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

Chapter 27 - Mica

Mica sat on the edge of the bed, frozen. Her gaze was unfocused, and both of her hands were pressed to her stomach. Her heart was beating so wildly that she wondered if it was going to blow up. If Hayden didn’t come back from this fight, she might hope it did.

She should have said so much to him as he walked away. She should have tried harder to explain her thoughts. How could she not be afraid he’d be frightened? It had nothing to do with his skills! Nothing to do with his strength. It was all about the possibilities. Fuck, even a coyote could take down a wolf if it got in a lucky shot.

Monroe was an Alpha who had held Bluebell Valley for well over forty years. He kept this territory for a reason. And now he was possessed by a demon, which made him even stronger.

I should have told him that I love him.

She’d tried, but it somehow got muddled up on the way out.

A knock came on the door, and Elin, who was bringing a tray of food, slipped into the room. Her eyes were sympathetic as she approached warily. Her head bowed, and she chewed her lip as they walked.

“I thought you might need strength,” Elin said.

Mica took a deep breath. Elin had been there when the demon possessing Echo had brought up Mica’s pregnancy. But she didn’t know about the pregnancy test.

“I’m not pregnant, Elin,” she said.

Elin lifted her head. “You aren’t?”

“No. I took a test, and it was negative.”

“Oh.” Elin’s shoulders fell. “I could have sworn I smelled… but I suppose I was wrong. You still need to eat. You’ll need strength for your mate.”

Mica waved a hand at the nightstand. “Leave it over there.”

Elin set the tray down, then smoothed down the front of her shirt. “Luna… I want to say… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Mica turned to her, frowning.

She hadn’t been willing to hear Elin’s apology before. But now? Had enough time gone by that she could listen?

“For everything.” Elin stepped forward, wincing. “For those cruel things I used to say about you. I’m sorry for what I did that day, when I convinced you to tell Hayden how you felt for him. I’m sorry for spreading rumors. I’m sorry for not standing up for you. Even when I was pretending to be your friend, I was terrible to you. And so, I’m sorry.”

“And yet, you only apologize after I have a position of power in the pack,” Mica said.

Elin winced. “I know. And I know you might not believe me, but I didn’t want it to be like this. I’ve wanted to apologize for a long time. I was just too much of a coward to.”

Mica ran a hand through her red hair, sighing.

Elin dropped her gaze again. “I understand that you have no reason to forgive me. Words are hollow, especially since I never said them until now when you’re powerful.”

Was Mica powerful? She certainly didn’t feel like she was. Maybe that was her problem. Perhaps she’d gotten so used to being powerless and undesirable in the pack that she couldn’t understand the position she found herself in now.

“I know that the pack politics like to pit women against each other,” Mica said. “So I can forgive you for what you did when we were teens, Elin. But it’s going to take far more than an apology to earn my trust back.”

Elin wrung her hands. “Is it possible at all?”

Mica considered the question. Was it? There was once when she’d have said no way. If Elin had ever come to her expressing sorrow over the past, she would have assumed it was just a trick. Things had changed, though, and rapidly. She believed that Elin was genuinely regretful for her past behavior.

“I think so,” Mica said slowly. “I hope that one day I can trust you again.”

“Then I’ll do my best to earn your trust, Luna. I swear, whatever it takes.”

“Thanks,” Mica said awkwardly.

It had been so long since she and Elin had been friends. They’d never go back to the relationship they once had—not that Mica wanted that relationship. Looking back, she could see that they were friends mainly because of happenstance. They were neighbors, so they spent time together because there was nobody else around.

Elin had had all the power in their friendship. Mica had been clingy, desperate to keep one friend in the pack. Then, when everyone started to talk about Mica and Hayden getting together, as though it was destined and nobody had a choice in the matter… well, Mica hadn’t realized how much Elin liked Hayden.

Her friendship with Tess was built on a much more even footing. They had a better understanding of each other than Mica and Elin ever had. Perhaps, now, she and Elin would be able to navigate the situation and find a way to be friends again.

“Can I ask how things between you and Hayden are?” Elin asked. Her cheeks went pink as she asked, and she looked as though she was bracing herself to be shouted at.

Mica had the opposite reaction. She collapsed backward on the bed, tears pricking her eyes. “I love him.”

Elin was quiet.

“I love him so much. I keep thinking this must be a dream, but now he’s off to fight Monroe, and it’s become a nightmare. If anything happens, I can’t even help!”

“If…” Elin’s eyebrows knit together. “I don’t understand. He’s in a challenge fight. Nobody can interfere.”

