๋ก๊ทธ์ธ๊ณต์
Chapter 14.2
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๋ฐ์ดํธ:
2022-10-28 23:28:14
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REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 15
My lips trembled as I told her what had happened, and my words tripped over each other. It wasnโtlike me to ๏ฌnd another woman intimidating, but she had probably been the same one who had dragged Ruby and Marianna off of the street.Seeing her was like getting a fresh taste of Hell after having spent two blissful days in the World of the Living, where my only source of annoyance had been unwanted male attention. Her features remained expressionless as she listened to my account of what had happened, but eventually, she spoke.โWhy were the two women you were sent out with unwilling to share the information they gathered from the Hell๏ฌre pack?โI ๏ฌinched. That question had been unexpected. โRocco told me that they were taken to Fenrir, who bound their souls. I donโt know the exact details.โCaptain Caria nodded, as though understanding. โAnd this one?โโIโm not sure what connection he has with Fenrir, but he has to be important to the pack if he was allowed behind the wards
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-31REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 15.1
She didnโt reply, but then, she was always the optimistic part of my soul that held out the hope that people were good. I didnโt have the heart to rehash that video Larissa showed us of Ruby and Marianna getting tortured for failing the mission. Instead, I padded over to my case, pulled out a thick nightgown, and got changed.Tomorrow, things would be different. Instead of dwelling on what Griff had done to me, I would focus on extracting every ounce of information from the bastard before it was time for us both to return to Hell.The next morning, Boris shouted a wakeup call, alerting everyone that it was time for brunch. Since I knew nobody would be taking care of the Hellhounds, I made my way to the extra-warded space and hurried to see Bonnie and her puppies, praying to every deity that I knew of that the pale one had survived the night with her mother.She sat in the corner again, looking about half as big as her siblings. When I approached the bars, she turned around and gave me
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-31REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 15.2
If I was going to get out of this with my soul intact, then I had to use whatever feminine wiles I could muster. Sweeping my gaze over his muscular form, I asked in my huskiest voice. โYou keep telling me about your wolf. How do you feel about me?โA low growl reverberated across his chest. We werenโt quite touching but stood close enough for me to feel the heat of his larger body, and I felt that deep, sexy growl everywhere.My breath hitched. Even though Iโd asked the question as a distraction, a treacherous portion of my heart ached to know the answer.โYou want to know how I feel?โ he asked, his voice teasing.โYeah,โ I whispered. โIโm intrigued.โI lowered my lashes and gazed at his lips. This was supposed to be an act, but the traitorous part of my libido urged me to drift forward and see if he kissed as beautifully as I remembered. In all the times I had watched the replays of our relationship in Hell, I only saw the kisses from my point of view, and I never kissed with my
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-31REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 16
Outside the Range Rover, the streets were more crowded than they had been when I was alive, andpeople darted in and out of the stores with their purchases. Under Fenrirโs management, Lunaris had become a thriving and international village, ๏ฌlled with shifters of all kinds.Griff honked the horn again, making the shifters turn around and scowl. I glanced around for signs of the tall, blond god, but found none.As his hand hovered over the horn, I placed a hand over his arm. โEveryoneโs watching us.โโSo?โ he said. โIโm saying hello to a friend.โMy lips formed a tight line. Had all that time in the Asphodel Meadows eroded Griffโs sense of decorum? He had always been so properโฆOr perhaps that had been an act to impress me. You know, considering that I was the future alpha, future Shifter Queen. The woman I was would have needed a high-class consort to match those fancy titles.Griff had never made a public display of himself when we had been alive. But it looked l
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-31REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 16.1
I picked up the menu and read through the options. It should have been obvious from the sight of the grills in frontof us, but you were supposed to cook the food yourself. My lips tightened. Back in the seventies, we had fondue, where they brought thin strips of meat for you to dip into a bubbling sauce, but that had been part of the fun.The people who ran this place looked like they wanted you to do half the work. I turned around, taking in the sight of couples and groups sitting around the grills. It looked like the restaurant had just opened for the day because nobody was cooking.When the waiter came, Griff ordered for us both, which was a relief because I didnโt have any idea what to pick. The ๏ฌrst of the other tables got their food, and the patrons placed it on the hotplate with long, metallic chopsticks, ๏ฌlling the air with a delicious scent.โI hope youโre not expecting me to cook for you,โ I said, making my voice teasing.He ๏ฌashed me that grin. โAlphas are capable of m
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-31REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 16.2
