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

Chapter 4 - Ryder

The battery pack in the radio had corroded. It leaked a thick, grainy white film over the entire thing. Given how the battery had swelled up and was nearly bursting from its casing, it had gotten wet somehow. Fuck. Ryder had hoped to be able to call for backup.

A soft sniff made him turn. Tess was sitting on the floor, a pair of pants draped over her hips as she struggled to tie two T-shirts together while holding a third across her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she worked.

“Are you crying?” Ryder asked in alarm.

He was good at fighting demons. Point him at the enemy, and he knows exactly what to do. He fought wolves twice his size and under terrible odds. Nothing frightened him, not anymore. Whenever Death came knocking, he told it to fuck off.

But faced with a sobbing woman?

How was he supposed to deal with that?

His mind flashed to the many times when he’d lay awake at night, listening to Mica sob over the bullying she endured. He felt just as helpless now as he did then. How was he supposed to comfort Tess, knowing how much she hated him? She kept trying to cover herself to no avail.

“Why are you crying?” he demanded.

A sob broke through her lips. “Nothing fits,” she whispered.

That was it? Ryder opened his mouth, then closed it again. She was clearly uncomfortable being naked around him. Did she feel vulnerable? Open for him to do whatever he wanted to with her image? Or maybe it was a weight thing? Mica had often ended up in tears when she couldn’t find clothes that fit her. Ryder had assumed that Tess was upset that nothing here suited her. She was such a feminine woman that men’s clothes were bound to be uncomfortable. Now, though…

He glanced at the clothes he’d grabbed. A pair of knit boxer shorts and a sleeveless undershirt. They had more stretch to them than the jeans and T-shirts that Tess had chosen. He pulled his shirt off and then started on the boxers.

Thankfully, Tess stopped crying. Her eyes widened, and then her cheeks went red. “Keep your clothes on!”

Heat rushed to Ryder’s own face. What did she think he was doing? “I’m just trying to help!”

“How?”

Ryder grunted as he flung the undershirt at her. “This is bigger than the others. Try it.”

Tess blinked. Ryder grabbed a pair of jeans and turned his back to yank off the boxers. He tossed them over his shoulder at her. The sounds of her movement told him she was struggling. A few popping noises made him wince. But when he glanced over his shoulder, the boxers were over her hips, stretched taught on her thighs. The undershirt did even less to cover her. It was stretched to be sheer, showing the incline of her breasts and the round peaks of her nipples.

His wolf snarled in pleasure, but Tess scrubbed her eyes again. Ryder turned away.

There wasn’t any room in the cabin to get away from each other. Ryder grabbed the radio and sat in a corner with his back to Tess. She continued to sniff, but thankfully, there were no more sobs. When he glanced over his shoulder at her, he found her back to him in the opposite corner. Her arms were wrapped around herself, her lovely black hair falling to hide her back and ass from view.

He took a closer look at the radio. There was so much acid corrosion that the whole thing was busted. Disgusted, he tossed it aside.

The scent of blood caught his attention. Right. Tess was still bleeding. He got to his feet and reached for the first aid kit stored in the rafters. As he did so, his fingers brushed against one of the blankets stored there. He stared at it. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

He pulled it down and cleared his throat.

Tess twisted, her arms crossed over her chest as she turned to him.

“First aid kit,” he grunted as he stepped toward her. “And a blanket. If you want it. Since you might be cold,” he added, although they both knew why she would want it.

Tess silently took the blanket and wrapped it around herself. Then she took the first aid kit and opened it up. Ryder stood awkwardly, watching her. He really ought to offer to help take care of her injuries, especially the ones she couldn’t reach. She must be in an awful lot of pain.

Her head was lowered, her hair shielding her face from his sight. The curve of her spine and the way her shoulders hunched inward were so dejected it made his stomach clench. Ryder’s wolf pawed at his chest, telling him to go to her, to do something to make her feel better.

This was so unlike the Tess he knew. That Tess was full of fire and confidence. This Tess was small and meek. Helpless. Defenseless. Ryder didn’t even know who he was seeing. He narrowed his eyes. Was it Tess?

