Page 59 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

Fur and blood spurted through the air as they fought. Each tore at the other, trying to find purchase and subdue them. Finn’s muscles ached with injury and exertion, but Dukiel showed no signs of fatigue. He continued to come after Finn like some sort of fucking robot.

Finn didn’t back down. He refused to let the bastard win!

Dukiel feinted to the right, then snarled.Do you really think that the human bitch cutting open little Elin is going to save her? They cut open your mother, too. She bled out. Now, we get to see history repeat itself. How delightful.

Finn hesitated in his next attack. His gaze shifted to peer over Dukiel’s shoulder. Dukiel even shifted ever so slightly, giving him a better view. The archdemon had maneuvered them into a position where Finn could see back behind them into the van. Elin was limp on the seat as Christine worked on her. Both were slick with blood.

Christine wouldn’t attempt a c-section here, would she? They had no equipment, not even a sterile environment! All the air seemed to leave Finn’s lungs as the certainty crashed down on him.

His greatest fear was that he’d cause his mate’s death.

Was he about to see that fear play out before his very eyes?

Let your father show you mercy,Dukiel mocked in his mind.I’ll kill you before you have to see her die.

Dukiel lunged, his jaws coming toward Finn’s neck. It was too late to dodge. Finn started to twist, but he already knew it wouldn’t be enough. He’d let himself become distracted, but now he was going to pay the price. He braced himself, determined to fight to his final heartbeat.

As Dukiel’s jaws came crashing together and his claws slashed the air, a blur of motion blinded Finn. Something hit him, driving him backward. He stumbled, nearly losing his feet. He barely had time to register what was happening before Derek whipped around, his back end knocking into him again. Dukiel’s massive jaws snapped down, meeting flesh—but not Finn’s.

Derek howled in pain as the archdemon tore a chunk from his shoulder. He went for the kill, claws slicing through Derek’s side. Finn sprang forward, shoving Derek out of the way. His best friend tumbled into the ditch and lay still, his eyes unfocused.

Fury swept through Finn’s body. Something inside of him seemed to snap, to crack open. But the anger was as gone as quickly as it’d come. Something else filled him: the instincts of an alpha standing in defense of his pack. He understood suddenly why it took Seth so much effort to stand down during their challenge.

A bay erupted out of him. It was long and deep, making the rogues stumble. Even demon-possessed as they were, they had the instinct to drop, to submit to the baying of an alpha.

Dukiel froze. Blood dripped from his muzzle, and his eyes widened. It was a look that said one thing—I fucked up.

Power surged through him. Finn drove forward, his jaws snapping and his claws tearing. The aura demons divebombed Dukiel as Finn attacked. The red haze around the archdemon was growing stronger, wisps escaping him like the light of a candle bursting through the holes in a basket. Dukiel panted, the massive wolf dragging as the demon plucked wispy strands around him and devoured them.

No! They couldn’t have his power. It was to be locked away, trapped. No demon was allowed to have this!

Finn slammed his body into Dukiel’s, driving the demon back the last few steps. His feet skittered over a circle drawn in chalk. A handful of the pack wolves shifted from wolf form and lunged for the circle. They linked hands and rang a bell.

Finn shifted to human form, already chanting the words to the exorcism ritual. Dukiel snarled and circled, but a smallwolf dodged among the others, spilling a circle of salt around the archdemon.

“Alpha,” a pained voice said at Finn’s elbow. “The diamond.”

Something pressed into Finn’s hand. He held up the tiny gem. It sparkled in the light as Finn continued the ritual. Whips of red haze erupted from Dukiel’s form, streaming into the diamond. A howl like a tornado whipped through the air. Cackling laughter rang from the aura demons watching the scene.

And then it was over. Dukiel’s dead host dropped to the ground, still and silent. Finn gripped the diamond, pressing it into his palm.

Dukiel was trapped. It was over.

Blood gushed from his wounds as he stumbled forward. One of the pack offered him a container and he dropped the diamond into it with a shaking hand.

“Derek,” he ordered, his voice breaking over his friend’s name.

And then everything else faded away. Finn stumbled to the van. The stench of blood hung in the air as he clawed his way to the van, fighting the pain, the darkness that threatened to overcome him. He came to the edge of the van, clinging to the open door to hold himself upright.

A sound broke through the silence, muffling against his ears—the thin, reedy wail of a baby’s cry.

Chapter 28 - Elin

Neonatal intensive care unit.

Elin had always thought it sounded awful, terrifying. It was a place where babies went, a place where their parents felt helpless and hopeless. Now, though, Elin had a different view. She sat in a chair, gowned up as she reached into the incubator where her tiny baby boy lay sleeping, watching him. He was too tiny, so fragile. The world was too big, too dangerous, for him.

The NICU was a place of safety for her son. It was the only place that gave him the chance to grow and thrive. If this place didn’t exist, he wouldn’t stand a chance of survival at all.

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