Page 14 of The Alpha’s Rejected Arranged Mate (Bluebell Valley Wolves #3)

Finn’s wolf snarled in relief. All this talking and trying to hold in his aggression had finally found an outlet. He headed for the door, claws emerging from his fingertips. “Elin, stay inside.”

To his surprise, Elin jogged to his side. “You need your Luna to be seen.”

Finn stopped at the door. The alarms still wailed, but he held himself back. “We don’t have time to argue. They’ll target you. Stay inside with Rosemary and Seth.”

“You think we’re staying?” Rosemary asked.

Ah, fuck it. He didn’t want any of them to get into a fight—Elin wasn’t trained, and both Seth and Rosemary were getting old. Seth still hadn’t healed from the challenge fight! But there wasn’t time for arguing. The longer he stood there trying to make them do what he wanted, the more the pack suffered.

“Just stay here,” he commanded, one last attempt, as he jerked the door open. He bolted out the door, ready to find the heart of the fighting and throw himself into the fray.

He found a standoff instead.

The pack was just inside the town borders. Most had shifted to wolf form already, their tails swishing with tension as she snarled and growled at the group of rogues on the other side. Derek stood at the front of the pack, one hand out to the side, stopping them from attacking. The rogues all had that strong demon influence around them, but none showed signs of possession.

Except one.

The wolf standing just behind the group of rogues. It was a medium-sized wolf with a plain grey coat. There was nothing that stood out about it other than the thick red aura that surrounded it. Finn had only seen that strong of an aura once before when we fought Zealuv. The special ops had come against an archdemon before, but Finn had been out of commission.

“Dukiel, I presume,” he growled, narrowing his eyes at the demon. Had he assumed wrong in thinking Dukiel would have made his move already if he’d been able to?

The wolf shifted to human form. He was a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, dark eyes, and an amused smile. He kept his clothes during the shift, something Finn hadn’t seen any demon-possessed wolf do before. Dukiel wore a dark suit that was tailored perfectly to his body.

“Ah, yes,” Dukiel said, looking Finn up and down. “The prodigal son returns. My son.”

A few gasps came from the Moon Lake pack. A few others growled. Derek shot Finn a surprised glance, but Finn stayed focused on the archdemon. It was a classic tactic: divide and conquer. Finn remained silent, his wolf snarling with the desire to shift and tear out the bastard’s throat.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Dukiel said, lifting his hands in a placating gesture. “As I told your uncle, I only wanted to know what happened to you. I told him I'd leave Moon Lake alone as soon as you were returned to me. And now you’re here. I’ll give you the same offer. Come with me, my son, and this pack will be forever free of me.”

A soft growl sounded beside him. Elin. She’d followed him, even though he told her to stay behind. Finn forced himself not to react. She had a big enough target on her back just by being his mate. The last thing he needed was for Dukiel to get a sense of how much he actually cared!

“The pack will be free of you?” he repeated, keeping his tone neutral. “Is that demon speak for wiped out? Hard to be enslaved when you’re dead.”

Dukiel’s expression showed no change. “I thought you might have been taken by that cult, brainwashed into thinking all demons are the same.”

Cult? Was he calling the military a cult? Ironic, coming from a demon. Finn frowned. There was no barrier between him and the pack, nothing to stop him from attempting to possess Finn right now. Unless there was, and they just didn’t know it. There had to be a reason why Dukiel had unpossessed rogues with him rather than other aura demons.

A demon only got more power by feeding on other demons. Was that it, then? Did the state of his host weaken Dukiel to the point where he’d be vulnerable to the attacks of other demons?

Dukiel’s gaze swept over the gathered wolves. His amused smile faded as he locked eyes with Finn once more. “I understand it will take time for you to realize the truth. You’ve heard so very many lies about demons. I’ve heard of the event at Bluebell Valley. That bastard, Zealuv, isn’t representative of all of us.”

“If you think I’m so easily swayed—” Finn warned.

“No, of course not. You are too well trained and too clever for that.” Dukiel shrugged. “So, I will give you a period of grace. For you to come to understand I’m telling the truth.”

He turned and shifted into wolf form again. With a bark, he trotted toward the thin, scrub-brush forest. Finn watched him go, surprise shooting through him. It had to be a trick—but it was still the most clever move he’d seen a demon pull. Leaving without violence was the only way anyone would doubt his intentions…

The rogues turned their backs and bolted after their demonic leader. Two of the Moon Lake pack howled and started forward at the fleeing rogues.

“Stop!” Finn shouted.

The two wolves froze. Half of the rogues slowed. They looked back over their shoulders, and one seemed like it was about to turn and slink back. Then Dukiel barked again and took off into a run. The rogues followed, though that one hesitated a little longer than its companions.

