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

Chapter 10 - Ryder

Ryder was just about ready for round two when the door to the cabin burst open. A growl ripped through him as he leaped to his feet, his claws already bursting forward. He crouched defensively over Tess as she let out a gasp. His snarl cut off abruptly when he recognized the three people who stumbled through the door.

Finn and Blayke were both covered in sweat and blood. And Elin, of all people, was crammed between them. She yelped at the sight of Ryder, her hands instantly moving to cover herself. She was dressed in scraps of cloth. The pattern of the damage indicated she’d taken her wolf form before undressing. Ryder relaxed his stance.

“Thought you were demons coming through the protections,” Ryder said easily.

Blayke, naked as the day he was born, shrugged. “Thought you might be demons waiting in here for us.”

Tess scrambled to her feet, wrapping the blanket around herself again. Her eyes bulged, and her cheeks were red as tomatoes. The scent of their sex lingered in the air. Finn’s nose twitched, and he moved to a window and opened the shutters. Elin was just as red as Tess, her head swiveling as though her neck had become unscrewed.

Ryder grabbed two pairs of jeans off the floor. He passed one set to Blayke. Finn, damn him, was fully clothed as he changed from wolf form to human. It was one of the perks of being half-demon. The only perk if Finn was to be believed. However, Ryder would dearly like to be able to see aura demons that possessed people. It would make it far easier to fight against them.

Using his jeans to cover himself, Ryder retrieved a t-shirt and gave it to Elin. She wore some sort of stretchy panty that had survived the shift. She was more petite than Tess, though her breasts were larger in relation to the rest of her. Ryder carefully kept his eyes averted as he pulled on his jeans.

“What are you all doing out here?” Tess asked. She retrieved the bundle of food and offered it, still blushing, to the newcomers.

Finn grabbed a handful of berries and popped them into his mouth. “Looking for Elin.”

“Mica was worried for you,” Elin said. The shirt fit over her shoulders but compressed her breasts oddly. It was long enough to fall almost to mid-thigh. She seemed more comfortable wearing clothes, too. “I went looking for you, thinking you and Ryder had gotten into another fight. A bunch of the possessed wolves attacked me.”

Tess shivered. “They attacked me, too. Ryder arrived just in time to drive them off. There was this big wolf with stripes down his back that had… what was it?” She glanced at Ryder.

“A Demon Seed. We figured they were trying to possess her,” he answered gruffly.

Finn frowned, leaning against the wall. “The same wolf was after Elin. I didn’t notice a Demon Seed, but they were clearly trying to herd her to a specific point.”

“We were doing a patrol, trying to catch your scent,” Blayke added. “We arrived just in time, it seems. Like a couple of dashing heroes saving the fair maid from ruination, eh?”

He winked at Elin, making her blush again.

“We’ve been running for hours,” Elin groaned. She sank to the floor and put her head in her hands. “I was afraid they were going to give me a heart attack.”

Finn glanced at her. “We’re safe now.”

“Radio’s busted,” Ryder said, joining Finn by the window. “When I tried to get Tess back to town, the demons were waiting to ambush us. I’d hoped that more of the team would find us.”

“Hey,” Blayke protested.

Finn laughed but sobered quickly. He ran a hand through his copper-colored hair, his blue eyes serious. “I counted thirteen distinct demons, plus however many are in the Demon Seed.”

“I saw fourteen,” Blayke said, joining them, grinning broadly. “If we assume some extras, we can count it as eighteen. Six each. We can take them on easily.”

“That big one counts as much as three by himself,” Ryder rumbled.

Blayke’s expression faltered. He glanced at the two women and wiggled his eyebrows. Clearly, he was telling Ryder to play it cool to avoid scaring them. But coddling them wasn’t going to help them get out of this. Both had played vital roles in defeating Zealuv. They could handle the truth.

“It’s clear that these demons are targeting the women specifically,” he said, folding his arms. “They want to possess Tess, not hurt her. Judging by the lack of injuries on Elin, the same goes for her. That gives us an advantage.”

“If the Demon Seed touches them, they’ll be instantly possessed past the point of hope, though,” Finn pointed out. “Which is a disadvantage.”

Elin groaned and whimpered. “We’re going to die out here, aren’t we?”

