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

Chapter 9 - Mica

Tess, Echo, and Ryder stood behind Mica while the rest of the team stood behind Hayden. It wasn’t strictly necessary to have a ceremony, certainly not a witnessed one. But it was tradition. Mica faced Hayden, watching as he cupped his hand in the bowl of water between them. He held it toward her, and she drank from his hand.

“The first of my vows, to provide you sustenance,” he rumbled.

Mica took a deep breath and dipped her fingers into the water. She held her hand toward him. Hayden caught her fingers in his mouth, and an unexpected spark shot through her. “The first of my vows. To return back your sustenance.”

“The second of my vows, to protect you by my body,” Hayden said, drawing her nearer.

“The second my vows, to give from my body,” Mica whispered.

Hayden took the ribbon and tied it around her wrist. “To you, I bind myself.”

Mica tied the other end. “To you, I bind myself.”

Was this really happening?

She still remembered the cold look in his eyes. She remembered everything vividly about that day.

Echo had bought her a new outfit earlier in the week, and it was the first time Mica wore it. A pink blouse with ruffles down the front and a dark blue skirt that hit just above her knee. She felt pretty and girly, something she could never remember feeling like before.

Alpha Monroe had called a pack meeting, and she accompanied Ryder and Echo to the meeting. When she spied Elin and Hayden, she broke from her mother and brother to join them. Excitement swirled through her. Today was the day that mated pairs were announced to the pack. It happened every year.

She slid into a chair next to Hayden and grinned to him. He gave her a half-smile in return and stared straight ahead. On his other side, Elin more or less ignored her. Elin had been going through some hard times lately, though, so Mica wasn’t so bothered by it.

As Monroe stood and started to announce this year's mated pairs, Mica twisted her hands in her lap. She wanted so badly to reach for his hand. There was a reason she’d worn this outfit, a reason she’d been so excited to get it in the first place. Her nerves churned in her belly.

Just yesterday, Elin had told her that Hayden confided that he was in love with her. And that all she had to do was tell him how she felt, and he’d ask Monroe for permission to take a mate early. Normally, they would have to wait until they were eighteen to have the mating ceremony. Mica’s mouth went dry as she worked up the courage she needed.

Looking back, the fact that Hayden had never talked to her about being mated should have been a warning sign. She should have realized that he wasn’t just being a gentleman when he never kissed her or touched her in anything but a friend-appropriate matter.

She leaned closer to Hayden. It was now or never. “Hayden?”

“Mmm?” he answered, not seeming to be listening.

That was okay. He’d listen when she told him. She took a deep breath. “I… I wanted to tell you that I…”

Hayden turned to her, his eyebrows furrowed. “You what?”

“I love you,” she blurted.

It just so happened that Elin held up her hand at the same time, and Monroe had paused in his announcements. Though Mica had whispered, her voice carried. Several people turned toward them.

“What was that?” Monroe called.

Elin lowered her hand. “Sorry, Alpha, I was only stretching.”

Monroe ignored her as he focused on Mica. “What did you just say, human girl?”

Mica shrank into her seat.

One of the adults nearby laughed. “She says she’s in love with Hayden.”

Laughter erupted all around them. Mica’s face turned hot as she pressed herself into her chair, wishing she could just disappear. When she turned to Hayden, silently pleading to be rescued.

“Hayden?” Monroe called, sounding amused. “Do you have something to tell Mica?”

Hayden’s jaw clenched. He jumped to his feet and glared at me. “I don’t know why you’d say that. You can never be my mate, Mica. I want a proper mate-bond, and you can’t give that to me. So go be in love with something else.

The air left Mica’s lungs. Tears blurred her vision as Elin burst into peals of laughter. When Mica jumped to her feet and raced from the meeting hall, the rest of the pack laughed as well.

After that, he never even looked at her without rolling his eyes. He laughed when people made pig noises behind her back. If he had just been dismissive of her, it would have been one thing. But he flipped a switch and joined in with her tormentors.

Now, as she stared at the red ribbon binding her to him, panic started to rise in her chest. Why did she agree to do this with him?

“My final vow is to stand by you and for you,” Hayden said.

The final vow was the only one that a mated couple made themselves. The rest were all traditions in the ceremony. Mica searched his gaze, trying to understand what that vow meant.

He held her hand tightly in his own, as though he was afraid she would try to tear away from him. Part of her wondered if she should. Hayden was never going to feel for her the way she had once felt for him. Hell, he didn’t see her as anything but a means to an end.

At the same time… he had the chance to look for another mate. There were plenty of women here that would go for him. So he picked her for a reason, right? He said it was just because she was the easiest choice to make. What did that mean? He wanted her on some level, right? He wouldn’t bother with her as his mate if he really thought so little of her.

Right?

Or was she just kidding herself?

“My final vow. To…” her words faltered. What could she promise Hayden from her heart? “To… try.”

Hayden’s hands tightened on hers. “And now we are mated, in soul and heart.”

