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

Chapter 10 - Hayden

Kai pointed to a spot on the map. “We found a nest of beast-demons here. We killed all the adults and destroyed the eggs that we could find, but evidence points to the woods having far more of them than we first thought.”

“Mica said that Monroe was having the pack wipe out the animals in the forest. That’s a lot of sacrifices to create new demons,” Hayden replied. His eyebrows furrowed as he considered their conundrum. “We need to concentrate our efforts on taking out Monroe. His demon seems to be the most powerful. Once we have it taken care of, we can teach the pack how to hunt and take out the beasts.”

It was only a few hours since Monroe arrived at the house. It unsettled Hayden that the demon hadn’t taken his bait and agreed to the challenge right there. In the past, they were all blowhards whose arrogance had been their undoing.

Either this one was wise to them or was simply more cautious. Perhaps it was biding its time, spinning out the challenge to give itself more time to take a firm foothold in the area. In either case, now that Hayden issued the challenge, Monroe had to answer. Unfortunately, if he were to force Monroe to fight now, it would cause issues with the pack politics.

A knock came on the door. Hayden straightened, frowning. Only Finn, still keeping watch, was absent from this meeting of the special ops. The only reason he’d interrupt was if there was an emergency, and he wouldn’t knock.

“Enter,” Hayden said, unable to stop the annoyance from creeping into his voice.

Tess, her head bent timidly, opened the door. “Alpha, several wolves from the pack are asking for an audience.”

Hayden bit back an annoyed sigh. If this was Monroe coming back to make threats, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to play out the game without attacking. To his surprise, when he reached the front gate, it wasn’t Monroe at all. He recognized several of the thin, ragged wolves as ones on the outskirts of the pack even before he left.

“Alpha.” They all went to their knees as one.

The leader, thin with sunburned skin and thinning hair, prostrated himself on the ground. “We have come to swear our allegiance to you and beg your mercy.”

“What sort of mercy were you thinking?” Hayden asked.

Finn padded up beside him. When Hayden shot him a questioning look, Finn minutely shook his head. Good. There were no demons in this bunch.

“We wish to live here on your property. Alpha Monroe’s rents have driven us all to the brink, and we are willing to serve in payment for your hospitality. But we have no more money to give.”

It would be unseemly to turn away wolves swearing their allegiance to him. Yes, these were the dregs, but even they were important to the pack. Who would serve the powerful in the pack if all the servers left?

“You are welcome to stay here. Beta Ryder will arrange for your accommodations. I hope that you find rest under my rule,” Hayden said.

They murmured their thanks. When Hayden turned back to the house, he caught sight of Mica peeking out of their bedroom window. She quickly shut the curtain. Part of him wanted to go up there and settle their issues once and for all, but he still had work to be done.

Besides, this mating was one of convivence. There was no need to resolve their differences. He’d be Alpha soon enough, and Mica would be free to leave if she wanted to. After all, he didn’t want a mate that didn’t want him in return.

***

The next day, even more wolves showed up. Hayden was woken by a knock on the door. He rolled out of bed and glanced at where Mica had laid down on the couch the night before. She had already been sleeping there when he came to the room. Now, she peeked through her lashes at him, then quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Hayden threw on a shirt—he’d worn his shorts to bed—and slipped out of the room. Derek, who had been on watch the previous night, quietly explained what happened on the way downstairs. Just under two dozen more wolves had come to seek refuge here. He had arranged for them to be fed while he got Hayden.

“Good thinking,” Hayden said, nodding approvingly. “With so many newcomers, we’re going to have to put them all to work, and they can’t do that on empty stomachs.”

The deciding fight might not have happened yet, but any wolf that came to him to be shielded under him as an Alpha would receive a welcome. The biggest issue here was that the house wasn’t big enough to shelter them all. Food would also be a problem. When Hayden and the special ops had stocked their stores, they hadn’t expected to feed so many others.

“We will need to send people to the city for food,” Hayden said to Derek as they checked the stores. He ran the numbers in his head. “Everything in cans. Fresh produce won’t last as long as we need and will drain our finances faster. Have Blayke check with the newcomers if any of them have cash. No doubt Monroe will freeze their accounts as soon as he realizes they’re here.”

When Mica found him, he had moved on to the toolshed, making plans to harvest lumber to build a shelter for everyone. She wore a drab, faded t-shirt that hung baggily around her. It hid any sense of her marvelous figure.