Finn watched them leave, his muscles stretched and taunt. The eyes of the pack were on him, waiting. “We need to save our strength. They didn’t send their strongest warriors here. They’d send the ones they can use to reduce our numbers, even if they die to do it. We keep with the plan. Salt barriers around the town and the production of talismans to protect against demons.”

Seth stepped up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You all heard my nephew. He is your Alpha now. Show him the respect that position deserves.”

Finn ground his teeth, resisting the urge to shy back from the touch. Just a few minutes ago, Seth had been telling him that he wanted to kill him the moment he was born. Now, he was calling his nephew and giving support in front of the pack. It felt so wrong. So fake.

But necessary. They had to show unity if they were going to take down Dukiel.

Slowly, the pack dispersed. Finn turned, his gaze seeking out Elin. She wasn’t as close as he expected. When he heard her growl, he thought she’d been right at his elbow. Instead, she was back close to a house with Christine and Rosemary. Finn was only briefly distracted by wondering how he heard her so clearly when she was so far away before Seth caught his attention again.

“You have a way to know who is possessed and who isn’t?” Seth asked intently.

“I can see them,” Finn answered shortly.

Seth let out a heavy sigh. “We’ve been executing the rogues upon capture. We could never tell who was possessed and who wasn’t until it was too late. We lost too many people trying to show mercy.”

“You thought you had no other choice but to protect yourself and your pack. And Dukiel will have used that to make the rogues even more loyal to him.” Finn shook his head. This was far more complicated than he had anticipated. “At the moment, we can only focus on one thing at a time. Protecting the pack has to come first.”

How many of them would turn against him, thinking he was as much of a demon as his… Dukiel.

Elin joined them. Her face was pale, but her expression was set. “I want to be part of your plans. I know I can’t change your mind, and now I can better understand… we need to bring him down as soon as possible. So. I’m going to be part of the planning.”

“You?” Seth asked, his eyebrows furrowed. “A Luna’s place—”

“Is irrelevant,” Elin interrupted.

Seth’s eyes widened.

“It was because of Mica that we defeated Zealuv. And I was part of it. If I can help take down one archdemon, I can help take down another archdemon. I’ll focus on the container we’ll bind him in. I think the diamond is a good idea to start with. Then maybe we can bury it in concrete or something,” she said, her forehead wrinkling as she thought.

A burst of pride washed through Finn. She might have her moments of doubt, but she wasn’t letting them get the best of her. When the special ops first came to Bluebell Valley, she’d seemed so small. Cowering behind her own shadow, so meek that she wouldn’t fight for herself. It seemed as though she was waiting for everyone else to save her.

Now, she carried herself like a true Luna. She was a sight to behold. Her brown hair fell down her back, and her eyes were filled with determination. Though shorter than him, she drew herself up and held herself as though she were ten feet tall. And her scent! It wafted off her with such strength that it made his wolf growl in lust.

Finn let his gaze trail down her body. She wore a flattering pink top, one with ruffles down the side. It was feminine and emphasized her curves. Her jeans were tight, hugging the curve of her ass perfectly. He wanted to kiss his way down her body and taste her pleasure.

Which was not the reaction he should have had in front of the entire pack. Not after an archdemon just threatened them.

He looked away quickly, trying to ignore the way his own pants felt too tight.

“Seth, I need you to speak with the warriors. This was a good show of unity, but we need more,” Finn said, focusing on the task at hand. There would be time—and the privacy of the bedroom—later. “The challenges that were issues. I need them to be rescinded. And that kid that I threatened… I need him and his parents to stop by the house so I can apologize for that.”

“Apologize?”

“I overreacted when he’s just a dumb kid,” Finn said shortly, annoyed Seth was making him explain.

Seth rocked back on his heels. “I’ll talk to them. Rosemary and I didn’t have children, and you…” He ground his teeth before he spat out, “You would be my natural successor if you’d been raised here. I thought that’s why you challenged me in the first place.”

Finn snorted as he shook his head. “I challenged you because you threatened to hurt E—everyone,” he amended. “And because I’d just found out you were the one who left me at the orphanage.”

“You just found out?”

Finn shrugged. “They never told me anything about my family. My relatives.” He shook his head once. “Go talk with the warriors. I need to get this information to Hayden and the military. Derek will oversee the project to lay down salt.”

Seth nodded. He turned and trotted off. Rosemary looked expectantly at Elin, who murmured that she and the other women should start readying medical supplies for the fighting that was no doubt coming. Once she was off, Elin let out a heavy sigh.

“This Luna thing I going to take some time to get used to,” she said, giving him a wan smile.

Finn brought her hand to his lips. “So is this Alpha thing. But we’ll figure it out. Together.”