Page 14 of The Wolf’s Bullied Mate (Moondust Hollow Wolves #2)

The next day, Oliver took a day off work to spend time with me and Ray.

We left the house in the morning to walk around town.

The buildings and infrastructure had changed a lot since I had moved away—everything was modernized.

Yet, I still recognized the old streets I had frequented as a child and teenager.

Ray, on the other hand, took in the sights wide-eyed. The town was new to him, and he commented on the amount of greenery compared to what we’d had at Lone Bite.

“The late alpha, the one who ruled the pack before Ryder, wanted the community to be more integrated with the nearby woods,” Oliver explained.

“Since we’re a community of wolf shifters, the forests are part of our nature.

We live in towns as humans, but there’s no reason why the towns shouldn’t resemble the natural world around us. ”

Ray asked him a bunch more questions, and he was very interested in the concept.

At some point, Oliver paused in front of a cozy-looking coffee shop.

Through the windows, I could see a beige and brown interior.

Some people were inside, but it wasn’t crowded; the place seemed popular, but still quiet enough for people to talk comfortably inside.

The nameplate above the entrance said ‘Warm Smile.’

“This is luna Aria’s shop,” Oliver gestured to the café. “Though now that she’s luna, Lisa is taking care of the place instead.”

“Lisa? Lisa Davis?” I remembered a friend with that name from my teenage years. Could it be her?

“The one and only,” Oliver smiled. “Do you want to meet her?”

Lisa was one of the few people who had not actively participated in my bullying, though she’d done nothing to prevent it either.

I didn’t consider her much of a friend anymore, though I supposed it would be fun to meet her again.

If I wanted to find my place in the Moondust Hollow pack, I needed to make friends beyond Oliver.

“Sure, let’s go in,” I nodded.

When we entered the café, the smell of fresh coffee and sweet cakes drifted into my nose.

For a moment, I imagined what it would be like to spend more time in such a place or even to work here.

It was a far cry from the disgusting atmosphere and oily scent of my previous workplace, the eatery in Lone Bite.

However, I considered the likelihood of me ever working in such a cozy place low.

“Oliver!” Lisa called out from behind the counter. “And… Oliver’s new wife!”

I smiled. She hadn’t recognized me. “I’m Pauline… Pauline Norton, though we knew each other in high school. I used to be Anderson.”

Lisa clapped her hands, giving me a cheerful smile in return. “Oh, it’s so nice to see you again, Pauline. I didn’t know you were the one Oliver married. It all makes so much sense now.”

I arched my eyebrows. “What makes sense?”

Oliver coughed. “How’s the café lately, Lisa?”

Lisa smiled. “At first, when I took over for Aria, I didn’t know if I could keep the cafe running as well as she always did. Aria is excellent at organizing things. I’m a bit more…” she laughed, “…easily distracted.”

I remembered her as a clumsy, starry-eyed teenager who loved to talk about what was on TV and which movie star had eloped with whom. She never paid much attention to her grades and frequently forgot where her classes were being held.

Her smile was much the same, but she seemed much more mature now. Could Lisa have really changed so much over the years? She wouldn’t be the only one. I’d also changed, though I was much less pleased with my transformation. In the past, I had been much more innocent and less jaded.

Alas, life’s plans for me had been very different than I had ever expected, and I just had to live with the consequences.

Oliver, Ray, and I sat down at one of the tables and drank coffee—while Ray drank bubble tea—chatting about the town and its inhabitants.

So much had changed. I was most interested in learning what had happened to the late alpha to make Ryder take over the pack so early and bring on Oliver as his beta.

Oliver carefully explained the pack’s history to me and the sad fate of the former alpha.

***

In the evening, after I had put Ray to sleep, I came down to the living room to read a book. After a while, Oliver came inside from the garage. He cleaned up and then sat down next to me.

“About your future—you wanted my help with adjusting to life at Moondust Hollow,” Oliver started in a cheerful tone, but his eyes were cautious.

I laid my book aside, realizing this subject seemed important to him. “Yes, do you have any suggestions?”

“Do you want to be a stay-at-home mom?” He asked.

I tapped my fingers on my knee, pondering the question.

I had stayed at home for the past week, taking care of Ray.

However, Oliver had now found an opening in the kindergarten, and Ray would start school again tomorrow.

I wanted Ray to be amongst other children.

However, Ray not being home for most of the day would leave me with little to do.

And I… I was living on Oliver’s dime right now.

“You probably want me to go to work to earn my keep…?” I said softly.

Oliver’s eyes widened. “‘Earn your keep’?! Where did you get that idea? You’re my wife, Pauline. You don’t need to work. I’m the beta of the pack, I can provide for you.”

That explanation cleared that matter up. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have my own money.”

“We can agree on me giving you an allowance of sorts for anything you want to buy for yourself. I will cover all life expenses, including Ray’s, which is non-negotiable,” Oliver frowned. His look was firm. There was no place for discussion here. This was the alpha look.

I remembered when he had last used the commanding tone on me—during sex. I felt wetness pooling between my legs. I had never considered myself the submissive type, yet here I was, wanting Oliver to once again go all alpha on me.

When had I become such a creature of lust?

I had found it difficult to fall asleep the past few nights, remembering the night we had shared. He was the best lover I’d ever had, and my stupid body wanted him again.

However, I hadn’t yet gotten over the fact that Oliver had instigated my bullying in the past. I still didn’t feel entirely safe around him.

“The only reason I’m asking if you want to go to work is because I’m worried you might be bored sitting in the house all day when neither me nor Ray are around,” Oliver sighed. “You don’t need to work if you don’t want to. I’m asking you what your wishes are, Pauline.”

