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

Chapter 29 - Mica

An archdemon.

Mica sat rigidly in the chair beside her mother’s bed. The deep, even breathing from both Echo and Ryder contrasted sharply with the whirlwind emotions that swept through her. She wasn’t even sure how long she’d been sitting here. Echo had abruptly fallen asleep again—Mica had been terrified that she had died—but her words still bounced around in Mica’s mind.

Did Hayden know he was fighting an archdemon?

Part of her wanted to assume yes. Of course, he did! He knew far more than he shared with her. This was probably one of those things. He knew exactly what he was facing, and he had every angle covered.

He was protecting her. Their unborn child.

Mica let out a shaky breath as she forced herself to stand. “I’m a coward,” she said aloud to the silence. “I’m weak and pathetic. My only motivation is fear.”

And right now, this coward was going to the challenge grounds.

Oh, she was terrified. For herself. For her baby. But an even greater fear was at play—one for her mate. She couldn’t stay here, safely surrounded by salt, or run to where the archdemon couldn’t reach her. No. She was a coward and right now, her cowardice was fueled by the fear of losing Hayden.

Resolve tightened in her chest. She raced down the stairs and went to the pantry, where the barrels of salt were stored. How much did she need? She grabbed an old ice-cream pail and filled it. That ought to do it, right? Now, she could circle the stele with salt… only, she didn’t actually know where the stele was buried. Maybe if she threw it on Monroe, it would freeze him up?

She slammed a lid on the pail and headed for the door. Before she could reach it, though, Elin and Tess both jumped in her way. Their expressions were eerily alike. Mica clutched her pail of salt to her chest, narrowing her eyes at them.

“What are you doing?” Mica demanded. Anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach. How dare they stand in front of her like this.

Tess lifted her hands in a placating gesture. Her long black hair hung around her like armor. “Mica, I know that things are… complicated. And that you must be afraid, especially with the threats against your person.”

“We’ve both been there,” Elin added, shuddering. She hunched in on herself, her gaze growing unfocused. “Monroe tried to force both Tess and I to be his mate.”

Mica shook her head. That wasn’t what she was afraid of.

Elin straightened, meeting her gaze again. “But you have to remember that Hayden is strong. He won’t let Monroe beat him. He’s going to win this fight.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s fighting,” Mica said, her heart racing.

Both the she-wolves seemed shocked but held their ground. Elin folded her arms. “I’m sure he knows. He understands these things far more than we do. Running away isn’t going to help anyone, Mica. Think about how much it will hurt Hayden when he returns to find you had such little faith in him.”

Mica stared at her. The pieces clicked together so loudly that she groaned. “I’m not trying to run away from him! I want to help him.”

If Tess and Elin looked surprised before, now they looked downright floored.

Tess let out a nervous giggle. “Help him? But you’re human.”

Mica tried to sidestep them, but they continued to block her path. “I know I’m human. I’ve spent my whole life being reminded at every opportunity that I’m not good enough to be a true member of the pack. But Hayden is fighting something he doesn’t know fully.”

“I’m sure he knows,” Elin said soothingly.

“He doesn’t! And I love him too much to let him fight alone. I love him,” Mica repeated, her voice softening. “I never stopped loving him.”

Elin and Tess glanced at each other. Why did they look so smug? Since when were they friends, anyway?

“Let me pass,” Mica snapped. “As your Luna, I command it.”

Tess winced. “Mica, we would. But…”

“But our Alpha also gave us a command,” Elin pipped in.

Tess glared at her.

Oh, but that explained everything. Nearly everyone else in the pack was at the challenge grounds to watch the fight. So Tess and Elin had been left behind on purpose. They were her babysitters. Did Hayden really think she’d run away?

I gave him every reason to believe I would. Mica let out a shuddering breath. Her heart ached as she thought of their fight. Why had she done that? “I have to go to the challenge grounds. Can’t you see? He’s playing right into the archdemon’s plans.”

“You can’t possibly know that,” Elin said. Her voice was low, and her tone soothing. The same way you spoke to a child in the middle of a meltdown.

Mica glared at her. “Don’t fucking talk to me like that. I know what I know. Hayden doesn’t understand what he’s facing, and I have to save him! He’s my mate!”

She shoved through them. How much time did she have? When did Hayden leave?

Tess followed after her. She looked like she wanted to grab Mica and pull her back but knew better. So she kept stride, edging forward slightly as though waiting for the right moment to block her again. “Hayden doesn’t need saving. You do.”

