The Alpha’s Bullied Mate (Bluebell Valley Wolves #1)

Chapter 3 - Mica

Tears burned Mica’s eyes as she fled the hall. Her blood rushed in her ears, drowning out any sound that might follow her. The whole hall was probably rioting with laughter at Hayden’s prank. And to think that when he announced he was challenging Monroe, she had been worried for him! All the while, he’d just been planning on making a big joke out of her.

She couldn’t make herself go back to collect her mother. Ryder was back; he could bring Echo home and then probably lecture Mica for causing a scene and embarrassing them all.

Was he in on it? Mica hoped he wasn’t. Her big brother was among the few people she once thought she could count on. After he left, she realized she couldn’t really count on anyone… but still hoped he would stand up for her.

“Stupid,” she muttered, slowing down to a walk.

The night was cool and crisp, with the full moon hanging plump and round overhead. On another night, Mica might have actually liked the walk toward the house at the edge of town. With the tears of humiliation blurring her vision, she couldn’t enjoy any of it now.

The worst part of it all was that when Hayden first said she would be his mate, her traitor heart sang. She’d been stunned, of course, but there was an instant elation. A hope, a relief. The feeling of finally getting exactly what she wanted.

Until the reality had come crashing down on her.

Hayden wouldn’t come back to the pack and announce in front of everyone he wanted her as his mate. Not when he was so public about rejecting her all those years ago. And afterward, he was the one who led the charge in excluding her. He was the one who constantly talked about her eating habits loudly behind her back.

After everything he’d done to her, the last thing she wanted was for him to be her mate. Her heart had no right to be glad he said he wanted her after the way he treated her.

“Fuck him! Fuck him and Ryder and the whole fucking pack!” Mica’s hands clenched into fists. Swearing out loud was a relief when she usually bottled her emotions. “They can all go to hell for all I care!”

A black wolf zipped by her, turned on a dime, and came to a stop in front of her. It was a small wolf, small enough that most people would assume it was a child. It wasn’t, though. Tess retook her human form, her brow furrowed in worry.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Hayden asked for you to be his mate?” Tess blurted.

Mica ground her teeth together. “Because he never asked!”

“What do you mean?”

Mica sidestepped her and started walking again. She wanted to be alone! She wanted them all to just leave her alone. Maybe things would have been different if she was a wolf shifter like the rest of them. But she honestly couldn’t understand why the she-wolves in the pack didn’t push back on the bullshit that the males threw at them.

I only take it because I’m waiting for my chance to get free.

“Mica!” Tess followed after her. “What do you mean that he didn’t ask? You mean he just announced you’re his mate without talking about it first?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. I didn’t even know he was in town. And I’m not his mate,” Mica spat, agitated. “It takes more than him announcing something to make it true. I hate him. I’m never going to be his mate.”

Tess padded beside her, breathing easily even though Mica panted angrily. She kept shooting worried glances at her friend, though Mica studiously ignored her.

“You know… you could do a lot worse than Hayden,” Tess finally said. “Even if he does want to challenge Monroe. He’s handsome, from a good family, well-off, and has a respected job. He’s never lifted his hand against a woman or a weaker wolf.”

Mica stopped. She stared in shock at Tess. “What does that have to do with anything? Why should I accept someone who has treated me like dirt just because he’s not a complete monster?”

“You don’t have any other prospects,” Tess mumbled, staring at the ground. “Some of us would be happy to have an offer from someone who isn’t a monster.”

Despite her lingering anger at herself and Hayden both, Mica’s heart clenched. Tess had been one of the most popular she-wolves in the pack, right up until the death of Monroe’s mate. Then he asked for her, she refused, and she became an outcast. Even though the structure of the Bluebell Valley pack had hurt Tess personally, she always followed along with how things were done.

Not all packs were like this. Many of them were even led by female Alphas these days. The Bluebell Valley pack resisted any attempt to change their system. It was all very strict, especially when it came to gender roles. Echo only managed to escape the scorn of being a single mother because her mate died shortly after Ryder was born.

