Page 14 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

A pang hit her stomach, but she tied the other end around his wrist. “I vow to be your mate.”

“Not much of a ceremony,” Derek muttered, looking at the floor.

Finn pressed his palm to Elin’s, his gaze softening. “I will be as good of a mate as I can be. Even though you deserve better.”

Elin nodded once, not trusting her voice. Why did her eyes burn suddenly, like she was about to burst into tears?

“So that’s it?” Christine asked, looking between them. “You’re mates now?”

“I… guess so,” Finn said, sounding hesitant.

Elin let out a soft sigh, letting the weight of the situation settle on her. She still cared for Finn, even if she was angry with him. And part of that anger came from the fear of him getting hurt. None of that mattered, though. She wasn’t going to keep thinking in circles. It wouldn’t help. No. She and Finn were mates now; whatever happened next, she would do her duty at his side.

“Let’s go upstairs.” Finn held his hand out to Elin. It was opposite to the one still tied to her. “It will be strange to the Moon Lake pack if they can’t smell us on each other.”

Derek threw his hands into the air. “Ew! TMI, buddy!”

“Don’t be immature,” Christine snapped, elbowing him in the ribs.

“I’m not being immature. I’m inserting a bit of levity into an otherwise oppressive atmosphere,” Derek responded.

Elin untied the ribbon and slipped her hand into Finn’s. Her wolf was strangely quiet as they headed upstairs. At least she’d get amazing sex out of the arrangement. An odd calm settled over Elin as they stepped into the same bedroom as before and closed the door. Finn crossed the room and pulled the curtains over the window.

“Finn?” her mouth was dry. It felt wrong to have sex now, in this situation. As though it would sully the pure lust that they’d come together before.

Lust.

Love.

Elin wasn’t sure she knew the difference, at least when it came to Finn.

He turned and held his hands out to her again. “Thank you, Elin. I know this isn’t an easy choice for you.”

She came to him, pressing herself to him. Relief washed through her as his arms wrapped around her waist. There was always something soothing and strengthening from being held by him. Elin pressed her face into his shirt, breathing in his scent. Finn’s arms moved, his hands pressing against her body, leaving trails of his scent behind. She let him do the work, standing there, reveling in his touch. It was different from their connection at the orphanage, but the same spark lit in her belly.

He was careful. He smoothed her shirt down rather than letting it ride up. Though his breath was hot on her neck, he didn’t kiss her.

Elin groaned, suddenly needing more. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and started to pull it off—only for Finn to catch her wrists, stopping her.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.

Fuck.

His voice was hard again. His eyes were like two flints of ice staring at her.

“We’re mates. It will be odd if we don’t have sex.”

“I’m not fucking you just because people expect us to,” Finn said.

Elin pulled herself away from him. “So when you had no intention of taking me as your mate, sex was all fine and dandy. But as soon as we are mates, suddenly we can’t?”

Finn frowned. It wasn’t his upset frown. Like he was confused by her reaction.

“Look. It’s obvious that we’ve enjoyed a physical relationship,” Elin tried again, softening her voice. “Just because I misread what was between us before doesn’t mean we have tostop entirely, does it? Besides, it’ll be a good stress relief, right?” she added, hopefully.

“Elin…” Finn rubbed his hands over his face. “We can’t have unprotected sex. You’re not on birth control, and we don’t have condoms. There’s a reason I always insisted on them. I can’t risk getting you pregnant.”

Elin opened her mouth and then closed it again.

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