Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(58)

Ally’s voice came on over the playful scene. “They care about love. Family. They care about friendships.”

There was a slow motion shot of the Boarlanders jumping off the falls together, grins on their faces. There was a close-up of Ally and Kirk’s hands, holding tight as they walked through the woods. The little heart tattoo on Ally’s wrist that Kirk loved to kiss was pink and perfect against her skin.

“They aren’t here to hurt anyone. They’re trying to live, just like everyone else.”

The screen faded to black and opened again with Harrison’s grinning face as he gave Audrey a piggy-back ride through the woods, her pink flip-flops dangling from her fingers as she cheesed and waved at the camera.

“They want what everyone else wants,” Ally said in a thickening voice. She appeared on camera again, clutching Emerson’s hand. Her eyes were rimmed with tears as she murmured, “They want to be free.”

The screen faded to black, and the reporter sat there, looking stunned.

“Holy hell,” Harrison murmured from behind the couch where his arms were locked on the back of it as he stared in shock at the screen.

“I like your heart tattoo,” Bash said in a happy voice. “Looks real good on the TV. And Emerson, you looked hot as f*ck. And Audrey, you held the camera real good.”

Mason gripped Ally’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you in our corner.” He shook her gently and lowered his voice. “Damon is important to me, and you risked yourself to protect him. You need anything—anything at all—just ask.” His voice cracked on the last word, and then he abruptly left 1010.

Clinton ruffled Ally’s hair roughly from behind the couch and made to leave, but stopped. Slowly, he turned and grabbed her hand. He searched Ally’s face and said, “You ain’t no C-Team today. You’re A-Team Ally.” He squeezed her palm once, then walked out behind Mason, leaving Ally staring after him with shocked, wide eyes.

Kirk watched as the rest of their crew gave her hugs, and murmured their thanks. It struck him what she’d done. She hadn’t sat here waiting for them to come back from fighting that fire. She and the girls had gone to work, and done more good than he could’ve ever imagined.

Kirk hugged her tightly as the first blinding rays of sunlight filtered through the open window of 1010. How fitting after the hell they’d been through that the sun shone through the smoke and smog that thickened the air.

It reminded him of his Ally. Of her resilience. He was so damned proud of her.

She wasn’t hiding anymore. She wasn’t a ghost. She wasn’t invisible.

Instead, she’d gone to battle for him and for the shifters of Damon’s mountains.

Kirk pulled her into his lap, desperate to be closer to her, and she slid her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest. Her shoulders shook with emotion, and it ripped him up inside. They’d both been scared of losing each other last night.

Cupping her cheek, Kirk lifted her gaze to his so she could see the truth in his eyes when he said, “I see you, Ally.”

She smiled as a single, glistening tear streamed down her cheek. “I love you, too.”





Chapter Twenty-Three


Over the course of a month, Alison’s life had done a complete turnaround.

One month since the fire. One month since going on the attack against IESA. One month since the petitions and picket lines had flared around the country in support of shifters. One month since the government backpedaled and decided to hold a vote within the year to reinstate shifter rights.

She had resigned from the police force, but Porter had come to her aid and publically backed her. On behalf of his precinct, he’d denounced any further involvement with IESA, no matter what the superiors ordered. Sacrificing one of their own had given shifters an unexpected ally.

Alison stood up on her four-wheeler and scanned the woods, but all was quiet. God, it was so stunning out here. She was surrounded by thick, towering pines and birds singing in the canopy. Green moss and ground cover made these woods feel like a jungle, and everywhere she looked, there was an incredible mountain view. She didn’t miss the noise of the city anymore. In fact, she couldn’t remember very clearly her life before meeting Kirk. Her past was a blur, while her present was crisp and defined. Beautiful.

It had been one month since Damon had hired her to run security for his land.

She waved at Georgia as the park ranger slowed on the trail, headed back to the tree house ranger station Beaston had built for her.

“Headed home?” Georgia asked.

Home. The sound of that word never ceased to warm her from the inside out. “Yeah. Kirk says he has a surprise for me,” she said excitedly.

Georgia snorted. “When Jason says that, it’s usually his dick. His dick is the surprise.”

Alison giggled and waved as Georgia sped off into the woods.

She hit the gas on her ATV and blasted toward home. A familiar feeling washed over her as she drove under the Boarland Mobile Park sign. It was the same sensation she always felt when she came back to this place after work. It was a feeling of such deep-rooted belonging that, like always, her heart pounded a little harder.

Clinton sat in a plastic lawn chair with a silver suntanning screen resting on his chest as he looked up at the sky in his yellow trucker hat with a red rope candy hanging from his mouth. He didn’t greet her as she passed, but he also didn’t flip her off, which was progress.