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

Chapter 27 - Tess

Tess didn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, images of Ryder’s face when she’d rejected him a second time playing through her mind. Despite how hard he held himself, she was certain she’d seen hurt in his eyes. It had been so much harder to say it again than it had been the first time—especially after their last intimate encounter. It had felt so different from the previous times.

Morning was a relief. Though her body dragged with exhaustion, at least the dawn meant that she could find something to do besides lay there, trying unsuccessfully to sleep. She dressed, got herself an easy breakfast of fruit and toast, and then headed out. The morning was crisp and cool, the valley still cast in the shadows of the mountains. A dampness to the air spoke of the possibility of rain.

She was halfway to Hayden and Mica’s home when a shout stopped her. Dread washed through her as she turned to find her parents coming at her. Hilda had Lenard’s arm as though she was thinking about pulling him back.

The fury on Lenard’s face said it all. Tess released a soft sigh. Of course, they’d accost her before she made it to the Alpha’s house. If they started screaming at her with Mica in earshot, they might end up faced with an authority figure standing up to them.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Lenard snarled as he came to a stop in front of her. “Look what you’ve done! You turned down a perfectly respectable match and now you’re used goods and caused a rupture in the pack.”

Tess wasn’t going to argue—but neither was she going to let them blame her for all the shit going down here. “I’m not responsible for anyone’s actions but my own.”

“Like fuck you aren’t! It’s a female's job to keep the men in line. And you humiliated the Beta in front of the whole pack. Even after he was generous enough to accept you as his mate.” Lenard’s fists shook as he shoved Hilda off him. “You were always a disappointment, but I didn’t raise you to be so selfish!”

“It’s not selfish to refuse a mating that would make me miserable,” Tess answered, her voice flat. “Things are changing. I’m not ashamed of who I am. Ryder’s responsible for his own actions. It’s not my job to keep him from challenging the Alpha.”

Lenard’s hand snapped out. He slapped Tess’s face with a loud crack. Pain exploded through her jaw as her head was jerked to the side. Tess stumbled back, clutching her face. Her heart pounded. It had been years since Lenard had hit her!

What if he went further? He might hurt her baby. Tess’s wolf snarled, wanting to give back as good as he gave.

Tess forced herself to whimper and drop her gaze the way she did as a child. Fighting back would only make him angrier. If he got angrier, then he’d put his hands on her again. If he was so disgusted at her being pregnant, what would stop him from trying to make her miscarry? Her heart squeezed—she didn’t trust her father, couldn’t risk him hurting her more.

“Don’t you talk back to me!” Lenard shouted. “You’re lucky that I’m trying to make you see reason. By the Goddess! I should use my legal authority to make you pay me back for the damage you’ve done to my reputation.”

Tess hunched her shoulders and lowered her head. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered. It was what he wanted.

“Do you think sorry will be enough?” Lenard roared. “You pathetic—”

“Hey!” Elin’s voice rang through the air. She skirted around Lenard and Hilda and put an arm around Tess. “Stop yelling at her. You’re the one that disowned her. You lost all rights to act like this long ago!”

Tess gaped at her. She was shaking, her eyes wide, but her chin had a stubborn tilt. Elin breathed heavily, her arm tight around Tess. Was this the same Elin who had been a shaking mess in the forest? Sure, facing demons was different from facing Lenard, but not by much.

“Stay out of this, girl,” Lenard hissed at her. “This is private business between me and my daughter.”

“Not very private when you’re yelling for the whole world to know,” Elin pointed out. “Besides, Tess is the Luna’s best friend. If you think that treating her like this is going to be—”

“Shut the fuck up, you bitch!” Lenard backhanded Elin across the face.

She yelped as she tripped over her feet and went to the ground. She half-dragged Tess with her. Tess tried to pull her back up, but Hilda was suddenly on her, dragging her back away from Elin. Lenard advanced on Elin, claws emerging from his fingertips.

“It’s not your place to intervene,” Hilda yelled, but Tess didn't know whether she was yelling at Tess or Elin.

“Stop this,” Tess howled. “Violence against members of the pack isn’t permitted!”