He slipped from the cabin and moved around the perimeter, checking the PCP pipes full of salt. They were intact, meaning that the demons hadn’t managed to possess her before he arrived. He heaved a sigh of relief, but it still didn’t change the circumstances. He’d never seen Tess so withdrawn into herself or so lacking in confidence and spark.

Upon entering the cabin once more, Ryder went to Tess. She eyed him warily as he grabbed an alcohol wipe from the kit.

“I’m going to clean out the bites on your back,” he grunted, careful not to look at her.

Tess pressed her lips together and lowered the blanket slightly. The undershirt was stained with her blood, pressed over the bites.

“You’ll have to take that off,” he grunted, preparing the rest of his supplies.

“I…” Tess’s protest trailed off.

Ryder carefully didn’t watch her as she removed the tight shirt. He started to clean out the marks, trying to be gentle. “You’re safe now,” he said, disliking the silence. “I’ll get you back to town.”

Tess didn’t answer.

What was she thinking? Did she believe him, or did she think that he might abandon her? His wolf growled, and Ryder struggled to stay focused.

The blanket slipped, revealing the rounded side of her breast. As though the situation wasn’t hard enough, something else hardened at the sight. Ryder averted his gaze. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t attracted to her. A lie to say that he didn’t love the idea of their bodies twining in that dance as old as time.

But it was only lust.

Tess wanted her true mate. He hadn’t known her well before he left the Bluebell Valley Pack. Sure, they’d spent some time together and had sort of dated for a while. If hanging out at the library and talking about the books they were reading could be counted. It was never serious, but that wasn’t the point. The point was he didn’t know her.

Since he and the others had returned, he’d learned more about her. It was impossible not to, considering how much time she spent with Mica. At that time, he’d overheard their conversations. Often enough to know that she wanted a true mate, someone who would love her. She didn’t want to have a casual fling.

That was all that Ryder could offer. So, he wasn’t going to offer anything at all.

“There.” He tapped the last bit of gauze over the bite wound. “They’re all very shallow, so you should heal quickly.”

“Thank you,” Tess murmured, her voice little more than a whisper.

With nothing else to do, Ryder retreated to the other corner. There was nothing to do but sit, plan, and try to decide on the best course of action. He needed to get Tess back to town, where he could warn Hayden and the others about the Demon Seed. Everyone had to be on high alert since the possessed wolves were coming so close to town.

He couldn’t make himself concentrate, though. His mind flashed to that day, all those years ago, when Tess asked him to be his mate. He’d been about to get into the van that would take him, Hayden, and the others to military training.

She had been crying then, too. She’d begged, pleaded, with him to stay and be her mate.

It had been such a shock. Ryder hadn’t thought she liked him that way. Maybe if she had told him her feelings a month earlier, he might have had second thoughts…

He let out a huff and shook those thoughts from his head. The past was gone. There was no use revisiting it. He had a mission here and now: keep her safe. And going over old memories wasn’t going to help him do that.

So what did he need to do?

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten. Tess would no doubt be getting hungry, too. He could go out and hunt and find something to eat so that they would keep their strength up. He stood and leaned against the side of the cabin as he gazed outside. It was already getting dark. It wouldn’t be long before night well and truly fell. This whole song and dance had taken longer than he realized.

Nope. He wasn’t going to go out there at night with demons about. They’d stay the night here, where they’d be safe. It was better to rest and have a solid sleep than try to find food.

“Can you hear them?” Tess asked.

Ryder jumped. He hadn’t realized she had joined him. The blanket was wrapped around her like a toga, the top overlapping and tied with a twist. “I can’t hear anything.”

Tess closed her eyes and cocked her head. After a moment, she shook her head. “Neither can I.”

He folded his arms, nodding. “They can’t touch us here, anyway. Get some sleep. We’ll get to town tomorrow.”

“What if they come and burn the cabin down?” Her blue eyes shone with fear.

“They won’t.” Ryder’s frown deepened. Then, he added, “I’ll keep watch. Sleep, Tess. Let your body heal. We’ll need your strength to get back to town quickly in the morning.”