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They all fell silent for a moment. The council members looked at each other before one of them looked at him. "So, you aren't together?"
"No," he said, waving his hands. "I have a nanny for my daughter. Newborns are a lot of work, and she answered my ad. I can pull the ad up if I need to. She's watching her now while I'm here arguing with you."
River smiled at him. "I hope that's the truth. Because she seems beneath you, Timber."
His jaw clenched.
"Too small, really. A terrible fit for you."
The others nodded in agreement.
River laughed. "We were worried you were about to throw your life away for some human woman. Honestly, the thought of you dirtying your daughter's future because of a human. It was almost laughable."
He tasted blood in his mouth because he bit down so hard. He inhaled through his nose, waving his hand. "She's a human babysitter," he said bluntly. "That's all."
"Good," Devlen said. "We wouldn't want to throw you out because you decided a human girl was more important than us."
"Besides," River said, speaking over Devlen. "She wouldn’t be able to handle you, Timber. You're a large man for such a small girl. You'd break her."
He frowned, seeing they found humor in the idea. It enraged him. They found humor in the woman he loved. He wanted to shift and rip each of them apart. He wanted to splatter the floor with their blood and stand over them. He wanted to hear them beg for forgiveness.
He was grinding his teeth together so hard he was sure he had chipped a tooth. His jaw hurt from clenching.
"Silly girl," another laughed, shaking their head. "Maybe she hopes he will fall in love."
He watched as Devlen laughed, looking at him. "You are dismissed, Timber. But we are watching you. Remember that. Maybe you aren't sleeping with her, but we know you are sleeping with someone."
He swallowed and said nothing. He turned, leaving the meeting. As he stepped out, he questioned whether he wanted to stay with the group. He could leave them and live life on his own.
He and Lyra could be together without having to worry about others. They could have other children and not worry about people's opinions. They could be free.
He liked the idea because he didn't see people wanting to mess with him. He was a big bear, one of the biggest in the region.
He headed out of the hallway, mulling everything over. He needed to think about his next steps carefully. He couldn't make a mistake if he wanted to have the life he yearned for.
EIGHTEEN
LYRA
The weather was finally clearing up.
But Lyra suspected that the sudden warmth was only an anomaly in Missoula, where winter had a tendency to linger.
But still, a warm day was a warm day, and it meant she got to do something she had been yearning to do for a while.
And that was … shopping.
Lyra wanted for nothing while living with Timber and taking care of Mari. She wasn’t sure where Timber got his money, but it was clear he was wealthy.
They received deliveries of groceries and things for Mari several times a week, and Timber had given Lyra his black card to purchase items online.
But as much as Lyra enjoyed shopping online, she was getting paid now, even if the job she was doing didn’t feel like a job.
And getting paid meant she had bills that had to be sorted out and shopping to be done.
She had virtually no summer clothes for the upcoming, inevitable change of the season. Lyra also needed toiletries, and she was running out of her favorite lip balm.
Timber would be busy tracking the bear hunter all day, but he gave her the keys to his truck … a massive Ford F series.
