Page 4 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

Derek laughed. “I know. I was just teasing. You got everything ready to go?”

If he noted any tension between Elin and Finn, he ignored it. That was good. The last thing Finn wanted was for someone to start pushing him for details on what happened between them.That was private. He didn’t want Derek to start being nosy about it; Finn had done his best to stay out of whatever happened between him and Christine, and the least Derek could do was return the favor.

“We’re all traveling together until we reach the orphanage?” Christine asked.

Derek’s demeanor darkened instantly. “Obviously.”

“I was just clarifying. You don’t need to bite off my head,” Christine muttered as she adjusted the medical satchel on her shoulder. Her eyes flashed with annoyance.

This wasn’t how Finn wanted to start this journey. They were all tense. Not only because they were near one another but also because the mission itself was fairly dangerous. Moon Lake Pack wasn’t exactly known for being friendly. There were some rumors that investigations were being made into mysterious deaths and disappearances in the area. To most people, it looked like the pack was a dangerous place to be.

However, Hayden and the military suspected demon activity, and it was so close to where Finn, the half-demon, grew up…

Well. It wouldn’t surprise Finn if that’s what turned out to be happening. Derek, Christine, and Elin had to be on their guard. Moon Lake had utterly rejected a military presence in the area, though, so they had no proof that it was demons. It was another reason to reach out to this potential alliance.

“We all need to take a breath,” Finn said as he gestured for Christine to enter the van. “We’re all working toward the same goal. Let’s not forget that.”

Christine nodded once as she climbed into the van. She settled into her seat and put the satchel beside her. Elin, her lipspressed into a tight line, followed. Her eyes were wary, but she avoided looking at him. That was good. Hopefully, that meant she was determined not to cause a scene.

Finally, Derek rounded the van and got into the driver’s seat. Finn closed the sliding side door and climbed into the passenger seat. The tension lingered as heavily as Elin’s delicious floral scent. It made his wolf want to tear off his seatbelt and rush back to her. Who cared if Christine and Derek were there? They could leave if they were uncomfortable with Finn burying his face into Elin’s soft skin.

He started to harden at his mental images and shoved them away, watching as the trees flashed by his window. He had a mission to accomplish here, and he wasn’t going to allow himself to be distracted.

He had decided long ago he’d never put himself in a position to be hurt by someone he loved. And to do that, he had to stop himself from falling in love for the first time.

Not taking a mate meant his mate would never reject him.

Chapter 2 - Elin

Finn’s scent permeated the van, driving Elin crazy. She focused on the pines outside the window that turned to spruce and cedars as they got closer to Moon Lake, trying to block him out. It always surprised her to see the differences in vegetation whenever she left the familiar surroundings of Bluebell Valley. It was beautiful, full of thick forest, but it was drier than the area they were getting into. The land shifted from towering mountains to rolling hills and finally to the plains. It was far from flat, with its deep coulees and riverbeds, but it seemed open and exposed in ways Elin didn’t like.

The Moon Lake pack territory did have some mountain terrain in its borders, but mostly, it was the foothills. The lake itself was in the center of their territory. The human village within their territory was a good distance from the lake, although Christine told her that back when they were kids, they were often packed up and taken to the lake.

At least, the human children were. Finn, Derek, and the other shifter children were never allowed to go. Elin thought it was a pretty poor showing for the Moon Lake Alpha to not even allow orphaned children into the pack town. Not even Monroe would have done that.

Then again, Monroe wouldn’t have allowed shifter children to be raised in a human orphanage. He’d have insisted they be raised in the pack. It wouldn’t matter how the pack treated them, of course. So maybe Alpha Seth’s approach was, in fact, the lesser of two evils.

Maybe he just didn’t want them to be disappointed that they weren’t a part of the pack. Maybe this was the only orphanage that took in rogue children.

With any luck, they’d have answers soon.

Elin jumped out of the van, inhaling the clean air. Unfortunately, Finn had leaped out just as quickly, and rather than getting Finn-free scents of exhaust and other human things, she got a full blast of his scent. At least in the van, it had been cut by Christine and Derek’s scents. It instantly made her wolf start going crazy, bounding around in her chest as though it was trying to tear through her ribcage.

She turned toward him against her will. His gaze met hers, and smoldering desire laced the air. Elin tried to convince herself that she was just imagining things, but the argument was weak, even in her own mind. Her breasts seemed to grow heavier as something inside of her tightened.

“Where is everyone?” Christine’s voice broke through the haze.

Elin blinked several times, struggling to center herself again. She glanced around the village only to find that Christine was right. There were a few cars here and there, but not enough for a human residence. The air smelled like the winds blowing in from the mountain range; there was no scent of human activity.

“I don’t like this,” Derek said as he came to stand on Finn’s other side. “It’s too quiet.”

“Agreed,” Finn rumbled.

Even the tenor of his voice made Elin go weak in the knees. She shook herself and nodded toward the large building they stopped next to. “Is this the orphanage?”

“Yeah,” Christine said.

“Let’s stick together,” Finn said. “If nobody’s there, we’ll put down some salt barriers just in case.”

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