Daddy Alpha’s Favorite Sin: His Second Chance Christmas Mate

‎Snow swallowed the forest in silence as Aria Maren stepped out of the car, her boots crunching on the snow. The Silvercrest estate loomed ahead of her, broad ancient timber and warm lights glowing through frost-filled windows. It should have felt welcoming. It didn't.

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‎The wind blew around her, cold and sharp, carrying the distant echo of the trees that surrounded the house and sending an eerie feeling down her spine.

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‎She hugged her coat tighter, “It's just the wind, you always get scared for nothing” she whispered to herself.

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‎She grew up around them, she knew their sounds better than car horns. And yet… tonight felt different. The forest felt alert. Aware. Watching.

It felt like the air was alive with something faint, almost electrical, a strange tingle under her skin. But it was gone before she could blink. She shivered unsure if it was only her wild imaginations again.

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‎Her pulse fluttered.

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‎She reached for the ice-cold doorknob and hesitated. Her breath fogged in front of her as she whispered, “Liana?"

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‎Nothing. Not even the thump of footsteps.

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‎Aria tried the knob, it turned easily.

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‎Unlocked.

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‎She felt the hair on her arms stand on end. The Silvercrest territory was strict. Nothing was ever left open, especially in a winter storm.

The wind hit softly at her back, as if urging her inside or warning her to stay away. She couldn't tell which.

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‎She stepped inside. Warmth hit her first, then the silence, which was unusual for a house this large. The grand lobby stretched upward, decorated in evergreen garlands and soft golden lights, but no voices or movements, just the soft crackle from a distant fireplace.

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‎“Liana?" She called again and her voice echoed back at her.

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‎She set her suitcase down carefully, trying not to think about how weirded out she feels standing alone inside an Alpha's house without permission… Liana had invited her for the holidays. But growing up around them meant she learned to respect territory. Always.

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‎She took a few steps deeper into the house.

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‎A faint chill crept along her spine, the strange sense of eyes following her. Her heart beats faster. She swallowed. “Okay… you're being dramatic. It's just the empty house.”

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‎She moved towards the living room, and the fireplace was lit, the log crackling bright red, meaning someone had been here recently.

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‎Aria wet her lips, unease curling low in her belly. She should have waited for Liana to arrive first before she did.

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‎“Where is everyone…?”

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‎A floorboard creaked behind her.

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‎She spun.

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‎Nothing, just shadows.

But the tension in the air hadn't vanished. It thickened by each step she takes. She couldn't shake the feeling like something had just slipped out of sight.

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‎Her heart thudded so hard she felt it in her throat. She backed up a step, instinct tightening in her chest.

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‎She reached for her phone, before a deep voice cut through the silence.

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‎" Why are you here alone?”

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‎Aria froze.

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‎She stood at the entrance of the lobby, broad shoulders blocking the doorway, snow clung to the dark leather of his jacket. Rowan Thorne. Alpha of Silvercrest. More terrifying now at thirty-eight than he had ever been when she was fifteen and secretly stealing glances at him over hot cocoa.

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‎Her stomach dropped.

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‎She hadn't seen him in three years.

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‎She gulped, her memory of him had been kind. The real man was worse. Tall, commanding, jaw shadowed with short stubble, hair toussled by the wind and streaked with silver. His storm grey eyes locked on hers, unreadable, hard, and burning with something she didn't dare to interpret.

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‎“Alpha Rowan," she breathed.

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‎His name tasted strange on her lips, familiar in a way she wished it wasn't.

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‎He stepped further inside, letting the door close behind him. Snow hit the floor, melting as she shrugged his jacket off without looking away from her.

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‎“You're trembling," he stated quietly.

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‎“ I-I’m cold."

‎She wasn't, her skin burned as she was too warm.

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‎His gaze dipped, taking in her flushed cheeks, the beating of the pulse on her neck, the slight rise and fall of her chest, and her tight grip on her phone. Assessing. Calculating. She'd grown up around wolves to recognize when one was reading her pulse, tension, and her fear.

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‎And something else.

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‎Something hungry flickered in his expression before he shut it down completely.

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‎“You shouldn't be here without Liana," he said voice low and controlled. “It's not safe "

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‎“Her flight got delayed," Aria replied, trying to breathe normally, “She told me to go inside and wait. I assumed there'd be someone when I arrived."

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‎“There were." His jaw tightened. “They called in a disturbance, they said they lost track of…” he stopped

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‎Of what?

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‎Her? That made no sense.

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and for the shortest second, his gaze flickered behind her towards the back windows, as if scanning for something he didn't want her to see.

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‎Rowan watched her for a beat too long, his chest rising as if taking an unsteady breath. Then…

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‎“Come here."

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‎The order wasn't harsh, just firm enough that her legs started moving before her mind caught up. Stupid. Embarrassing. She stopped herself halfway and forced out a nervous laugh.

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‎“Sorry, old habit. I grew up listening to you command people."

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‎His eyes darkened in a way that made her stomach twist.

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‎" You don't obey me,” he said. A statement, a warning. But his voice dropped a note lower, that deep alpha tone curling up her skin.

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‎Her cheeks burned.

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‎He closed the distance between them, slower, every step as if he was careful not to startle her. He was always like this she thought. Collected, controlled, every movement was deliberate. But something felt different this time. More thicker and charged.

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‎When he stopped a few feet from her, she felt the heat radiating off his burning.

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‎He looked down at her eyes, burning, tracing her face with a subtle intensity that made her knees feel unreliable. She forced herself to hold her gaze even though it made her throat tighten.

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‎" You've changed,” he murmured.

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‎" So have you,” she replied, whispering before she could stop herself.

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‎A flicker, quick, sharp passed through his eyes. Something like approval, like he wanted to step even closer but was holding himself still with effort.

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‎He was older now. Rougher. More dangerous. And seeing him again…

‎God.

‎She'd thought her teenage crush had stopped, mere foolishness, naive. But seeing him up close, feeling his presence wrap around her…

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‎It wasn't gone at all. It was worse.

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‎He studied her as if memorizing every expression she tried to conceal. “You shouldn't have walked into an empty house at night, Aria. Not here. Not now."

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‎Her skin prickled, a small frown settling on her face. “Why? What happened?"

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‎He didn't answer.

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‎Instead, he reached up slowly, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. His fingers didn't touch her, he hovered over her skin, as if afraid of crossing a line he wasn't supposed to cross.

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‎But even that distance made her breath hitch.

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‎His eyes dropped to her parted lips for a fraction of a second.

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‎A low, restrained growl vibrated in his chest.

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‎Not threatening. Not angry, more like he was fighting something within him.

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‎Aria stepped back on instinct, pulse pounding. She didn't know why she reacted like that. Fear? Attraction? Both? Something stirred within her like a soft whisper under her skin.

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‎Rowan noticed her flinch, and guilt flickered across his expression before his mask fell into place so quickly.

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‎“You should go upstairs, " he said, voice rougher. “Stay there until I return."

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‎“You're leaving?" She breathed hurriedly.

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‎"I need to check the perimeter,” His jaw clenched. “Something isn't right tonight.”

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‎Before she could reply he placed two fingers under her chin, dragging her gaze to meet his. Electricity shot down her body.

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‎“You lock your door," he said softer now. “You don't open it for anyone but me or Elia. Understood?"

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‎Aria swallowed. “Yes.”

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‎His eyes lingered on her for a second too long, then he turned and left through the back doors into the storm, disappearing into the night.

And just before the door shut behind him, Aria felt it again. That prickling, invincible pressure. The unmistakable sensation of something standing just outside the house, something that wasn't Rowan.