Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(47)

“Boarlander Crew!” Bash called.

“Boarlander Crew!” Audrey and Emerson said in unison.

Clinton and Mason stood off to the side, but they both murmured, “Boarlander Crew.”

And now Harrison’s scowl lifted in a slow smile as he approached. He clapped Kirk on the good shoulder. “Welcome to my crew.”

“We fit,” Kirk said.

Alison didn’t understand what he meant, but Harrison grabbed him by the back of the head and pressed his forehead to Kirk’s. And for a loaded second, the two behemoth men stayed just like that, sharing air, and then Harrison slapped him roughly on the back again and said, “Damn straight, Slater. You and Ally fit. Boarlander Crew.”

Alison blinked back the burning in her eyes as it dawned on her what had just happened. They were pledged now. Audrey pulled her away from Kirk and into a hug, and Emerson wrapped her arms around both of them.

Kong began a slow clap, and Layla joined him. Willa whistled, and Matt stood from where he was packing away first-aid supplies. Some of the Ashe Crew was standing off in the shadows, and they clapped, too. As Alison was passed around for hugs and congrats, it became harder and harder not to cry as the potency of this moment slid over her shoulders.

She had a place now.

She had people.

Her mate watched her with a proud smile as his body shook from handshakes and back claps.

She had Kirk.

And when Layla pulled her in tight, Alison lifted her gaze to the twinkling stars above them and squeezed her back.

“Take good care of him,” Layla murmured.

“I promise I will.”

“You two come by Sammy’s this weekend, and we’ll celebrate it up right. Drinks will be on me.”

“Thank you,” Alison rasped out past her tightening vocal cords.

And when she let go, her gaze drifted to Kong, who stood tall under a towering spruce. He didn’t look angry or hurt like she’d expected. He looked…relieved.

She approached slow, and after a moment of hesitation, she hugged his waist gently. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Kong chuckled a deep, reverberating sound and hugged her back. “No loss. I have a baby on the way with the mate I always dreamed of. Kirk deserves the same. If you need anything, you call us. Just because you two aren’t Lowlanders doesn’t mean we won’t be there for you.”

Unable to speak, Alison nodded and released him.

She made to leave, but he said, “Ally?”

God, she loved the sound of her nickname on her friends’ lips. She had friends now. The real kind, not the pretend ones she’d made as Ghost.

“Yeah?” she asked, turning.

“What you said in that stall. Telling Kirk you love him in front of everyone?” Kong pursed his lips and nodded. “That means a lot to men like me and Kirk. I’m really glad he picked you.”

She arched her attention to Kirk, who was talking low to Bash as the bear shifter poured a bottle of water over his injured shoulder. He must’ve been in pain, but when he caught her staring at him, Kirk gave her one of those smiles that made everything seem right in the world.

“I’m glad he picked me, too.”

****

Kirk changed gears and hit the gas on a straightaway, then immediately slid his hand over her thigh again. It was the middle of the night, and she should’ve been exhausted, but the adrenaline dump from earlier had done something strange to her. She hadn’t crashed. Instead, she felt jittery.

Kirk cast a slight frown at her leg as she shook it in quick succession. His eyes were still too light, and there was a soft rumble in his chest that hadn’t diminished since they’d left the woods. She suspected his animal was riled up due to pain. She’d watched Bash put his dislocated shoulder back into the socket, and though Kirk rarely showed his hurt, he’d winced hard and grunted under Bash’s none-to-gentle touch.

At least his bruises were healing. Matt had told her Kirk had a few cracked ribs, but already, they seemed to be healed. He wasn’t favoring them or his shoulder anymore. Shifter healing was miraculous.

Kirk’s gaze drifted from the road passing under his headlights to her shaking leg again. He squeezed her thigh gently. “Ally, tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

Deliberately, she stilled. “Sorry. I’m still a little worked up from tonight. I’ve seen a lot, but that was insane.” The memory of Kong and Kirk beating their chests as they charged each other flashed across her mind. “You hide a very powerful animal from the world.”

Kirk snorted. “Not anymore. Kong and I are probably all over the Internet right now. Cora is gonna skin us alive.” He slipped a finger into the ripped hole on the thigh of her jeans, and unintentionally, she rocked her hips.

A wicked smile curved Kirk’s lips. “You worked up, too?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

“Fighting does that to me.” He drew her hand against his crotch, and she gasped at how rigid his erection was. “I wanted to take you into the woods and f*ck you hard when you showed up. Part of it is instinct. I get possessive and desperate to touch you. And part of it is that tight shirt you’re wearin’ tonight. You look damn good in black, your tats showing down your arm, that sexy as f*ck hair, that smoky eye shit you’re wearing that makes your eyes look brighter blue. Tight shirt showing off those perfect tits, and those tight jeans hugging your perfect ass. It’s hard to focus around you.”