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

Chapter 24 - Ryder

Tess’s look was the same as she’d had the day he left for the military.

Pure pain.

Ryder’s wolf whined. The air seemed to disappear from around him, and the certainty that he was making the worst mistake of his life swept through him. Hayden was right. This plan was risky. It could very well end up with Tess raising a baby with a dead father. How was it fair to her to force her to participate in the farce of his exile and freeze her out in the meantime?

“I’ll do it,” Mica said, her voice low. “But you need to tell Mom first.”

“Elin?” Hayden asked.

Elin nodded slowly, twisting her hands. “I’ll play my part. I’m good at being a bitch.”

Tess opened her mouth.

“Can I speak with you alone?” Ryder burst out.

Everyone gave him a startled glance. Tess’s eyes went wide. “Me? Why?”

Hayden gave Ryder a concerned look.

“It’s important that Tess isn’t forced into this situation, which affects her, too. She became an outcast originally because she rejected Alpha Monroe,” Ryder explained, his tone stiff. “And we know her parents will react poorly to the situation. I need to talk with her privately about why we decided to do it this way.”

Hayden nodded once.

Ryder shot Tess with a questioning look. She took a deep breath and stepped past him into the hallway. Silently, they made their way to one of the guest rooms on the second floor. There, Tess turned to him, her blue eyes wary. She wrapped her arms around her waist and gnashed her teeth at her lower lip.

“Thank you for talking to me,” Ryder said. “First, I need to apologize for what I said. It was cruel and unnecessary. I’m sorry.”

Tess nodded once.

“I know that this is a lot to ask from you. It’s the best way we can think of to initiate me issuing a challenge. I’ve been too loyal a Beta to Hayden to challenge him over anything trivial,” Ryder explained. “But a child and a mate? It’s one of the few things this pack will accept as a legitimate reason for breaking that loyalty.”

“I… guess that’s true,” Tess murmured.

“I need to do this to prevent an all-out battle. Not that you couldn’t hold your own if it came to a battle,” he added with a slight smile.

Tess tightened her arms.

“No matter how this ends, you’re going to be a wonderful mother, Tess,” Ryder said, needing to say more to reassure her. “I know that it can’t be easy, thinking about how the pack and your parents will react. But you are strong. You’re brave, and you know yourself. I don’t care what anyone might say, you will be a great mother. You don’t need a mate to raise this baby right.”

Tess grabbed his hands. Her skin was cold, and Ryder rubbed her hands between his own, wanting to warm her up.

“Ryder, I… I didn’t reject you out of spite. It’s not that I don’t want you in our baby’s life. I’ve never intended to keep you separate. It’s not because I don’t care.” Her words tripped over each other as tears pooled in her eyes.

Ryder’s heart warmed at her words, but he pressed a finger on her lips. As much as he wanted to hear exactly what she had to say, it would be too easy to back out of this.

“Don’t tell me anything else,” he murmured. “It’s all right. I know that you don’t hate me. Not anymore, at least. And I can’t blame you for hating me for so long.”

Tess shook her head. “I can’t blame you for rejecting me. I did, but I can’t anymore. We barely knew each other. I’d built a fantasy of you in my head. If you had accepted me, we’d have been miserable.”

Ryder turned over her hands in his. “I was afraid. I left and joined the military because I could feel myself getting angry and bitter. I saw the way the men of this pack treated their mates. Saw the way everyone treated my mother and sister. And I found myself echoing their attitudes. I didn’t want to be that sort of man. I had to leave.”

“And it was only through becoming an outcast that I found my own strength. So I suppose in the end, it all worked out.” Tess’s lips trembled as she tried to smile. “Until now.”

“I have to do this. For the sake of the pack.” He touched her belly. “For the sake of our child. The pack is living in fear, and those demons are targeting you specifically. We need the intel. We need to get an inside look into how they’re organized and what their goals are.”

Tess shuddered. “They might use that Demon Seed on you.”

“The talisman will protect me.”

“They might kill you.”

Ryder gave her a cocky grin. “They can try. But you know I’m a stubborn bastard. I’m not going to go down the easily.”

