Page 4 of Plus-Size Bullied Mate

His expression flickers slightly at that. Maybe he hears the truth in it, and maybe he doesn’t care.

Either way, his hand slides from my arm to my throat, just resting there heavily enough to remind me how easily he could squeeze if he wanted.

My pulse jumps beneath his palm, completely out of my control.

“See?” he says softly, more like he’s teasing me now. “You’re perfect for this. You’re nobody important enough to start a war over, but still technically one of his wolves. Hunter will know not to count me out just yet.”

Rage and shame war inside me, leaving me feeling even more helpless than usual.

Nobody important enough.

It rings true, and to push the blade in a little deeper, he’s far too perceptive for someone who doesn’t know me at all.

I force myself to glare at him even as fear crawls through my veins, wanting more than anything for this to be over. “If you’re trying to intimidate Hunter, you picked the wrong person.”

“Oh?”

“He won’t come for me.”

The words leave before I can stop them, and they’re painfully, humiliatingly accurate.

Hunter wouldn’t cross a room for me, let alone start a fight. Not after the way he treated me growing up, or after years of making it clear I was beneath him in every way.

Something unreadable flickers across Hayes’s face, then he laughs again. “Damn. That bad, huh? You’re almost making me pity you.”

I say nothing, because what am I supposed to say?

I learned early that nobody was coming for me, and now a part of me already accepts whatever happens next, since expecting rescue will only lead to disappointment.

My silence is answer enough.

Hayes studies me for a long moment before leaning closer. “You know what your problem is? You already act like prey.”

I stare at him coldly, and my inner wolf snaps angrily beneath my skin at the insult, but exhaustion crushes her quickly.

I’m tired… so tired of fighting battles I never win, and of existing in a place that decided years ago I don’t matter.

Hayes must sense it because his grip loosens slightly, not with kindness, but confidence, since he already knows I won’t resist.

“Look at you,” he taunts quietly with a sardonic click of his tongue. “No claws or bite. Just waiting for bad things to happen.”

My chest rises unevenly, well aware of how pathetic I must seem.

Some distant part of me knows I should fight harder, and that I should shift before tearing into him with everything I have.

But the larger part of me already knows how stories like mine usually end.

Even in fighting him, I’d be alone, unwanted, and left to die without anyone to mourn me.

The forest wind shifts suddenly, and without warning, Hayes freezes. So do I.

A new scent cuts sharply through the trees, familiar enough that my stomach twists instantly, accompanied by an undeniable power.

The last person I ever imagined would appear.

Chapter 2 - Hunter

The house is quiet while I stand near the massive windows overlooking the dark forest as the storm rolls beyond the cliffs. Pine Ridge stretches below the hill in a scatter of warm lights through the trees, tucked beneath their cover.