Wolf Tempted

WOLF TEMPTED REJECTED BY FATE EMBER-RAINE WINTERS Copyright © 2023 by Ember-Raine Winters All rights reserved. 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. Created with Vellum CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Also by Ember-Raine Winters About the Author 1 JARA “Shit!” Pain dots my skin as I rush to the sink to rinse off the hot oil splashed onto my hand. Angela giggles from her perch on the counter. “You better be careful, or the alpha is going to wrap you in bubble wrap.” She’s not wrong, I think as I stare out the window at the exposed-wood cabins. Acher has been even more overprotective since my almost kidnapping. It took weeks for everyone to calm down and get back to normal. The restrictions were raised for everyone but me. I smile, my heart warming as the cubs wrestle and roam outside once again, growling and snarling as they play. The beauty of it eases my own frustrations and dulls the pain of the hot oil. The sound of Angela’s muffled snickers causes me to glare over at her. “You could help you know.” “I could.” Angela hops down off the counter but doesn’t move to help. “You’re impossible.” I flip the chicken more carefully this time, shaking my head at the woman. “And you are delusional.” She sings back. I know this is probably a long shot, but Archer has been more attentive and caring since the near kidnapping. “I know it’s a long shot, Angela, but I have to try.” I widen my eyes at her, and she sighs. It’s been months since I was able to see my family. Since my fated mate rejected me and I made the best decision of my life. “Fine.” She grumbles and starts washing potatoes. “How are you doing since everything happened?” “I’m good. I feel like the pack is finally warming up to me.” It’s taken a while, but the pack members who were cruel before have softened, and I think that I may even become friends with some of them. “That’s great. Some of them were right bastards.” She hurls a potato into the pot, teeth bared. I don’t meet her eyes. “It’s all in the past now.” It was pretty bad, but they weren’t nearly as bad as the women in Grayson’s pack. Those bitches were vicious and cruel. Destroying my mating ceremony wasn’t the only horrible thing they had done. “It’s still not okay, Jara.” “It’s better here than it was in my old pack.” I laugh. “As long as people stop trying to kill me or threaten me. I think I’m okay here.” “You know that’s not funny, right. Let’s not tempt fate.” She places paper in the sink and grabs the potato peeler as she shakes her head. “I’m not tempting anything. I’m just hoping things will calm down.” It would be nice for all of us to not have to worry constantly about rogues or humans or anything for a while. “What exactly are we trying to accomplish with this?” Angela asks, plopping a potato on the counter. “It’s just a nice dinner for my mate.” I pull the chicken out of the pan and look at the screen on my e-reader. I found that it does a lot more than just read books. I found a site that gives all kinds of recipes. I have been dying to try a few. Angela grins. “Sure, it is.” We work in silence for a few minutes when there’s a knock on the door. I dry off my hands on a kitchen towel as I stride through the house to the entryway and open the door. Patrick is standing there, his expression grim. His dark hair is in disarray and the acrid scent of his fear permeates the air. “This was with the packages that came this week. It looks important.” He scrubs a hand over his neck. I study the envelope in my hand, but it doesn’t mean anything to me. It just has a company name and a business address. I furrow my brow. It doesn’t look particularly important to me. Angela gasps, grabbing it from my hand to get a better look. “Rude.” “It’s from a human government agency that investigates business practices, Jara. We could be in trouble.” She chews her lip as I gasp. Is the government investigating us? Do they know shifters exist? This is fucking dangerous. A light breeze travels in through the open door, and I shiver unable to get the chill of this moment from my bones. This is all so ominous. “It’s very troubling,” Patrick says softly. There’s fear in his eyes. His heart is pounding in his chest and his pulse is racing. I’m pretty damn scared myself. This could be extremely bad. “We need to give this to Archer. Damn it why can’t we have time without everything going to hell?” I throw my hands up in the air and follow Angela to Archer’s office. Angela glances at me with trepidation. I stare back. This is bad. Archer’s office is soundproof, so we don’t have any idea what’s going on in there or what kind of mood he is currently in. None of us want to disturb him, but this is important. “Come in.” We slowly step into the office. Angela glances over at me with trepidation in her eyes before handing over the letter. “It came in today with the packages.” He scans