Mica’s steps faltered. “What?”

“Why do you think he ordered us to keep you here?” Tess asked, her voice low. “It wasn’t because he thought you were going to flee. That was Elin and me, and we’re sorry for doubting you.”

She shot a significant look at the other she-wolf, who nodded emphatically.

“Hayden ordered us to keep you here because he was afraid that you would try to go to the challenge grounds. He was worried you’d get yourself hurt by trying to help him,” Tess said gently. “It’s only natural for a mate to be worried for her love. But Hayden? He doesn’t need saving. He’s the strongest wolf any of us have ever known.”

“Even if there’s an archdemon involved, he’ll defeat the fucker,” Elin added.

Something inside of Mica’s chest pulled tighter. “When did he give you this order?”

“Last week,” Tess said.

A pang hit her stomach. So even before the fight, he’d had no intention of letting her be at the challenge fight. That was well before he knew she was pregnant. Which meant… which meant he’d made that decision purely because he didn’t want to risk that she would be harmed.

“Hayden is going to be fine,” Tess continued. She gave Mica a reassuring smile. “He’s an Alpha. A true Alpha. Besides, he has the special ops team with him. They all have experience against demons. I’m sure they already know about the archdemon. They’re tough and completely loyal. Even Ryder, as much as I detest him.”

“Yeah, and he’s also upstairs with his throat nearly torn out,” Mica snapped. “So don’t act as though they’re invulnerable! If Ryder can be injured like that, any of them can!”

That was proof enough that things could go wrong. And the team hadn’t known how to pull the demon out of Echo, which meant they didn’t know everything about demons.

“That doesn’t change the fact that Hayden has more strength than anyone else. Think about it, Mica. Can you think of anyone more powerful than he is?” Tess gave her a wry smile.

Mica opened her mouth and closed it again. No, she couldn’t think of anyone more powerful than Hayden. But what if she was underestimating the power of the demons? Everything was so confusing; she was so far out of her depth that she wasn’t sure what to do. She was human, the lowest of the pack, and she was always pushed to self-doubt.

That doubt was rearing its ugly head once more. After all, she didn’t understand just how strong someone like Hayden was. She’d seen for herself how amazing he was. He was strong, kind, and had such a steely determination it took her breath away. Who was she to protect someone like him? She was nobody—just a human who ate too much and moved too little.

And she was pregnant. Could she really risk the life of her baby because of her own lack of understanding?

Elin and Tess watched her struggle, their expression once more identical. Sympathy this time. It made her feel even more conflicted. They were probably right about this. It was probably one of these things that she just couldn’t know. They were probably right. She needed to stay here and wait for Hayden to return.

She couldn’t do anything but distract him. She had already made a mistake by fighting with him before he left. This meant that right now, the best thing she could do was get her ass back upstairs and put on her sexiest lingerie to be ready for him when he got home.

Yeah. Sexy lingerie. She needed to invest in that.

Stay here, she told herself. Stay and wait, because that’s what I’m supposed to do. If I interfere now, I’ll only make things more difficult for him. What will the pack think of a human female rushing in like that? They’ll think that I think Hayden is weak.

With a slow breath, she loosened her hold on the salt. “I still don’t want him facing off against an archdemon without knowing it. So, Elin, you’ll go tell him. He needs to know if he doesn’t already.”

Elin nodded. She stepped back, still watching Mica as though she was afraid Mica might bolt for the gate anyway.

“Let’s go back inside,” Tess urged. “I’ll draw up a nice relaxing bath. You’ll see. Hayden will be back before you know it.”

Mica started to step back but stopped. An awful feeling gripped her heart, making her stand still. Though Tess continued to try to urge her inside, Mica remained unmoving. This was it. Where her cowardice really showed through—the fear of trusting herself.

All her life, she’d been told that she couldn’t understand. She was raised to doubt herself. Echo didn’t mean to; it was just a byproduct of living in a pack like this. One that treated women as lesser, and being human? Oh, that was even worse. She had hardened herself and built armor out of their words. If she was weak and a coward, then how was she supposed to stand up for the pack?

But was she really so weak? Or was it just an excuse she’d used to stay huddled in her comfort zone all these years?

“No,” Mica murmured to herself. “No! I’m not letting you make me doubt myself. This has nothing to do with me being human. I’m going. And you will not stop me!”