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

Chapter 31 - Mica

The sounds of fighting slowly faded away. Mica choked back bile. Bodies were strewn across the challenge grounds, but she wasn’t sure how many were pack members and how many were the beast demons. She reached for the door handle. Elin grabbed her arm back and pulled her into a too-tight embrace.

“The time after the battle is always the most dangerous time. We don’t know which ones are faking,” Elin said.

Mica elbowed her in the ribs. “Okay! Fine, I’ll stay in here until Hayden says it’s safe.”

She slumped back in her seat. Every inch of her wanted to jump out and rush to her mate. Elin was right, though. The last thing they needed was this victory to be tainted because a demon got her after they thought it was safe. She was reminded of when Hayden rescued her in the forest—she didn’t want to go through that again.

The bodies of the beast-demons were piled up in the middle of the challenge grounds, and the injured pack members were being tended to when Kai limped to the car. He opened the door and tiredly gestured for the women to get out.

“We need your help now,” he said.

Mica bolted from the car. She raced for Hayden and leaped into his arms. He grunted at the impact. Her arms twined around his neck as she pulled herself as tightly as she could to him. The fact that he was still naked barely registered—everyone was naked. That was just the nature of being in a wolf pack.

“You’re okay,” she breathed. Tears trembled in her voice as she buried her face into his shoulder. He smelled of sweat, blood, and smoke. His muscles bunched under her hands, and for a moment, all he did was stand there, sagging against her.

Slowly, he moved to hug her back.

“Are you hurt?” Mica asked, stepping back.

Her hands remained light on his shoulders as she searched him. He was bleeding heavily in several places, making her wince. It was clear he’d taken a beating between the challenge and the ensuing fight. No wonder he was being so slow! Mica pulled in a deep breath to steady herself and took his hand.

“Come sit down, I’ll patch you up,” she said gently.

His face was a rigid mask, but he nodded. He didn’t say a word as Mica led him to the car and had him sit facing outward. There weren’t any bandages around, so she had to use the strips of torn clothes she found in the dirt to tie around his bleeding injuries. Once they got home, she’d have to clean everything out much better.

Right now, though, her main concern was to stop the bleeding. Given how much was smeared over Hayden’s skin, he must be feeling lightheaded. Although… it was likely that not all of that blood was his.

Mica glanced over her shoulder as she worked. Elin knelt near Finn. He still lay motionless, but she was binding his injuries. Mica’s stomach hurt. That meant he was still alive, but after the way he’d been trampled, he had to be terribly injured. He hadn’t even shifted back to his human form.

“I’m sure he’s going to be okay,” she said, catching Hayden’s gaze lingering on Finn.

“He might be.”

It was the first thing he said. He sounded exhausted, as if he was going to fall over at any moment. It made Mica wince. She glanced over the battleground again. This time, she found Spencer kneeling in the dirt. He clutched Monroe’s body to his chest, sobbing over him. The sight made her flinch again.

“Why did he yield?” she murmured. “Mom was so certain that it was an archdemon possessing him. Why would an archdemon give up, though?”

Hayden grunted. “What makes Echo think it was an archdemon?”

“The demon possessing her.”

“Ah.” Hayden nodded. “That makes sense.”

Mica shivered. “What happens now? If Monroe is dead, does that mean the archdemon is trapped again?”

“Possibly. The demon wasn’t strong enough to take anyone else, being trapped as he was. Now that Monroe is dead, he no longer has an anchor in this world. He yielded because I was going to defeat him, and he didn’t want to lose his host.”

“But the beast-demons attacked him,” Mica murmured.

Hayden shook his head. “They sensed his weakness. And if it’s one thing demons don’t tolerate, it’s weakness.”

Mica nodded. That made sense. “But it’s over, right?”

“Not entirely. I still have work to do to seal the demons out from Bluebell Valley. But once we’ve hunted down the rest of the beast-demons in the forest, then yes.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke, his gaze distant.

Was he angry with her because of their fight?

“Hayden… what I said before—”

“What did you say?” he cut her off, his voice harsh.

Mica flinched away from him. He was still angry. It made her falter, but she took a deep breath and nodded once to herself. It would take time for him to forgive her for what she said. She understood that.

“I’m sorry for it,” she said. “I didn’t mean it like how it sounded. I love you, Hayden. I was just afraid of losing the one good thing that has happened in my life.”

His eyes finally flickered to her. His expression softened slightly. With one hand, he cupped her face. “We will talk about this later, Mica.”

Later.

Mica nodded, the knot in her chest easing slightly. The rest of the pack gathered around, though a good group of them hovered near the edges, glancing uneasily at each other. They were all wolves that had been staunch supporters of Monroe as the Alpha. But as the rest of the pack all knelt and bowed their heads toward Hayden, this group did as well.

She glanced to where Spencer still cradled Monroe in his arms. His three daughters lingered nearby, as though they thought they were obligated to comfort their father but didn’t want to.

Hayden got to his feet. “I am the Alpha. No challenges to my position will be accepted until after the demons have been eliminated from the territory and the damage done by them has been fixed. Those of you who don’t wish to accept me as your Alpha may stay and work with the pack until such a time when challenges will be opened, or you may leave. I will not tolerate any dissension in the meantime.”

