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

Chapter 12 - Hayden

Hayden prided himself on his patience. So, he was patient as he waited for Monroe to leave his house. They had tracked Elin down here and watched from a distance to assess the situation. The town was set up in a circular pattern with the Alpha’s house at the center of it. The houses closest were reserved for the higher-up wolves; the further you got from the center of down, the more run-down things got. Several blocks away from the Alpha’s house was an apartment building for the single wolves who no longer wanted to live with their families. It was on the roof of this building that Hayden and his team camped out.

Elin was locked in the attic. Hayden had seen her face several times against the iron bars as she tried to yank them free. Elin’s father had left the house shortly after Hayden and the team arrived, and so far, Monroe had spent that time in his study.

“We need to get him out of there,” Hayden told Maverick and Derek. “Go give him a reason to leave. But don’t engage. The last thing we need is for my challenge to be declared invalid.”

Maverick and Derek grinned. They slipped away; shortly after, a plume of smoke rose in the distance. Hayden’s mouth quirked in annoyance. Perhaps he should have been clearer that destruction of property wasn’t the best way to go about this, either.

It had the desired effect. A wolf came running to the Alpha’s home and shifted into someone Hayden didn’t recognize. He yelled and Monroe started out of his chair.

He rushed from the house. Hayden took the chance. He quickly repelled from the apartment rooftop then slipped through the homes until he got to the Alpha’s home. He left Kai watching at the entrance while he and the others slipped in. A maid caught sight of them as they made their way through the hallway. She screamed, but Ryder dove, knocking her down, and covered her mouth.

It was too late.

“What are you screaming about?” asked a grumpy voice from a nearby room—Spencer.

Hayden jerked his chin. Blayke and Finn broke away and dashed into the room where Spencer was. They were quick and efficient. The sound of fists hitting Spencer’s beefy frame echoed from the room. Hayden rushed up the stairs. His wolf snarled, wanting a part of the fight.

Not yet, he told it. We’ll get our chance when Monroe faces me.

He soon reached the attic door. The paint was chipped around the edges, but the deadbolt was shiny and new. No doubt it was installed overnight to ensure that Elin stayed in place. Hayden threw his weight against it. The frame splintered. With another shove, the door popped open.

Elin was pressed against the far wall as he strode in. Her eyes were wide, but relief flickered through her features when she saw him. “Are you here to kill me?”

“No.”

“Please,” Elin burst out. She dropped to her knees. “Please, don’t let him take me as his mate. Kill me; it will be kinder!”

Hayden strode across the room and grabbed her arm. He yanked her to her feet, though he noted her words. So Monroe hadn’t gone through the ceremony yet. That was good.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he growled. “I’m here to rescue you, and you have Mica to thank for it.”

“Mica? You came for me… because Mica?” Elin gasped as he pulled her toward the door. Her face went white.

Hayden frowned. “Can you walk?”

Elin shook her head. “I tried to run away. Monroe… I think he broke my leg.”

And yet she had still been pacing around this room. Hayden grabbed her, throwing her over his shoulder. She cried out in pain, but he ignored it. Downstairs, the sounds of fighting had tapered off. Spencer sprawled in the hallway, out cold. The maid now stood with Maverick and Kai, who must have gotten back while Hayden was upstairs.

“It won’t be long before Monroe is back,” Kai warned.

Hayden passed Elin off to Finn. Her face was ashen, but Finn cradled her bride-style in his arms. She put an arm around his neck and turned her face away like she could hide the sheer pain she was in. Ryder put a hand on the maid’s shoulder and guided her with them. Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t seem interested in sticking around to face Monroe’s wrath.

“Let’s move quickly,” Hayden said, leading the way from Monroe’s house. They went to where they had left the car and were gone before anyone—other than Spencer—knew they were there.

Finn kept a firm hold on Elin as they headed back to home base. Hayden didn’t relax until he had parked in the driveway. It had been a quick, clean mission.

Finn passed Elin to Maverick. “Put her in my room. I’ll bunk with Kai until she’s healed.”

“Sure,” Maverick snickered.

Elin bit her lip, but whether because she had something she wanted to say or because of the pain, Hayden didn’t know.

“We’re going to need to fortify the house,” Hayden said. “Monroe won’t be happy that we stole his mate-to-be right from under his nose.”

