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

Chapter 11 - Mica

Hayden and the special ops team were ready to leave far earlier than Mica thought was possible. Her heart slammed as she saw them heading down the front path from the upper-floor window. A sudden, wild fear seized her that this was the last time she’d ever see Hayden. She couldn’t let him leave like this.

Was it a weakness on her part? She didn’t even care. Not right now.

She shoved the window. “Wait!”

Not waiting to see if they stopped, she raced down the stairs. She burst out the door, relieved to see that the group had come to a stop. As she drew nearer, her stomach clenched. There were so many people looking! How could she know he wouldn’t pull away, proving to everyone that they weren’t true mates?

So when she reached them, she ignored Hayden first. Instead, she hugged Ryder tightly. “Be careful. I’m out of my depth with Mom.”

Ryder patted her back. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

Mica nodded. A whirl of emotions swept through her as she stepped back. Though she intended to completely ignore Hayden, she found herself drawn to him against her will. His brown eyes met hers, so dark and serious. Her heart skipped a beat.

Without letting herself doubt, she cupped his face in her hands and drew him to her. To her surprise, he didn’t jerk himself from her. Their lips kissed. It was soft and light. Mica molded herself against him, desperate and full of things she couldn’t say aloud. Hayden’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her even tighter. He answered her kiss with a ferocity that surprised her, teasing her mouth open.

A guttural growl rumbled in his chest as his tongue thrust into her mouth. Mica whimpered as heat washed through her.

Someone in his group cleared their throat. Hayden sucked on her lower lip a moment longer before he withdrew. His eyes were dark with lust, nearly paralyzing Mica. Did he really want her? Was there more to Hayden choosing her as his mate than she realized—more than he admitted?

“Come back,” she whispered. “Promise me that you’ll come back. We still need our honeymoon, after all.”

He pressed another light, lingering kiss to her mouth. Mica groaned with the desire for more. His hands cupped her ass and squeezed briefly before releasing her. “I’ll be back, Mica. You can be certain of that.”

He smirked, making her heart flip again. Then he turned on his heel and walked away. Mica clenched her fists at her sides, wondering if this was a good idea after all. But when the image of Elin’s terrified eyes drifted through her mind again, she hardened her resolve.

So now, all she could do was keep herself busy while she waited for Hayden and his team to return. Those of the pack who had come to swear allegiance to Hayden watched her warily. She keenly felt every eye on her. What was she meant to say? She was the mate of their Alpha…

Mica, who everyone had disdained for so long, as she turned and gazed at the familiar faces of the pack, saw more than one who had tormented her in her life. A feeling of power swept through her as she saw the unsettled looks in their eyes. She was the Alpha's mate. Now, they would obey her or face Hayden's distrust. She was primed to get vengeance, something she had longed for in the past.

But she also knew what it meant to be powerless. She knew what it was like to have people come at her from all sides. And she knew her actions here would set the tone for the pack's actions to come.

The Alpha’s mate was meant to be a guiding light for compassion. Monroe had never let his mate take that role. She had been too powerless in herself to create a pack with compassion, to counter Monroe's innate violence. Mica wasn't sure she could lead and show compassion in the areas where she was needed most. But she could try.

“All right,” she said, letting her voice carry. “We have work to be done. Joseph, you’re a carpenter. I want you to select a team to harvest some trees and build a lean-to against the side of the house. It doesn’t have to be pretty, only functional and safe. We need a place for everyone to sleep out of the weather.”

Joseph, one of the most popular men her age until he lost an eye in a fight, tightened his mouth. For a moment, Mica thought he was going to tell her to go fuck herself. Then he bowed his head. He didn’t verbally acknowledge her, but he did turn to start selecting his team.

Food was next. Mica gathered the women and got a good sense of the funds they were working with. Then, she selected the strongest men to accompany a handful of chosen shoppers to the city. They’d take a big cargo van and load it up as much as possible.

Once they were off, Mica checked on Echo, relieved she was sleeping. Then, she sought out Tess. She’d told her best friend everything last night after Monroe left and before the first group of pack wolves arrived.

Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, Tess hadn’t gotten any sleep last night.

“Hayden has photographed pages of some books he needs us to transcribe,” Mica told her.

Tess winced. “About the demons?”

“Yeah. There might be something in there to help protect my mother.” Mica’s heart clenched as she spoke. How long did they have? Was she wasting time sending Hayden and the others to save Elin when they could be helping Echo?

But if Hayden knew how to take care of Echo and stop this demon influence, Ryder would have insisted they do it already. In their previous missions, Hayden had never encountered a situation like this, where they wanted to save the person in danger of being possessed.

Tess, clearing her throat, brought her attention back to her. “Before we start looking at that stuff, I did a bunch of research online last night and talked to Maverick. Demons apparently can’t cross salt boundaries. So I figured we could get all the salt we have in the house and make a barrier around the edge of the property.”

Mica was impressed. “That’s a great idea. Do you know if it needs to be pure salt or can we use, like, pickle juice?”

“I don’t. But you can still call the people going to the city and have them pick up as much salt as they can,” Tess suggested.

“Good idea.” Mica made her way to the landline phone and called Renee’s cell phone. Few of the wolves in the Bluebell Valley pack used cell phones, but since Renee worked with people in other packs and the city selling goods produced here, she had to have a number where they could reach her.

Mica briefly explained that they were going to need all the salt that the team could pick up, though she didn’t tell Renee about the demons. Not yet; she wasn’t sure how much Hayden wanted the pack to know. In the meantime, she and Tess used all the salt they could gather to line the property edges. The most important thing was to keep the demons out and prevent any of their allies from being possessed.

Several of the newcomers gave the two of them strange looks, but anything they might say to each other was tempered by the sudden shift of power within their dynamics. Once that was done, Mica got Tess set up on the computer to start transcribing the information, and then she went to check on Echo again.

She was awake this time, and Mica smiled at her mother. “How are you feeling?”

Echo gave her a confused look. “Mica?”

“Yes, it’s me. Are you okay?” Mica rushed to her side.

“Yes, yes. I’m fine.” Echo patted her hand, her gaze unfocused and on the far wall. “I was having the most awful dream. I was running through the forest, and something was chasing me. I knew it would catch me; my legs wouldn’t move properly. Then it was on me, and I could feel my wolf dragged out of me.”

Mica winced but took a deep breath. “You’ve been having a lot of nightmares these last few months. Do you remember when it started?”

Maybe if they could pinpoint when the demon influence started, it would help them figure out how to stop it. She took her mother’s hands in her own. Echo closed her eyes. She groaned, and Mica’s heart jumped to her throat.

“Mom?”

Echo started to slump, only to jerk straight again. She opened her eyes, and they were clear once more. Mica stared uncertainly. She gasped when Echo’s eyes flashed red, so quickly she almost didn’t catch it.

“Oh, Mica.” Echo’s voice was cool and strong. “My disappointment of a daughter. I had such plans for you when I adopted you. I never should have bothered with a human .”

Mica tried to pull away, but Echo’s hands tightened on hers. They dug into her, hurting her. Mica’s blood rushed in her ears as she sat there, frozen.

“It would have been kinder to you to drown you as a baby,” Echo continued.

No, not Echo. Mica knew her mother. She’d never say anything like this. Goosebumps broke out over her arms. Goddess protect her! The demon had control.