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

Chapter 11 - Tess

It was only after the men that Tess, feeling the stickiness between her legs, realized they had a more pressing problem than food: water. There were no emergency rations here. It was assumed that whoever took refuge would be able to get away quickly again. Now, the parched dryness of her throat suddenly flared to life. She ate the last few berries in the bundle, but they provided little moisture.

“I think there was a stream that way,” she said aloud, pointing. “We’ll be able to drink and… wash up.”

It was impossible to convince herself that Elin didn’t know exactly what had happened between her and Ryder. But she could ignore it.

“Ryder told us to forage. He didn’t say to get water,” Elin answered immediately.

Tess repressed a wince. He’d only said that much because he felt sorry for her. A tight, spiky ball formed in the center of her chest. She should have spoken up for herself more. She should have insisted. Maybe she and Elin weren’t exactly grand warriors, but that didn’t mean they’d be liabilities. Ryder didn’t even want to discuss the plan with them. He was cutting them out. They could have at least brainstormed, even if he didn’t want to risk using them as bait.

She shook herself, determined not to let herself fall into a self-pity spiral. “They’re going to need water when they get back,” she told Elin. “Now help me search this place to find something we can use to collect it.”

Elin gave her a doubtful look, but they pulled everything down from the rafters and sorted it out. It was mostly clothes, a couple more blankets, and first-aid supplies. Tess picked up one of the plastic boxes, checking it from every angle.

“We can bring some water back in this,” she said doubtfully. It’d be difficult to climb back up the rocks without spilling.

“We could soak some of the cloth,” Elin suggested. “It’s not ideal, but it might work.”

Tess nodded her approval. “We’ll soak these two blankets and keep them over these things back in the cabin.” She waved the first-aid box. “That’ll collect the dripping water rather than letting it spread all over the floor.”

Decided, she left her blanket behind and carried the other two outside. She hesitated just inside the protective salt circle, watching carefully. Elin stuck to her like a shadow, watching every shadow. Her eyes were wide, the smell of her fear thick in the air as they clambered down the rocks and hurried through the forest. Tess was relieved to find the little stream exactly where she thought it was. She left Elin to soak the blankets and went downstream to submerge herself. She washed herself off, then drank as much as her stomach would accept.

The two took the dripping blankets back to the cabin and set them up for the water to collect in the plastic containers. Then, on Tess’s prompting, they went back to the forest right around the clearing. Elin craned her neck, snapping toward any sound, any movement.

It made Tess freeze every few seconds, searching for the threat as well. Every time, it turned out to be a false alarm. After an hour, they had only collected a couple handfuls of berries.

“Elin, you need to concentrate on gathering food,” Tess complained. “You’re not doing anything.”

“I am, too. I’m the one that told you that willow bark is good for pain.”

This was taking too long. Tess shifted to her wolf form and attacked the base of the berry bush. If she could gnaw through the trunk, then they could just bring the whole bush back to the cabin. She set to work, stripping the bark with her teeth.

Elin suddenly screamed. Tess jumped, her head whipping up. Elin raced for the lower rocks, her bundle of food spilling as she ran. She glanced back once, her eyes wild.

“Tess! Hurry!”

Tess abandoned her forage and raced back with her. She shifted to human form, and the two of them helped each other up the terraces. It was only after they were both at the cabin, standing close to the wooden walls, that Tess looked back. She searched the forest. Movement caught her eye, and her heart stopped.

A deer stepped from the treeline. Its large ears swiveled before it bent its graceful neck and nibbled the berries they’d left behind.

Tess whirled on Elin. “Is that what you saw?”

Elin clutched her chest, her eyes wide. “I saw something in the trees.”

“What was it?” Tess demanded.

Elin didn’t answer. Instead, she hurried into the cabin. Tess followed her, fighting back a welling of anger. They’d lost all their work because she had panicked.

“I’m going to go back and collect those berries,” Tess said. “And with any luck, I can catch the deer, too.”

“No, don’t!” Elin grabbed her wrist. “Please don’t leave me alone.”

Tess shook her off. “Ryder wants us to collect food. And it’s better than just sitting here waiting for something to happen.”

“Unless the demons have come back,” Elin argued.

“If they were around, that deer wouldn’t be so calm.”

“It shouldn’t be that calm! Not when I was screaming. It might be possessed,” Elin cried.

Tess opened her mouth but closed it again. Could demons possess animals? She hadn’t heard of them doing that, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t. It would be just like them to pose as something innocent to get closer to the two women.

As she hesitated, Elin shook her head. “I don’t have the luxury of being brave like you.”

The anger from before dissipated as Elin’s pained, timid voice cut through. Tess knew that voice. She’d spent most of her life speaking in that tone. With that feeling behind it. A long sigh whistled from her lungs.

“You’ve got that backward,” she said. “Being brave isn’t a luxury. It’s a matter of survival.”

