Page 19 of The Alpha's Bullied Mate

“You are welcome to stay here. Beta Ryder will arrange for your accommodations. I hope that you find rest under my rule,” Hayden said.

They murmured their thanks. When Hayden turned back to the house, he caught sight of Mica peeking out of their bedroom window. She quickly shut the curtain. Part of him wanted to go up there and settle their issues once and for all, but he still had work to be done.

Besides, this mating was one of convivence. There was no need to resolve their differences. He’d be Alpha soon enough, and Mica would be free to leave if she wanted to. After all, he didn’t want a mate that didn’t want him in return.

***

The next day, even more wolves showed up. Hayden was woken by a knock on the door. He rolled out of bed and glanced at where Mica had laid down on the couch the night before. She had already been sleeping there when he came to the room. Now, she peeked through her lashes at him, then quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Hayden threw on a shirt—he’d worn his shorts to bed—and slipped out of the room. Derek, who had been on watch the previous night, quietly explained what happened on the way downstairs. Just under two dozen more wolves had come to seek refuge here. He had arranged for them to be fed while he got Hayden.

“Good thinking,” Hayden said, nodding approvingly. “With so many newcomers, we’re going to have to put them all to work, and they can’t do that on empty stomachs.”

The deciding fight might not have happened yet, but any wolf that came to him to be shielded under him as an Alpha would receive a welcome. The biggest issue here was that the house wasn’t big enough to shelter them all. Food would also be a problem. When Hayden and the special ops had stocked their stores, they hadn’t expected to feed so many others.

“We will need to send people to the city for food,” Hayden said to Derek as they checked the stores. He ran the numbers in his head. “Everything in cans. Fresh produce won’t last as longas we need and will drain our finances faster. Have Blayke check with the newcomers if any of them have cash. No doubt Monroe will freeze their accounts as soon as he realizes they’re here.”

When Mica found him, he had moved on to the toolshed, making plans to harvest lumber to build a shelter for everyone. She wore a drab, faded t-shirt that hung baggily around her. It hid any sense of her marvelous figure.

She’d always worn ill-fitting clothes, even from the time they were kids. Oversized, baggy, and plain clothes were her style for as long as he knew her. Most of the time, her clothes were either hand-me-downs from Ryder or dated clothes Echo had kept from when she was growing up. None of it suited Mica.

The first time Hayden had seen her, she was a plump little girl with her red hair in pigtails and her green eyes viewing him with distrust. Even though they both grew up here in the pack, they hadn’t run in the same circles until they entered elementary school. There was something about her, a sense of vulnerability that had drawn him to her, wanting to protect her.

She’d been wearing a dress that made the other kids call her ‘fat grandma’ even though she wasn’t even fat. Hayden had taken her hand and pulled her to the playground, where he had spent the entire lunch hour pushing her on the swings.

He saw that same vulnerability in her now. Her eyes were filled with that same distrust. And just as he had as a child, he wanted to protect her now.

Her figure had drastically changed, of course. The dress she had worn during their mating ceremony had showed off her curves in a way that drove his wolf wild. He wanted to see the swell of her breasts and hips, but this baggy shirt she wore made her look like she was wearing a tent. It was fraying around the neck, too. When had Mica last gotten new clothes?

“You should be resting still,” he told her. It wasn’t even mid-morning yet.

Mica turned to Derek. “I wish to speak with my mate alone.”

He glanced at Hayden, who gave him a short nod. Derek bowed and retreated a distance.

“Hayden.” Mica wrapped her arms around herself as she stared at the ground. “There’s something… I need you to rescue Elin before Monroe can take her as his mate.”

Hayden’s eyebrows rose. “You want me to rescue her.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Why? I’ve seen how cruel she’s been to you over the years.”

Mica looked up. Her sea-green eyes were set with determination. “And so were you. If you want me to forgive you for what you’ve done to me, you have to show me why I should do that. I might hate Elin for what she did to me, but nobody deserves that. He won’t show her the patience you’ve given me.”

An unexpected pang of guilt hit him square in the chest. Where did it come from? Mica’s accusations of cruelty toward her, or the fact that he hadn’t given Elin a second thought despite goading Monroe into the declaration that he’d take Elin as a mate?

“Hayden.” Mica stepped closer and reached out as though she was going to take his hand. She pulled back and twisted her hands together instead. “Please. If I’m going to be your mate, then I can’t just ignore this.”

Hayden searched her face. He could see how difficult it was for her to even ask, though he wasn’t sure why. Was itbecause she had no faith in him? Because she expected him to laugh in her face.

“We will be breaking the protocol of the Alpha challenge, especially if I end up in a fight with Monroe,” he told her.

“I know. But you can use me as an excuse. As your mate, I’m claiming the females of the pack under my protection. Elin didn’t give her consent to be Monroe’s mate.”

Hayden reached for both her hands. Her skin was soft and surprisingly cold. He squeezed her fingers between his, wanting to warm them. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it. Only warning you that this could trigger a change in my plans. The final confrontation might push ahead of our schedule.”

Mica frowned at him. “What schedule?”

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