what an animal I am when I eat the first time we hang out, and you will explain your people so I can get to know what my cousin needs from me better. And also, I can put in a good word with Hallie and Gunner to accept you into this Crew. Probably. Okay? Come up with lots of reasons and make them good, I am very practiced at arguing.”

She began to walk away, but turned back around and said, “Now watch me walk away, because I’m wearing a thong under these leggings and you can’t see my panty-line, so you can see the perfect roundness of my ass with no visual obstructions. I do lots of squats. And go.” She walked away, sashaying dramatically back and forth, and you know what? He couldn’t take his gaze off the indeed-perfect shape of her ass.

He didn’t know what a panty-line was, but he looked for it.

A tiny smile crept across his face, but he gritted his teeth and made it go away. He glanced around to make sure no one had seen it, and locked eyes with one of the guys close by who wore a stupid, knowing grin. “She’s getting to you, huh?”

Ace flipped him off and strode for the other side of the clearing.

Maybe she wouldn’t find him there.

She was pretty, for sure, and smelled like fruit shampoo, and her smile was hard to look away from, and her figure did those leggings justice…but she was kind of weird, and too bold, and asked way too many questions, and to a shifter like him, that spelled danger.

She was too loud, and people like that couldn’t keep secrets.

A man like him had no use for a woman who couldn’t keep his secrets.