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“I see that what I said still offends you,” he observed, his voice drawn. “I apologize for that. Perhaps sometime you had an animal that you kept as a pet?”
She was catapulted back to the moment she’d found Georgina’s empty cage this morning. Her hatred for Tiny multiplied inside her heart every time she thought about how he had allowed her canary to fly free of its cage.
“Yes, I had a pet,” she said, her voice catching with emotion.
Tears flooded her eyes as she wondered where Georgina was now? Was she all alone in the forest…or dead?
Mia truly feared the little bird had been killed.
“It was what sort of a pet?” Wolf Hawk asked.
“A bird,” she murmured, brushing tears from her cheeks with the back of a hand.
“You captured a bird and kept it as a pet?” Wolf Hawk asked, his eyebrows lifting. He could not envision any bird staying with him, tamed enough not to fly away at its first opportunity. His connection w
ith hawks made all birds seem sacred in his eyes.
“No, I did not capture it,” Mia said, smiling through her tears. “I purchased it from someone at a trading post.”
“I have never seen birds being sold at a trading post,” Wolf Hawk said, truly curious now.
“It is not just any ordinary bird that might fly free in the forest,” Mia tried to explain. She was charmed that he did not know of such things.
“It was a canary,” she said. “A canary is a tiny yellow bird raised to be a pet. It is not only beautiful, a joy to be with, but it also sings melodies all day long.”
“Birds usually sing because they are happy,” Wolf Hawk said. “Does that mean that your bird was happy to be in a cage?”
“It knew nothing else,” Mia murmured. “And, yes, she was happy. I gave her food and clean water every day. She loved me as much as I loved her.”
“And where is your bird now?” Wolf Hawk asked softly.
“Tiny released her to the wild,” Mia blurted out, anger flashing in her eyes. She knew he had done it on purpose to hurt her.
“The tiny man that refused to help you dig the grave for your father?” Wolf Hawk asked softly.
“Yes, him,” Mia said, her voice breaking with emotion as she envisioned Georgina so afraid, so alone!
She hoped her precious canary was still alive to have those feelings, for it would be better than being caught in the claws of a hawk and eaten.
“Why would he do that?” Wolf Hawk asked, leaning closer to Mia until their faces were only inches apart.
“To spite me,” Mia said, oh, so aware of how close Wolf Hawk was to her.
Their lips were only a breath apart.
She had never ached to be kissed before, but now?
She did!
And she recalled the strength of his arms as he had swept them around her to lift her onto his horse. She remembered the clean, fresh smell of his skin and hair. She remembered the new feeling of passion he evoked within her.
“Why would he want to spite you?” Wolf Hawk asked, daringly reaching a hand to her cheek and gently touching it. He drew it away when he saw how wide her eyes grew over what he had just done.
“Because he was the sort of man who enjoyed causing other people pain, and losing my bird hurt me very much,” Mia murmured.
Her heart was thumping hard inside her chest over the way Wolf Hawk had touched her face so gently, so lovingly.
Everything within her cried out to be held tenderly in his arms. She wanted him never to let her go, for she feared what lay ahead of her; she feared being totally alone in the world.