“Maybe that’s the difference between humans and wolves,” Mica said, her voice sounding hollow to herself. “Maybe humans are never satisfied with what they have. Maybe it’s not in my nature.”

“I don’t believe that. I think that’s just you,” Tess said.

Irritation spiked through Mica. “Oh, you think so? So that means if Ryder came into a pack meeting and told everyone that he was taking you as a mate, even though he hasn’t said a kind word to you since he rejected you, you’d take him back?”

Maybe it was mean, but it was the only thing that came close to what Mica was going through. Tess couldn’t understand. She was still getting used to the feeling of being an outcast. She didn’t know what it was like to have everyone look down on you.

Mica had spent so long on the bottom rung of the pack, she was used to it. She knew what it meant to be treated like dirt, and knew she wasn’t going to put up with it from the one person who was supposed to love her.

“Well?” she demanded, stepping closer to Tess. “Would you?”

Tess dropped her eyes to the ground. “I would at least consider it.”

Mica bit her tongue. Of course, Tess would consider it.

“There has to be a reason why Hayden asked for you. There’s so many she-wolves in the pack who would love to be with him.” Tess lifted her head again, a pained smile on her face. “He could have asked Elin. She wouldn’t hesitate to accept him.”

“Elin can have him,” Mica spat. She started to walk again, slower this time. “But I guess there’s one thing I should thank him for.”

Tess’s black eyebrows quirked together.

“He’s made it clear to me that I can’t stay here,” Mica said. Her spine straightened as she came to the obvious conclusion. She’d wasted enough of her life here with this pack. “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life kicking around the edges of this pack, hoping someday I’ll start being treated better.”

“Mica,” Tess yelped in surprise.

“I’m a human. I can go anywhere I like. Other packs aren’t going to attack me like they would a rogue,” she said, the pieces falling together. “Mom needs the car, so I’ll have to go on foot. But nobody will even notice I’m gone.”

“You can’t be serious,” Tess protested. “Mica, this is insane! Where will you go? You have shelter and protection here. If you leave, you’ll have to find someplace that will take you, and there’s no guarantee anyone will treat you better.”

Mica shook her head. “I have to try. I should never have been part of the pack in the first place. I’m not even part of the pack; that’s been made abundantly clear over and over again.”

“Your mother will know,” Tess said desperately. “And what about her? What will she do when you’re gone? You’re supposed to take care of her.”

“Ryder is back. He can take care of her.”

But thinking about Echo did make Mica hesitate. Her mother’s state was so fragile that any huge upsets might make her take a turn for the worse. Could she really leave if it meant maybe never seeing her mother again?

Ryder was home, though. Ryder, who had left the brunt of the work here to Mica for years.

Besides, if she didn’t leave now, when would she have a chance again? Everyone would keep pushing her to be with Hayden. He was more than she deserved, according to everyone else. So why wouldn’t she accept him? If she thought her life was awful now, just wait until she told a man no. Just look at what happened to Tess.

Mica couldn’t imagine her life getting worse, and she didn’t want to stick around to see how the pack would punish her for this.

“You have to help me.” Mica caught Tess’s hands in her own. “Please. You’re the only one that can. I need to get away from here; otherwise, this place is going to kill me. I’m going to my house and pack a bag. You tell my mother I’ve gone to my cave until this business with Hayden cools off.”

The cave was up the mountain in the forest, just beyond the Bluebell Valley pack’s border. It was where Mica often fled when things got too bad for her. No wolves of the pack could cross it, but as a human, she was able to cross borders without the neighboring pack thinking anything of it.

“Please,” Mica begged.

Tess nodded. “I’ll tell her.”

Mica pulled her friend into a hug. “Thank you.”

Then she took off again, heading to the house. It was time to leave and put the pack behind her, once and for all.