"One thing I do want to remind you of young lady," began Leon Talbot, staring at his daughter Jean and her new werewolf husband (at least as far as their were-wedding was concerned) Nate Anderson. "While I want to see you happy and approve of your choice in mates, you also promised me and your mother that despite how much we're looking forward to being grandparents someday, you would not have any cubs until after you've earned your law degree and established your practice."
"I know dad. I've been timing my werelioness birth control pills for maximum coverage over nights, and just took today's before we came down for dinner," Jean informed him. "The only change in that will be that soon the prescription will have to be for Mrs. Jean Anderson instead of Miss Jean Talbot," she said with a smile, before looking at her Nate.
"Err, I have no problem with Jean keeping that promise either, sir," began Nate, looking directly at Jean's father, the werelion "king" of Moon Lake. "That will certainly give me plenty of time to finish high school and get my lawn care business off the ground. But if I can ask, roughly how long are we talking?"
"Depending upon how things go, about another 5 to 6 years," Jean informed her husband to be.
"Oh. Hey. I'm cool with that," replied Nate. "But can we still..."
"Yes dear," Jean said with a big smile on her muzzle, while reaching between her werewolf's furry legs to stroke his hardening red rocket with her paw.
MEANWHILE...
Knowing that Liv Robinson was in Seattle with her parents for the Labor Day weekend, Peter Talbot just drove around for a while in the 1966 Ford Mustang that he and his father restored together before Leon Talbot presented him the car upon graduating high school.
I'm the oldest and Jean's getting married first! And to a werewolf! he thought to himself. Well, it's not as if we didn't see it coming, but then again, I thought it easily wouldn't be for another year or two at least.
Peter was happy for his younger sister, but this new development didn't make his own life any easier.
I like Liv Robinson. She's someone interesting to be with and there's no denying the sex is great. When she can control herself, he added as an afterthought. But some of the things she wants to do... and crashing that werelion pride meeting! Let's face facts though. As much as I like her, I don't love her. Liv Robinson is just Miss Right Now and not Miss Right. Or at least, she isn't my Miss Right, he admitted to himself.
Hopefully there's a lady out there that will one day be my Mrs. Talbot. I just don't know who I'm supposed to end up marrying. Everyone I do meet either I don't end up liking or is more interest in the potential prestige of marrying the next "lion king" than being with me personally. Even if it isn't a werelioness, there's got to be somebody out there for me. I hope.
Then Peter heard his stomach start to grumble.
Realizing that he left the house before dinner was served and it was now well after sunset, Peter drove to The Local Diner for a bite to eat.
Pulling into the parking lot, Peter saw the place packed between it being Friday night AND a holiday weekend. Then again, the diner and the nearby Moon Lake Hotel were on one of the two roads that bordered the town while serving the rest of Washington state.
The only open space at the moment was on the outer edge of the lot, facing the road. Parking and securing his car, Peter was about to walk into the diner when a man he never saw before started to approach him.
"Nice ride," the stranger said, eyeing Peter's car.
"Yes," agreed Peter, taking a quick discrete whiff of the air to discover that he was talking to a normal. "My father and I put a lot of work into restoring it," he proudly added.
"67 Mustang?" asked the stranger.
"No. 66," Peter replied. He was being polite, but wanted nothing more than to finish the conversation and get something to eat.
"Good. Give me the keys," the stranger demanded.
"Huh?" asked Peter, instantly going on the defensive.
"I said give me the keys to my car."
"Look. I have not had a good day as it is. Just walk away now while you still can," warned Peter.
"You don't understand. This is a car jacking," began the stranger. "THIS is a gun," he added, pulling out the weapon that was hidden behind his back in the waist belt of his bluejeans. "Now give me the keys and walk away while you still can."
Although this definitely qualified as an emergency situation, Peter knew better than to release his fursona. The diner was one of the few spots where it was still restricted, even at night, to transform because of its closeness to one of the roads through which Moon Lake accessed the outside world, and while Peter was confident of being able to handle himself, the last thing he wanted was to hurt the man before him to the point that Moon Lake wound up with a new werelion, even if the situation would eventually find him innocent of violating Statute 1-A.*
"NO!" roared Peter defiantly, barely able to keep both his anger and his werelion in check.
Panicking, the stranger took a step back as his finger twitched in fear and pulled the trigger!
TO BE CONTINUED...
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*Any were changing a normal human into a were against their will faces a minimum jail sentence of 50 years if found guilty.—tmw.