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

Finn’s scent permeated the van, driving Elin crazy. She focused on the pines outside the window that turned to spruce and cedars as they got closer to Moon Lake, trying to block him out. It always surprised her to see the differences in vegetation whenever she left the familiar surroundings of Bluebell Valley. It was beautiful, full of thick forest, but it was drier than the area they were getting into. The land shifted from towering mountains to rolling hills and finally to the plains. It was far from flat, with its deep coulees and riverbeds, but it seemed open and exposed in ways Elin didn’t like.

The Moon Lake pack territory did have some mountain terrain in its borders, but mostly, it was the foothills. The lake itself was in the center of their territory. The human village within their territory was a good distance from the lake, although Christine told her that back when they were kids, they were often packed up and taken to the lake.

At least, the human children were. Finn, Derek, and the other shifter children were never allowed to go. Elin thought it was a pretty poor showing for the Moon Lake Alpha to not even allow orphaned children into the pack town. Not even Monroe would have done that.

Then again, Monroe wouldn’t have allowed shifter children to be raised in a human orphanage. He’d have insisted they be raised in the pack. It wouldn’t matter how the pack treated them, of course. So maybe Alpha Seth’s approach was, in fact, the lesser of two evils.

Maybe he just didn’t want them to be disappointed that they weren’t a part of the pack. Maybe this was the only orphanage that took in rogue children.

With any luck, they’d have answers soon.

Elin jumped out of the van, inhaling the clean air. Unfortunately, Finn had leaped out just as quickly, and rather than getting Finn-free scents of exhaust and other human things, she got a full blast of his scent. At least in the van, it had been cut by Christine and Derek’s scents. It instantly made her wolf start going crazy, bounding around in her chest as though it was trying to tear through her ribcage.

She turned toward him against her will. His gaze met hers, and smoldering desire laced the air. Elin tried to convince herself that she was just imagining things, but the argument was weak, even in her own mind. Her breasts seemed to grow heavier as something inside of her tightened.

“Where is everyone?” Christine’s voice broke through the haze.

Elin blinked several times, struggling to center herself again. She glanced around the village only to find that Christine was right. There were a few cars here and there, but not enough for a human residence. The air smelled like the winds blowing in from the mountain range; there was no scent of human activity.

“I don’t like this,” Derek said as he came to stand on Finn’s other side. “It’s too quiet.”

“Agreed,” Finn rumbled.

Even the tenor of his voice made Elin go weak in the knees. She shook herself and nodded toward the large building they stopped next to. “Is this the orphanage?”

“Yeah,” Christine said.

“Let’s stick together,” Finn said. “If nobody’s there, we’ll put down some salt barriers just in case.”

Elin’s heart constricted. Salt barriers. Did Finn think that demons had descended on the village? She grabbed her bag from the van before they headed into the building. It was a big brick thing that looked more like an apartment building than an orphanage. Play equipment was scattered around the long yard, but no child was seen.

Inside, it was just as deserted.

“Let’s check the office,” Finn said.

“No, let’s check the kitchen. We’ll know how long it’s been empty based on the food,” Elin argued.

Finn cocked his head to one side, then nodded once. The group made their way to the kitchen. It was in a state of disarray, with the fridges and freezers wide open. Not a trace of food was left, only dirty dishes scattered over the counters. Judging by the mold growing in the trash, the orphanage had been emptied for several days.

Elin shuddered. She wished she’d brought her gun with her. Most shifters looked down on human weapons, claiming the fangs and claws the Moon Goddess gave them were enough. Elin wasn’t a fighter, though, and the gun had come in handy previously. But going armed into another pack wasn’t a good look.

They put down the PCP pipes filled with salt under windows and in front of doors to prevent demons from creeping in. Though aura demons could possess people, it generally seemed they couldn’t just go through solid walls. Besides, with the talismans surgically implanted in the women and Derek’s protective tattoos, free-floating aura demons weren’t the ones they were worried about. Elin peeked at Finn from the corner of her eye. He, at least, didn’t have to worry about being possessed anyway.

“While we’re all here, we might as well search the records together,” Derek suggested.

“Shouldn’t we try to find out what happened here?” Christine asked, folding her arms over her chest.

A very sizable chest, one that made Elin both wince to think of the weight she was carrying around and turn green with envy. Her own breasts were small—relatively—and had always been a hit to her self-esteem.

Christine shook her head. “Or maybe we should continue on to Moon Lake. They might know.”

Derek gave her a hard look. “Finn’s got to look through his records. It’ll go faster while we’re here, and then we can all move on without leaving him behind.”

“I wasn’t suggesting—”

Finn lifted a hand, causing the two to fall silent. They looked at him expectantly, with the expressions of people used to this dynamic. Elin fought down an irrational surge of jealousy. Even with their bickering, it was clear that these three had a deep history between them. She was the odd one out—the loner, as she had been her entire life.

“Christine, I need you to go to the infirmary and dig out my medical records,” Finn said. “Derek, go with her to guard her. I’ll get my records from the office. I don’t want anyone else poking around in them.” His gaze landed on Elin. “You can go with Derek and Christine.”

“As much as I would love to have the buffer, it will go faster if Elin helps you,” Christine said. She dropped her arms and sighed. “Let’s just find the records, then get out of here. Can we all agree on that?”

