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

Chapter 19 - Tess

The hose wasn’t connected.

It overlapped, but the two ends were loose. As soon as the demons figured that out, they’d get through. Tess’s mouth was dry, adrenaline making her tremble. The big wolf snapped, and another arc of light bolted from the Demon Seed. Ryder leaped in front of her, taking the hit. He stagged and growled low. Tess moved to the side, trying to shore him up. He planted his feet and snarled at the big wolf.

The beast-demon dug its horns into the ground, trying to dig under the hose. One of the demons near their weak spot let out a sudden yelp. Tess glanced over, and her heart stopped. The two ends were separated by an inch.

A growl burst through her chest as she drew in her courage. She bolted over to the place where the demons were flipping the garden hose further apart. She hesitated—what could she do?

No. Don’t panic. Tess shifted to human form. Naked and exposed in front of the demons, but who cared about that? She grabbed the two ends of the hose, pulling them in again. One of the demons lunged and nipped at her finger. In pure instinct, she swung her fist and planted it into the demon’s face. She still held the hose, which wiped around, knocking into the demon’s side.

The demon howled in pain and staggered back, whimpering. Several others gathered in the space, lunging and growling. None came close enough for her to hit. They were trying to make her overstep. To open herself up and open the protective circle. She kept an eye on them as she worked at screwing the two sides of the hose together.

Another of the demon-possessed wolves lunged as she twisted. Her arm was out of the circle, and he bit her, his teeth clamping down on her elbow. A scream ripped through Tess’s throat as the wolf yanked her out of the circle.

She shifted to wolf form, grabbing the wolf’s ear. The other demons came at her from all sides as she shook her body hard. The ear ripped off, and she rolled back. Scrambling, she got back into the circle, only to realize that the connection had fallen apart in her haste. Salt sprayed out on the ground.

Howls ran through the forest. Tess planted her feet and ducked, snapping at the demon’s throat as it lunged through the slight opening. Her teeth grazed his throat, and he backtracked.

The special ops team streamed through the trees, clashing with the demons. The ones facing Tess turned to face their attackers. Tess took advantage of the backs, turned toward her, and grabbed the tail of the nearest one. He yowled and turned to swipe at her, but she dragged him backward, forcibly pulling him back over the salt circle.

A long, piercing howl deafened her. Streams of red exploded out of the wolf’s body. At first, she thought it was blood. But it floated up through the air and dissipated—the aura-demon. It had to be.

The wolf convulsed, dropped, and went still—bloody foam frothed at its mouth. Tess stared at the wolf, releasing his tail.

Dead.

He was dead.

She had killed him.

That wasn’t what she expected. They’d trapped Zealuv with a salt-soaked rope. It hadn’t forcibly ejected the demon from Hayden’s body. But this? She had just killed someone, had ripped the demon out of him, and his body couldn’t survive the process.

Most of the possessed wolves had fled. The beast-demon held off Hayden and Ryder, but it was bleeding heavily and wouldn’t last long. The big wolf was nowhere to be seen. Elin still plastered herself on the ground in the middle of the circle, not moving. Tess glanced at the dead wolf one last time before she raced over to Elin.

Get up, she thought, nudging Elin’s hindquarters.

Elin whimpered.

Tess nipped her, eliciting a yelp. She opened her eyes and looked around, shaking. Tess nudged her again, and Elin staggered to her feet. Her sleek brown coat was full of leaves and burrs, collected in her mad dash through the forest, no doubt. Tess circled her and then nodded toward town. They weren’t far away. The best thing they could do was to bolt.

Hayden finished off the beast-demon, and Ryder jumped into the circle. He jerked his head toward the two women, and they joined him. He looked powerful, strong, and mighty, leading them from the residual fighting. The three of them tore through the forest, Tess in the lead and Ryder bringing up the rear.

Tess’s heart hammered, but they weren’t accosted again. They made it to town. As soon as they were over the boundary line, Elin tripped over her feet and went down. She sprawled on the ground, whimpering and trembling like a leaf. Annoyance rushed through Tess. Why did she have to be so pathetic?

