Page 8 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

“They can’t just have left,” Derek replied. Normally, he would have shaken Christine off, but this time, he turned his hand, pressing his palm to hers as though trying to comfort her.

Finn’s gaze lingered a little too long on their contact. He tore himself away and shook off the swells of emotion running through him. Now wasn’t the time for jealousy! And what did he even have to be jealous about? No. There wasn’t time for this. He jerked his chin back the way they came.

“It smells like a trap,” he growled. “We leave through the tunnel.”

“But the van,” Elin protested, gesturing outside.

Finn shook his head. “They could have rigged it to crash.”

“My things,” she said, looking past him. “I can’t even afford a new bra right now.”

An image of the lacy red one she’d recently shown off flashed through his mind. She hadn’t brought it along, had she? “I’ll buy you a new one,” he said without thinking.

Christine and Derek both gave him shocked looks. Elin didn’t seem to notice. She pressed her hands to her temples as she turned and headed back to the office. Finn wanted to reach out and comfort her. They hadn’t expected this—no doubt her protests were less about what she was leaving out there and more of a self-defense mechanism.

They opened the secret tunnel again, and Finn sniffed the air. There was no brimstone scent of demons nor any sign that shifters had taken the tunnel.

“Derek, take wolf form and run ahead to check it out,” he ordered. They couldn’t be too careful.

Derek nodded and stripped, handing his clothes to Elin. Christine grunted in annoyance and took them, shoving them into her satchel. Once Derek had started down the tunnel, Finn turned to Christine.

“You and Elin get going. I’ll catch up,” he said.

“Be careful,” Christine answered.

She headed down the tunnel. Finn started to turn. With them heading to safety, he had the time to go back and do one last search of his medical records. Maybe something in there would help him figure out where he’d come from. With an archdemon in the area, they needed more information—

Elin grabbed his wrist.

Finn stopped, turning toward her with a startled expression. “Go with Christine.”

Her hand tightened.

“If there are dangers, she needs a wolf shifter with her,” Finn tried. Wolves generally had protective instincts. Elin was no different, even if she doubted herself.

“I won’t do much good in that case,” Elin answered, her gaze never leaving his. “You can’t turn back. If it’s a trap… I need you.”

Finn’s heart swooped. That was the last thing he wanted. And yet…

“We,” Elin said, shaking her head. “I mean, they. They need you. Derek and Christine. And I need you, too, but only because I can’t fight. If there is danger, Derek needs you to help him defend us. It’s not me as in me. It’s me as in us.” She let out a huff and pulled his hand a little harder. “We have to leave, Finn. Come on.”

Finn allowed her to tug him along. His wolf preened like a damn peacock, all proud of himself. Yeah, he needed to get the fuck ahold of himself. Elin was right about one thing. He shouldn’t have even thought about turning back. It was a moment of fear, but they had enough of his records. Besides, it wasn’t as though the missing pieces of his medical records were going to hold the key to defeating demons once and for all.

He'd undergone extensive physical exams before. Nothing in his physiology gave any answers.

The tunnel was long and curved. When they emerged, Finn found they were in the old school parking lot. A dozen school buses still sat in the lot. A quick glance showed at leastthree were missing from their normal places. Derek jogged out of the school, waving a set of keys.

“Let’s find out which baby these belong to,” he said under his breath.

Finn nodded. They found the bus quickly. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Finn turned back. His heart dropped as he saw the orphanage. Smoke rose into the air, and a huge beast-demon stood atop the roof.

Chapter 4 - Elin

Elin had never been on a school bus before.

This wasn’t exactly the experience she thought she’d find herself inside one. It was a rough, uncomfortable ride. The seats were flat and hard, and the windows wouldn’t open. As though knowing rogues were in the area, teaming up with archdemons wasn’t bad enough!

She slumped in her seat, staring unseeingly at the long hills of green-gold grasses. The earlier fascination she’d had with the landscape was long gone. Demons had arrived on the scene. When she decided to ask Mica to put her on the mission—though if she was honest with herself, she didn’t decide or ask, merely demanded—she had thought the worst she would come up against was a rude Luna or a handsy Beta.

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