Page 10 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

His jaw tightened after he finished, a muscle twitching. Elin clutched the papers to her chest and moved several seats up to get away from his tense energy. Clearly, he didn’t want her to see anything about his past. Even though he’d shared enough in the quiet moments after their lovemaking—fucking, she corrected herself. Lovemaking implied emotions that simply hadn’t been present between them. That had never really existed.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Without turning, she knew his eyes were on her again. She wanted to turn, to meet his gaze and assure him that she wouldn’t judge him for whatever she found. But words were meaningless. She’d learned that long ago.

They went over a bump that nearly made her lose her grip on her papers, so she divided them in half and put the bottom ones under her thigh to keep hold of them while she read the top ones. The first few pages were useless, detailing things like diet—protein-heavy, as shifters needed—and how quickly he grew out of clothes.

The next pages detailed his interactions with the other children. The workers often noted that he organized the children’s games or stepped in to mediate conflicts before the adults became aware there were problems. A soft smile crossed Elin’s face as she read that. It sounded like the Finn she knew.

Christine joined them. “There’s nothing unusual that I can find in here. Can I?” She nodded to the file Finn had abandoned.

Finn pushed it to her and took his medical file. His gaze was down, and he didn’t look at her. Elin wanted to ask Christine what she thought about all of this. She’d known Finn for almost her whole life and was as much a sister as Derek was a brother. She’d have to have insights into Finn that Elin didn’t have.

But that was going too far. Elin focused on her papers again. The wordadoptedcaught her eye. As she read, her stomach swooped. She reread the paragraph several times before it fully sank in. Gathering her pages, she returned to the back seat. With Christine sitting in the opposite chair, Elin knelt in the seat just in front of Finn.

“You have a living relative,” she said.

Finn’s head jerked up. “What?”

“Here.” Elin handed him the page. “An anonymous source claiming to be your blood relative paid for your upkeep with strict instructions you are not given into the custody of anyone else. The orphanage personnel deliberately prevented you from being adopted. You were never given the chance.”

“What the fuck?” Christine breathed.

It was clear from their expressions this was something they hadn’t known. Anger abruptly swept through Elin’s chest. There were pictures in these files of Finn when he was a little boy. A round-faced child with hopeful eyes and an easy smile. And they had prevented him from being able to have parents who loved him.

Tears pricked her eyes. “Why would they do that to you?”

Finn’s jaw worked before he said, “They must have known.”

The pain in his voice was soft, barely there. Elin’s heart cried out, and she reached for his hand. “You didn’t deserve that. You deserved to be treated like any other child, Finn. They should have let you find parents.”

“I didn’t need parents,” Finn answered automatically.

But there was something in his voice all the same. It wasn’t quite anger and not really pain anymore, either. More like… resignation. Elin squeezed his hand, wishing she knew better how to comfort him. What had shaped him into the man he was? She knew he was strong, but he was also guarded. He didn’t let people see him… and yet he didn’t hide from her.

“When did you find out?” she asked. For some reason, she thought he’d always known. But that didn’t make sense, now that she thought about it.

“After I joined the military.” Finn stared at the papers again. “They must have done what they thought was best. If they knew I’m half-demon, I should count myself lucky that they didn’t off me as soon as I dropped out of my mother.”

“Don’t say that,” Elin whispered.

Christine cleared her throat. “I know who it was. The anonymous blood relative.” She held up the folder that Finn hadjust been reading. “There’s a note right here on the back page about who dropped you off at the orphanage. Alpha Seth of Moon Lake.”

Chapter 5 - Finn

Alpha Seth dropped him off at the orphanage, left him there, and followed up by making sure he was never adopted.

Finn hadn’t ever considered why he was never brought to meet prospective parents. It hadn’t ever been his goal. He was always busy taking care of everything he deemed needed to be accomplished at the orphanage. He saw how hard their caregivers worked and had made up his mind at a young age to help them as much as he could.

Christine and Derek hadn’t been adopted, either. Yes, they had met with couples looking to adopt, but they were never chosen. Finn considered himself lucky that he’d never been in a position to be rejected like that.

Until now.

His mind was in a whirl as they finally pulled this damn school bus into Moon Lake Town. Dozens of people shifted to their wolf form, tearing toward the town center.

“Park the bus,” Finn ordered. “We’ll wait here for the Alpha.”

He slumped to his seat, still grappling to put his emotions back under control. The last thing he should do was blow up at the Alpha as soon as he arrived. No doubt Seth wouldn’t even recognize him. Maybe the Alpha wasn’t even a relative. Maybe Seth just found him in the forest.

Elin’s hand was still in his. Her touch's silent weight and comfort eased some of the tightness in his chest. He was grateful for her support but also for her silence. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to put anything into words right now.

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