Page 13 of The Alpha’s Rejected Arranged Mate (Bluebell Valley Wolves #3)

A Luna’s job was to balance out the Alpha. To show compassion against his justice, to provide care, and to calm his anger. Balance. It was of the utmost importance, which meant a Luna had to calm her own emotions and focus on her innate nurturing to fulfill her role. It was the one thing Elin thought she would be good at, swallowing her anger to be a silent support for Finn, even when he didn’t want it.

Right now, though, she was finding it particularly difficult not to let her anger explode. Her wolf, normally shy, cowardly even, snarled with bristling fur. It wasn’t as though she wanted to resort to physical violence, but she would dearly have made some grand speech that left Seth—and Rosemary, to a much lesser extent—a sniveling wreck begging Finn’s forgiveness.

He’d abandoned Finn for all these years and had made him suffer through the pain of not knowing his own history. Worse, denied him having a family when his blood family didn’t even want him. And all for what? To punish him for existing, something he didn’t get a say in?

And now he spat out Dukiel’s plans as though that was Finn’s fault, too. As though this wasn’t something that would terrify anyone, but especially someone who’d seen possessions first-hand!

“At the meeting, you said you have protections,” Rosemary quickly said. “Will they work against an archdemon?”

“We haven’t tested them,” Finn answered. “We know the exorcism works. But we haven’t had a chance to test the protections against an archdemon. We’ve always been under the impression that demons can’t possess me.”

Seth narrowed his eyes. “Would he create you to be the perfect host if you couldn’t be his host?”

“Don’t say that,” Elin snapped. They all turned to her. She jumped to her feet, slamming both her palms against the table. “You’ve already inflicted the worst sort of violence against my mate. Stop acting as though he’s somehow—”

“It’ll be a lot more violent when Dukiel claims that body as his host,” Seth answered, jumping to his feet as well. “If you know what demons are capable of, you should be more worried about what an archdemon will do once he’s no longer constrained by the bounds of a form that will fall apart if he releases too much of his power.”

“It’s not Finn’s fault. Stop treating him as though he’s a ticking time bomb!” Elin’s hands clenched into fists. Her wolf snarled even louder, pleased with her efforts to put this man in his place.

Finn tugged her back to her chair. His gaze remained locked on Seth, but his fingers curled around her wrist and stayed there. She couldn’t tell if it was protective or urging her to keep her cool. Given everything just unloaded on him, he seemed to be keeping a tight lid on his emotions. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, and his eyes were narrowed and hard, but he showed no sign that he was about to explode.

Was he feeling his emotions? Or was he shoving them down so deep that he was trying to convince himself that they didn’t exist?

Elin shook herself. “I apologize for my outburst.”

The former alpha didn’t look at her, but Rosemary gave her a small, sad nod. “I understand, my dear. It’s not easy for any of us. But it’s all very new to you and your mate.”

“Demons can’t possess me,” Finn repeated, as though that was the only important takeaway.

“Maybe not most demons. But I have done my research,” Seth muttered. “I’ve hunted down people possessed by demons and did what I needed to do to make them talk.”

Elin’s eyes widened. That meant Seth knew things that they didn’t. She leaned forward, eager once more. How many other pockets of people, shifters and humans alike, knew about demons? If they could all just get together and share the information they had…

“According to what I’ve learned, you will have Dukiel’s mark in your blood,” Seth continued, looking up at Finn once more. “It protects you against other demons from possessing you. But not him.”

“And you learned that how?”

Seth bared his teeth in a smile that was more of a grimace. “Through many years and a great deal of pain.”

Elin had a feeling he wasn’t referring to his own pain.

The weight of his words sunk in. All this time, Finn had been free from the risk of possession. He’d been assuming his nature meant he was immune. But now they had an archdemon out there who was targeting him personally. Her chest constricted, and bile churned in her gut.

“I have multiple talismans,” she exclaimed. “I was so afraid of being possessed, I made them put in a bunch. But now Christine can take out some of them and put them in you. We can’t let that bastard even try to possess you!”

Finn gave her a startled glance. “I can just make some for myself.”

“Or we could do it this way and have you protected even sooner,” Elin insisted.

The thought of him being taken from her left her lightheaded. She couldn’t stand the thought of that happening, even if he didn’t belong to her. She turned to grasp his arm in her hand. He was going through so much, learning all of this. And she knew it made the likelihood that he’d change his mind about kids shrink even further.

She didn’t care.

Elin had always wanted to be a mother, but she wouldn’t trade a hypothetical future with the man sitting right here. She wouldn’t let him be ripped from her with the violence of demons. Her breathing grew more rapid. Even dying wouldn’t be so terrible. He hated demons. To be used as the vessel for one would be the worst fate imaginable.

And if giving him one—or all—of her talismans was how she could help him, she was more than happy to give it up.

