Page 61 of The Alpha's Bullied Mate

Mica ran her hands through her hair. There were still a lot of people who had been injured in the battle. She took a deep breath and squeezed Hayden’s hand.

“We need to get everyone taken care of. Let’s move the injured to town hall so we can start taking care of their injuries properly. I’ll get the women to gather medical supplies, food, and water there,” she said. But as she glanced over the grounds, she winced. Most of the women in the pack had been part of the battle, too. It wasn’t fair to make them do additional work.

With a shake of her head, she adjusted her plan. “I’ll send Tess and Elin first, and then whoever is least injured can help with the rest of it.”

Hayden nodded, not looking at her. “Good. We will need to be tended to.”

There was something off about the way he said it. Mica opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong but stopped herself in time. What a stupid question. After everything that happened today? Finn barely clinging to life? Not to mention how fucking exhausted he must be! No, he had every right to be out of sorts.

Now, her job was to do her best to ease his burden. The next few hours were a whirlwind. She and Hayden were both busy tending to different matters. She was barely able to convince him to let her clean out his injuries properly and rebandage them. The deep tears in his flesh were starting to get red around the edges, and she worried about infection. He was dealing with so many injuries…

But all she could do was give him some pain meds and hope that once he had time to rest, he would heal.

In the meantime, she had a lot of other people to assist. A handful of the men who had gotten through the battle relatively unscathed complained at first at being told to fetch water and food. But when the other men obeyed the command without a word, those men ducked their hands and begrudgingly helped. Mica was pretty sure it had something to do with the glares Blayke, and Derek gave them, too.

Mica was exhausted once all the injuries were bound and everyone had food and water. They all were. Most of the wolves were able to return to their homes. Those who needed more medical attention than they could get here were taxied to the city. The wolves that had been blockaded out of the territory returned, bringing with them extra food.

There was nothing else to be done, right now at least, so Mica sought out Hayden. She found him at the Alpha’s house, looking through various blueprints and construction plans Monroe had left behind.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Nothing for you to worry about. I’ll take care of it,” Hayden answered, his voice clipped.

Mica sighed. “Let’s go home, Hayden. You need to rest.”

“I still have too much work to do. The demons won’t rest.” He shuffled through some papers. “You go, Mica. You need rest; it’s not good for the baby.”

“It’s not good for you, either.”

Hayden shook his head. “I’ll sleep here if I need it.”

“Alright.” She stepped up to him, lifting herself to kiss him.

He sidestepped her. “Not now, Mica.”

He didn’t look at her. Confusion swirled through her, but she stepped back, fighting the instant upset. He was busy. He’d had a hard day. This wasn’t a rejection. Not after he’d told the whole pack that she was his mate and he wouldn’t replace her. Despite her reasoning, it still hurt.

“Alright,” she stammered. “I’ll see you later.”

Hayden grunted in reply.

Mica hesitated before she left. Her chest ached, even though she tried not to let herself doubt. It was just because he was tired and overworked. Once the demons were cleared out for good, everything was going to be better. They were going to have a baby and be a happy family.

They would change this pack for the better. She just had to be patient and trust in Hayden.

Chapter 32 - Hayden

The hurt and confusion in Mica’s eyes haunted Hayden as his body shuffled through the archdemon’s plans. It was as though he was in a nightmare, where he knew he was dreaming, but unable to change events. This was more vivid; everything was in perfect clarity, and he could choose a handful of his actions, but the demon loitered there, blocking him from doing anything to reveal its presence.

Hayden couldn’t even speak out loud to himself when alone. No, the demon wouldn’t let that—it was aware that someone could be lingering nearby who might overhear.

What do you even want?He asked as he laid the plans back on Monroe’s desk.

I would think that was fairly obvious.

What do you want from me specifically?

The demon laughed.The pack likes you more than Monroe. It will be easier to convince them to do what you say. Or at least, what they think you say. It’s a rather elegant solution, don’t you think?

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