“Your mate has already started, I think,” Finn grimaced. “Something’s changed. It’s uncomfortable for me to be here. Feels like… salt.” His expression changed, a growl rising in his throat. “There’s more, though. There’s a demon here.”

Ryder stiffened. “My mother?”

Hayden stopped him from racing to the house. “Gather everyone up so Finn can take a closer look at them. I’ll find Mica and check on Echo.”

Ryder opened his mouth, but Hayden gave him a stern look with narrowed eyes. His Beta dropped his shoulders and nodded. Hayden then headed for the house as Ryder called for all the wolves to gather. His wolf snarled in his chest; he sensed a change, too, that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

He found Mica in Echo’s room, and Tess was with her. They both had handbells as they clumsily spoke Latin, ringing the bells toward Echo. She’d changed drastically from the time when Hayden last saw her. No longer slouched and weak-looking, she sat primly on a chair, legs crossed and with an annoyed grimace on her face.

“Ah, good,” Echo drawled, standing. “Will you tell these two bitches that all they’re doing is pissing me off with their noise?”

Hayden glanced at the rough circle of salt around Echo’s feet. His heart sank.

“Hayden.” Tears stained Mica’s face. “We’ve done everything we can find, but we can’t get her out!”

“We can’t get her out,” Echo mocked, her voice pitched high.

“Mica.” Hayden held the door open. “Tess.”

“We can’t just leave her like this,” Mica wailed.

Hayden pushed out his Alpha aura. Tess’s head bowed, and she scrambled out, trembling. Mica stayed where she was, her chin lifted stubbornly. With a sigh, Hayden stepped to her and put an arm around her waist. Touching her made sparks explode under his skin. His wolf zeroed in on her and whined. Despite the situation, it wanted him to pull Mica into his arms right now.

The urge to complete their mating was strong. Hayden ground his teeth together to fight back the desire to take her straight to their room. He doubted Mica would appreciate him wanting to get it on right this minute.

He sent a command through his bond with the team to Blayke and Kai as he pulled Mica out of the room. He closed the door and put his hands on her shoulders.

The hopeful look in her eyes made his stomach twist. Nobody had ever looked at him like that, with so much trust . His team trusted him, but Mica looked at him like he was her only hope. He wasn’t sure how to take it.

“We got Elin away from Monroe. She was injured but he hadn’t gone through with the mating ceremony yet,” he told her.

Mica nodded. “And my mother?”

“I’ll have the team guard her, make sure the demon can’t get out. It was good thinking with that salt,” he added. Anything to avoid telling her the truth—Echo was possessed. And despite all their searching, the team had never found a way to remove an aura-demon from a person.

Except to kill them.

Blayke and Kai appeared at the top of the stairs. Hayden turned from Mica and quickly explained to them what happened.

“Keep an eye out, and don’t let anyone into that room,” Hayden said. “The last thing we need is for a demon running around home base.”

“Hayden, you have to get the demon out of her,” Mica insisted.

Kai gave her a surprised look. “You haven’t told her?”

“This has just happened.” Hayden pulled Mica away. “Just do as I say. I’ll let Ryder know as soon as I’ve finished explaining the situation to Mica.”

Fresh tears slid down Mica’s cheeks. Hayden longed to wipe those tears away, but he could feel the tension in her. She was barely tolerating him touching her as it was. So he led her down the hallway and down to the ground-floor living room. There, he shut the doors. Even this amount of privacy was almost too much, but the wide windows were uncovered—anyone could look through and see them.

“Mica,” he started, but when he met her eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her that Echo was already as good as dead.

It would only hurt her more in the long run to dangle hope in front of her and take it away.

But that trust was there again. That hope, that pleading. Hayden couldn’t ever recall seeing Mica so helpless. To him, she’d always been tough as nails and ready to take on the world. He was reminded of what Ryder had told him, that she was more affected by the pack’s treatment of her than she’d ever let on.

Now, he found he couldn’t hurt her. Not right now.

“Hayden?” she breathed. Her hands clenched. “You can get that demon out, can’t you?”

“I’ll do what I can to save her, Mica,” he promised.

And he would. Maybe there was a way they hadn’t found yet.