Elin bit back the irrational desire to argue. This was the logical way to split up. She followed Finn as he headed to the office. Once there, he turned his back on her as he opened the first filing cabinet. Elin turned on the computer, relieved when it worked. She went through the desk as Finn rummaged in the files. She found nothing related to him or why the village was so abandoned.

The tension stretched tight to the point of being unbearable. What could she do to ease it?

“I’m sorry for the way… reacted,” she exclaimed. Her tone was stiff and reluctant, but at least the words came out. “When you clarified our situation. I’m sorry that I misread it in the first place. It was a bad position to put you in.”

Her wolf growled, angered that she would say it. They were mates. It was still as plain to Elin now, even after he rejected her, as it was when they lay skin-to-skin. She sucked in a deep breath through her mouth to avoid smelling him. Part of her screamed that she had to find out what was holding him back, to guide him to the truth, and not just give up on their relationship.

Somehow, the tension grew even thicker after her apology. It made the air feel heavy. Elin’s fingers slipped as she looked up Finn’s name on the computer.

“Sorry,” Finn said. He pulled a file from the cabinet and tossed it onto the desk. His name was written on top. “Sorry that you ran off as though I was attacking you?”

“Yes,” Elin said simply.

That seemed only to upset him more. “I know rejection hurts, Elin. You don’t have to apologize for having perfectly reasonable feelings.”

What was he arguing with her over this? She clicked on the digital file that came up with his name and set it to print. Her wolf growled again.

“I’m not apologizing for my feelings,” she said. “But rather my reaction. I could have handled myself better.”

“You could have. By not running off and getting yourself assigned to a potentially dangerous mission,” Finn snapped.

Elin whirled on him, her temper spiking. “If it was that dangerous, Hayden wouldn’t send a human to the Moon Lake pack. If Christine can handle herself, then so can I.”

“Christine is trained for combat.”

“I’m a wolf! And I’ve fought demons, in case you have forgotten.”

Finn yanked a file from another drawer. “And they nearly killed you multiple times, in case you’ve forgotten. Not to mention Zealuv nearly taking you as his mate. Do you have any idea what he would have done to you?”

Elin jumped to her feet, her cheeks hot. “Better than you do.”

“I’m half-demon, Elin.” Finn turned to her, his eyes and voice cold. “You don’t think I know exactly what that means?”

Elin opened and closed her mouth several times. She didn’t know what to say or what response was possible after that. Finally, she shook her head. “We’re getting distracted. Let’s just get this done, okay? We don’t have to agree with each other, we just have to work.”

Finn yanked open another drawer. “You should have stayed in Bluebell Valley and helped support Mica and Tess.”

Something in his tone tipped her over the edge. Elin shot to her feet. It was bad enough that he rejected her, but then to reject her apology at the same time as rejecting her again? It was clear he didn’t want her around. Yeah, she didn’t want him around, either. But why did he have to be such a prick about it?

“What’s the big deal?” she demanded. “Why do you care whether I’m on a potentially dangerous mission or not? You don’t want me. It’s none of your business what I do with my life.”

Finn stared at her. The smolder was back in his gaze. Oh, Goddess! No, she had to hold onto her anger. She had to fight against the intensity in his eyes as he approached her. She needed to knee him between the legs or something. She couldn’t let him touch her otherwise…

His hand came up and cupped her face. It was so light and gentle that it took her breath away. The contrast to his behavior to this point sent her off-kilter.

“I said I’m not your mate, not that I don’t want you. I wouldn’t have ripped off your clothes if I didn’t want you, Elin,” he breathed. His scent washed over her.

Their mouth crashed together as he pushed her into the wall. The firmness of his body against hers causes sparks to ignite beneath her skin. Her wolf howled in joy. Elin kissed him back urgently, not caring if she came across as desperate or not. How much time did they have before Christine and Derek came back?

“Fuck,” Finn growled into her mouth. He grabbed her hip, pulling her tighter to him.

Their bodies melded together. Elin whimpered as heat flooded over her skin. She rolled her body, wanting, needing to be closer. She broke her mouth from his to kiss and lick down his neck. Goddess, but he tasted so good. Her hands greedily explored the muscles she knew like she’d never touched another living being.

“We can’t,” Finn said as he ground his hips into hers. “We don’t have time—don’t have protection.”

“We have mouths,” Elin argued back.

Finn let out a strangled laugh, then his hands moved. He cupped one breast in his hand as he lowered the other to her jeans. He yanked open the top button and slid his hand to cup her. Elin arched her back. One of her arms went out, searching for something to brace herself on. She caught hold of what looked like a solid statue. But as she grabbed it, it tipped away from them—and the wall just beside where Finn pushed her against slid open.

“What the?” Finn yelped.

Just like that, the mood was broken. He and Elin shared a confused glance as they stepped into the open passage. The scent of humans was heavier in here. Elin fumbled with the wall and found a switch. Lights flared on to show a steep staircase that led to a tunnel down through the earth.

“Look.” She pointed to a piece of paper taped to the wall.

Finn frowned as he read it aloud. “The rogues have beasts. We’re getting the children out. Meet you at the pack.”

He and Elin shared a startled glance. Rogues attacked the village? With beasts ? Elin’s mind flashed to the monstrous beast-demons, with their goatlike faces full of wolf’s fangs. Were the rogues in league with demons?