Page 1 of The Wolf’s Bullied Mate (Moondust Hollow Wolves #2)

“Mooom!” My son, Ray, pushed open the kindergarten classroom door with so much force that it banged against the wall. The loud thud echoed in the empty hallway.

Ray was a young wolf shifter, and, like many other shifters his age, he had trouble controlling his own strength.

The hour was far past the time parents usually picked up their children. As a waitress at a local diner, I worked long hours, so I was always the last to collect my child from kindergarten.

When Ray ran up to me, I could clearly see the tears streaming down his cheeks.

I kneeled on the floor, not caring about my jeans getting dirty. I opened my arms wide. My five-year-old fell into my embrace, crying out for me. I hugged him tightly and patted his back. With every sob, with every tremor that went through his small frame, my heart broke.

What happened at kindergarten today to make him so unsettled?

“Ray,” I said. “What happened to you?”

In response he only hugged me even more tightly and cried more loudly.

A small sigh escaped my lips. I would just have to wait for him to calm down.

I stole a glance at the open door to the classroom, but the kindergarten teacher wasn’t coming out. I had to talk to her.

First, though, I had to make sure my kid got all the comfort he needed from me.

A minute passed, and Ray’s shaking slowly ceased. He still hugged me tightly, hiding his face in my now-wet navy blouse. His tiny fists curled around the lapels of my light blue jean jacket. He held on to me fiercely, as if he were on a sinking ship and I were the only thing keeping him afloat.

I might as well have been his lifeline, given our life situation.

I had been raising Ray alone all these years as a single mother.

His father had abandoned us as soon as he found out I was pregnant with our son.

He’d had no interest in having a child with me—so much for believing his sweet words about loving me.

He had only slept with me because it had been convenient.

Then, as soon as a child and the need for commitment came into the picture, he threw away both Ray and me.

He had dumped me five years ago—and I have had five long years to come to terms with the situation.

I no longer dwelled on what could have been, focusing on the present instead; my life with my little Ray of sunshine.

He was all I needed. My child was usually so bright and full of smiles, with a happy look in his eyes.

The fact that he was always so cheerful made seeing him cry all the more painful.

“Ray,” I repeated. “What happened? Has anybody done anything to hurt you?”

“Not me,” came my kid’s reply in a small voice. “You.”

“Me? What about me?” I raised my eyebrows.

I continued patting his back as I felt the tremors return. Whatever he was trying to tell me was painful to him.

“The other kids, they said…” Ray tried again.

I waited patiently for him to talk.

He continued. “They called me names, said I’m a child of a weak wolf, that’s why I’m going to grow up weak as well. T-They said my father didn’t want to mate with you because y-you’re weak a-and he’s strong.”

When the words finally fell from his lips, he couldn’t stop.

It was like a dam of sorrow had opened. “He’s an e-e-enforcer—” he stumbled on the difficult word “—they said that means he defends the pack. So he couldn’t be with someone like you, Mom.

And if someone like him didn’t want to be with you, y-you must be broken somehow. ”

I stared at him, wide-eyed.

Ray raised his head, and I met his big green eyes. He had the same hair color as me—red. Like me, he also had freckles on his nose and cheeks, his skin was pale, and his lips were extra red. Truth be told, there was nothing of Jeffrey, Ray’s father, in him. My son was a spitting image of me.

Yet the identity of Ray’s father had spread around our pack anyway. The parents of the children in the kindergarten gossiped, and their kids must have heard their parents’ cruel words.

Being a single mother in our pack was like being an outcast. I wasn’t a Rogue, as I still had a place in the pack and did my part to contribute, but many would have liked nothing better than to exile me anyway. I was a blemish. I had laid with someone who had found me insufficient for mating.

I was thirty now and still had not found my fated mate. Maybe I didn’t have one at all. I couldn’t even imagine some sort of prince on a white horse who would march into my life, gather up Ray and me, and carry us to a faraway land full of happiness…if such a land even existed.

No, dreaming about being saved was a waste of time. I would have to take matters into my own hands, like I’d always done. I was strong inside. I really wanted to believe I was capable of defending my child’s happiness.

