Page 29 of The Alpha’s Rejected Arranged Mate (Bluebell Valley Wolves #3)

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.

It had been a rough week.

The door opened, and Finn, dressed in the sterile gown, stepped into the room. He smiled at Elin as he stood next to her chair. Dark circles smudged under his eyes.

“How did the meeting go?” she asked him.

“It went well. The rogues have agreed to serve the pack as compensation for their actions under Dukiel’s command. I’ve arranged for their housing. Next, we just have to find places for them to do their community service.” Finn sank into the chair next to her. “The pack has agreed with the plan. A few of them think we should be laying down harsher punishments, but Seth convinced them that action was better than punishment.”

Elin smiled at her mate. They’d been worried about what to do with the rogues. Yes, they’d served Dukiel and had caused harm to the Moon Lake pack. But Moon Lake had also harmed them. A set amount of hours doing community service was a good compromise for those who wanted to stay in Moon Lake.

“How’s Hendrik?” Finn asked, turning his gaze to their son.

“He’s getting stronger. He put on weight since yesterday, and Christine said that was a good sign,” Elin answered. Every day seemed to be good news that he was stronger than he was the day before. He still needed the medical attention, though.

All things told, he was the equivalent of thirty weeks when Christine had helped Elin give birth. An event Elin had no memory of; the pain had kept her unconscious the entire time. Thirty weeks was still too early. Ten weeks too early. It left him medically fragile. He had a tough spirit, though, like his father. And so this room in the NICU had gone from a place of fear to a place of hope.

Finn reached into the incubator and stroked Hendrik’s hair. The dark circles seemed to be even more pronounced. Between Elin’s recovery and driving between the pack and the city where the hospital was, he had a lot on his plate. Elin leaned into his side.

“It’s not a great way to start, huh?” she asked quietly. “I’m glad you have Seth, Rosemary, and Derek.”

Finn nodded, suppressing a yawn. “Wish Derek and Christine would get along, though. Even now, they keep sniping at each other.”

He grimaced, no doubt thinking of Derek lying in the ditch with glazed eyes after Dukiel’s attack. He’d been in the hospital for nearly a week, having sustained bruised ribs and a severe concussion from the fight. Elin reflected that it’d been a miracle that they had only lost one person in the fight. A handful of warriors were still in the hospital, healing, but they were all expected to pull through.

“But if Derek’s near-death experience doesn’t change that, nothing will,” Finn said sadly.”

Elin shook her head. “Nah. They just need to fuck.”

Finn nearly choked. “ What? ”

“It’s obvious,” Elin said, arching one eyebrow at him. Did he really not see it? “They’re madly attracted to each other and don’t want to admit it.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Finn fake gagged. “You do realize that’s practically my sister and brother you’re talking about?”

Elin gave him a meaningful glance. “And if you’d ask them, they never felt any sort of sibling sentiment to one another.”

Finn looked fairly green at the prospect but didn’t comment. Instead, he slid an arm around Elin’s waist and pulled her tenderly into his chest. “Is he going to need to eat soon?”

Elin shook her head. Her breasts were sore from pumping and feeding, but it was worth it. She was producing a lot of milk—more than enough for Hendrik—and it was a relief she didn’t know how to express. It wasn’t until she started producing milk that she realized she’d been afraid she wouldn’t. Wolf shifter breastmilk was highly prized by hospitals. It was absolutely chockfull of nutrients and antibodies, even more potent than human breastmilk.

“He just ate and fell asleep. What time is it?”

“Almost nine. The nurse told me that they were closing to visitors soon,” Finn said. His arms tightened briefly around her.

“I hate that we can’t just stay with him,” Elin murmured. But that was one reason why she was glad she could pump. She and Finn couldn’t stay with their baby overnight—hospital policy—but at least she was leaving the nurses a good supply for him.

Finn kissed her temple. “And you should be in bed, too. Christine might not have done the c-section as you two planned, but the birth was still traumatic to your body.”

“I feel fine,” Elin protested. “And with you having to be so busy with the pack, I feel better being here.”

He kissed her again, but at that moment, the night nurse came to gently remind them that visiting hours were over. Elin hated leaving Hendrik but reluctantly got to her feet. She and Finn left the hospital. Only after they were gone did Elin realize how heavy and worn out she was. There wasn’t a lot to do in the NICU, but somehow, it still managed to drain her.

