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

Chapter 21 - Mica

Mica stared at the page. She’d been reading for so long that the words were starting to blur, but if she was right in her interpretations here… She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and focused again. As she reread the section, her heart started to beat faster.

“And the demon was taken from its host and trapped in the stone,” she whispered. “Where it was trapped for all eternity.”

She scanned the rest of the page. Hope swelled through her, even though she fought against it. It had been so long since this started, she wasn’t sure she could take it if this didn’t work. But there was the ritual all laid out. The way to force an aura-demon from the person it was possessing, and trapping it into an inanimate object. Once in the object, the demon would be trapped until said object was destroyed.

Her mind whirled as to what they could use to trap the demon inside of Echo. There was a size limit to work with. A rock would be the best; then she’d put it in a plastic, air-tight box and bury it as deep as they could get. The demon would be trapped for hundreds, potentially thousands, of years before the rock even started to be weathered away.

Mica printed off the pages, excitement whirling through her. She clutched the pages to her chest and rushed off to find Hayden. He and Ryder were in the pantry, taking stock of the pack’s food stores.

“Excellent, you’re both here!” Mica brandished the pages toward them. “I figured it out.”

They turned toward her.

“Figured what out?” Ryder asked.

Mica explained what she had learned, showing them both the pages. “And look here. It says that whatever we use to trap the demon can repel aura-demons and beast-demons. That’s why gargoyles used to be so popular. Many of them have demons trapped inside.”

She bounced on her tiptoes, her hair bouncing around her. Hayden and Ryder both read through the pages. Neither of them looked fully convinced. Her quick heartbeat changed from excitement to something else. Didn’t they see what this meant?

“We need to try this right away,” she said, tapping the paper. “I’ll find a rock to put the demon in. Then we can save Mom and repel other demons at the same time! We might be able to save the others in the pack who have been possessed. I’m not sure it will work when someone has been possessed for a very long time, meaning maybe Monroe is past saving, but he was always a cruel Alpha anyway and—”

Hayden touched his fingers to her mouth. He gave her a smile, but there was no warmth in it. A placating smile, the kind you gave a child running off on wild impossibilities.

“We’ll try soon, Mica. I promise. I’ll send the team to find a decent-sized rock,” he said, but his words were hollow, somehow.

Mica nodded, her heart sinking. She left the pantry and walked away; but instead of leaving the kitchen, she only shut the door and snuck back. She already knew what she’d overhear but needed to know in her heart.

“You need to tell her,” Ryder said.

“I know. I was hoping that she would come to understand it on her own,” Hayden answered.

Ryder let out a soft growl. “This is cruel, Hayden. To Mica as well as my mother. The point of full possession is coming on rapidly, and if Mica and I are going to have the chance to say goodbye to our mother before her death, we need to act quickly. Drawing this out only puts her through more torment.”

Mica squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Her stomach churned. It was exactly what she thought—they weren’t even going to try to save Echo, too certain in their own knowledge.

“It has to happen soon, Hayden,” Ryder said, his voice low, urgent, and… sorrowful. “I can’t keep holding my tongue. You are my Alpha, and I’ve tried to respect your decisions, but the situation is becoming untenable. This is my mother and my sister we’re talking about. I will tell Mica, if that’s what you would prefer.”

“No,” Hayden answered.

Why? Why did he not want Ryder to tell her? Tears filled Mica’s eyes and she crept away, not wanting to hear any more. Was Hayden afraid she’d let Echo go? Did he think it was up to him as her mate to tell her that he was going to kill her mother?

He doesn’t consider it killing Mom, though. He considers it a mercy, freeing her from the demon.

It didn’t make Mica feel any better. She carefully opened the kitchen door, slipped through, and softly closed it. Her heart pounded in her throat and she felt as though she was going to vomit. What could she do? Freeing Echo was out of the question—no, she was smart enough to know that wouldn’t end well for anyone.

She stared at the paper in her hands, tears blurring her vision. Why wouldn’t they even try this? She had spent so much time and energy searching for a way to free Echo, and now that she’d found the first glimmer of hope, Hayden and Ryder refused to believe it was possible.

