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So he went out with the other members of the council … the shifters who had human wives. He had come to trust them all acutely, never having felt safer than with them as they galloped through the snowy wilderness.
They hunted and apprehended the bear hunter quickly and smoothly. They brought him to the authorities on the other side of the border, who would arrest and prosecute him under Canadian shire law. Timber was beyond satisfied as they trucked back, his heart sparkling with the thought of having his child and woman in his arms again.
He did have them when he got back, but there was still a lot of work to do at the council. There were the interviews, of course, but then there were the new rules of law to make and old ones to update and rename. The main regulation was the one that disallowed shifters from mating with human women in an attempt to keep their bloodline pure.
Timber was beyond ecstatic to be the one to eradicate that ancient law. He couldn’t believe it had existed and thrived for so long. He and the shifters took over headquarters, making a divisive list of laws and rules that all bear shifters must follow.
The majority of the rules revolved around the safety of humans and other shifters. There was nothing that would isolate a shifter who had fallen in love with a human, no matter what gender that happened to be. Timber and all of the shifters knew how absurd it was to believe in the idea of fated mates and yet not allow those mates to be marked.
It was counterintuitive, and they clinked champagne glasses together as the rule was officially stricken from the record.
They would investigate the whereabouts of the old bear council members the next day. For tonight, Timber wanted to be home with his family. It had become a vital ritual for him to sit with them, talking, cuddling, laughing, reading, watching TV, and finally, showing Lyra how much he loved and appreciated her with his mouth and hands. Even if they didn’t make love, he wanted her body curled around his, the sound and feel of her fluttery breath cascading over his skin.
That night, they had made slow, steady love, not wanting to wake a very sensitive Marigold, who was starting to teeth. The sun was still out as she lay below him, rolling her hips upward to meet his swaying thrusts. After they both quietly climaxed, he let himself go on top of her, pressing his cheek into her plushy breasts.
“Do you think it's going to be a scar?”
Lyra stroked his hair as she spoke, and he nodded into her bosom. She was referring to the slash Edmund had given him in the bear fight, the one remaining imprint of the epic battle. The rest of him had healed well, but that mark would likely remain.
“Probably. I’ve never had someone with such sharp claws catch me that close before.”
He sat up, adoring the way her naked flesh looked under him, sweet and salty from lovemaking. He hovered over her while she ran her fingers over the three distinct indentations, fascinated, stunning.
“I don’t know why, but it somehow makes you look even sexier,” she purred.
Timber chuckled as he slid his hands under the pillow where his beloved’s head rested. He could stay in that spot for the rest of his life, his eyes fluttering closed as his mate stroked his face and hair with compassionate devotion.
He eventually fell asleep on her stomach, the rise and fall of her breathing like the flow of gentle waves on the shoreline.
Everything was beautiful and right.
FORTY-TWO
LYRA
Lyra felt like her life was finally starting to settle down. Not that she disliked excitement and adventure … quite the contrary. She hadn’t ever expected to fall for a man who could turn into a bear, as well as his young cub she’d initially been hired to take care of. He had been pretty lost and somewhat useless when it came to fatherhood, but she had guided him with her own maternal instincts.
And hell, maybe even some of the instincts were toward him too. She wasn’t a shifter, but she knew the second he’d opened the door that he would make some kind of impact in her life. Maybe intuition, maybe lust, maybe something entirely otherworldly.
But none of that mattered anymore. She had lost herself a little, too, falling for the two of them. She had been terrified for her own life and then the life of her new man. She had been thrust into a world that was mystical, magical, and strange. But at the end of it all, she had been rewarded with a man whose passion and commitment to her were as palpable as an electric storm.
And what else could a woman ever want?
The morning after some exploratory lovemaking, which was a structure they added layers to nearly daily, Lyra was making breakfast for her beloveds. Marigold had adjusted to her presence swimmingly, her little golden eyes lighting up the moment Lyra popped into her bedroom in the morning. Lyra was also beginning to see the shifter influence in her DNA, the understanding in her eyes when she and Timber spoke about things that should have been far beyond her comprehension.
That morning, Lyra let Timber sleep in. Not only had they made love into all hours of the night, but he had also just returned from a trip to Canada to take down a known bear hunter. He was also the most recently voted leader of the New Bear Council, which carried a lot of weight and obligation with it. He had been working hard for the shifters just the way he had promised.
It was refreshing and reassuring.
Lyra flipped pancakes and sausages for whenever Timber woke. She hoped the sweet smell of meat would venture into the bedroom and titillate his nostrils.
Her phone vibrated next to the stove, and she gazed at it. It was her mother.
Lyra blew her bangs up from her face, then tapped the green answer button. If she ignored her mom’s call, she would just keep calling all day. Lyra put her on speakerphone so she could continue making the breakfast.
“Morning, Mom,” she said brightly.
“Good morning, Lyra,” Karen said, sounding somewhat hardened. “Is Timber there?”
