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Each of the four bears recoiled with disgust at his words.
Timber raised his hands, and they let him continue.
“I believe there are bears who could resonate and mate with humans. There are so few female bear shifters that our population is dwindling.”
Devlen almost spat as he started speaking, his voice hot and angry.
“I believe, Timber Mahogany, that you’ve mated with a human before coming here to get our approval.”
Fear raced through Timber, crashing into him in great waves and almost knocking him over.
But he remained steady, his face impassive.
“Not at all, sir,” he said as respectfully as he could. Anger had blended with his fear. “I simply want us to change the old ways of living to save the bear shifters of Montana.”
“The reason we do not mate with humans, Timber,” Elias spoke in a gentler voice, though his face was stern, “is because we are keeping our species pure. Mating and procreating with humans only weakens us.”
“But what difference does it make?” Timber couldn’t keep the frustration out of his voice. “What difference will it make when there are no longer any bears left? The wolves mate humans.”
“You mean the dogs?” Devlen’s nose twitched, his face wrinkling with disgust.
That seemed to be the only emotion he felt.
“The wolf shifters abide by different laws than we do,” Callum pointed out, a lazy smile stretching across his face though his gray eyes remained cold.
“Laws of our own making. Laws that we can change,” Timber kept on, and now he was betraying himself by the way his voice shook.
“Laws that we will not change.” Devlen’s voice shook almost as much as Timber’s did. “Laws that have kept us safe for decades.”
“The wolf shifters who have mated with humans have all had shifter babies,” Timber insisted. “That should mean something good for us.”
“No!” Devlen brought his hand down on the table in front of him, his voice a bellow.
Timber heard the birds of the forest taking off into the sky.
Jameson spoke then, the only one of the bears who had been quiet the entire time.
“We will not allow it. Bears do not mate or resonate with humans. It is impossible and unnatural. And any bear who ventures to do so will be kicked out of the council.”
“Yes,” Elias continued. “Any bear who does such a thing will be cut off from the resources we provide. They will lose any and all protection they have enjoyed thus far.”
“And they will be severely punished.”
When Timber looked at Devlen, the shifter was pressing his lips together in a grim line.
And he knew he had failed.
FOURTEEN
LYRA
Lyra woke up when Timber did, though she pretended to be asleep.
She knew it was an important morning for him. He would be meeting the bear council to plead their case, so they could be together.
She listened to him get ready, smiling to herself as he burned himself trying to cook breakfast.
It was close to three in the morning when he left.