Her hands clenched around the papers, crumbling them. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. The warring emotions were tight in her chest, but she forced her lungs to expand all the way. Nothing good would come from falling apart. She’d spent the better part of her life with everyone dismissing her. So what if it was Ryder and Hayden now?

She would just have to do what she always did. Ignore them and keep going, one foot at a time, toward the destination she wanted to be.

Throwing her shoulders back, she headed outside. Maybe she couldn’t find a big rock to do this, but if the ritual could be used to move a demon from a person to a rock, then it could move a demon from a rock to a bigger rock.

The landscaped lawn had no stray rocks except pebbles, so Mica found the largest one and headed back inside. She read through the ritual again, and her jaw tightened. This required three people minimum. Who in the pack could she trust to be part of this, without running straight to Hayden?

Tess. She might have told Hayden that Mica tried to run away, but that was because he used his Alpha powers on her. She wouldn’t tattle on Mica in this case. So, who else?

Mica hurried to the basement, searching the storage bins for the other needed materials. Five candles, a bell, and a mirror. She had just found the stash of emergency candles and realized she didn’t have enough hands for everything when the door to the basement opened. She froze, expecting that it was Hayden or Ryder coming to tell her to stop trying, that they were just going to kill Echo.

To her surprise, it was Elin who descended the stairs. She had healed from Monroe’s attack and moved outside with everyone else. Whenever Mica was around, she had a tendency to duck behind people or pretend to be busy, shooting Mica anxious looks. Even though when Elin thanked Mica for asking Hayden to save her, Mica told her that she wouldn’t make her life harder for her.

Now, when Elin caught sight of her, she froze. Her eyes widened. Instantly, she turned to leave, but Mica called out, “Wait.”

Elin’s shoulders hunched. She shuffled down the stairs, eyes on the floor. “Did you need something from me, Luna?”

Surprise rippled through Mica. It was the first time someone had addressed her by the title that an Alpha’s mate was usually called. It sounded strange to be called that. Mica shook off the reaction and pressed the candles into Elin’s hands.

“Take this to my bedroom, and tell Tess I want to see her. Then both of you come back here,” she ordered.

Elin’s eyebrows furrowed together, but Mica pushed against the unease in her stomach. Elin had betrayed her before, but she wouldn’t know what Mica was up to now. And besides, after what happened with Monroe, Elin owed her. Maybe it would be enough for her to be the third participant that Mica needed.

By the time Elin returned with Tess, Mica had found a brass handbell tucked in with the Yuletide decorations. She led them back upstairs, grabbing a little hand mirror from her makeup kit. Then, with all the supplies gathered, she explained to them what she needed them to do. Both looked shocked.

“We should tell the Alpha,” Elin said at once. “This isn’t the work for females.”

“Yes, it is,” Mica growled, narrowing her eyes at her. “And you’re going to help me, Elin. After all the shit you put me through, you owe me.”

Elin ducked her head.

Tess shot her a disgusted look, but her expression melted into concern when she turned back to Mica. Still, she straightened and nodded. “We’ll help you, Mica.”

“Thank you. Let’s go get this done.”

The demon wasn’t guarded, since the ring of salt was enough to keep it trapped in place. It watched with disinterested eyes as the three women set the candles at five points around her. Mica took a deep breath as she placed the pebble on the mirror.

“Ah, I see,” the demon drawled. “It doesn’t work, you know. This little ritual of yours. But I welcome you to try it.”

Elin shuddered.

“Ignore it,” Mica said sharply.

“Ignore it,” the demon mimicked, even worse since it was using Echo’s words. “Yes, ignore me, girl. Ignore me when I say this isn’t going to work. You’ll merely set me free. And maybe…” The demon laughed. “Yes, I think so. When I’m free, I’ll leave this body for dead. I’ll take the one growing in your belly.”

Mica’s head snapped up. “What—” she cut herself off. She forced herself not to think about what the demon was saying or the implication behind those words. “Tess, get the bell. Elin, light the candles. We’re doing this.”