Page 56 of The Alpha's Rejected Arranged Mate

After he was born, he was no longer vulnerable. Dukiel couldn’t take him. He had to wait until Finn could give his consent and give up his body. And somehow, he’d lost that connection, so he couldn’t find where Finn had been hidden.

This meant as soon as their son was born, Dukiel couldn’t touch him.

All this happened in a flash of just him and Elin. Her eyes were wild. But determined. The gun wasn’t the only plan she had.

They could get through this. All he had to do was put his trust in her.

“I love you,” he breathed desperately.

Elin’s grip on him tightened. “I love you, too.”

Chapter 26 - Elin

Using her foot, Elin lifted her bag again. She felt as if she was about to tear in half, and she panted through gritted teeth, fighting back the pain as Finn’s blue eyes remained locked on hers. Fear danced in them, but his expression grew harder and more determined. He kissed her again. Elin clutched the bag in one hand, cupping his head with the other as she passed the bag back to Christine.

Look inside it, she silently begged.

Dukiel let out a harsh laugh. “Are you really ready to condemn her to death to save your own selfish skin?” he yelled.

He was trying to provoke Finn into giving himself up to be the host. Elin heard a note of hysteria in the archdemon’s voice. She squeezed Finn’s arm one last time before she pulled back from him. Another pain ripped through her abdomen, and she bit back a groan as she grabbed her belly. It seemed to move beneath her touch.

“Don’t let me distract you,” she whispered to Finn.

He nodded once and whirled toward Dukiel and his possessed rogues. With a shout that turned to a howl, Finn shifted to wolf form and threw himself forward. The pack surged after him, following their alpha into battle. They met with a clash of howls and flashing fangs. Elin’s wolf howled, her eyes locked on Finn. Even with the pain she was in, she wanted to go to him and fight at his side.

An arm snaked around Elin’s waist, and she jolted, instinctively shoving the person away. Christine grunted at the impact but didn’t release her.

“The bag,” Elin gasped as another pain ripped through her.

Christine ignored her words and instead focused on her. She checked Elin’s pulse, and a worried gleam came to her eyes. The sounds of fighting grew more savage, but Christine seemed to be blocking it all out.

“You’re in labor,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

Elin’s eyes widened. Labor? But it was too soon! Had whatever Dukiel had done caused her body to start rejecting the baby? Her heart pounded in her throat as her mind whirled. Christine’s eyes grew firey as she yanked Elin’s pants down. Elin yelped in protest, but a sudden, intense pressure bore down on her, and she could only groan.

“You’re losing a lot of blood,” Christine said. She did something with the IV, but Elin didn’t see what. Her head was spinning, her stomach heaving. Everything seemed to be growing darker around her. Was the sun going down? No, it had been morning when they left Moon Lake. The sounds of the battle grew distant. Elin reached out blindly, searching for Finn. Her hands met nothing but air as the darkness overwhelmed her.

But it didn’t stay dark. The sound disappeared, and the pain became a throbbing ache—present but not so sharp.

She sat in the kitchen, her feet dangling off the chair, a plate of cold noodles in front of her. Tears streaked down her face as she stared at the plate. Daddy had been eating noodles when he suddenly grabbed his chest and fell. Mommy said it was a heart attack. If she ate noodles, would she have a heart attack, too? It was difficult to breathe, and her chest hurt. Was she dying?

She whimpered as she held her hands stiffly at her sides. She wanted to touch her chest as though she could hold it together. But what if that was what caused a heart attack?

Mommy turned from where she was washing the dishes. “Elin, you have to eat.”

Elin shook her head.

“You have to. Noodles are your favorite.”

Elin shoved the plate away with so much force it skittered across the table and crashed onto the floor with a loud clatter. She flinched from the noise and bit her lip as she looked up at Mommy. Mommy stomped across the kitchen and grabbed her arm.

“Go to your room,” she said, her voice angry.

Elin struggled to free herself. A sob escaped her as she raced from the kitchen, down the hall, and into her room. She slammed the door as hard as possible and threw herself into bed. Sobs overcame her as she listened. Would Mommy come to tell her not to slam the door? Seconds turned into minutes, and she didn’t come.

Elin got up, went to the door, and opened it. “I hate noodles,” she screamed as loud as she could and slammed the door again.

It was a long time later before Mommy came to her room. Elin lay under her blankets, hugging Mr. Scratches tightly to her chest. The old plush rabbit had seen better days but was Elin’s favorite. Mommy didn’t yell as she pulled the blankets away. Instead, she pulled Elin into her lap and rocked back and forth, even though Daddy would have yelled at her for being such a brat.

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