They picked up some food on the way to the hotel, and once they were back, Finn tucked her into bed and set the tray of food next to her.

“So. Is there anything else happening with the pack I need to know about?” she asked, trying to keep her tone bright.

“I filled you in,” Finn said with a shrug.

“Only the general terms.” Elin took a bite of her chicken sandwich. “Come on. Is there any movement from Dukiel? The other aura demons?”’

Finn wrinkled his nose as though he was considering whether to answer or insist that she needed rest. He allowed a small smile. “Dukiel is well and firmly trapped. I haven’t seen anything to indicate that his influence has been able to get out. We’ve put him in the Bluebell Valley vault with Zealuv.”

“Two archdemons that we’ve managed to put away. Not bad, huh?” Elin asked with a smile. How many more were out there? “What about his journals?” she prompted. Maybe they would give answers.

“We’re still working on translating them,” Finn said. “Derek’s been reaching out to his old university professors.”

Elin’s eyes widened. “Derek went to university?”

“Yeah. He was studying ancient languages before he lost his funding and was recruited into the special ops,” Finn answered. “I keep telling him he should go back, but he thinks it’s too late at this point. But we know for a fact that this is a real language. That is, it’s an ancient writing system that can be translated. We just haven’t fully figured it out yet.”

“With any luck, it will give us insights on the demons, and it’s not just Dukiel writing what he had for lunch every day,” Elin quipped. Her stomach squeezed with that nervous excitement that happened when you didn’t want to get too excited about something. If this could help them defeat the demons for good, then it would change everything.

A knock came on the door. Elin hurriedly took the opportunity to eat some more as Finn went to answer it. Derek and Christine came into the room, giving each other the stink eye.

Yeah. Elin mentally shook her head at them. The tension was obvious, but it wasn’t the sort of tension Finn thought it was. Elin had mentioned her theory to Mica and Tess the last time they’d talked—Tess had finally had her baby, a beautiful girl she and Ryder were thrilled to have—and both agreed with her. There was a clear sexual desire on both their parts.

Elin idly wondered what had caused them to react to that desire by acting as though they hated each other.

“You don’t have to say it that way,” Derek said under his breath, as though trying to get in a final shot at Christine.

“Well, you don’t have to—” Christine started.

Finn loudly cleared his throat.

Both jumped. It seemed they’d forgotten about his presence seconds after being let into the room. Elin shook her head. She understood why Finn was so annoyed with them. Though she was sure she’d cracked their code, having them be so hostile to each other was still frustrating. It had only grown worse now that the life-and-death situation had ended. Maybe she would recruit Mica and Tess to do some matchmaking.

“I take it you two have a good reason to be here?” Finn asked.

Christine nodded stiffly. “I wanted a chance to ask Elin how she was doing. I don’t know what he,” she jerked a dismissive thumb at Derek, “is doing, though.”

“I came to talk with Finn about pack business,” Derek answered, narrowing his eyes. “With everything getting settled, people are starting to get restless. They want an official announcement as to who your Beta will be.”

The look on his face simultaneously screamed, ‘I know it’s me’ and ‘I don’t want it to be me.’ Which was odd. As Finn’s best friend, it was only natural for him to take the role, but Elin wasn’t sure how well he’d do in the role. Or rather, if he would take it simply because he was expected to or if he truly was willing and able to shoulder the responsibilities.

“I think we need an official Luna ceremony for Elin first,” Finn said quickly. Did he have the same doubts about Derek?

Derek shrugged. “Fine by me.”

As he and Christine sat down, the topic changed to more lighthearted conversations. Elin relaxed into her pillows, smiling as the tension dissolved between Derek and Christine. The journey to get to this place wasn’t the path she expected. But as she smiled at Finn, she knew she wouldn’t take it any other way. She had her mate, and they had a beautiful son.

Their future was unclear, especially as far as more children were concerned. Finn was still adamant Hendrik would be their only biological child, though Elin was certain that without Dukiel’s involvement, future pregnancies would be smoother. But right now, it didn’t matter.

Whatever happened, they would make it work. Together.