“That’s the day he told me that he’d chosen me for his mate, and that I had no choice but to agree to it. He said my father would be declared incompetent by our Elders soon, and I’d need help running the business once my uncles died. He told me he was willing to step in and help, but I’d have to become his mate to get that help.”
“You mean he threatened you with your father’s affliction. How did he know about the business if he and his father aren’t behind buying up the stock?”
“He didn’t give specifics about the business. He only said I’d need help running it.”
“Sounds to me like they plan to take it over and you’re part of the prize.” Canyon ran his hand through his hair. “What else did he say that day?”
“He said he’d make sure the Elders didn’t do anything to my father if I agreed to be his mate. He told me if I didn’t, I’d lose my father and the business.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this after it happened?”
“I was afraid. Canyon, I’m so sorry. I have no excuse for not saying anything to you other than fear, not only for my father but for your family.”
“I’m not afraid of them, and neither is my father.”
He spoke softly, but there was fire in his words. Still, she would rather die than see Canyon or his family hurt.
“What else can I do, Canyon? Honestly. Tell me what my options are.”
“Do you want me or not?” His face filled with pain, and she hated that. “Deep down in your soul, Fiera. Am I the man of your dreams, or is that man Hawke?”
“I don’t dream about Hawke. At least not in the same way I dream about you.” Heat rose to her face as erotic images flashed through her mind. Her skin tingled, the way it did whenever she fantasized about her first time with Canyon. “I don’t want him at all. I would never willingly give myself to him.”
“Then tell me one more time.” Canyon gazed at her for a long time before he unfolded his legs and moved toward her, on his knees. “I need to hear your consent. Do you want me as your mate, Fiera?”
“You know I do.” This was torture. He was forcing her to choose between her heart and their families.
“There’s no question of you rejecting Hawke. I can’t live without having you. If you take him as your mate, you won’t only hurt me. You’ll hurt yourself. Your life won’t play out as it was meant to. Surely you can understand that .”
“Not if I think with my head instead of my heart.” Or my hormones . Her gaze cut to his crotch. She hadn’t meant to do that and tried to correct it quickly, but he caught her.
The corners of his mouth turned up. “I’m not thinking with my dick, Fiera. Well, all right. I’m not thinking only with it. We both know I want you. I’m dying here. But you want me, too. That proves we’re mates as much as the love in our hearts does. As much as your visions prove it. Do you feel this way about Hawke at all?”
“No! Of course not.” She hugged herself tighter as a nasty shiver went down her spine. “There’s one more thing about that day in the woods I didn’t tell you.”
As he sat back on his heels, his expression turned dark again. “Go on.”
“Hawke tried to kiss me.”
There was no reason for Canyon to bother answering. Fiera saw the muscles in his jaw twitching. The air around him grew charged, as though a storm were brewing inside this cabin.
“He had his arms around me so tightly I could barely breathe. He tried to kiss me, and I struggled to get away. I finally … I kneed him in the groin. It was the only way to get him off me.”
Even that failed to erase the murderous look from Canyon’s eyes.
“That’s when he told me the only reason he didn’t take me, right there in the woods, was because he would honor the pack law. He would wait until I came of age. He told me I was his, and that there was nothing I could do to stop him from having me.”
The self-control Canyon was exercising mesmerized her. He rose