The Alpha's Taboo Mate (Blood Moon Lynx Book 1) by Ravenna Tate Page A

legends or superstition interfere.”
    “Not everyone feels as you do,” said Luke. “My grandfather openly opposed the mating of Nanette to Amasa, partly because her parentage included humans. And of course because they’re also leopards. The leopards and the lynxes have a rivalry that predates any known history of our packs.”
    Everyone at the table nodded. This wasn’t anything new to them.
    “His opposition didn’t help the relationship between our family and the Medinas, but it wasn’t unusual in those days, either, for the entire village to try to weigh in on a mating decision.”
    “No wonder Hawke’s family couldn’t leave it alone,” said Stone.
    “It was more than that,” said Luke. “Royce accused Amasa of wanting to take Nanette as his mate purely for business reasons, and it turns out he was right. The mating didn’t take place because Nanette and Amasa chose each other as their mates. It was a business arrangement that Thomas Davis, Nanette’s father, and Jarvis Medina, Amasa’s father, set up when Nanette and Amasa were mere infants.”
    Gasps and cries of outrage went up around the table. Their pack law forbade such an arrangement because it gave the couple in question no chance to choose their mates provided to them by the natural order. To defy such a law was akin to exposing ones shifter nature to humans, and allowing them to exploit it for their own use.
    “Did the Elders know about this?” asked Arizona.
    “I don’t know the answer to that question.” Luke shrugged. “Not yet, anyway. But it worked, at least in terms of a business arrangement. Jarvis was more ruthless than Amasa, and of course we all know how he grew the business.”
    “And now they have their sights set on mine,” said Cash.
    Everyone stared at him, including Fiera. She hadn’t been certain until now that he was even paying attention. “Father, did you know of this arrangement or of this rivalry?”
    “There have always been rumors, but nothing is written down.”
    “Some things are,” said Luke. “Canyon, Gillian, and I are going to keep digging.”
    “Does Gillian know what we are?” asked Leah.
    “No.” Luke frowned. “She suspects it, though. We may have to tell her if we want her to help us, only so she doesn’t come across it accidentally.”
    “Do you think her reaction would be favorable?” asked Lena.
    “I think so. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Luke turned his attention toward Cash. “We’re going to do everything we can to save your business. I give you my word on that.”
    “I know you will.”
    “Is there more to the story?” asked Lulu, her eyes shining with interest.
    “Only more suspicions of illegal activity on the part of the Medina family.”
    “What will you do now?” asked Cletus.
    “Keep digging.” Luke gave everyone at the table a stern look. “By the way, this conversation is not for anyone else’s ears. Is that understood?”
    As everyone either nodded or voiced their assurance, Fiera shivered. She didn’t fear Luke, but the far-reaching implications of the story he’d just told them put their entire village in danger, not only her father and his business. She’d known the Medinas were ruthless and self-serving, but she’d had no idea how far back it went, or how far they were willing to go in order to get what they wanted. It made the act of Hawke and Amasa showing up at the house this morning pale in comparison.
    There was no fear in Hawke or Amasa of her family or of Canyon’s. They would roll over both if necessary. Canyon had been right. This was a war, even if neither side had yet formally declared it as so. And now Fiera realized that war had been going on for generations.
    She grabbed Canyon’s hand and squeezed it, hard, smiling at him so he wouldn’t become alarmed. He would protect her. Of that she had no doubt. But the time might come when she had to protect him as well. She would be ready. He was her mate, after