Page 6 of The Wolf’s Bullied Mate (Moondust Hollow Wolves #2)

A cruel chuckle escaped Jeffrey’s lips. “I don’t love you. I never did.”

I blinked once, then twice. Tears welled up in my eyes. My heart broke into a thousand pieces.

I truly and genuinely loved Jeffrey, regardless of his faults and how unkindly he could act with others.

I believed one day, we would become mates.

We weren’t fated mates—I hadn’t recognized him as my soulmate when I had eyes on him after turning twenty-two—but that fact didn’t mean we couldn’t decide to mate anyway.

I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man, have a small home and a happy family together.

Jeffrey’s eyebrows shot up. He chuckled again, this time sounding unsure. “You really thought I loved you? You did, didn’t you?”

I couldn’t stop myself from nodding.

He continued with his cruel words. “You’re a weak wolf, Pauline. Someone like you doesn’t belong with someone like me.”

It was like he had stabbed me straight through my heart. Tears overflowed from my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. My body shook. I sobbed.

Jeffrey seemed put off by my crying. “So are you going to get rid of it?”

It. That was all our child meant to him. I, however, already loved the kid we would have with all my heart. Our child wasn’t born yet, but I could already envision him so clearly. I couldn’t have my pregnancy ended.

I shook my head. “No, I’m going to give birth to our child.”

“Your child, then,” Jeffrey shrugged. “Good luck raising a kid on your own.”

He turned around then and left me in the clearing on my own.

Over the next few days, I kept hoping that we would return to me and reconsider and decide to mate with me. My life wasn’t a fairytale, though—it never had been. Jeffrey never came back so we could be together again and start our family.

I decided to give birth to Ray regardless of what everyone around me told me to do when they learned of my situation. To this day, I've never regretted my decision. Ray was the sunshine of my life. I loved my son.

I just wished I didn’t have to keep suffering through so much abuse.

My parents had never been very warm and caring, but when they learned I had decided to become a single mother, they turned completely cold towards me.

They hadn’t thrown me out of the house, but they had told me I had to contribute to the family fund as soon as I gave birth to Ray.

Being a single mother, an unwanted woman in our pack, was a blight on the family name.

My parents had told me on numerous occasions how grateful I should be that they hadn’t turned their backs on me.

However, at times like these, I had trouble feeling anything positive towards Jeffrey or my parents.

I squeezed my legs and hid my face in my knees.

I cried, letting go of all the fear, disgust, and hate I felt towards everyone who abused me.

I could allow myself this one single moment of weakness, could I not?

Just for half an hour, I could be weak and broken. With nobody who needed to see a strong front from me, I could be just myself for a bit, the sad and overwhelmed person I was deep down inside.

My phone rang and buzzed in my pocket. I burrowed my face more deeply against my knees, trying to ignore the sound. Still, what if it was my boss? What if he needed me to fill in for someone else’s shift? I couldn’t afford to displease him.

I should at least check who was calling.

I fished the phone out of my pocket and looked at the name displayed on the screen.

‘Cherry 3’ the caller ID said.

My one and only true friend. Cherry was the same age as me and worked as a tattoo artist. With a cheerful personality and a lot of backbone, she had stood up for me on numerous occasions.

We had met when I had first moved to this pack and had been close all these years.

She had seen right through Jeffrey’s act long before I had.

I couldn’t ignore a call from my best friend. I picked up the phone and put it to my ear.

“How bad did the dinner go?” I heard her serious tone.

I had told her Jeffrey would be coming by for dinner tonight as soon as I had learned that information from my parents—yesterday evening. Cherry and I had speculated about how terrible the event would turn out to be.

“Mother asked him if he would like to get back together with me.” My voice was weak and worn out from crying.

“Shit,” Cherry said. “That bad?”

“It gets worse. He said he could do better than me for a mate,” I added.

A string of loud curses flowed from my best friend.

My lips turned up in a small smile. I could always trust her to get angry on my behalf.

“How are you feeling?” Cherry asked. “Wait, that’s a stupid question. Should I come over? I have a shift until 8 pm, but after that…”

My friend worked irregular hours, seeing her clients whenever they had time for her to work on their tattoos.

I pondered her question for a moment. After a pause, I said, “Not this time, Cherry. I want to be alone tonight.”

“Are you sure?” She sounded worried.

I nodded, then I realized she wouldn’t be able to see the action. “Yeah, I think I’m just going to go to sleep. I’m dead tired.”

“You really need to get away from your parents’ house,” Cherry said quickly. Her voice was firm.

I sighed. “I don’t have any way to do so. They take most of my money or I spend it on Ray’s needs.”

“Yes, I know. But what would you say if I told you I’d found a way for you to finally get out of this shitty situation?” Her normal cheerfulness seeped back into her voice.

I arched my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“In Lone Bite, abuse is commonplace. You need to move to another pack, where the atmosphere is different,” my best friend said.