Finn cupped her cheek in his hand. “It’s all right. He wouldn’t have sent those rogues to the orphanage if he could just possess me. Something is stopping him, Elin. I will get a talisman, but panicking about this isn’t going to help.”

Elin opened her mouth but couldn’t reveal everything in front of Seth and Rosemary. It would let on that this was an arranged mating, and it only happened after Finn challenged Seth. So she closed her mouth again and leaned into Finn’s touch. His thumb swept over the curve of her cheekbone.

“You aren’t telling us everything, are you?” he asked. His gaze flickered back to Seth, and he lowered his hand.

Seth and Rosemary had twined their hands together. Seth’s shoulders slumped as though he had the weight of the world sitting on him. Elin regretted her outburst. Yes, she hated the way he talked to Finn, but he was going through a lot, too.

“During her pregnancy, Beth had dreams and nightmares every night,” Seth said to his hands. “She spent hours every day writing down what they were about. It was only after she was gone that I read them. She wrote about demons. Their weaknesses, their strengths.”

“We didn’t know how much of it was true,” Rosemary added.

Seth nodded once, lifting his eyes to Finn. “When I hunted down the demons, I knew enough from her journal to parse out truth from lies.”

It was exactly what they were looking for—another resource to offer them insights into how the demons worked. Elin leaned forward but waited for Finn to speak. She felt the tension return to him. Was he wondering what she wrote about him? What would be the worst of it? To read that she hated him, she wished she could have killed him? For her not to write anything at all? Or to know that even though the pregnancy was killing her, she still loved her baby?

“I’d like a copy. To send to the military as well as look through ourselves,” Finn said. He stood and ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. “This isn’t what I expected to find, but with an archdemon in the area… we know what he wants, which gives us an edge. A weakness to exploit.”

Seth froze a moment, then leaned forward. “You mean set a trap?”

“So we can bind him the way we bound Zealuv,” Finn confirmed. “We want something sturdy that will last for ages.”

“A diamond?” Rosemary suggested.

Finn considered. “It will hold up against time, but diamonds are brittle. So, if we go with a diamond, we need something to hold the diamond in. Something that will protect it from destruction. Putting salt around the town will prevent demons from coming in, but Dukiel is smart to include the rogues. We can’t stop them the same way we would demons.”

Elin slowly got to her feet. “I need to speak with you for a moment, Finn.”

“Later,” Finn said distractedly. “We have a lot of work to do. And part of that work is to ensure the pack remains cohesive. I wasn’t smart about this. Can I count on your help, Seth?” he asked, turning to the old Alpha. Both viewed the other with suspicion but with the same sort of resignment. They knew it would be smarter to work together rather than continue fighting.

“Finn. Please. I need to speak with you,” Elin said again. Her wolf had gone quiet again, and the panic from earlier threatened.

He focused on her, startled. He opened his mouth but hesitated. Finally, he nodded.

Elin grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the dining room and back into the kitchen. It was still warm and smelled strongly of the pasta that was going uneaten in the other room.

“I don’t like how you’re talking,” she said in a low voice. “It sounds like you’re planning on using yourself as bait.”

Finn’s fiery eyebrows pulled together. “I am.”

“You can’t do that!”

“It’s the best way. I’ll have my talisman soon enough,” he reassured her.

“No. You don’t understand.” Elin pressed her fingers to her temples. “You’re putting yourself in danger. We should build fortifications and protect the pack rather than set traps.”

Finn shook his head. “The best way to protect the pack is to get rid of the threat. It’s the best way.”

“You could get hurt.”

Finn backed up a step. Emotion warred in his blue eyes before suddenly the shutters closed. “Why do you even care? I rejected you, Elin. I tricked you into thinking we could be mates and then told you we were just fucking. Then I turned around and forced you to be my mate. If anything, you should be glad to get rid of me.”

“That’s not going to work.”

Finn’s jaw clenched. “What isn’t?”

Elin threw her hands into the air. “You trying to push me away.”

“I’m not—”

“You are. But you’re forgetting something, Finn.” She stepped up to him, glaring directly into his eyes. “I didn’t sleep with you or agree to be your Luna because I hate you. I didn’t do it because I thought I’d change your mind. I did it because I care about you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

Did he really believe that? Elin stepped back, shocked. His voice was rough, as though he was stating the obvious. Did he really hate what he was so much? Did he think he was irredeemable because of something he had no control over?

“Stop caring about me,” he said, stepping away from her. “Just stop.”

It wasn’t his choice. Elin opened her mouth to tell him that, but before she could, alarms started to wail outside. She jumped. Finn tore back into the dining room, and she followed.

“What’s happening?” Finn demanded.

Seth’s expression was a mix of terror and determination. “The rogues are attacking.”