Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(8)

“My friends, not my people.”

“Saratoga has a police force, but way up here, there is no enforcement. Finn and I are now that enforcement.”

“Have you been asked to watch us? To report on our behavior?”

“No. Which is surprising because that would make more sense. My job description is to ensure you abide by the laws and to keep humans, especially human women, from making their way into your mountains.”

“Why?”

“Because they don’t want any more dragons. They didn’t tell me that specifically, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I’m not building an army, you know. I’m building a family.”

She swallowed and dropped her gaze. “It wasn’t my choice for them to start stripping rights. If there had been a vote, I would’ve voted against it.”

“You’re pro-shifter?”

“Apparently so.”

Damon became quiet and watched her for a long time before he said, “Follow me, Alison Holman.”

“You can call me Ally.” She followed behind him as he stepped gingerly over the lean taper of a burn mark on the earth.

“I did my research on you too, Ally.”

Dread dumped into her stomach. “What do you mean?”

“That’s what you do, right? You have access to personal information on anyone you suspect is doing wrong?” Touché. “I know what happened in Chicago. I know where you came from, which is why you’ve surprised me. You should’ve turned hard. You should’ve gone dark, but you gave Emerson that note. It must be a lonely life, living undercover. Never being able to trust anyone or open up. Always pretending to be someone you aren’t.” Damon shot her a significant look. “That’s how it is to be a shifter. Or it was before the government required us to register. Hiding kept us alive.”

Alison’s heart was pounding so hard against her chest, her entire torso ached. She pushed aside a clump of plants that covered the trail and sidled past them. “I don’t like to talk about Chicago.”

“The point, Ally, is that bone-deep loneliness you must have felt? I know all about that. I’ve lived a long time, and at some point, after I’d watched everyone die and everything change, I shut down.”

Alison shook her head and resisted the urge to double over the pain in her middle. “You’ve lost a lot?”

“More than you can imagine. And then this happened.” Damon stepped through a final line of trees and onto the bank near a waterfall. He gestured to a red-headed woman in the river, holding a little boy, who was clutching onto her shoulders and giggling as she spun them fast. The little boy had a crop of curly red hair, like his momma’s, but his eyes were dark like Damon’s. “That right there makes up most of my world now. Clara and I didn’t have a baby to build some line of defense, Ally. We had a child because she wanted to be a mother, and I wanted to be a father again. A good father this time.”

“Is he a dragon?”

Damon blinked slowly and leveled her with a hollow look. “Does it matter?”

“To the world, it will.”

“To me it doesn’t. To me, I care about him growing up safe. I care about him being happy. I care about my mate not staying up at nights worrying about his future or his right to choose his own mate.”

Alison leaned back against a tree and watched Clara laugh and lay smacking kisses all over the child’s face until he scrunched up his shoulders and laughed. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You may.” But I reserve the right to answer or not. That last part wasn’t said out loud, but it didn’t have to be. His tone implied enough.

“How did you do it?”

Damon angled his face to her, but his eyes stayed on his mate and child. “Do what?”

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “How did you let them in?”

If he’d known true loneliness, he would understand her question. How did he open up his heart to something as dangerous as love?

“It took a long time, but eventually I had to take the risk to care again or lose everything good about myself.” He arced his darkening gaze to hers. “Ally, you have one short lifetime. Choose where to take a stand before it’s too late.”

“Everyone I’ve ever cared about has gotten hurt.”

Damon inhaled deeply. “Then get better at protecting them. You have my permission to come onto my land, but your partner does not. He doesn’t care about the people here, and he stinks of anti-shifter. We have children up here. Families to protect. You will be safe, but he will push too far. For our safety and his, Finn Brackeen needs to stay off my land unless he has an actual reason to be up here. I will cooperate with you, but you’ll be escorted by Kirk.”

“Kirk? But he has better things to do than—”

“You shot one of my friends, Alison Holman.” He arched his dark eyebrows and dared her to deny it. “I know what happens in my mountains, and Kirk has decided you deserve a second chance. I trust him and his judgement, and I’m willing to give you a chance because he’s asked that of me. That gorilla hasn’t ever asked anyone for anything. Take care with him. He’s having a hard time, and the second I think you’re making it worse for him, you will be banished from these mountains, just like Finn, and no law enforcement badge will change that. Are we clear?”