The Wolf’s Pregnant Rejected Mate (Bluebell Valley Wolves #2)

Chapter 1 - Tess

The scent of blood on the wind made Tess shudder. She turned automatically toward the window, searching the tree line. Her wolf growled uneasily in her chest, tail swishing. They’d be here soon, which meant he would be here, too.

A hand touched her shoulder, making her jump. She whirled, only to be greeted by the amused gaze of her best friend and the pack’s Luna, Mica. Mica’s red hair was pulled back from her moon-shaped face and tied into a bun to keep it out of the way while they worked. Mica and her mate, Hayden, had only recently become Alpha and Luna of the Bluebell Valley pack, and there was always work to be done.

“What’s got you so jumpy all of a sudden?” Mica teased.

Tess brushed her jet-black hair from her face. “I can smell them coming back.”

Mica’s sea-green eyes lit up. She abandoned the piles of paperwork they’d been trying to sort out and rushed to the window. A stab of jealousy pierced through Tess’s heart. The two of them had become friends under the rule of the old alpha, Monroe when they were both outcasts. Now, Mica had a powerful mate—the wolf who had once publicly rejected her—and both their situations had improved.

It didn’t change the fact that in the eyes of the pack males, Tess was undesirable. She would never have a mate and children if she stayed here. And if she left? She-wolves might have an easier time being accepted into other packs, but more than likely, she’d be driven out as a rogue. So where was she to go?

Oh, for crying out loud! Don’t be so selfish, she scolded herself. You have a good life here. Can’t you just be happy with all the good things you have? Nobody likes someone who is grumpy and jealous of everyone else. I have a good position, a roof over my head, and a friend who’s there for me. What more do I want?

Hayden and the special ops team emerged from the trees in their wolf forms. Tess quickly checked if they were all there. Derek, his wolf pure white, trotted next to Blayke’s silver-tinged black wolf. Next came Finn’s reddish-brown coat, then Kai’s dark grey wolf. Last came Maverick, his sandy coat matted with mud.

At their lead was Hayden; he was the biggest of the wolves, and his fur was jet-black except for the dusty grey on his front paws. But Tess’s gaze skimmed over the Alpha, instead searching out the mottled brown and grey coat of his Beta, Ryder.

He was at the back of the group and limped slightly. Tess’s wolf huffed, urging her to go help. Mica was already sweeping out the door, so Tess followed her. She stopped by the linen closet to grab the first aid kit before greeting the wolves in the mud room. They were all naked as they turned to human form. Nudity wasn’t such a big deal in a wolf pack.

“You’re back,” Mica cried. She flitted across the room and threw her arms around her mate.

Hayden laughed as he caught her. “And we had success. We were able to perform an exorcism on Nadine. She’s been taken to the hospital to recover.”

Relief washed through Tess to hear that. It had been barely over a year since the pack learned that Alpha Monroe had been possessed by an archdemon named Zealuv. Hayden defeated him, and the town had taken protective measures to keep demons out of its boundaries—namely, a lot of salt and strange rituals—but a few dozen of their packmates remained possessed by lesser demons.

She pulled some gauze and alcohol wipes from the first aid kit and approached Ryder. By then, he’d pulled on a pair of boxers and eyed her warily.

“I can take care of your injury,” she said, pointing to the long gaze on his leg. It oozed blood but didn’t appear to be too bad.

Not like the large scar that slashed across his throat. It still made Tess’s blood go cold to see. The image of Echo, Ryder, and Mica’s mother attacking him while a demon possessed her flashed across her mind.

She had spent days sitting by his bedside, praying to every deity she heard of that he’d make it.

Ryder pushed her hand away. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”

His voice was flat and cold, as it always was when he spoke. Tess had long realized she was not unique in that regard—he was grumpy with everyone.

“It needs to be cleaned. Just let me—” Tess said, gesturing with the first aid kit.

“I said I don’t need it,” Ryder snapped. “Back off. I don’t need you hovering over me.”

Heat flared in Tess’s cheeks. She closed the first aid kit with a snap. Everyone else in the special ops watched the two of them now. A couple of them looked amused, but Hayden frowned. And next to him, Mica’s shoulders slumped forward.

“At least take the first aid,” Tess mumbled, staring at the floor. She glanced up in time to see Ryder rolling his eyes.

“Give it here,” Finn said. His hair, a more vivid copper shade than his reddish-brown fur when in wolf form, stuck up in spikes. He smelled of salty sweat, but there was no trace of blood on him. Out of the seven special ops members, he was one of two wolves who weren’t originally from Bluebell Valley. He grinned an easy grin as he took the first aid kit.

Tess nodded her thanks, too embarrassed to speak out loud, and headed back into the house. Her shoulders slumped as her wolf whimpered. Stupid! Wasn’t it bad enough that Ryder had publicly rejected her? His rebuffing her attempts to help him only solidified the fact that he was a jackass.