Mica stood next to him, wishing she had something to say to help ease the pack’s nerves. This was a massive attack at an inopportune time.

It was only now that Spencer lowered Monroe back to the ground. He wiped his eyes and staggered to his feet. Mica tensed, thinking he was going to come charging at them. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the ground.

“As you are now our Alpha,” he said, sounding like he hated every word coming from his mouth, “will you be taking a proper wolf as your mate now?”

Mica bit her tongue to keep from snapping. Really? Was he going to start pushing for Hayden to abandon her now? Of all the things to do! But… but what if he was right—

Stop it, she told herself sharply. Hayden told me he wanted me. That’s not going to change.

Even as she wrestled with the doubt of her own worth, Hayden’s arm snaked around her waist. He pulled her tight into his side as he lifted his lip, snarling silently at Spencer. The fury on his face made Mica’s heart beat faster, though not from fear.

“Mica is my mate,” he growled. “She was raised in this pack and knows more than most what is needed to fix it. If you ever disparage her again, I will react accordingly.”

Spencer glanced up, his expression clouded with doubt. But he quickly bowed his head again. “Whatever you say. Alpha.”

The final word was spat out like he was chewing on glass. When he turned toward his daughters and gestured for them to join him, they lifted their chins and headed to where Tess and Elin stood instead.

Mica hardly noticed. She gazed up at Hayden’s handsome face, warmth flooding her. He had stood up for her against Spencer… yes, she was his mate now but up until this moment, she had doubted if he truly wanted her. Despite everything they shared, despite every word of assurance he’d shared.

But this? It was in front of the entire pack. Years ago, he’d rejected her in front of everyone. And now, he was accepting her.

“Maverick, get Finn and Ryder to the city hospital,” Hayden ordered. “And anyone else who was badly injured. If they are going to have the chance to survive this, we need to act quickly.”

“I’ll get my van,” another of the wolves volunteered.

Hayden nodded to him, dropping his arm from Mica’s waist. He quickly moved through the crowd, giving orders for how they would all proceed.

Mica ran her hands through her hair. There were still a lot of people who had been injured in the battle. She took a deep breath and squeezed Hayden’s hand.

“We need to get everyone taken care of. Let’s move the injured to town hall so we can start taking care of their injuries properly. I’ll get the women to gather medical supplies, food, and water there,” she said. But as she glanced over the grounds, she winced. Most of the women in the pack had been part of the battle, too. It wasn’t fair to make them do additional work.

With a shake of her head, she adjusted her plan. “I’ll send Tess and Elin first, and then whoever is least injured can help with the rest of it.”

Hayden nodded, not looking at her. “Good. We will need to be tended to.”

There was something off about the way he said it. Mica opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong but stopped herself in time. What a stupid question. After everything that happened today? Finn barely clinging to life? Not to mention how fucking exhausted he must be! No, he had every right to be out of sorts.

Now, her job was to do her best to ease his burden. The next few hours were a whirlwind. She and Hayden were both busy tending to different matters. She was barely able to convince him to let her clean out his injuries properly and rebandage them. The deep tears in his flesh were starting to get red around the edges, and she worried about infection. He was dealing with so many injuries…

But all she could do was give him some pain meds and hope that once he had time to rest, he would heal.

In the meantime, she had a lot of other people to assist. A handful of the men who had gotten through the battle relatively unscathed complained at first at being told to fetch water and food. But when the other men obeyed the command without a word, those men ducked their hands and begrudgingly helped. Mica was pretty sure it had something to do with the glares Blayke, and Derek gave them, too.

Mica was exhausted once all the injuries were bound and everyone had food and water. They all were. Most of the wolves were able to return to their homes. Those who needed more medical attention than they could get here were taxied to the city. The wolves that had been blockaded out of the territory returned, bringing with them extra food.

There was nothing else to be done, right now at least, so Mica sought out Hayden. She found him at the Alpha’s house, looking through various blueprints and construction plans Monroe had left behind.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Nothing for you to worry about. I’ll take care of it,” Hayden answered, his voice clipped.

Mica sighed. “Let’s go home, Hayden. You need to rest.”

“I still have too much work to do. The demons won’t rest.” He shuffled through some papers. “You go, Mica. You need rest; it’s not good for the baby.”

“It’s not good for you, either.”

Hayden shook his head. “I’ll sleep here if I need it.”

“Alright.” She stepped up to him, lifting herself to kiss him.

He sidestepped her. “Not now, Mica.”

He didn’t look at her. Confusion swirled through her, but she stepped back, fighting the instant upset. He was busy. He’d had a hard day. This wasn’t a rejection. Not after he’d told the whole pack that she was his mate and he wouldn’t replace her. Despite her reasoning, it still hurt.

“Alright,” she stammered. “I’ll see you later.”

Hayden grunted in reply.

Mica hesitated before she left. Her chest ached, even though she tried not to let herself doubt. It was just because he was tired and overworked. Once the demons were cleared out for good, everything was going to be better. They were going to have a baby and be a happy family.

They would change this pack for the better. She just had to be patient and trust in Hayden.