“Ray.” I stared into my child’s sad eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

Ray frowned. “No, Mom, what are you sorry for?”

I sighed. “That you have to suffer because of me.”

My kid shook his head. “I’ll be alright. But I can’t stand anybody saying bad words about you, Mom. I love you. You’re the best, Mom. Don’t feel down. It’s going to be okay.” Through teary eyes, he smiled and put a hand on my cheek.

My mouth gaped open. My own kid, so young, was comforting me. His love for me meant the world to me. In this hostile reality, having someone who cared for me felt good, someone I, too, could love and protect in return.

I would have to shield my son from any further bullying.

It was one thing if the kids’ parents went after me—I could manage their taunting.

However, having their children speak badly of me to my son was a step too far.

Ray shouldn’t be made to cry because of my own shortcomings.

I was a weak wolf; that much was true. The fact that Ray’s father didn’t want to mate with me was also true.

As to his reasons for not wanting me, though, that information shouldn’t concern anybody but Jeffrey and myself.

As the reality of what had happened to Ray today settled in my heart, I couldn’t help but remember my own bullying from years ago. In my teenage years, I, too, had been the victim of my peer’s abuse, so I knew how much being belittled and called names could hurt.

Back then, I was part of another pack, Moondust Hollow.

I was friends with many people in my teenage years, or so I believed.

I had trouble connecting with others on my own, but one person was always around me, inviting me to social gatherings—Oliver Norton.

I relied on him, and, truth be told, I had a little crush on him.

Oliver had light blonde hair curled slightly at the ends and sparkling blue eyes.

He always had an intelligent comment at hand or a fitting joke.

People loved being around him because he had a lot of charisma and was easy to talk to about anything.

He really drew people toward him, the exact opposite of me, who was always shy and withdrawn when it came to social interactions.

Somehow, Oliver and I became friends and hung out together often.

However, one day he found out about my special ability—or, as I preferred to call it, my curse.

I was something rare for a wolf shifter—a psychic, a seer, someone with visions of the future.

They happened every few months and helped me navigate life.

I couldn’t control them. Sometimes, important events in my life happened, but there was no vision before them to guide me toward the perfect choice.

Or sometimes, the visions were about nothing significant.

A useless ability, if you asked me, but the longer I lived, the more I learned how to make the best of my selective seeing of the future. I still had the visions to this day, and I had learned to appreciate them more now that they sometimes helped me live my life with Ray safely.

However, as a teenager I hated my skill. Seeing the future meant I was different than everybody else, and all I wanted was to fit in.

One day, Oliver saw me have a vision—I would stare into the distance with an absentminded look and freeze for a few heartbeats.

It happened in front of all my friends, as we were eating lunch by a tree on the school grounds—our favorite spot.

Oliver said in a joking manner that not only was I a freak because of my looks—he often teased me about my hair color and freckles—but I was a weirdo because I could see the future.

I saw a mean twinkle in his eye; he enjoyed saying those hurtful words. My heart fell. I had believed this man to be my friend and yet he had hurt me so profoundly.

My other so-called friends joined in on the bullying. They were afraid of me because of my ability. I could see the fear in their eyes. Eventually, they shunned me for being different.

My life turned into hell, then. I couldn’t take a step in school without being called names. People whispered behind my back and hushed when I looked at them. I avoided Oliver and the rest of our group, but staying away from them didn’t help much when they quickly spread rumors to all of my peers.

The whole school knew I was a freak.

When I graduated high school, my parents decided to move to a different pack, where we lived now. I had not told anybody here about my visions. Yet, people still found reason to belittle me.

I didn’t want Ray to go through the same pain as I had. I didn’t want him to be bullied because of me. I knew too well how painful being a social outcast was.

I had to find a way to stop the bullying before it escalated.

“I’m going to talk to your teacher.” I kissed the top of my child’s head. “Come on, let’s go into the classroom.”

Ray looked hesitant, giving the open door behind him a wary look, but then he nodded. I took his hand and led him into the room.

The teacher, Mrs. Hammond, was putting up the chairs on the tables so that the cleaning lady would have an easier time cleaning the floor when she arrived soon.