Page 44 of The Wolf's Pregnant Rejected Mate

Hayden arched an eyebrow at her. “What’s that?”

“Me! Your plan hinges on me making a public spectacle of myself. Of rejecting Ryder and humiliating him in front of the whole pack. I won’t do it. I won’t let Ryder risk his life like this. It’s not happening. Find another way. I won’t!” Tess’s voice rose with every word. She stamped her foot on the ground like a child.

The emotion swirling through her was just too strong to contain. How could they ask her to do this?

Ryder met her gaze again. His expression was hard and cold. “Why not? You’ve made it clear that you don’t want me as your mate, Tess. You can’t stop me from protecting this pack. You have no claim over me.”

Tess flinched back from his words. They cut deeply, each one like a knife. But he was right. She had no right to dictate what he did. So what could she do? Desperation swept through her. She had to stop it… but how?

“Ryder—”

“There’s no discussion here,” he said, cold as ice. “You’ll reject me at the meeting tonight.”

Chapter 24 - Ryder

Tess’s look was the same as she’d had the day he left for the military.

Pure pain.

Ryder’s wolf whined. The air seemed to disappear from around him, and the certainty that he was making the worst mistake of his life swept through him. Hayden was right. This plan was risky. It could very well end up with Tess raising a baby with a dead father. How was it fair to her to force her to participate in the farce of his exile and freeze her out in the meantime?

“I’ll do it,” Mica said, her voice low. “But you need to tell Mom first.”

“Elin?” Hayden asked.

Elin nodded slowly, twisting her hands. “I’ll play my part. I’m good at being a bitch.”

Tess opened her mouth.

“Can I speak with you alone?” Ryder burst out.

Everyone gave him a startled glance. Tess’s eyes went wide. “Me? Why?”

Hayden gave Ryder a concerned look.

“It’s important that Tess isn’t forced into this situation, which affects her, too. She became an outcast originally because she rejected Alpha Monroe,” Ryder explained, his tone stiff. “And we know her parents will react poorly to the situation. I need to talk with her privately about why we decided to do it this way.”

Hayden nodded once.

Ryder shot Tess with a questioning look. She took a deep breath and stepped past him into the hallway. Silently, they made their way to one of the guest rooms on the second floor. There, Tess turned to him, her blue eyes wary. She wrapped her arms around her waist and gnashed her teeth at her lower lip.

“Thank you for talking to me,” Ryder said. “First, I need to apologize for what I said. It was cruel and unnecessary. I’m sorry.”

Tess nodded once.

“I know that this is a lot to ask from you. It’s the best way we can think of to initiate me issuing a challenge. I’ve been too loyal a Beta to Hayden to challenge him over anything trivial,” Ryder explained. “But a child and a mate? It’s one of the few things this pack will accept as a legitimate reason for breaking that loyalty.”

“I… guess that’s true,” Tess murmured.

“I need to do this to prevent an all-out battle. Not that you couldn’t hold your own if it came to a battle,” he added with a slight smile.

Tess tightened her arms.

“No matter how this ends, you’re going to be a wonderful mother, Tess,” Ryder said, needing to say more to reassure her. “I know that it can’t be easy, thinking about how the pack and your parents will react. But you are strong. You’re brave, and you know yourself. I don’t care what anyone might say, you will be a great mother. You don’t need a mate to raise this baby right.”

Tess grabbed his hands. Her skin was cold, and Ryder rubbed her hands between his own, wanting to warm her up.

“Ryder, I… I didn’t reject you out of spite. It’s not that I don’t want you in our baby’s life. I’ve never intended to keep you separate. It’s not because I don’t care.” Her words tripped over each other as tears pooled in her eyes.

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