“That you are.” Tess let out a ragged sigh. “I want you to take extra precautions. I won’t be a part of the scene planned for tonight unless you do.”

“What extra precautions?”

“Get another talisman implanted. At least one,” she amended. “Preferably two or three. Or do what Blayke was telling Elin about and get the protections tattooed somewhere.”

Ryder chuckled. “One is enough.”

“Nope. It’s not.” Tess lifted her chin stubbornly. “You’re going to have more implanted to make sure that if one breaks, there will be others there. And even if they don’t break, the demons could cut them out of you. And then where will you be?”

Ryder grew sober. She had a good point. “Okay. I’ll have more implanted.”

Tess nodded, letting out a shaky breath.

As he stared at her beautiful face, his wolf howled. “There’s just one more thing I want to ask from you.”

“What?”

Ryder cupped her face in his hand. “One more sparring match.”

Tess’s eyes widened slightly. Her mouth opened slightly. She leaned into his touch, her eyes never leaving his as she nodded. Ryder started to smile when Tess leaned forward. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to her tiptoes, kissing him deeply.

The desperation in her kiss matched the emotions sweeping through him. He grabbed her, pushing her up against the wall to grind himself against her. Every resolve he’d made to keep his emotions boxed away broke instantly.

“Tess,” he moaned into her mouth. “I want you.”

“I want you, too,” she answered, her fingers fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. “I want to be close to you.”

Ryder moved to her neck, nipping at her beautiful skin. He didn’t care if he marked her—fuck, he wanted to mark her. He wanted everyone who looked at her to know exactly how fucking lucky he was that she allowed him to touch her. Her body was soft and warm, her passionate moans running straight to his core. He hardened, his pants too tight to contain him. The bed called out to them, and he turned their bodies, walking Tess toward it as they continued to frantically undress one another.

They fell onto the bed together, kicking off the last vestiges of clothing. Ryder cupped her in his hand, finding his way to her clit. He tested a few experimental strokes, watching her expression to ensure he found the right place. She gasped, arching her back, and he knew he’d found it. He circled her clit with his thumb as he slid two fingers into her.

“Ryder,” she moaned, her head falling back. “That feels so fucking good. You can’t imagine.”

Ryder laughed, her swearing unexpected. “You have no idea how fucking good you look when you’re clenched around my fingers.”

Tess took hold of his shoulders and stared into his eyes, her legs open and welcoming him in. The look on her face took his breath away. Though their movement remained still frantic and quick, something shifted between them. As he brought his mouth to hers, he tasted her more deeply. Her scent enveloped him, pulled him in like an embrace.

This wasn’t just sex today. They were making love.

Tess trailed one of her hands down his torso and took hold of him. Her touch was soft, gentle, and just right. He hardened beneath her hand as she grew wetter with his. Their groans mingled as their bodies twitched, wanting more. Needing more. But not wanting this to end.

“You are beautiful,” Ryder told her, cupping her face with his hand. “I want you to be on top, love. I want to see how you move.”

“Yes,” Tess moaned. “I want that too.”

Ryder positioned himself over her. He pulled his fingers out and coated himself with her wetness, then pushed into her entrance. She welcomed him in, her eyes dark with lust and affection. Once he was fully seated into her, he rolled them both, so she was on top. The weight of her body was soothing. He felt so safe with her in ways he didn’t know how to put into words.

Tess leaned back, bracing herself on the headboard. She rocked her hips and moaned. The pleasure on her face was more than he could take. He murmured encouragement to her as she moved faster, taking him deeper. Ryder did not like to give up control, but he was helpless before her at that moment. Anything she wanted, he’d give to her.

I was wrong.

He knew it had been a terrible mistake as he watched her move and felt himself grow closer to the edge. He never should have left her. He was afraid of the man he would become. That alone was enough to stop him from being that sort of man. They were true mates, or at least they had the chance to be once.

Maybe it would have been rocky, but they could have made it work. He never should have left her.

And now it was too late. Tess didn’t want him that way anymore. His hands clutched her tighter to him. This was as much as he’d get. And oh, he would savor every second.