Mica let out a slow breath. She felt a subtle shift in herself. As Hayden unwrapped the ribbon from their wrists, she felt the heat of his skin on hers. She grew painfully away of the soft rise and fall of his chest. Even his hair and eyes seemed to take on a more vivid hue.

Around her, their witnesses congratulated them. Their words were hollow in Mica’s ears. She must have said the appropriate responses because nobody looked distressed. When Hayden put an arm around her waist and tugged her out of the room, sparks ignited beneath her skin.

He led her to the stairs, and her heart started to hammer. The daze disappeared as she walked with him. Her breathing grew quicker as she turned slightly, admiring how his muscles pulled against the material of his suit.

Was this really happening?

Her throat was dry as they entered the large suite that was not their bedroom. The king-sized bed stood in the center of the room. When Mica stepped toward it, though, Hayden didn’t release her.

“The ceremony is over. We are mated, and I can challenge Monroe,” Hayden said, his voice gravelly. “We can take our time with everything else.”

Mica carefully pulled away from Hayden. “What do you mean?”

His dark eyes bored into hers. “I mean, you are still injured and you have had a lot thrust on you all at once. I won’t add yet another thing that you have to do today. We will have to consummate at some point, but it doesn’t have to be today. It won’t be today.”

Mica opened her mouth and then closed it again. A whirl of emotions rushed through her. Was that… disappointment? If she examined her own feelings, then she knew yet, that she was disappointed. But also grateful.

“You’re right,” she said, stepping back. “Thank you for not… pushing the issue.”

She did want him to hold her. Maybe it was the mate bond, she didn’t know. But right now, she felt so small and fragile and he was so strong… she wished that she could just curl into his arms and trust him. That would be such a mistake, though.

So much was happening. She needed time to process demons and her mother’s condition. She didn’t need any other complications on top of it.

Hayden ran a hand through his sleek black hair. “You should rest. Do you need help getting out of that dress?”

Mica glanced down at herself. It wasn’t exactly a glamorous thing. Tess had brought over one of her fancier dresses. Though both of them were curvy, Mica had had to squeeze into it. She could barely breathe without popping the zipper.

“Um, I just need five minutes,” she said, feeling oddly shy.

“Clothes are in the dresser,” Hayden said, nodding toward it. Then he went to the window and stood facing out, his back to her.

Mica went to the dresser and opened the second drawer. Unsurprisingly, her clothes were all there. She just hoped it was Tess who grabbed her underwear. Quickly, she pulled out a t- shirt and a pair of pants, then carefully unzipped the dress. As she did so, Hayden let out a strangled sort of noise.

“Are you okay?” Mica asked warily.

“Just fine.” Hayden kept his back to her. “What happened to Monroe’s mate?”

“Oh.” Mica huffed as she quickly changed. “Last year, Monroe ended up in a fight with his brother. She tried to put herself between them to stop the fighting and…” She shuddered. “She was fatally injured.”

She zipped her pants and pulled her red hair from the neck of the t-shirt. “I’m dressed.”

Hayden turned back to her. He nodded approvingly at her choice, then gave her a strange look. “There will be fighting in the coming days. I know women are taught that they have to try to stop their mates from fighting, but you have to stay out of it. You’ll get yourself killed just like she did.”

His gaze was so intense that a shiver ran down Mica’s spine. She opened her mouth, not knowing what she wanted to say.

A knock made her jump.

“Hayden, Monroe is here to see you and your mate,” Derek called through the door.

Every trace of emotion in Hayden’s face disappeared. He gestured for Mica to go with him as he headed for the door. She followed after him, her head whirling. Was that a show of concern? Or was she just determined to fool herself?

Monroe, Spencer, and several other wolves waited for them in the living room. Mica’s hands clenched when she noted Elin in the group. What was she doing here? Hadn’t she done enough to hurt her already?

Monroe puffed out his chest as he faced Hayden. “So, boy, are you mated now?”

Hayden smiled. “I am. My mate and I just finished our ceremony a few minutes ago.”

He tugged Mica to his side and casually slung an arm around her shoulder. Mica’s skin prickled. Unlike earlier, when they were heading upstairs, this was accompanied by a knot in her stomach. How could Hayden so quickly change who he was, depending on who he was talking to?

“Now that I’m mated, we’ll have to set the challenge day,” Hayden continued. “That is, unless you don’t qualify.”

Monroe narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

Mica shook her head, trying to get Hayden to stop. Don’t do it!

But he did.

“You don’t have a mate. And if an Alpha needs one…” Hayden laughed.

Monroe’s jaw clenched. A vein popped out in his forehead. Without looking, he seized Elin roughly by the shoulder and yanked her to him. “I was going to offer you a worthy mate and a position in my ranks. But since you’re determined to die, boy, I’ll simply take the girl as my mate and see you on the challenge grounds.”

All the air disappeared from Mica’s lungs. Elin’s eyes widened, and the color drained from her face. She yelped as Monroe dragged her away. Mica was left with a ringing in her ears as the weight of her former best friend’s terror crashed down on her.