I huffed. “It’s not easy to switch packs. My father only managed it because he’s a powerful wolf, and Lone Bite values strength. What can someone as weak as me offer another pack?”

“You’re not weak,” Cherry groaned. “You’re the strongest person I know. You live your life despite all the shit people throw at you. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve discovered a way for you to change your fate—if you’re brave enough to try it.”

I frowned. “What exactly are you up to?”

“Nothing illegal, I assure you,” she chuckled. “There’s this agency I learned about called Twin Tails. It arranges marriages for people across different packs across the state.”

“What?” My mouth gaped open. “An arranged marriage agency? Are you out of your mind?”

“What do you mean?” She sounded genuinely confused.

“You can specify in the survey they have you fill out that you don’t want a mate from your own pack.

Then, they do all the paperwork and discuss the match with the alphas of both packs.

They really have you covered in terms of the legal stuff.

You can get out of this shitty place and not be a rogue, a packless wolf. ”

“But who would want to mate with a single mother?” I thought about Ray. What if the mate the agency found for me wouldn’t accept my son?

“You can specify in the application that you only want a man who will accept you and your child. You really should sign up, Pauline. It’s free for women to join right now, and if you don’t like your match, they will keep finding new ones for you until you tell them you’re not interested anymore.

No strings attached,” Cherry explained. “I’m interested myself, but the first person that came to mind when I learned about Twin Tails was you.

It’s a great opportunity for you to find love and peace. ”

“Love?” I laughed without joy. “I won’t find love in an arranged marriage.”

“Why would you say that? What if the agency helps you get together with your fated mate? You never met your fated partner, after all. What if he’s not from our pack?”

I thought about that idea for a moment. I couldn’t ignore the possibility that the man the Moon Goddess had chosen for me to spend the rest of my life with did exist after all.

Maybe it was also true that a man who didn’t mind me having a son could match with me, fated mate or not.

What if we could create a family together?

What if Ray could have a father, and we could go to another pack where nobody would hurt us ever again?

“But what if I end up with someone as abusive as my parents or Jeffrey?” Fear rose in my heart.

Cherry sighed. “I doubt the agency would try to pair you with someone abusive. Even if they did, though, your new home couldn’t be worse than your current situation, and at least you’d have tried to change your fate.”

I couldn’t deny the logic behind her words. “You’re right. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Yay, I’ll send you the link to their website via a text message. You can apply on your computer, and then you’ll need to download an app to your phone.” My best friend’s tone was cheerful, and I thought I heard a touch of relief in her voice, too.

“You seem to know an awful lot about this already,” I chuckled.

“I wouldn’t propose to you something I hadn’t researched,” she laughed. “I applied this morning. I haven’t gotten matched with anybody yet, but I would love to get out of this shitty pack too.”

“Good luck to the both of us, then,” I laughed.

Cherry and I ended the call. After a moment, she sent me a link to the Twin Tails Mating Agency’s website. I followed the page's instructions, filled out the application, and then downloaded the app on my phone.

Not even ten minutes later, my phone vibrated with an alert. I checked the notification that came up. ‘You’ve got a match,’ it said.

“So soon?” My eyebrows shot up.

I couldn’t deny I was curious about the man the agency had found for me.

His nickname—we were asked to input nicknames for anonymity—was ‘Hope30’.

We weren’t asked to attach any photos. On his profile, he described himself as a tall blonde man who liked tinkering with old electronics.

There was no data on what pack he was from either—we were asked to keep such information private, too.

All the mystery around ‘Hope30’ allowed me to just focus on his personality, and he could just focus on mine.

Hi, RedRuby.

He messaged me first, calling me by my nickname.

Hi. Why ‘Hope’?

Because I hope to meet someone here who will change my life.

Well, he definitely seemed serious about finding a mate.

Isn’t that a pretty big wish?

Is it, though? After all, what if you’re the woman I’m looking for—my mate?

Butterflies appeared in my stomach. Over text messages, there was no way to tell if we were fated mates, but I liked how confident and direct he was.

I may just be a fluke.

I’m sure you’re not. You seem to be exactly my type.

You can tell from so little information?

I like redheads with freckles. And you’re into knitting. I like to make things with my hands, too. Do you make sweaters for your son?

I bit my lip. He brought up the topic of Ray so easily. Maybe I should take the opportunity to see just what he thought about me having a child.

I do. His favorite color is blue, so he has a lot of sweaters made by me in different shades of blue.

That’s great. I love orange the most, personally.

Do you not mind the fact that I have a child?

My heart beat so loudly in my chest that I almost felt like it wanted to jump out.

Not at all. I like children. I hope to have children with my fated mate. Even if she has some from previous relationships, I’m going to love all of our family equally.

I had to wipe tears from my eyes. He seemed like such a wonderful guy—if he was telling the truth. He accepted me with Ray.

Over the next few days, I had several more text conversations with this mysterious man. He seemed busy during the usual workday hours, just like me, but we always found some time to chat.

I wanted to learn more about ‘Hope30’.