He turned to me and grinned. โFenrir is the one who suggested I start the Hell๏ฌre pack.โMy heart skipped several beats, and I nearly dropped my chopstick. Even Beki rose to her feet and salivated over the scent of something delicious.โHe invited you to Shifter City?โ I asked.โFenrir even bought me a ticket,โ Griff replied with a laugh. โHe said the more the merrier.โEvery nerve in my body vibrated with the thrill of getting close to the truth. Hades had been wrong about Fenrir harboring a bunch of runaways from Hell. He had helped Griff and the other souls to escape. I could only assume that it had been Fenrir who had supplied Griffโs inner circle with physical bodies.โThat was nice of him,โ I said, letting my voice trail off. โHeโs planning great things for the wolves.โ Griff took abite of chicken and washed it down with rice wine. โItโs going to be huge, and Iโm honored to be part of it.โโPart of what?โ I asked with a forced giggle.He set down his chopsticks and looked me
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-10-31REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 17
Fenrir was even more breathtaking up close than he had been in the images Hades had sent me. Goldencurls framed a face that could have been chiseled out of alabaster by the god of ๏ฌne arts. His nose was perfectly straight, his cheekbones high, and he had full lips that I imagined women swooned over.The most startling thing about Fenrirโs appearance were his eyes. Up close, they werenโt just turquoise, but a deep indigo around the edges, lit by white striations that ๏ฌashed like lightning. I had to blink a few times to check that Iโd seen them right. Flecks of gold added a touch of color, but the entire effect made me wonder if he had swallowed the sky.It was like looking into the face of an angel. An angel possessed by the biggest, most ferocious wolf and then elevated into a god. Beneath his external beauty was a menace that made him unbearable to withstandโฆ largely because I was plotting against him and whatever he planned to do with all those souls.โRocco missed our appointmen
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-11-01REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 17.1
Part of me wanted to ask about the arrangement, but now wasnโt the time. Besides, I still couldnโt understand how Griff had transformed from a battered and abused young wolf to a creature who could prey upon his own mate.He rose from his seat and gestured toward the door, prompting me to also get up. With his hand on the small of my back, we walked through the busy restaurant. Eyes followed us as we passed, and a few people raised their hands to offer Griff a wave. He nodded back, acknowledging their greetings, as though he was Fenrir himself.The old me would have felt proud to walk at the side of a handsome and powerful wolf. My chest would have swelled, my shoulders would have pulled all the way back, and I would have raised my chin. Now, all notions of status had abandoned me, replaced by the questions squirming through my mind.As we stepped out into the busy village square, I asked. โDid you ever ๏ฌnd your father?โGriff fell silent for several heartbeats as we crosse
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2022-11-01
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REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Epilogue
Hades was a persistent bastard who continued to attack Shifter City. He sent assassins, spies, and other Trojan horses, but Fenrir was always prepared. With the help of Loki, Ophois, and a few other lupine gods we had encountered during the past fifteen years, Midgard remained the afterlife of choice for all wolves.Our system was simple: the berserkers in the Hellfire Pack would collect the souls of those who died within Shifter City or within the Norse packโs protected wards. Griff and I would venture out to reap any wolves who died within the Supernatural World.We didnโt even need to hide in the trunk of an รberwald to exit Shifter City. The Hellhounds we rode moved us faster than any speeding vehicle, and the magic protecting our physical forms was powerful enough to shield us from Hades and his enforcers.Griff and I stood within a white room in the Shifter Ward of Atlantis Hospital, waiting for an old she-wolf to take her last breath. We could barely see her through the crowd o
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย 78.3
Guests filled white seats in a large reception hall decorated to resemble a Greek temple. At its very end, Hades stood beneath an archway of mauve calla lilies and pomegranate flowers. He wore an ostentatious oxblood red frock coat with plum-colored embroidery.To his right stood a dark-haired male in a morning suit of the same color, wearing a five oโclock stubble that he probably thought made him look cool.Griff gave me a nudge. โHis best man is Lucifer, King of the Seventh Faction.โMy brows rose, and I scanned the groomโs side of the room. The entire Supernatural Council sat in the front seats with Captain Caria, who wore a dress for a change and sat beside a dark-haired woman whose features were equally as stern. Azriel perched on his seat behind them, looking like heโd been blackmailed into attending.Among the powerful VIPs, I recognized a dark-skinned couple in Egyptian attire who had to be Isis and Osiris, the aunt and uncle of Ophois and the rulers of the First Faction. Lok
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย 78.2
Several days ago, Fenrir had suggested we raid the Fifth Faction on the night of the Strawberry Moon. Now we had retrieved the wolf souls, we no longer needed to perform the heist, but my idea would be the perfect revenge.Fenrir sat behind his desk and folded his arms across his chest. He glanced from me to Griff and said, โThis is completely unnecessary. After everything youโve endured, thereโs no need for you to face Hades.โGriff spoke first. โThis is the least that bastard deserves. He has to learn that striking at Midgard has consequences.โโAgreed,โ Fenrir said. โBut I donโt want to put either of you at risk.โโItโll be worth it to teach him not to embed curses in peopleโs souls,โ I said. โAnd I also canโt wait to melt the smirk off his face when I interrupt him with his mate.โGriff snarled, remembering how Hades had infiltrated our hotel room just as we had planned to become intimate. It was time to return his gesture with one of our own.Fenrir snickered. โFine, but doing th
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย 78.1
