Page 32 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

He walked backward, away from her. His eyes never left them, as though he longed to race back to her but couldn’t. He kept backing away as though trying to escape a monster. Elin reached for him, but the baby slipped. Darkness swarmed in at every side, two red eyes started to glow in the sky, and laughter rang through the air.

Elin gasped as she woke up, the sound hardly audible over her heart pounding. Cold sweat clung to her, and for a moment, she was afraid. Her arms tightened, terrified that Finn would disappear from next to her. He stirred, not waking, and his grasp on her tightened.

Her wolf was quiet in her chest, curled up, head resting on its paws. She could envision it staring at her with knowing eyes.

The knowledge swept through her as powerfully as the love had in her dream. She knew without a doubt what this meant.

She was pregnant.

Chapter 15 - Finn

Derek glanced at the doorway of the sitting room in the Alpha’s house. “Is Elin joining us?”

Finn shook his head as he made sure the camera was working on the computer. Elin had gotten up early—much earlier than usual—and had spent the past few hours baking. The smell of sugar and bread filled the house.

“She said she had business to take care of with the she-wolves of the pack,” Finn answered. “She’s not exactly trained for a war council, anyway.”

Derek nodded, then scowled when Christine entered the room. “What are you doing here?”

“Finn asked me, obviously,” she snapped back. She put her hands on her hips, a gesture that emphasized the curve of her bosom. “I need to know what’s happening so I can be ready for a medical emergency. Do you have a problem with that?”

Derek scowled.

Normally, Finn tried to stay out of their bickering. They were both good friends, and he didn’t want to take sides, especially without knowing what had happened between the two of them. Today, though, he had no patience for it.

“That’s enough,” he said sharply. “We don’t have time for pettiness.”

Both Christine and Derek looked chagrined. Silently, they took their seats as Finn initiated the video call. Hayden answered quickly. Ryder sat next to him, with Mica and Tess also crowded into the frame. Finn internally sighed, but the women fought demons, too. Their insights could prove valuable.

“Alpha Finn,” Hayden greeted with a nod of his head.

“Do we have to?” Finn asked with a sigh.

Hayden smirked. “Get used to it. So. You said you had a plan for how to go after Dukiel?”

Finn nodded. “We’ve completed the protections in town and want to root out the rogues and demons in the surrounding area. The first thing we need to do is take out the beast-demon nests. The warriors of Moon Lake are well-versed in fighting demons already, and with Seth giving me his vocal support, things are settling down. I’m just not sure what to do about the rogues. It will be difficult to find out which ones are loyal to Dukiel and which ones feel like they don’t have a choice.”

“Do you have any sort of place you can keep them imprisoned?” Mica asked.

Finn shook his head. “It’ll take too long to build something from scratch, but there’s a warehouse we might be able to secure. It just feels risky.”

Hayden nodded his understanding. “If you send over some pictures and the building plans for the warehouse, Ryder and I will have the team look over it to make suggestions. In the meantime, you sound like you have a handle on things. Taking out the beast demons is a good first step.”

“Thank you,” Finn said, unexpectedly touched. Hayden had been his leader for so long that it was difficult to see them as equal rank now.

“Be careful,” Ryder advised.

“And tell Elin to call us,” Tess added. “We have some ideas to help her with her role as Luna.”

Finn nodded, not bothering to explain that Elin wouldn’t be Luna for long. They would still break the mating once this was all over. He ended the call, and Christine went to find Elinso they could set up a temporary clinic while Finn and Derek headed to round up and debrief the warriors.

“We will have to move quickly. Once the demons realize we’ve gone on the offensive, they’ll try to push us back to the defensive,” Finn said. He ran a hand through his hair. “I expect Dukiel will keep his distance to learn how we act before he strikes again. He won’t expect me to turn myself over to him, but those seeds of distrust are already planted.”

Derek nodded. “You’ve got Seth’s support now, though. Everyone knows you’re his nephew and all that.”

“You mean they know I’m the son of an archdemon,” Finn muttered.

“No.” Derek grabbed his shoulder, making him stop. “I mean, most of the people around here knew Beth. They’ll see her in you.”

---