Page 34 of The Alpha's Bullied Mate

Mica knew he was more experienced on that front than she was. She thought it would bother her, but as it turned out, she didn’t care. It was just a part of him, one that directly made her life better. So why should she be bothered?

Her life hadn’t been great, but it was always better when he was here. But with Monroe and the demons, how long would he be here? He was strong and could take down the beast-demons with what seemed like ease. But Monroe? The Alpha was strong, and everything she’d read showed that the aura-demons made a person stronger. Just how strong was Monroe now? Strong enough to kill Hayden?

A dark thought crept into Mica’s mind as she lay there. She didn’t have to stay to find out. As a human, she could leave him. The mate bond might prevent wolves from ever parting ways, but she had that option.

She could just go away if she wanted to. But she didn’t. Even if she was terrified about the future, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Hayden now.

Hayden stirred, sighing heavily as he did so. His arms tightened around. “Is it morning already?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Mica traced her fingers across the soft smattering of hairs on his chest. “Did you have a good night?”

He cracked open one eye and gave her a crooked grin. “Maybe not a good sleep, but it was a great night.”

Mica giggled softly, pleased with his response. “Are you going after Monroe again today?”

“Yes.” Hayden’s expression sobered. “He’s evading me. Even though he still has the majority of the pack on his side, unpossessed. They seem to be getting restless for this Alpha’s fight. I don’t know what he’s after.”

“Maybe he’s just afraid of facing you.”

Hayden smirked. “Maybe.”

“At least Monroe isn’t trying to take a new mate anymore,” Mica murmured.

“Hmm. Yeah.”

Mica propped herself up on her elbow. “When you’re Alpha, what then? You’re here to stop the demons, but once you’re the Alpha, you will have to be the Alpha. So what sort of things are you planning for the pack?”

Her stomach cramped at the expected reply—that he’d set someone to have control in his absence and go back out fighting the demons in different areas.

Hayden surprised her. “I have a few plans to make things better for everyone in the pack. The divisions have always been too strong for my liking. The first thing I’ll implement is finding more exports so the pack can earn more money, and for every working member to earn a wage.” He shrugged. “I don’t think that the lowest-ranked members of the pack should be forced to do so much manual labor for nothing but so-called ‘protection’ in return.”

Mica thought about her own life. How often was she made to spend hours baking and cooking for Monroe and his circle, and the only payment she had was ‘Be grateful we allow you to be part of the pack’ and their leftovers?

Once more, she saw just how different Hayden was. Warmth swept through her, and she leaned up, pressing hermouth to his. The warmth turned to heat as she trailed her hand over his form, dipping below the blankets at his waist. Hayden growled into her mouth as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her atop him.

Chapter 18 - Hayden

The scent of tilled earth met Hayden’s nostrils as he drove through the town. The team was spread through a handful of vehicles, each one keeping watch. They had just escorted the cargo van to and from the city for the latest shopping trip. Last time, Spencer had attempted to stop them from leaving.

This time, they had barely seen a sign of any other wolf in the town. It seemed as though Monroe was keeping them busy elsewhere. This was why, along with food, Hayden bought a handful of camera drones from the city. Patience was a virtue, but sitting idly by without finding any additional information was a flaw that could easily prove fatal.

He pulled to a stop in front of Monroe’s house and got out of the car, leaving the engine idling. The team all hopped out of their vehicles and gathered in formation around him.

“Monroe,” Hayden bellowed. “Quit hiding and face me!”

The door slammed open, but it wasn’t the possessed Alpha who came out. Instead, it was Spencer. He walked with a swagger, but Hayden detected a slight limp in his movements. He glanced at Finn from the corner of his eye. Finn shook his head ever so slightly.

Odd. Spencer was still acting as Monroe’s Beta, and yet the demons hadn’t decided to possess him. Perhaps they had decided that he was more useful in his current role. It could very well be because they hoped to be able to send him past the salt barrier to kill Hayden and his team at some point.

“So you’re back,” Spencer sneered at him.

“Is Monroe ready to face me, or is he still hiding?” Hayden mocked.

Spencer’s lip twisted. “My Alpha doesn’t need to answer to you, boy.”

“Hiding, then.”

Spencer snarled. Hayden’s wolf snarled in response, but he pushed down the urge to fight. The Beta wasn’t his quarry here. He wasn’t going to waste his energy and risk injury over the likes of Spencer.

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