I’d been out searching for hours; each day, longer. I was finally headed back to the Ranger station, ready to log my search hours and coordinates for the day. I needed to get some sleep, after all.

As I neared the station, I saw a figure emerge, so I turned my lights off. If it was Kylie, I wanted to be able to watch her get to her car without seeing me. I could still protect her from a distance the best I could. She’d been working late, too. I wished I could have talked to her, that we could have worked together on something so important. The division between us was eating at my soul, the wound bleeding more each day.

And it was her. She stepped into a pool of light, and I saw every one of her features as I watched her walk to her car. Then, I watched her pull her shirt off and tried to look away, but I couldn’t hold out. Not with Kylie. I watched her undress and imagined what it had been like to touch her skin, to kiss her, to be inside her.

By the time I realized there was only one reason she’d be undressing like that, it was too late. Kylie got down on all fours and I sucked in a breath and held it as she cried out into the night and slowly shifted into bear form. I’d never seen someone shift so slowly. She seemed to be in agony, growling and collapsing on the forest floor. I had my hand on the door, ready to jump out, but she pushed up after just a moment. She got to her feet, did some stretching, then took off running at full speed.

I stared after her into the dark night and my eyes flooded. The white-hot burning of my throat brought the tears. I think I’d maybe cried a handful of times in my adult life; I couldn’t even recall the last time. But I couldn’t take the pain. I ached for her.

I opened my car door, not even bothering to wipe the tears from my cheeks. I yanked my clothing off, shifted and grabbed the strap of my pack between my ursine teeth before I ran after her. I had to protect her. She was out there with no backup, no support. Our Ranger station wasn’t staffed with an overnight crew, so she was out there alone—and no one probably knew she was out searching because no one would have let her go. If anything happened to her…

I ran faster, catching up. I couldn’t get so close that she would hear or smell me. I realized that I’d already run pretty far. She had come all that way with her leg like that?

My heart swelled. For all the pain she’d caused me, I still loved her, and when I saw her shift like that—to go through that pain in order to save her friend—it was a reminder of why I loved her. That determination and loyalty. That downright stubbornness. It was the reason she’d never fail in life.

It was also the reason she’d never talk to me again if she was pissed enough. She could be stubborn for years. I’d seen it with other friends and even family members. One cousin who had wronged her at a family event years ago was still on her ‘no communication’ list. I didn’t want to be on that list, but I knew Kylie. Granted, I didn’t understand why she was so pissed, but I did know how she acted when she was.

As I ran, I picked up on the scent of that off-grider again; no mistaking that one. The trail of his scent went a different direction from Kylie’s. Follow his trail or follow Kylie’s? There was really no decision to make. I could’ve come back later to follow the other trail. Right then, I had to be there for Kylie.