The Alpha's Unwanted Luna (by Miss L) novel Chapter 269

Chapter 269

21 – Finn

“No, I can’t. Please.” Her voice is barely audible as she tries to wriggle free from my grasp, desperation clear in her trembling words.

“Stop.” I gently but firmly pull her face back toward mine. “Look at me.”

Reluctantly, her eyelids flutter open, and her gaze immediately begins darting around, searching. We’re still inside the elevator, but something down here is clearly triggering fear she doesn’t want to confront.

“Stop scanning for an escape. Just look at me.” I slide my hands up beside her face, like blinders narrowing her focus.

“I can’t, Finn. Please…” Her voice trails off, but finally she meets my eyes. “Please.” She barely ever says my name, and never pleads like this.

“Talk to me. You stayed with me for two days straight. You made sure I got out of that fight alive. Let me help you through this. Talk. To. Me.” I feel her chest rising and falling rapidly against mine.

“I can’t be down here. Not again. I don’t do underground.” Her words come out shaky, filled with dread.

“Why?” I ask softly, trying to coax her out of the elevator, but she tightens her grip on my wrists and plants her heels firmly.

“No!” Her body trembles with fear, but her eyes blaze with determination. Something happened here—something her instincts are screaming at her to avoid. I can’t imagine Ryker harming her or letting anyone else do so, but I haven’t been here long enough to know everything.

I have to push through this. Something inside me refuses to let it go. She hasn’t tried to kill me yet, and she stayed by my side when she could have left me for dead—things my first mate never even considered. She won’t tell anyone she’s my mate, and she won’t talk about it openly, but she hasn’t rejected me outright either. I’m clinging to that hope. Maybe I can convince her that having a rogue as a mate isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Leaning in, I press her gently against the wall, brushing my lips close to her ear. “Hold on.” She gasps as I lift her up effortlessly. Her slender legs curl around my waist, and my hands find the curve of her hips. Before she can react, I’m moving.

Glancing over her shoulder for the healer, I carry her into the nearest room. The healer quickly shuts the door behind us, wary of Greta trying to run again.

“Finn! What the hell? I said no—I don’t want to be down here!” She struggles fiercely now, forcing me to set her down, though I remain between her and the door.

“And I said if I’m stuck down here for a few days, then so are you. Let’s just get this over with. Having company might make it bearable.”

“Fuck you. You selfish bastard. I’m not staying down here with you.”

I release her hands, but they fly up to my chest, pushing weakly. I hold firm, staring into her terrified face, and a cold shiver runs through me. I know this look all too well—and I hate it.

“Greta, stop. Just stop. I won’t hurt you. You’re safe here.” I repeat the words slowly until the haze in her eyes begins to fade. “You’re safe, I promise. I won’t touch you—not like that—without your permission. I will never hurt you.”

“Then get the fuck off me and let me leave.”

“I can’t. We need to know. My wolf and I need to find out what they did to you, who ‘they’ are, so we can tear them apart.” She exhales a bitter laugh.

“You can’t do anything. Please, just let me up.”

“No. Tell me now. My wolf is talking to yours. I will find out, no matter how stubborn you are.”

“Finn,” she whimpers, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Please let me go. I’m broken. I have too many demons to be a good mate. Just let me walk away. Find someone else.”

“You want to talk broken and demons? You did meet my first mate, right?” A faint smile slips onto her lips before she masks it again. “I know I’m just a rogue. I bring nothing to this relationship, but I’m here. I chose you—crazy as you are. Now talk to me. When? Who? How bad did it get? I’m not moving until you give me some answers.”