My breath turned quick and shallow, and my gaze remained fixed on what was looking to be a terrible earthquake. โWere the others too late to save the wards?โโItโs Fenrir.โ Griff slung an arm around my shoulder and tucked me into his side.The distant hill split into several pieces, and the ground that comprised it tumbled away in an avalanche, revealing a mass of white that took up the landscape. My pulse quickened, but Beki made excited barks as though she was meeting an old friend.โDonโt tell me Fenrirโs the size of a blue whale,โ I whispered.Griff rubbed his chin. โHe once told me he couldnโt shift without destroying the village, but I didnโt completely understand what he meant until now.โChunks of land rolled off the massive wolf as it rose onto four legs and raised his head toward the pale sky. Despite having remained underground for goodness knows how long, his fur was as pristine as Bekiโs. The only difference between them apart from size was that Fenrirโs wolf had turquois
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 78
Flying scorpions hovered above us, breathing plumes of fire over our heads whilst trying to re-form. The other wolf shifters tossed wet stones at the swarm, making them break into further pieces. Roars of triumph mingled with the skin-tightening clicks of armored wings, but none of that mattered. Not while Griff was standing before me and declaring heโd made a mistake.The cacophony of sounds faded into the background, and I gazed into his amber eyes. Amber eyes that shone with love and sorrow and regret. Amber eyes that I could have lost myself in for an eternity. Beki pushed herself against our bond and swooned with joy.I wasnโt quite so hopeful.How many times had I gone through this before? I needed to know that the bond wouldnโt bring up something else that would turn Griff away.โWhy?โ I asked. โWhy did you return if it wasnโt for Fenrir?โThe muscles in his handsome face tightened, and his gaze jerked to the side. โI didnโt want you to leave the island,โ he said, his voice tig
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย 77.2
Mum rushed to our side with a bucket of water and set it on the floor. โIโll get more.โSome of the other wolves had gathered a pile of rocks around the clearing, only to disappear and fetch more, while a few of them remained to hurl them at Snorri. Each stone that landed dented his huge scorpion body, but it did nothing to break him apart.An idea hit me upside the head. โDad.โ I gave him a nudge in the side. โLetโs try getting these stones wet.โWithout another word, he walked to the pile of rocks, gathered up a pair, and dipped them in the water. I left the attackers to join him and took one from his hand.I was no expert on arthropods or any other type of shelled creature, but Dad had once told me on a hunting trip that the protective coverings around their bellies were softer than the ones at their backs.โThis way.โ I flicked my head toward the obelisk.The other wolf shifters continued their attacks on Snorri, making him lash out at them with his tail, but more importantly, the
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย 77.1
By now, the air was thick with smoke, but it was nothing compared to the brimstone of Hell. Iโd lost track of the flying scorpions and continued through the trees toward the clearing.The swarm had formed the shape of a centaur-like creature, but with a scorpion body replacing that of an equine. Ten feet tall, it stood on six clawed legs with a tail as long as its spine. Hellfire glowed from its bulbous stinger, forming a line of crimson flames down its back.Its back was turned to me, but the same black carapace covered its human side, ending with a round head peppered with bristles. The creature placed a hand on the surface of the obelisk and drummed its fingers.โUrus, teimas, mannaz, othala,โ said the voice of an old man. โWhat a clever combination. Especially when crossed with wunjo and era. Yes... yesโฆ Fine work.โMy lips tightened, and I stormed around to look the scorpion man full in the face. It was the only part of his body not covered in the black shell, and he had the sall
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย Chapter 77
Cold shock barreled through my system, even as my chest exploded with streams of burning scorpions. The last week flashed across my mind, filling me with a painful realization. Hades had attached the curse to the bargain Griff had made with the faeries. Heโd given us days five before it took control of Griffโs body and destroyed Shifter City.Weโd spent the last five days scrambling around trying to break the curse and transfer it to someone else. We had spent all that time worrying about what was inside Griff and hadnโt given a thought to what Hades might have placed in me.Fuck. Griff and I were mates. Rumpel Kracknuts had even hinted that curses could go deeper than the soul of the afflicted. Iโd been too concerned with his murder of the healer to even think that he was hinting that I carried the curse.Bloody Hades had turned me into his Trojan horse, and if I couldnโt find a way to stop the swarm, it wouldnโt just mean the destruction of Midgard. It could mean the end of Shifter
REJECTED MATE ย ย ย 76.2
The chief enforcer snorted. โI was a few years younger, but I remember you from the academy. Even back then, I knew you were destined for greatness.โMy lips formed a tight line. I didnโt need to read his mind to catch his meaning. Randel couldnโt believe that a man like Griff was capable of achieving all those things without my intervention. As a member of Fenrirโs inner circle, he would have heard about our progress, but I couldnโt let him walk away believing I had done all the work.โFranklin Griffiths is more capable than any wolf. It was his knowledge and strength that got us through our trials, not just mine.โRandel nodded and continued toward the driveway.With a sigh, I pushed open the door and walked through the empty hallway. At this time of the night everyone had gone to bed, and my footsteps echoed in the silence. Damp air filled my nostrils as I descended the darkened stairwell that led to the basement, and I pushed the door open to find Fenrir standing beside the fighti
