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 among himself, his promised mate, and her 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 it was all slipping away, because his betrothed had to think with her heart, not her head.

Standing with them at the dock, he had fleetingly thought of offering to turn a blind eye to their affair, so long as Mila married him. Almost as soon as the thought came to him, he had dismissed it, knowing he wouldn’t share his mate. He didn’t love Mila, but if she were his wife, she would belong to him. It was then he had accepted defeat and let her go, knowing she would never truly belong to him, even if she stayed on the island and became Lupina.

A light in the stable distracted Jared from his thoughts as he stepped onto the veranda that spanned two sides of the large mansion. The faint sound of a horse neighing piqued his curiosity, drawing him to the stables. Nearing the main entrance, he paused, watching.

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, but appeared to be calming down, 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.

He maintained a silent vigil as she soothed the horse. Jared’s eyes settled on her long fingers, nails bare of polish, stroking 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.

Jared’s breath caught in his throat when she 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 the 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. Nor had knowing he would marry Mila kept him from indulging in a healthy appetite for sex.

His conscience pricked when presented with the most obvious explanation. Alyra was an Omega, which put her far below his status. Had snobbery led him to block out her desirability?

She turned suddenly, jerking in reaction to his presence. Jared straightened his spine when her eyes skittered over his face, before moving toward the ground, as she bowed her head.

“Mr. Sundown, I didn’t see you there.” Her tone was composed, but bore a faint trace of 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, and her hands caressed the horse’s neck. “He was bound to be a little distraught.” She turned her head toward the horse, a look of adoration plain on her face. “I think he’s settled now and will soon come to regard this as home. Isn’t that right, sweetie?” Once again, Alyra kissed his nose. If she was self-conscious about her displays of affection for the stallion, she gave no indication.

Jared’s cock swelled when he was once again presented with the sight of her breasts straining against the cotton fabric of her shirt.

As she whispered words of love to the horse, his mind pictured her whispering to him as she lay in his bed. They wouldn’t be sentimental words of love pouring from her mouth. No, his imagination supplied words of sexual hunger, demand for satisfaction, and breathless cries of delight that would fall from her eager mouth.

In an effort to distract himself from the carnal thoughts swirling through his head, he 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 nodded. “How will you settle him?”

“I was going to start today, 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.

Jared’s stomach clenched. “Elijah Edwards? 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. His banked anger fanned to life again, and he clenched 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 expression. At that moment, Elijah’s image superimposed itself over hers, and she was the perfect target. When he blinked, she was Alyra again—but she still owed him for what her brother had done.

With a growl of frustration, he spun on his heel and stormed from the stables, trying to cool down before he did something he might regret. He told himself Alyra wasn’t responsible for the sins of her brother, regardless of ancient pack laws.

She was powerless to stop her brother, just as Mila’s parents hadn’t been able to stop her, as evidenced by her hasty escape with her lover. Otherwise, his promised mate would be safe and sound in her room right this minute, ready to marry 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.

* * *

Alyra tossed and turned on the narrow bed. The way Jared had torn out of the stables after learning of her relation to Mical worried her. Forty minutes had passed since their encounter, but her fear grew. What would he do if he found out Mical and Elise 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 were 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 Elise 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.”

Her eyes widened at the husky pitch of his voice, and when he stroked a finger down her cheek, she didn’t know whether to flinch or press closer.

“What are you going to do?” The question should have emerged with confidence, showing a lack of fear, but the breathlessness in her tone betrayed her.

His answer was silent, but earthshaking. Alyra trembled when his mouth slanted over hers with firm possessiveness. She placed her hands on his chest, intent on pushing him away, but somehow found her fingers grabbing handfuls of his sweater in an attempt to pull him closer.

All the daydreams she’d had of this moment for the past four years while working for the Sundowns couldn’t compare to the reality. A moan escaped her when he parted her lips with the pressure of his to sweep his tongue inside, exploring the moist recesses with thorough efficiency.

A chill struck her, and sanity returned. He was so aloof, and that wasn’t the way she wanted it to be. For the time she had secretly been in love with him, she had imagined many times he might suddenly see her as a woman, instead of just the horse trainer, and sweep her into his arms to take her passionately.

Milar in her dreams had his actions been motivated by anger. There was no mistaking the way he held himself apart from the kiss, and it gave her the courage to push against him, while wrenching her mouth from his.

He didn’t back up, just stared down at her with brooding eyes. His silence was as unnerving as the kiss had been. Her mouth flew open in an attempt to fill the stillness. “What do you want from me?”

“Reparation.”

Eyes wide, she shook her head. “What does that mean?”

“Your brother stole my mate, leaving me in a precarious position.” The muscles in his shoulders flexed when he shrugged. “There is an easy answer.”

Her mouth was too dry to form the question, but her eyes must have done so.

“The solution is simple, Alyra. I’m claiming you.”