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

Chapter 31 - Tess

Tess clutched the mug of warm herbal tea in her hands, staring outside as the rain pattered down from the sky. The dampness permeated the air, even inside. Her wolf paced in her chest, restless and unsettled. Her stomach churned in a way that made her want to run to the toilet, but she’d already spent the morning hunched over it, and nothing had happened.

Where was Ryder? Was he getting the information they needed, or was this whole mission futile? What if they cut the talisman out of him and used the Demon Seed to claim him?

A shudder ran down her spine. The special ops team had years of experience dealing with demons. They knew their methods better than she did. Yet she couldn’t help but think that there should be something more for her to do.

More than anything, she wished things had gone differently. She wished so badly that she could turn back the clock that it was like a knife buried in her chest.

Sitting around doing nothing wasn’t helping. The nausea was more from stress than anything, she was certain. This meant if she could just distract herself from these circles of thoughts that wouldn’t leave her alone, maybe she’d stop feeling like this.

She had taken the day off from nannying for Mica due to the late night yesterday. She was tired enough that she didn’t think she could safely take care of a baby.

The house was already spotless. Elin had spent the night stress-cleaning. Now she was sleeping, so Tess didn’t want to disturb her. As much as she wanted someone to talk to and reassure her, everyone who knew the truth of her public rejection of Ryder was in the same boat. All of them were worried about him.

That, and if they talked about it, someone could overhear. The plan was precarious enough, she didn’t want to risk making it worse.

She grabbed a binder with the demon transcripts and sat in the reading chair. The rain tapping against the window provided an almost soothing background noise as she started to pursue her reading. Of course, everything had been picked clean, but she hadn’t read this volume herself yet. There might be something that someone else had missed.

Most of all, she wanted to know what the Demon Seed actually was. It seemed to be what was giving the big wolf an edge over the other demons. If she could find out where it came from or how to destroy it, then maybe they’d be able to get a step up on the demons.

She started to read, struggling with unfamiliar terms and strange writing. As she pressed her finger to the page, underlining the words, she suddenly wondered if she and Ryder would be able to send their baby to college. Very few people in the pack ever got more education than high school. The doctor, Christine, was the only one she knew of other than Monroe.

Did the special ops get more education through the military?

The rain tapped harder, and Tess shook those thoughts from her head. She tried to refocus on the complicated language, but the tapping became harder. The window rattled. She lifted her head and gasped.

Ryder stood just outside the window, with his brown hair plastered to his skull with the rain.

She threw the binder aside and rushed to the window. She yanked it up and leaned out into the rain, not caring as a cold blast of wind made goosebumps rise on her arms. She caught Ryder’s face in her hands, shivering at how cold he was. Without thinking, she kissed him deeply. Their tongues tangled as Ryder caught her wrists in his hands like he was planning on pulling away.

Her wolf howled in delight. He was here. And since the town was protected, it meant it was really him. He couldn’t have slipped in if the demons had possessed him.

Grateful tears slid down Tess’s face. Thank you, she prayed to the Moon Goddess. Thank you so much!

He was here. He was alive! She couldn’t get enough of his taste, his touch. All the fear was released from her at once. She wasn’t going to go through that again—she couldn’t let another moment go by without him knowing how she felt.

“I love you,” she murmured between their kisses. “Oh, Ryder! I love you so much!”

Ryder climbed through the window awkwardly. His naked skin was strangely white—no doubt from how cold he was. Her eyes widened at the dark purple swellings that bruised his body. He looked as though he’d been hit by a truck!

“What happened?” she cried.

Ryder pulled Tess close to him, burying his face into her hair. “I love you, too. I’m so sorry for everything I put you through. I’m sorry that I didn’t understand. I’m sorry that I—”

“Shh.” Tess pressed a finger to his lips. “It’s all right. You’re here. It’s okay. Let’s get you warmed up. I’ll call Christine—”

“No.” Ryder kept his fingers laced through hers as he strode for her closet. “Pack a bag. Only things you need. We have to get out of here.”

“Wh-what?”

Ryder grabbed a backpack and started to shove clothes into it. “We’ll leave. Bluebell Valley has never given either of us anything but grief. We’ll take off. You and me. We’ll raise the baby far away from here, and nobody will ever hurt you again.”