The way he softly called my name made another pang of desire go through my body. My wolf danced happily in my soul. She, too, wanted Oliver and me to be close.

Focus, Pauline, he asked you a question.

“I…” I said, then I looked down, playing with the hem of my shirt with my hands. I thought about it for a moment. “I would like to work, but I’m afraid of ending up in a bad workplace.”

“If you work, then, of course, you should be at a job you enjoy,” Oliver looked thoughtful. “What was your job in Lone Bite?”

“I was a waitress at a diner,” I said.

“And did you enjoy the work?”

“Not really. The place was pretty rundown and so greasy that it was impossible to keep clean. The customers were rude and demanding,” I recalled. “But waitressing is the only thing I know how to do.”

“Do you want to learn something new?” Oliver asked.

I thought about that idea for a moment. “Right now so many things are changing in my life—I don’t think I have the capacity to learn an entirely new job.”

“What about something new but using familiar skills?” He smiled.

I frowned. “Do you have something in mind?” Why was he beating around the bush if he already had an answer for me? Ah, did he want me to reach a conclusion myself?

He opened his mouth to say something, but I held up a hand to stop him. Why spoil the fun?

“I suppose there’s one place where I’d love to work,” I said carefully.

“And that is?” There was a twinkle in OIiver’s eyes.

Earlier at the cafe, he had stepped away from our table to go to the toilet and had stopped at the counter to chat with Lisa for a moment.

Their conversation had been so quiet that I hadn’t heard any details, but now I had suspicions about the subject of their talk.

He had already set up everything, hadn’t he?

I didn’t know how I felt about that fact. On one hand, I thought I should be annoyed, but on the other hand, I couldn’t deny a sense of relief that the details were already settled.

“The Warm Smile,” I said. “I’d love to work at the café.

I always wanted to learn how to brew coffee like a proper barista instead of just serving…

the awful stuff they called ‘coffee’ at the diner.

And I really liked the atmosphere of the place.

Lisa is nice, too.” I listed all the good reasons why the request was reasonable.

Oliver smiled. “I think I can arrange that for you.”

“Didn’t you already?” I chuckled.

“Ah, so you noticed,” his smile widened. “I only asked Lisa if she might have a place for you should you work there. She was happy with the proposal. They actually do need additional help.”

“That was… thoughtful of you.”

He had figured out the whole matter before I realized my desire to return to work. I couldn’t be mad at him—not when he looked at me with such a boyish smile, like he had done something good and wanted me to praise him.

I took Oliver’s hand in mine and squeezed it. “Thank you for helping me out, Oliver.”

I really was grateful. Working at Warm Smile would give me something to put my energy into while I figured out my new life as Oliver’s wife.

“I promised I would,” he said, giving me a serious look. “And I always will.”

My heartbeat quickened at his promise.

“Now, since we’ve got that arranged,” Oliver went on, “tell me why you’ve been so withdrawn while talking to me today.”

The warm feeling I had evaporated, and I was back to being stiff and rigid.

Had he really noticed that I hadn’t been very open while talking to him today?

During our chat at the café, he asked me questions about my life at Lone Bite, but I carefully avoided answering most of them, trying to stick with the topic of Moondust Hollow and its inhabitants.

I thought I had pretended to be happy well enough, but my usual gloomy self must have shone through.

“If there’s anything wrong, you know you can just tell me,” Oliver furrowed his brow. “I’ll protect you from anything that’s worrying you.”

Even if the person worrying me the most was you?

I couldn’t stop the thought from popping into my mind.

“It’s all your fault,” I mumbled in a small voice before I realized what I was saying.

“What?” Oliver asked me, blinking a few times. “I didn’t quite hear that. Could you repeat what you said?”

He had done me an act of kindness today—he had arranged for me to get a job. He had also found a place in the kindergarten for Ray. He had been nothing but gallant towards the both of us over the past week.

He had even held me in his hands like I was something precious and breakable and looked at me with such clear desire.

Yet, I couldn’t forget what he had done to me as a teenager. He had called me a freak of nature, and the whole school had caught on, calling me that term and other names, too. Oliver had done nothing to stop the abuse from spreading or to prevent everyone from hurting me.

He was at fault for me being weak and broken in the first place.

Jeffrey, my parents, and the rest of Lone Bite had just deepened the breach that I had already carried in my soul from what I had suffered here originally.

They had found weakness, laid bare everything I lacked, and made sure I knew I didn’t belong.

“Did I do something wrong?” Oliver arched his eyebrows.

He was so perceptive, so thoughtful—no wonder he was the beta now. Why hadn’t he been this kind and caring back in high school? Why had he only changed for the better now, when the damage had already been done and when nothing could fix what had happened?

Unable to handle the storm suddenly brewing in my heart, I got up, took my book, and walked away. Once again, just like the day we’d met after talking on the app, I was solving my problems by running away from them. Running away had always worked for me, so why not resort to it again?

Oliver got up from his seat, too, and walked towards me.

I turned around, holding up my hand. “I don’t want to talk about it. Leave me alone.”

Oliver’s expression fell, and his shoulders slumped, but he let me walk away to my room.

When I sat down on my bed, I couldn’t believe I had just acted like such an asshole.

I was repaying him for what he had done to me as a teenager, but my ‘revenge’ didn’t feel right.

I didn’t like the idea of making him suffer.

I only wanted the safety and warmth promised by Oliver’s embrace.

I was afraid though, afraid his adoration was just a lie…

afraid that one day he, like Jeffrey, would turn around and tell me he didn’t want me after all.

I had been so miserable when I had moved away from Moondust Hollow at eighteen. Living in Lone Bite hadn’t been much better. Now I was back with my old pack, and everything was so complicated.

All I wanted was peace. What did I have to do to secure my safety and happiness?