Reparation (Sundown Wolves Book 2)

by Aria Chase

  Reparation

  Sundown Wolves (Book Two)

  Aria Chase

  Demimonde Press

  Copyright © 2017 Aria Chase.

  All rights reserved. Demimonde Press and Aria Chase reserve all rights to Reparation and the Sundown Wolves Series. This work may not be shared or reproduced in any fashion without permission of the publisher and/or author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. The first edition of Temptation was previously published by Amourisa Press. This revised edition is offered exclusively by Demimonde Press. Please notify the publisher if you receive the first edition in error, or see the first edition available in any electronic format after February 28, 2017.

  Cover Design © 2017 Melody Simmons

  Temptation / Aria Chase. -- 1st ed.

  Contents

  Stay In Touch

  Reparation

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Bonus Excerpt: Distraction

  About the Author

  Also by Aria Chase

  Stay In Touch

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  Reparation

  When an Alpha wolf is betrayed, he'll stop at nothing to get revenge on his enemies and secure his position in the pack. But when he claims the traitor's sister as his mate, will his growing hunger for her outweigh his desire for reparation?

  Jared is just weeks away from rising to his position as Alpha of the Sundown Pack when his betrothed runs away with an Omega pack member. Overcome with rage and a primal craving for revenge, he sets his sights on the Omega's sister Alyra. Once he claims her, Alyra will help him fulfill his destiny as Alpha.

  But more importantly, owning her will satisfy his need for reparation.

  After loving Jared from afar for so long, Alyra gives in to his advances without hesitation. But she knows the passion between them won't last, even as she takes advantage of the momentary lapse in judgment fueled by Jared's anger and desperation. An Alpha could never take an Omega as his mate.

  Once Jared's desire for revenge has passed, he'll see the truth, and the masquerade will be over.

  But when Jared's desire for revenge finally passes, it leaves another burning desire in its place—a desire only Alyra can quench. And he'll have to fight his parents and his pack to keep her at his side.

  Faced with a choice between his love for Alyra and his destiny as Alpha, can Jared find the courage to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of happily ever after?

  Remember that you don't choose love; love chooses you. All you really can do is accept it for all its mystery when it comes into your life. Feel the way it fills you to overflowing then reach out and give it away.

  KENT NERBURN

  1

  Thrumming with anger, Jared left his car in the garage and stalked toward the house he shared with his parents on Syringa Ridge. His mind insisted on replaying the confrontation that had taken place just minutes before between himself, his promised mate, and her illicit lover.

  He had been so consumed with rage at Mila choosing Elijah over him that he didn’t even remember the drive home. The past few minutes were a blur in his mind.

  How could she be so irresponsible, to place her own happiness over the well-being of the Sundown Pack?

  Without her by his side at the next full moon, less than two weeks away, he wouldn’t be able to ascend as the new Alpha.

  All his life, his father had trained him to fulfill his expected duty, but now he felt it all slipping away. And all because his betrothed had let her heart get in the way of her duty to him, and to the pack.

  Standing with them at the dock, he had the fleeting thought to offer to turn a blind eye to their affair, so long as Mila went through with her marriage to him. But his dismissed the thought as soon as it came to him, knowing he would never be able to share his mate.

  He didn’t love Mila, but that wasn’t the point. Love or not, he would never be able to claim her. An Alpha’s wife should belong to him, in every way, and Mila had already been claimed by Elijah.

  It was then he had accepted defeat.

  He could have forced Mila to marry him, could have held her hostage in the manor until she gave up and agreed to leave Elijah behind. But even if he had, she would never forgive him. Mila would have resented him for the rest of their lives together, and Jared would always have to be on guard.

  Life as an Alpha was difficult enough without your own mate despising you.

  So his promised mate left the island, taking both his pride and his only chance of ascending to the rank of Alpha with her.

  Jared slunk back into the house, managing to close the door quietly behind him to avoid waking his parents. His assumed dominance as future leader of the Sundown Pack would hold little weight when his father - the current Alpha - found out about Mila’s rejection.

  The fact that she was gone would be bad enough. But when his father learned that Jared not only knew of her betrayal, but allowed her to go?

  Jared closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath to quell the fear rising in his throat as he stepped onto the veranda that spanned two sides of the large mansion. In all his life, Jared had feared only one thing - his father’s disappointment.

  He wasn’t ready to face the fallout from his decision. Not yet. Not without a solid plan to rectify the colossal mess he had just made.

  A light flickered on in the stable, distracting Jared from his thoughts. The faint sound of a horse neighing piqued his curiosity, drawing him to the stables. Nearing the main entrance, he paused, watching in silence from the shadows.