Lenard ignored her. “You bitches have lost your place in the pack. It’s no wonder with that fucking human as—”

He choked off, backpedaling. Tess twisted herself free of Hilda and gasped. Elin held a gun in her trembling hands, pointing it at Lenard. Wolves didn’t use guns. It was a mark of honor among them to never lay hands on a human-made weapon. Where had Elin gotten a gun? When?

“Back off,” Elin wheezed. She staggered to her feet, aiming the gun at Lenard’s head. “I mean it. Get the fuck away from me!”

Several sets of footsteps approached. Tess twisted to find Finn, Blayke, and Maverick heading their way. Her hands shook as she freed herself from her mother. “Elin, put the gun down.”

Elin shook her head. “Not until he promises never to come near either of us again!”

“You little bitch,” Lenard snarled.

Blayke stepped up next to Elin. “Hey. Hey, it’s okay. We’re here. Let’s put the gun down, okay?”

Elin shot him a wild, almost frenzied look. He put a hand over hers and slowly lowered the gun toward the ground. Elin let out a soft gasp, and it seemed as though all her strength had fled. She sagged into Blayke. He carefully took the gun away from her and pocketed it while Finn and Maverick put themselves between the women and Tess’s parents.

“I want that crazy bitch locked up,” Lenard said, pointing toward Elin. “She’s a danger to the pack and ought to be cast out.”

Finn snarled. “Oh, so you want us to handle this your way?”

“I do! I—”

Finn’s fist lashed out. It caught Lenard on the jaw and sent him flying several feet. He smashed into the pavement and lay there groaning. Hilda gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. When Finn glanced at her, she whimpered and backed up a few steps.

“Blayke, get Elin and Tess to the Alpha’s house,” Finn ordered over his shoulder. “Hilda, go back to your home. We witnessed the entire altercation. Your husband is under arrest, but you are not at this time.”

Her eyes wide, she nodded once and hurried away—but not before sending Tess a black glare. Tess’s ears rang as Blayke pulled Elin away. Tess followed them, swells of guilt and shock washing over her. It had been bad enough that this even happened, but she could have been less confrontational. Now, it was even more of a disaster than it had been, and it was all her fault.

They reached the Alpha’s house quickly. Blayke took them to the Luna’s parlor and told them to wait while he informed Hayden about what happened. Before he left, he placed the gun on the table.

Tess sank into an overstuffed chair, staring at the weapon. “How long have you had that?”

“Since last year. After Monroe was defeated, I went into the town and got it,” Elin mumbled. “After Monroe tried to claim me as his mate, I tried to run away. It made me realize that I can’t fight. I got it so I can shoot dead anyone who tries to hurt me.”

“But you haven’t used it on the demons.”

Elin shook her head. “I never had it on me. Couldn’t have kept it when I shifted to wolf form, anyway.”

Tess shook her head. “Thank you for standing up for me. I wish I’d been able to tell you not to, though. He was already so angry, it was better to just play the part and agree with him until he left.”

Elin wrapped her arms around herself. “He hit you.”

“Yeah. He did.”

“My father never hit me. I didn’t know what to do. I just… I just was afraid he’d hit you again,” Elin mumbled, looking at the carpet. “I just wanted to stop it. I’m sorry that I made things worse.”

Tess reached for her hand. “You didn’t make it worse. He did. And I guess it was a good thing you intervened when you did. At least now, he’s been arrested. Which means he can’t keep harassing me. It also shows how much Hayden’s team will intervene. He won’t do this again,” she said. That much she was certain of. “My father is abusive and a bully, but at his core, he’s a coward. He only goes after people he thinks can’t fight back.”

“I’m jealous of how brave you are,” Elin sighed.

Tess smiled weakly in response. She didn’t feel brave. She felt small. More than anything, she wished Ryder was here right now. She wished she could wrap her arms around him and borrow from his strength to make herself feel braver than she was.

And all at once, a spiky, awful ball emerged in her chest. A feeling of regret, the certainty she had made a terrible mistake. The day she told him she was pregnant, she shouldn’t have rejected him and run away. She should have stopped him. Should have told him that she didn’t want him to take her as his mate just because she was pregnant.

But she should have stayed, talked to him, and been frank and open with him rather than hiding her true feelings.

And now he was out there, at the mercy of demons. She didn’t know if Hayden’s plan would work. If Ryder could come back. Or if he was already dead.

Would she ever be able to tell him? To hold him again? Or was it too late?