Tess’s gaze trailed over the nasty bruises on his body. “What happened to you?”

“They knew it was a setup,” he mumbled, striding past her to her jewelry. He began cramming handfuls in. “We’ll have to sell some of this. I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to get any money. We have to get out of here now.”

No, this wasn’t right. Tess backed up slowly, her heart in her throat. Ryder would never just take off and abandon the pack. No matter how badly he was hurt, no matter what threats were levied against him. He’d never just leave like this. What was going on? Had the demons found a way to possess him after all?

The thought sent a bolt of panic through her. She forced it down. Finn would be able to see if he was possessed. She had to get him over here somehow.

She took a deep breath. “Ryder, slow down. What happened? What did you learn?”

His spine stiffened, and his hands went still. It lasted only a couple of seconds, but when he started to move again, he moved in a jerky way, as though someone was trying to force him to do something else, and he was fighting against it.

“I didn’t learn anything,” he mumbled. “I told you, they knew what was really happening. That big wolf beat me. I barely escaped. We have to get out of here before they come to the town again.”

“We’re safer in town, though. The demons can’t get at us here,” Tess said slowly. Despite how hard she tried to force it down, a prickling fear crept up her throat. “Have you told Hayden? He needs to know that the demons knew. Maybe they have more spies in the pack than we realized.”

Ryder shook his head. He turned back to her, his eyes wild, the whites showing around his irises. Tess shrank back. She’d never seen him look like that before.

“We can’t wait,” he rasped. “I have to get you out of here.”

He strode forward and grabbed her arm painfully tight. Tess yanked herself away.

“No! We can’t leave without reporting to Hayden.”

Ryder’s expression twisted. He dropped the backpack and grabbed both her arms. “I’m getting you out of here, Tess. I’m not letting you stay another minute!” He yanked her forward and off the ground. She landed hard over his shoulder, just like he had the time he rescued her from the demons in the forest.

But a month of training meant she knew what to do. She threw her weight one way, then the other, and rolled over his shoulder as his grip loosened. She shoved him forward and landed on her feet as he went sprawling. His arms wrapped around his abdomen as he groaned. Tess fought back the surge of panic that she’d hurt him and lunged.

She straddled him, pinning his hands beneath her knees. Using her weight and strength, she pinned him to the floor.

“Tess, you don’t understand,” he hissed, struggling. He was clearly weakened by the beating he had endured. “We have to leave!”

“Elin,” she yelled. “Elin, wake up!”

Moments later, Elin stumbled into her room. “What are you—Ryder!” Her puffy red eyes widened.

“Go get Hayden,” Tess said as she rifled through the backpack, looking for anything she could use to tie Ryder with. “And Finn. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he’s not acting like himself.”

“Tess, please,” Ryder begged.

Elin hesitated, watching them with wide eyes.

“Go!” Tess yelled, pulling a belt from the pack. “Now!”

Elin disappeared. Ryder growled and bucked his body, nearly throwing Tess off. She crushed him down, tears pooling in her eyes. She didn’t let them stop her, using the belt to bind Ryder’s hands together. She then used a pair of jeans to tie his legs but stayed straddling him as he struggled.

“You don’t understand,” Ryder whispered. His eyes were wilder than ever. “You don’t understand.”

Tess cupped his face with her hands. “I don’t. But it’s going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out.”

Elin came back shortly after, and Hayden and Finn were with him.

Ryder groaned and closed his eyes.

“Fucking hell,” Finn hissed. “I’ve never seen a demon influence like this.”

Tess’s heart stopped. “Is he possessed?”

Finn dropped to one knee, studying Ryder as Hayden lingered nearby, his gaze sharp and hard.

“Is he possessed?” Tess screamed.

“I don’t think so,” Finn answered. His blue eyes narrowed in concentration. He put a hand on Ryder’s forehead. “No. No, he’s not. But there are strands of influence around him, like strings on a puppet.”

Tess opened her mouth to ask what it meant, but a shout came from outside before she could. Maverick came racing through the house.

“Alpha,” he bellowed, “the demons in the prison—they’ve broken free!”