What had she ever seen in him, anyway? He was grumpy and rude, and Mica was the only thing they had in common. Sure, he was ruggedly handsome. His brown hair curled when it grew long enough and looked so silky that her fingers itched to run through it. He might love his sister and mother. He might be a determined wolf willing to die for the pack. But his dark blue eyes were always cold. His muscular build was hard, never allowing a moment of empathy.

His protectiveness over Mica and Echo was the limit of his good qualities. Tess once thought that was enough to handle indifference if it meant a lack of cruelty. And maybe one day, have that same kindness extend to her.

But Ryder’s indifference was worse than she’d thought. It was because of him that she had nearly been forced to become a teenage mate to Alpha Monroe. Whenever she thought about what might have happened, it made her sick to her stomach.

Her parents had kicked her out when she refused to be Monroe’s mate. And with that, she’d become instantly a poverty-stricken outcast. If Mica and Echo hadn’t taken her in during those days—after Ryder had left the pack to join the special ops—she likely would have starved. She didn’t know how to work, didn’t know how to cook. The sudden switch to a poor-quality diet, heavy on cheap carbs, combined with a depression that was only alleviated by sweet foods, she had rapidly put on weight.

Though she thought that was a blessing in disguise. Once she was no longer a trophy in Monroe’s eyes, he let her rejection rest and turned his eyes to someone else.

But Ryder had never apologized to her. Never even acknowledged that he’d been a reason for her to become an outcast in the first place.

“Hey!”

Tess stopped and turned. Ryder, now wearing jeans and a tight T-shirt that showed off the planes of his muscles, stalked toward her. His musky scent overwhelmed the lingering odor of blood.

“Don’t start pouting at me,” Ryder said, pointing a finger at her. “I can take care of myself, Tess. You don’t get to act like a fucking child just because I told you no.”

Tess backed a step. Her wolf growled, making her want to shout back. She bit back on that urge. “I’m not pouting. I have work to get done. It’s almost time for the baby to wake up, and I’m sure he’ll need a diaper change.”

“Not pouting? You could have fooled me,” Ryder snapped.

Hayden stepped between them. He put a hand on Ryder’s chest and shoved him back a step. “Enough. Tess is trying to disengage. It’s in a she-wolf’s nature to take care of injuries; you have no right to be angry at her for following her instincts.”

Tess fought back a triumphant grin. “Exactly. If anyone is acting like a child, it’s you.”’

“Tess,” Mica groaned.

Ryder pushed past Hayden. “You’re going to say that when you’re tossing your fucking hair and stamping your little foot.”

“I didn’t stamp my foot! And stop swearing at me, you Neanderthal!” Tess said.

Her foot stamped on the floor before she caught what she was doing.

Hayden seized Ryder by the back of the shirt and hauled him back. “Get out. I’m not going to have someone with your temper around my son.”

“My temper?” Ryder gestured at Tess. “And what about her temper? She’s the one who—”

“I said get out,” Hayden repeated. His voice was low, flat.

Tess ran a hand through her hair. Where did this argument even come from? She sidestepped around the Alpha. “I’ll leave. You have important business about getting all our possessed packmates back.”

She didn’t want to be around Ryder, and with her current agitation, she wouldn’t do much good as a nanny anyway. Little Denzel would pick up on the tension and refuse to settle. Mica opened her mouth but nodded when Tess shot her a pleading glance.

“I can handle the rest of the day,” she said.

“Thank you,” Tess murmured.

Why had Ryder reacted like that? Tess headed home, tension still tightening her muscles. Once she was back at her little house, the one she shared with Mica’s former best friend, Elin, she found she couldn’t stand sitting around. Elin was sitting on the couch, eating ice cream, which reminded Tess too much of the times she had done the same.

“If Mica asks after me, I’m going for a run,” she muttered, grabbing her backpack.

While nudity might not be a big deal in the pack, Tess didn’t like being naked in front of people. So, she always took a pack with her into the forest to keep her clothes dry and clean while she was in her wolf form.

The forest was cool and crisp. Tess left her clothes at a big oak as she trotted along a familiar path, her black paws padding against the spongy ground. She didn’t push herself, instead setting a steady pace. The underbrush snagged against her fur, but she welcomed all the sensations of the forest. It was better than continually dwelling on Ryder and this fight.

Not that she could stop dwelling. Was it really such a bad thing that she had offered her help? Or was this something deeper? Did Ryder think her concern for him was because she had hoped he’d change his mind about rejecting her?

If it was, he needn’t bother. Even if Ryder suddenly declared his love for her, she’d tell him to shove it.

Probably.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, so certain that the area right beside the town was safe, she didn’t notice them. Not until she came into a freshly-cleared circle. Strange symbols were etched into the ground, and a half-dozen wolves stood around the circle. Three more appeared behind her, fur on end, growling as they approached.

Tess stumbled away from them, her breath catching in her throat. She knew these wolves—they were victims of the demons, ones that hadn’t yet been saved.

Moon Goddess, protect me! she prayed, bolting to the left. Teeth clamped down on her hind leg, biting hard. The wolf started to drag her back toward the circle. Someone save me!