Tess fought down that uncharitable thought as he turned to Ryder. He nodded once at her before turning to head back. Tess barked after him, but he ignored her.

Part of her wanted to rush out after him and grab him to drag him back. The big wolf had hit him with the energy from the Demon Seed at least twice, probably more when Tess tried to close the hose again. He wasn’t in any shape to keep fighting.

But she knew that going after him was useless. He’d ignore her. He always did. It was his instinct to fight, to protect, and nothing she could do would stop that. She watched him go, a whimper in her throat. More than anything, she wanted him to turn around to come back to her and…

And what?

What could he do? Stay with her? Reassure her? He wouldn’t understand what it meant that she killed that wolf. He’d say it was an accident and a demon besides. The wolf she’d once known was already dead. She couldn’t even remember who it was, only that she recognized the wolf. A shudder went through her, and she braced herself.

There’d be time for that later.

Right now, her elbow was throbbing with pain, and the scent of blood told her that Elin was injured, too. She nudged Elin. When that didn’t work, she pawed at her and nipped her shoulder. Elin yelped, then staggered to her feet. She followed Tess, head handing to the clinic.

“What happened to you two?” Christine demanded when they entered.

Tess explained that Christine had taken them to one of the waiting rooms and started to take care of their injuries. Tess’s bite was shallow. Elin had several bite and claw marks along her back and sides, but nothing too terrible.

Just as Tess finished explaining, Mica burst into the clinic, and she had to start from the beginning. By the time that was done, Elin had calmed down enough to tell her side of things.

“Rachel, Clarissa, and Monique wanted to go berry picking. They asked me to go with them,” Elin said, wrapping her arms around her middle. “I thought with the talisman and it being so close to town, I’d be okay. I asked Blayke to come with us, and he said he would. But a demon showed up, and he chased it off, then there were a bunch of them. They separated me from the other girls and chased me.”

“Did they go after Rachel and the others at all?” Tess demanded.

Elin shook her head.

Mica put a hand on Tess’s shoulder. “We already knew that they were after you two.”

“But until now, we could make excuses. Say that they didn’t go after the men because they’re special ops and have special protections,” Tess answered, her shoulders slumping.

Christine’s lips pulled into an unhappy slash. “But I’ve put the talismans in all of you. Why would they still come after you when you also have that protection?”

Tess shook her head. “They don’t know that.”

“I’m sorry,” Elin said miserably. Tears filled her eyes. “You were so brave, Tess. And I was just… useless. I hate them so much! I hate feeling like…”

She turned her face away.

Tess rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Christine, can I go?”

Christine nodded. “Of course. But come back if you experience a fever, if there are signs of infection, or if that injury isn’t healed by tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks,” Tess muttered.

Mica started to go with Tess, but Tess told her to stay with Elin. Elin needed her more. Besides that, Tess carefully edited her version of the story to remove the death that was on her head. As she headed for the Alpha's house, a dark, heavy feeling filled her heart. Echo was there with Denzel while Mica was out, and right now Tess needed to hold the baby.

Though her arm ached, she held the precious boy close. She imagined what it would be like to hold her own baby but quickly pushed it from her mind.

The special ops team returned in human form hours later. They came from the direction of the clinic rather than the forest. Mica walked with Hayden, her arm around his waist. All of them were fully dressed.

“Can you take the baby again?” Tess asked Echo.

Echo took Denzel back. “Go to him.”

Tess blushed but raced outside. Ryder’s shoulder was bandaged, but he looked otherwise unharmed. She held her breath as she approached him, wondering what she should say. When she opened her mouth, though, Ryder cut in front of her.

His voice was utterly cold as he said, “Our sparring matches are canceled.”

Then he pushed past her and strode into the house. Tess stared after him. Mica turned a sorrowful gaze on her. The others in the special ops gave her looks varying from confusion to pity. But Ryder didn’t look back. So, Tess did the only thing she could—she walked away, too. And, like him, she didn’t look back.