  Alyra stood in Achilles’s stall, speaking to him in a low voice as she rubbed his neck. The high-strung stallion stamped his foot and tossed his head before calming under Alyra’s gentle touch. The horse had arrived at the estate this morning, and was still adjusting to his new home.

  As he propped a shoulder against the doorframe, Jared couldn’t help noticing how the bare bulb above the stall accentuated the warm red highlights in Alyra’s honey-brown hair, which fell halfway down her back. She wore Capri jeans and a black T-shirt.

  Jared maintained a silent vigil as she soothed the horse. Each movement was graceful, while clearly projecting an air of confidence. The black stallion was a fierce animal, and many people would have found him intimidating, but she seemed to regard him as an overgrown puppy.

  His eyes settled on her long fingers, bare nails buffed to a shine, as they stroked the stallion’s neck. He couldn’t help but wonder how those fingertips would feel against his own skin, and his breath caught in his throat.

  Alyra leaned forward to kiss Achilles’s velvety nose. He could feel the phantom touch of her mouth against his for the briefest of moments, until his eyes slipped lower, drawn by the way the T-shirt molded her full breasts when she moved. He shifted slightly, to take in t
he view of her buttocks cupped in the snug jeans.

  Why hadn’t he noticed how attractive she was before? True, his duties to the pack kept him busy, but he hadn’t been dead. And his betrothal to Mila certainly hadn’t kept him from indulging in a healthy appetite for casual sex.

  His conscience pricked as he realized the most obvious explanation. Alyra was an Omega, which put her far below his status. Had the pack’s class system caused him to be completely blind to the beauty that had been right in front of him all along?

  He stepped forward into the light, and Alyra turned suddenly, jerking in reaction to his presence. Her eyes skittered over his face before moving toward the ground.

  Fighting a sudden desire to reach out and reassure her, he shoved his hands into his pockets as she bowed her head.

  “Mr. Sundown, I didn’t see you there.” Her tone was composed, but bore faint traces of both anxiety and annoyance. “Did Achilles’s unrest draw you as well?”

  He shook his head. “No. I saw the light on my way in.”

  A perfect brow, a shade lighter than her hair, arched. “I hope we didn’t disturb you. It’s his first night in a new place.” Her voice softened. Her hands caressed the horse’s neck, and Jared’s mind flashed back to thoughts of her caressing him… everywhere.

  “Is he settling in?” Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he

  “He seemed a little disoriented.” She turned her head toward the horse, a look of adoration plain on her face. “But I think he’s settled now and will soon come to regard this as home. Isn’t that right, handsome?” Once again, Alyra kissed his nose. If she was self-conscious about her displays of affection for the stallion, she gave no indication.

  As she whispered words of love to the horse, Jared imagined her whispering to him as she lay in his bed. But in his fantasy, it wasn’t sentimental words of ardor pouring from her mouth. No, his imagination supplied declarations of sexual hunger, demand for satisfaction, and breathless cries of delight falling from her eager mouth.

  She turned back to face Jared, and his cock swelled when at the sight of her breasts straining against the thin cotton fabric of her shirt.

  In an effort to distract himself from the carnal thoughts swirling through his head, he nodded to the horse and asked, “What plans do you have in mind for Achilles?”

  Alyra shrugged. “We’ll get him settled in before studding him. I think he’ll make a magnificent horse for you, Mr. Sundown—that is, if you’re still interested in one with spirit, as you phrased it when we spoke a couple of months ago.”

  He arched a brow. “I do enjoy the feel of a… spirited… creature beneath my hands.” The corner of his mouth quirked into a half-smile as he watched the heat creep into Alyra’s cheeks.

  “I—I was going to work with him today,” she stammered, “but my brother Elijah stopped by before I could get a good start with him…” She trailed off, looking away from him to study the horse’s shiny mane.

  “Elijah Edwards?” The smile vanished from Jared’s face as his stomach clenched against the renewed anger sparking inside him. “The bartender… he’s your brother?”

  She nodded, still not meeting his eyes. From her demeanor, he knew then that she knew about Mila’s affair. Ignited by the realization, his fury fanned to life once again, and he balled his hands into fists, muttering curses under his breath.

  She finally glanced at him, and her eyes widened when she saw his expression. He took grim pleasure in the hint of fear that darkened her eyes. At that moment, Elijah’s image superimposed itself over hers, and she was the perfect target.

  He blinked, and she was Alyra once again. She was still as stone, her fear written all over her face.

  With a growl of frustration, Jared spun on his heel and stormed from the stables, summoning the will to calm himself before he did something he might regret. He told himself Alyra wasn’t responsible for the sins of her brother, regardless of what their ancient pack laws might say.

  Just as Mila’s parents were unable to stop their daughter from fleeing, Alyra had been powerless to stop her brother. Even he himself had been unable to dissuade them from leaving.

