Page 6 of The Wolf's Pregnant Rejected Mate

There was nothing. It was either to tie these clothes around herself or be naked.

Her hands shook as she started trying to make something work. But everything crashed down on her at once. He rejected her even when she’d been young, thin, and beautiful. So why would he give a single flying fuck now?

Before she knew it, tears were leaking down her face. Sobs ran through her body, no matter how hard she fought them.

“Are you crying?” Ryder demanded.

Tess turned away. Great. Now, he was going to yell at her again.

Chapter 4 - Ryder

The battery pack in the radio had corroded. It leaked a thick, grainy white film over the entire thing. Given how the battery had swelled up and was nearly bursting from its casing, it had gotten wet somehow. Fuck. Ryder had hoped to be able to call for backup.

A soft sniff made him turn. Tess was sitting on the floor, a pair of pants draped over her hips as she struggled to tie two T-shirts together while holding a third across her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she worked.

“Are you crying?” Ryder asked in alarm.

He was good at fighting demons. Point him at the enemy, and he knows exactly what to do. He fought wolves twice his size and under terrible odds. Nothing frightened him, not anymore. Whenever Death came knocking, he told it to fuck off.

But faced with a sobbing woman?

How was he supposed to deal with that?

His mind flashed to the many times when he’d lay awake at night, listening to Mica sob over the bullying she endured. He felt just as helpless now as he did then. How was he supposed to comfort Tess, knowing how much she hated him? She kept trying to cover herself to no avail.

“Why are you crying?” he demanded.

A sob broke through her lips. “Nothing fits,” she whispered.

That was it? Ryder opened his mouth, then closed it again. She was clearly uncomfortable being naked around him. Did she feel vulnerable? Open for him to do whatever he wanted to with her image? Or maybe it was a weight thing? Mica had often ended up in tears when she couldn’t find clothes that fit her. Ryder had assumed that Tess was upset that nothing here suited her. She was such a feminine woman that men’s clothes were bound to be uncomfortable. Now, though…

He glanced at the clothes he’d grabbed. A pair of knit boxer shorts and a sleeveless undershirt. They had more stretch to them than the jeans and T-shirts that Tess had chosen. He pulled his shirt off and then started on the boxers.

Thankfully, Tess stopped crying. Her eyes widened, and then her cheeks went red. “Keep your clothes on!”

Heat rushed to Ryder’s own face. What did she think he was doing? “I’m just trying to help!”

“How?”

Ryder grunted as he flung the undershirt at her. “This is bigger than the others. Try it.”

Tess blinked. Ryder grabbed a pair of jeans and turned his back to yank off the boxers. He tossed them over his shoulder at her. The sounds of her movement told him she was struggling. A few popping noises made him wince. But when he glanced over his shoulder, the boxers were over her hips, stretched taught on her thighs. The undershirt did even less to cover her. It was stretched to be sheer, showing the incline of her breasts and the round peaks of her nipples.

His wolf snarled in pleasure, but Tess scrubbed her eyes again. Ryder turned away.

There wasn’t any room in the cabin to get away from each other. Ryder grabbed the radio and sat in a corner with his back to Tess. She continued to sniff, but thankfully, there were no more sobs. When he glanced over his shoulder at her, he found her back to him in the opposite corner. Her arms were wrapped around herself, her lovely black hair falling to hide her back and ass from view.

He took a closer look at the radio. There was so much acid corrosion that the whole thing was busted. Disgusted, he tossed it aside.

The scent of blood caught his attention. Right. Tess was still bleeding. He got to his feet and reached for the first aid kit stored in the rafters. As he did so, his fingers brushed against one of the blankets stored there. He stared at it. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

He pulled it down and cleared his throat.

Tess twisted, her arms crossed over her chest as she turned to him.

“First aid kit,” he grunted as he stepped toward her. “And a blanket. If you want it. Since you might be cold,” he added, although they both knew why she would want it.

Tess silently took the blanket and wrapped it around herself. Then she took the first aid kit and opened it up. Ryder stood awkwardly, watching her. He really ought to offer to help take care of her injuries, especially the ones she couldn’t reach. She must be in an awful lot of pain.

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