Tess crouched by her, holding the blanket shut with both hands. “No, we’re not. We’re going to get back to town, and we’re going to start a production line of the protective talismans to implant in everyone so that the demons can’t take anyone else.”

Elin raised her head warily. “How? We’re not fighters, there’s too many of them and—”

“And you’re severely underestimating us,” Blayke interrupted. He swaggered over to her and held out his hand. “If you think that we’re going to lose two gorgeous women to the demons, think again. It’d be a waste.”

Elin offered him a tentative smile and accepted his hand. He pulled her to her feet. Next to Ryder, Finn shifted from foot to foot. He scowled out the window, his shoulders tense. Because of Blayke’s flirting or because of the situation? Ryder shrugged it off. As Beta, he was in charge now. It was up to him to get everyone home safe.

“We’re stronger than you’re giving us credit for,” Tess told Elin firmly. “You, me, Echo, and Mica defeated an archdemon. I think we can handle this puny little aura-demons, don’t you?” She started to smile when a shudder ran down her spine. She turned suddenly to Ryder. “Do you think that’s it? Maybe the big wolf is Zealuv. Maybe he escaped our trap, and he’s coming after us now.”

Ryder’s wolf snarled. His shoulders went rigid. They didn’t know much about the rituals that allowed them to cast demons out of people and into inanimate objects. If the ritual they’d performed on Zealuv wasn’t strong enough… it would be like a demon to come after the people who stood against him.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Blayke said with a careless shrug, but the tension in his jaw spoke a different story.

“We need to catch one of them,” Ryder said, his thoughts racing. “Get one, cast the demon out, and see if the host has any memories of what the demons want.”

The last few they had captured hadn’t known anything, unlike when Echo had been possessed. The demons seemed to have the chance to keep their host from learning anything. It was worth a shot, though. And if that didn’t work? Then, it was going to have to be torturing a demon. They’d pick one of the wolves that was too far gone to save for that.

But that wasn’t something he’d say in front of the women. Some things weren’t for them to know.

Finn and Blayke both nodded their agreement with Ryder.

“We can set a trap first,” Finn said slowly. “Then seek them out and isolate one.”

Blayke glanced at Tess and Elin. “Shouldn’t we escort the women back to town first?”

“No, you should use us as bait,” Tess answered.

Finn glanced out the corner of his eye at Ryder. Elin’s jaw dropped, and her face turned white. Blayke laughed—until he realized that Tess was serious.

She folded her arms over her chest, seemingly not caring that the lopsided blanket exposed her bare hip and up her stomach to just under her breast. “The demons are after us. So it’s got to be worth it, right? They’ll take extra risks to get us, which means it’ll be easier to capture them.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Elin said, her voice barely above a whisper. She swayed on the spot, and Blayke caught her arm.

“I agree with Elin,” Blayke said, frowning at Tess.

She ignored him, her steady blue eyes locked on Ryder.

“I appreciate that you want to help,” Ryder said slowly. His wolf growled at Tess’s suggestion, torn. On the one hand, any thought of putting her in harm’s way enraged him—but on the other, it might give him the chance to see her fighting skills again. He shook his head. No. That was no excuse. “Leave this to the wolves that have the training on how to deal with demons. We won’t be as effective as we can be if we have to spend time protecting you and Elin.”

Now that there were three of them, they’d easily achieve their mission.

Tess’s shoulders slumped. She opened her mouth, then closed it again and looked away. Was she disappointed that he wouldn’t let her put herself in danger?

Or was it something else? He ran his words through his head again. Hmm. It could sound like he thought they were useless and would only get in the way. It wasn’t that, though. This was dangerous, and adding in civilians was a risky business.

“We’re going to need to eat when we get back,” he said, frowning. Was it a good idea to suggest this? “You two could forage some, so long as you stay close to the cabin.”

Tess’s blue eyes flicked to him again. “We can do that.”

Elin chewed her lip, looking like she wanted to protest. Ryder ignored her. She could help or stay here; he didn’t care much. He turned toward Blayke and Finn.

“Let’s get going. The sooner we get one of the demons, the sooner this will be over.” He stripped off his shirt and jeans, not looking at Tess. He didn’t say goodbye; there was no point.

He’d be back soon enough.