Elin gave her a doubtful look, but Tess didn’t care to explain. Her stomach was cramped with hunger, and even the fear of the demons wasn’t enough to keep her from trying. The idea of being possessed was terrifying, but Tess had lived most of her life in fear. She had decided long ago not to let it rule her.

She stepped from the cabin—Elin showed no sign of wanting to leave—and watched the deer. When she clapped her hands, its head jolted up. Its nose twitched, and it bolted into the forest when it saw her. Tess waited a moment, but there was no sign that it or anything else was coming back. She carefully made her way back down the rocks. All the exertions she’d been doing already left her legs feeling wobbly.

Food would help. The deer had decimated the berry bush, so Tess took her wolf form and padded a little further into the forest. Her nose twitched as she rotated her ears, searching for any sign of food or danger. She soon caught the scent of a rabbit and, thinking of meat, followed the trail. It wound down the mountain, and after only a few minutes, she hesitated. Was she getting too far from the cabin?

The wind shifted, bringing with it the scent of blood—and brimstone. Tess’s heart leaped to her throat, and she wheeled around. Howling broke out all around her as she dashed back the way she came. Movement in the bushes caught her eye. They were waiting for her to get closer. She veered off-course, breaking away from the ambush waiting for her.

The demon-possessed wolves came at her, racing to get ahead and block her way. Tess focused, turning on the dime. She slipped through the space between two of the ambushers and ducked under a bramble bush. The demons tried to follow. One got tangled in the thorns while the others had to round it. And that bought her the few seconds she needed.

She got to the rocks and started to scramble up them. One of the demons burst after her. He jumped into the air, snapping his teeth at her heel. He shifted to human form and hurtled up the rocks after her.

“Elin!” Tess screamed.

Elin came out of the cabin and screamed as well. Tess thought she was going to jump back in and slam the door, but she grabbed a small rock and hurled it through the air. The rock smashed into the demon’s face just as he grabbed Tess’s ankle. His fingernails ripped through her skin, but he fell back, tumbling over the rock terraces.

Tess climbed up the last one and rolled into the protective circle. Elin seized her arm and half-dragged her back into the cabin. The door slammed with a resounding thud. The two women huddled together, panting. Tears ran down Elin’s cheeks.

“I told you it was dangerous,” she wailed.

Tess shook her head, too out of breath to speak.

They were trapped. If the men didn’t come back soon… Tess closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing. They’d be back. Soon. They had to be.

***

The demons prowled at the base of the stone terraces. A few of them climbed up sometimes and hollered obscene comments through the cabin walls. Tess and Elin kept the shutters closed and waited.

The tension was unbearable. Tess wished there was something to do. A deck of cards would be welcome. In the end, she and Elin had nothing to do but talk. They kept their voices down in case the demons had gotten close enough to listen.

“Are you and Ryder mates now?” Elin asked.

Tess’s cheeks went warm. Given the situation, she'd hoped Elin wouldn’t ask her that. But, of course, she had to know what happened between her and Ryder.

She tried to keep her voice steady and uninterested. “No.”

Elin gave her a startled look. “No? But you two…”

“No,” Tess repeated. “You don’t have to be mates to have sex. We were alone here together and… and wanted to pass the time.”

Despite her determination to pretend nothing was amiss, the memories washed through her. There was still a slight ache between her legs, reminding her of how recent it actually was. It felt like it had been ages ago rather than earlier in the day. It happened in this very cabin, which felt more like a prison than a sanctuary now.

Not mates.

It was what she agreed to. At the time, she hadn’t cared. But now, with Elin’s silent judgment hanging in the air, Tess couldn’t help but wonder if she had made a terrible mistake. Her stomach tightened as shame started to rise in her chest. She’d given her virginity to someone who wasn’t her mate. Someone who had no intention of taking her as his mate.

Her mother’s voice came to her mind, calling her all sorts of nasty names. The times she’d heard her parents talking about the ‘fallen women’ of the pack—the insults they threw at Echo for having a baby without a mate—echoed in her mind. She-wolves weren’t meant to do this. They were meant to save themselves for their mates.

No man wanted a used woman. Like she was a piece of chewing gum that Ryder had sucked the flavor out and spat out.

No, she told herself firmly. No, I’m not listening to them. I’m a person. I’m not worth less just because I’m not a virgin anymore.

She didn’t want to regret her time with Ryder. It had been a wonderful experience, and she wanted to cling to it. No man wanted her anyway. Why should she deny herself because of some hypothetical man she might never meet? Why should she deny herself pleasure just because her abusive parents would call her a slut?

Tears came unbidden to her eyes. More than anything, she wished Mica was here to talk to.

No. Actually, that wasn’t true. What she wished for more than anything was for Ryder to be here, and they were still alone with nothing but desire between them. She closed her eyes, listening to the catcalls that the demons had picked up again.

Ryder, where are you?