Mica sat back up and glared at her. “Maybe not. But I’d be able to stand there, with him. I’d be able to understand why all this is necessary. I’d be able to take wolf form and tear out Monroe’s throat if—”

Elin stared at her as though she was spouting utter nonsense.

“I don’t doubt Hayden’s strength,” Mica snapped. “It has nothing to do with doubting him and all about me! How am I supposed to protect anyone when I can’t even protect myself!”

As she spoke, the pieces snapped into place. It was exactly what she hadn’t known how to tell Hayden. She was weak, had always been weak. Running away was the only thing she could do to save herself and her baby, and even that might now be enough.

But something else dawned on her as she sat there.

Even if Hayden didn’t win this fight, even if Monroe beat him… she wouldn’t change the choices that brought her to this moment.

Elin’s gaze softened. “I see. But I think you might overestimate how much power a wolf would give you. All of us are bound to the Alpha. Sometimes I think you’re the lucky one, that you aren’t.”

The door flew open. Mica jumped to her feet, her hands raising instantly. Adrenaline flowed through her as she readied herself to fight whoever was attacking. Tess skidded to a stop, her eyes widening when she saw Elin. They soon narrowed with suspicion, but she ignored Elin and turned to Mica.

“Your mother is awake,” she blurted breathlessly.

Mica clutched the front of her baggy shirt, her mind racing. Awake! It made her knees weak. But was it a coincidence that she woke now when Hayden was out at the challenge fight?

The challenge fight.

Maybe Echo knew something that she could use to help Hayden. She rushed past Elin and Tess, racing for the convalescence room. Echo was still lying in bed, but she was propped up somewhat by the pillows around her. Her skin was grey and she looked ill, but her eyes were brighter than they had been for months.

“Mica,” Echo said. Her voice cracked.

“Mom!” Mica carefully put her arms around her mother, hugging her. She felt stronger somehow, but still fragile. Mica leaned back, searching her face. “How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?”’

Guilt and pain flashed over Echo’s face. “Everything.”

Mica winced. She tried not to think about the implications of that… especially with Ryder lying still and quiet next to them. His breathing was even and deep, and the heart monitor indicated he was doing well. There might be a slight flush in his ears, but otherwise, the bandage on his neck indicated any damage.

Beneath that bandage was where the real damage lay. The fever was getting worse if he was starting to show signs of being flushed.

A shudder ran down Mica’s spine. She pushed that aside as she focused on her mother again. “That means you know what the demons want with this territory, doesn’t it? It means that you can help us know how to defeat them.”

Echo’s jaw worked. “I think so. The demon did his best to keep me out of his head. But I fought back, hoping to find something that I could use to free myself or warn you.”

Mica took both her hands. “I know you did. Now. What did you learn from him? What do they want? Is it about establishing a foothold here?”

“No.”

Mica’s stomach swooped. That was the one thing they all agreed on, that they were trying to establish a way to move through the Bluebell Valley region. “But then…?”

“They already have a foothold here. This is far more dangerous than you realize,” Echo said urgently. “Thousands of years ago, an archdemon lived in this valley. He ruled with more cruelty than you can imagine. But the wolf shifters were able to fight back. Thousands lost their lives in that battle. In the end, they trapped him in a stele, which was then buried deep beneath the town.”

“I thought that the demons were repelled by those sorts of artifacts,” Mica breathed.

“They do. But the stele has been degrading. The magic keeping the archdemon in place has been dwindling. Over the years, his evilness has been infecting our pack and our land. Our Alphas,” Echo added, shivering again. “And when Monroe used the occult arts to try to bring his mate back, he broke the last of the barriers.”

Mica resisted the urge to cover her stomach with her hands. As though that would be enough to protect her unborn child! Instead, she reached for Echo’s hands. She held them as tightly as she dared, still worried that she might hurt her.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Mica asked.

“It means that the archdemon is trying to establish himself here again. He’s brought the beast-demons and aura-demons through to our world, to help him escape the last chains linking him to the stele.” Echo’s eyes were wide, searching Mica’s to make sure she understood.

“The building projects,” Mica breathed. “He’s trying to dig up the stele and destroy it. So that he can be free to do what he wants here. It’s not about opening a doorway to hell, because he’s already here.”

Echo nodded. “And if he gets free from that stele, he’ll go right back to the same thing he was doing millennia ago. Only this time, he knows about wolf shifters. He’s been inside the head of one. We won’t be able to stop him if he gets free.”