  If anyone on this island had the ability to change Mila’s mind, his promised mate would be safe and sound in her bedroom right this minute, and would be marrying him in a few days’ time.

  His anger cooled gradually as he paced the grounds, warning himself not to hold Alyra accountable. He was almost back to the main house, and had almost convinced himself to accept what had happened, until he flashed back to that afternoon.

  His eyes narrowing, he recalled watching her ride up with Achilles, whisper to Mila and disappear with the horse. And when he joined the women on the lawn, Mila smelled of sex and hay.

  Once more, his rage swelled when he made the connection between the two events and realized the only logical explanation was that she had arranged for Mila to meet Elijah somewhere, on his very own fucking estate.

  Old-fashioned and barbaric, maybe, but in his eyes, she was as culpable for endangering the pack’s future as Mila and Elijah. They had all conspired to put him in this position, whether or not their motives had been malicious. That didn’t matter.

  The only thing that mattered was setting things right.

  With renewed purpose, Jared turned from the main house and strode back to the stables. Alyra Edwards was a worthy substitute for the punishment he wanted to direct toward her brother. For the first time in a couple of hours, he wasn’t as worried about the future as he had been. Whatever had lightened his mood—his impending meeting with Alyra or having solved his problem—he didn’t care.

  2

  Alyra tossed and turned on the narrow bed. The way Jared had torn out of the stables after learning of her relation to Elijah worried her. Forty minutes had passed since their encounter, but her fear grew. What would he do if he found out Elijah and Mila were involved? Did he already know? Was that why he had left so abruptly? And why had he been livid? Was his anger directed toward her?

  Her head throbbed under the onslaught of the thoughts stabbing at her mind, and she closed her eyes, trying to relax. Sleep was proving elusive, but she would be content just to clear her thoughts of Jared. With a sigh, she rolled over yet again, punching her pillow in an attempt to form it into a comfortable shape.

  In the midst of laying down her head, the sound of footsteps on the small porch caused her to jerk upright. Logic told her anyone calling on her after midnight would only come because of a problem with one of the horses. Much as she didn’t want any of her charges to be ailing or troubled, dealing with an ill or stressed horse was preferable to the alternative her mind conjured.

  Even before the sharp rap on her door, she knew it was Jared. Maybe her increased senses picked up his smell. She fancied she heard his heartbeat in her ears, but realized the racing percussion was her own as she slid from the bed.

  Her mouth was dry as cotton when she started toward the door, foregoing a robe, because her flannel pajamas were more than modest. His rapping came again, even briefer, and sounding angry. She cursed a vivid imagination, trying to dismiss her fear, but found her heart lodged in her throat when she opened the door.

  He stood on her doorstep like a vengeful god, towering over her, although there was only a few inches’ difference in their actual heights. The angry scowl on his face did nothing to ease her apprehension. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to hide her reaction behind a mask of indifference. “Yes, Mr. Sundown? Is there a problem with Achilles, or one of the other horses?”

  “I think you know what the problem is.” He forced his way inside, slamming the door behind with a resounding thump.

  Alyra shook her head. “I have no idea—”

  He cut her off. “You helped him, didn’t you? Did you arrange all their meetings, maybe even introduce them?” The way Jared closed in on her forced Alyra backward to escape him. “Are you plotting with those who seek to take leadership of the Sundown Pack from me? Or we
re you merely helping your brother betray the pack because of some misguided sense of family duty?”

  Alyra gasped. “You know?” Her feet continued to lead her backward, her heart thudding in her ears.

  “Of course I know. I left my faithless fiancée and her lover not an hour ago as they prepared to sail away without a care in the world.” He took another step forward, pinning her against the wall. “Why did you do it?”

  The frustration and confusion in Jared’s eyes were enough to make Alyra reach out to touch his shoulder. “He’s my brother, and he loves her. It wasn’t to hurt you.” She bowed her head, trying to hide her pain. “I had no idea you loved Mila so much.” Did that thick rasp really belong to her? She winced at having betrayed her emotions so blatantly.

  Fortunately, he seemed beyond noticing. “I don’t love her, but I needed her.” He shook his head, making his dark hair flip forward onto his forehead. “I have to have a mate by the Ascension. You know that, so how could you betray my family, the pack, and me to help Elijah?”

  She lifted her head, squaring her shoulders. “They obviously love each other, but no one would let them be together because of the snobbish way our pack lives. Can’t you just leave them alone?”

  His eyes gleamed. “Oh, I have. I let them go… maybe not with my blessing, but because I have no choice. Mila and Elijah are now out of my reach…” Jared shifted forward, pressing his body fully against hers, with an intimate air that caused her breath to catch in her throat. “But you aren’t.”