Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(32)

A few seconds later, there was a huge splash below them.

“Is he dead?” Mason asked, making his way to the ledge.

“I jump from here all the time,” Kirk muttered. “We can’t get rid of him that easily.”

“Still alive,” Clinton taunted them from below.

“See?” Kirk said. He swung his attention to Alison, and now there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Hold your nose.”

“What?” Alison asked, startled.

Kirk was grinning now and looked pure wicked. “Hold your nose!”

He launched upward, taking her with him in a tight embrace, then jumped from the falls. Alison screamed bloody murder as her stomach lodged in her throat and tried to escape her body, and at the last, heart-pounding second, she sucked in a breath and pinched her nose. And oh, that river stung her skin, but underwater, her anger evaporated as she opened her eyes. Kirk was there smiling like a maniac, and around them, the other Boarlanders were dropping into the water, surrounded by millions of tiny bubbles that raced toward the surface.

Kirk shoved her toward the surface with a surprising amount of strength, and she broke the waves with a gasp. “Monster!” she yelped as he bit her ass on his way up.

He treaded water as the others came up for air. Unashamedly, he said, “I can see your nipples through your shirt now.”

“We should call Audrey and ask her to bring home barbecue,” Bash called from where he bobbed in the water. “You should have a claiming party.”

“You just want an excuse to throw a party,” Clinton muttered as he swam by like a grumpy frog.

“No, I don’t. Claiming is a big deal. Ally is one of us now.”

“No, Bash,” Harrison said. “She’ll be a Lowlander claim.”

Kirk’s smile faded as he watched the Boarlander alpha swim toward shore.

Something about the hurt in his expression slashed pain through Alison’s stomach. The decision to stay or go back to Kong wasn’t just hurting Kirk, she realized. The uncertainty was hurting all of them.

She kissed his neck because she was a coward. It hurt too much to see that pain in his eyes. He rubbed her back gently, then pushed her toward shore. She understood his need for action. She didn’t like people seeing her hurt either.

Up on the sandy beach though, Harrison cursed loud enough for it to echo through the valley. He linked his hands behind his head, then turned slowly. His eyes were blazing bright blue, and he looked as gutted as Kirk did. “I’m sorry, man. My bear got set off when Officer Holman and her partner came charging into our woods, and I’m spiraling, but it’s no excuse. I’m happy you found her. Happy you found the one. I’ll call Audrey and ask her to bring back food tonight, and we’ll celebrate it right. Legality be damned, this is a really big deal.”

Alison dragged her feet through the waves and did her best to cover her tits with her crossed arms. Her thin, soaking wet shirt wasn’t doing her any favors as Kirk guided her up toward the sandy beach, his hand on her lower back.

“Harrison,” Kirk said, “I know you don’t get the draw, but she’s been calling to my gorilla since that first night in the woods. She came into our territory, all fierce looking, gun pulled, here to save Emerson, but that was the moment for me. I was Changed, and my animal drew up short on a woman for the first time ever. My animal picked, and I tried to fight it. She tried to fight it, too. I did my best not to call her, to leave her alone, but I only lasted a day and a half and it hurt us both. It felt like ripping my own guts out being away from her. You know fighting a pairing doesn’t work.”

“I know,” Harrison murmured. With a sigh, he stuck out a hand to Alison. “Harrison Lang, alpha of the Boarlanders.”

Okay, they were starting over, and she was glad for it, but she was also wearing a soaking wet shirt. She squeaked and shook his hand fast, then covered back up. “Alison Holman, but I would really like it if you called me Ally instead of Officer Holman. I’m off duty.”

“She said doody,” Bash said with a snicker, and up the beach, hiking down the trail toward them, Emerson giggled.

Harrison’s face cracked into a grin, and he snorted. Shaking his head, he took off for the woods and called over his shoulder, “Come on, Bash Bear. We have a claiming party to throw together. Ally, welcome to the C-Team.”





Chapter Fourteen


“What did Harrison mean by C-Team?” Alison asked, holding on tighter around Kirk’s neck as he carried her on his back through Boarlander woods. Her flip-flops dangled from her fingers and bounced against his chest with every step he took.

“C-Team used to be a Gray Back thing. They were wild. Still are, but the mates in Grayland Mobile Park have at least got them settled enough to hit their lumber numbers. But before Mason and I came to help out, Harrison lost a lot of his crew, and they fell way behind on their work.”

“How did he lose his crew?”

“Clinton.”

He didn’t offer more explanation than that, so she asked, “So they are the C-Team because the Boarlanders don’t hit their numbers?”

“Yeah, but we will dig ourselves out of C-Team status if we can just get through a damned week without fightin’.”

“But you said you’ll need to fight more now.”