She’d always worn ill-fitting clothes, even from the time they were kids. Oversized, baggy, and plain clothes were her style for as long as he knew her. Most of the time, her clothes were either hand-me-downs from Ryder or dated clothes Echo had kept from when she was growing up. None of it suited Mica.

The first time Hayden had seen her, she was a plump little girl with her red hair in pigtails and her green eyes viewing him with distrust. Even though they both grew up here in the pack, they hadn’t run in the same circles until they entered elementary school. There was something about her, a sense of vulnerability that had drawn him to her, wanting to protect her.

She’d been wearing a dress that made the other kids call her ‘fat grandma’ even though she wasn’t even fat. Hayden had taken her hand and pulled her to the playground, where he had spent the entire lunch hour pushing her on the swings.

He saw that same vulnerability in her now. Her eyes were filled with that same distrust. And just as he had as a child, he wanted to protect her now.

Her figure had drastically changed, of course. The dress she had worn during their mating ceremony had showed off her curves in a way that drove his wolf wild. He wanted to see the swell of her breasts and hips, but this baggy shirt she wore made her look like she was wearing a tent. It was fraying around the neck, too. When had Mica last gotten new clothes?

“You should be resting still,” he told her. It wasn’t even mid-morning yet.

Mica turned to Derek. “I wish to speak with my mate alone.”

He glanced at Hayden, who gave him a short nod. Derek bowed and retreated a distance.

“Hayden.” Mica wrapped her arms around herself as she stared at the ground. “There’s something… I need you to rescue Elin before Monroe can take her as his mate.”

Hayden’s eyebrows rose. “You want me to rescue her.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Why? I’ve seen how cruel she’s been to you over the years.”

Mica looked up. Her sea-green eyes were set with determination. “And so were you. If you want me to forgive you for what you’ve done to me, you have to show me why I should do that. I might hate Elin for what she did to me, but nobody deserves that. He won’t show her the patience you’ve given me.”

An unexpected pang of guilt hit him square in the chest. Where did it come from? Mica’s accusations of cruelty toward her, or the fact that he hadn’t given Elin a second thought despite goading Monroe into the declaration that he’d take Elin as a mate?

“Hayden.” Mica stepped closer and reached out as though she was going to take his hand. She pulled back and twisted her hands together instead. “Please. If I’m going to be your mate, then I can’t just ignore this.”

Hayden searched her face. He could see how difficult it was for her to even ask, though he wasn’t sure why. Was it because she had no faith in him? Because she expected him to laugh in her face.

“We will be breaking the protocol of the Alpha challenge, especially if I end up in a fight with Monroe,” he told her.

“I know. But you can use me as an excuse. As your mate, I’m claiming the females of the pack under my protection. Elin didn’t give her consent to be Monroe’s mate.”

Hayden reached for both her hands. Her skin was soft and surprisingly cold. He squeezed her fingers between his, wanting to warm them. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. Only warning you that this could trigger a change in my plans. The final confrontation might push ahead of our schedule.”

Mica frowned at him. “What schedule?”

“It doesn’t matter. If I’m going to be an Alpha, it means I have to go get her. Every act of sacrifice and aid to one another will weaken the demon’s hold on the area,” he said.

It was a strange phenomenon, but he supposed it had something to do with aura-demons' ability to take hold of people. Those who were kind and happy had a harder time taking that initial possession than those whose mental defenses had already been lowered. However, once that foothold was in place, it didn’t matter how strong a person was.

Mica straightened and threw back her shoulders. “What do I need to do? I can help.”

“We need someone to plan out harvesting lumber from the forest and build shelters for the refugees,” he said. “And we need someone to organize a trip to the city for food. Canned food,” he added sternly. “As well as a way to consolidate our funds to feed everyone until this is over. Although, if I do end up facing Monroe, that won’t be necessary.”

“So what can I do to help fight the demons?”

“Echo.”

Mica flinched. “What about my mother?”

“On our last mission, Derek and Blayke were able to photograph several thousand pages of old documents regarding demons. We haven’t had a chance to study them, but yes, If you can transcribe them, then you can find out more about the demon influence making Echo sick. It’s not possession, not even a foothold.” Hayden released her hands, though they were still cool. “We need to find out more about what it’s doing. Can you do that?”

Mica nodded, her expression growing more confident. “Yes. I can do that.”