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Chapter 20
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REJECTED MATE Chapter 20.1
“Boris is…” Griff hesitated. “Boris died nearly seventy years ago.”Tilting my head to the side, I feigned confusion. “Sorry, what?”“Come with me.” He strode toward the largest of the bell tents.I followed after him, my heart fluttering and not in a pleasant way. When Griff told me about Boris being a soul resurrected from Hell, I would have to ask about him. That’s when I would get another account of our story, but from the point of view of the man who hadn’t deemed me worthy of any respect, let alone compassion.Once again, I regretted not remaining with Dad in his hut. Griff’s tent was even more luxurious than mine, complete with a safari-style four-poster surrounded by thin gauze. The walls were raised, exposing its interior to the elements.Sheepskin mats covered the floor, adding to the air of comfort. At the other side of the bed was a wicker love seat that barely fitted two, and beside it was a cushioned footrest.“Sit.” He gestured at a loveseat.I remained standing and fo
REJECTED MATE Chapter 21
I drifted in and out of sleep that night, haunted by Griff’s words. All that talk about saving his fatherfrom faeries had gotten to me, and I tried to imagine what I would do if it was Dad who had gotten himself in debt.My mind went blank. Dad simply wasn’t the type to drown his sorrows in drink or gambling or any other type of vice. If he had lost an alpha challenge, then he would go lone wolf, bide his time, and return bigger, stronger, and ready to fight his way to the top.He wasn’t anything like me.Forty years ago, I had been too blinded by rejection and rage to see straight. I’d lashed out and didn’t stop until the enforcers broke into the mansion and dragged me away. I clenched my teeth. Why hadn’t I insisted that Griff finish his story? If the situation with the faeries had been linked to the way he had treated me, perhaps I would sleep easily tonight.Footsteps sounded outside my tent as a few pack members stumbled in from a night out. Someone barked a laugh, then someone
REJECTED MATE Chapter 21.1
The largest of the Hellhounds gave Griff a deep bark that resonated across my bones. He turned to the others and nodded, leading them all to make similar sounds of agreement.Griff turned to me. “Mount Glinda and follow me.”I strode up to the pale Hellhound, who gazed at me through adoring blue eyes. Even though it wasn’t necessary, I held out my hand for her to sniff.“Is it okay if I get on your back?” I asked her. She gave me a happy bark, which Beki returned.“All right, then.” Grabbing a handful of fur from the base of her neck, I jumped up on her back and swung my right leg over her side. In no time, I was sitting atop a creature broader than a horse and infinitely warmer. Smoke curled from the ends of her thick white fur, but she remained solid.“Do you need a blanket for the heat?” Griff asked with a frown.“No, thanks.”His eyes narrowed, but he continued toward the largest of the hounds and jumped on his back.Shit.Maybe I shouldn’t have given Griff the impression that I wa
REJECTED MATE Chapter 22
To my relief, Marianna wasn’t working, but I still couldn’t eat most of my lunch. I sat beside Griff inhis usual booth, picking at my fries. “Are you all right?” Griff asked.I gave him a trembling nod. “Just a little nervous.” “You can dismount,” he said.“Of course.”“And place a rock in a harness?” he asked in a low voice. I turned to him and frowned. “What’s this about?”“That’s the only thing you need to do today.” He took a huge bite of his burger.I nodded and dipped my head toward my tall milkshake, which was mostly ice cream with a splash of milk. The cool, creamy liquid filled my mouth with a burst of vanilla that made me sigh. “You’re right,” I murmured. “If I stop overthinking things, it will be over before I know it.”The other members of the pack, who were usually rowdy during mealtimes, mostly kept to the bar. They spoke in low voices, so I couldn’t hear them under the disco groove of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.”It was an effort not to tap my foot to the beat
REJECTED MATE Chapter 22.1
I swallowed hard. In other words, it was up to the wolves to decide if they wanted to accept Fenrir’s offer of a better afterlife.We reached Glinda, who lay on her front and flicked her head toward her hind quarters, indicating for me to mount her. After shouldering on the backpack Griff had given me, he handed me a pair of guns and showed me how to attach them to the holster in my jacket.“You know how to use them?”My insides writhed with shame as I remembered the bullets I had fired into his kneecaps and then his chest, when I could have shot him through the eyes. If only he knew.Griff pulled one of the bandoliers off his shoulder and draped it over my head. “Don’t use it unless there’s an emergency,” he said.I slipped onto Glinda’s back, and she stood. Griff waited at our side and gazed up at me through proud eyes.Any other time, I might have basked in his admiration, even though I hadn’t done much to earn it. But I kept thinking about all those people who would be left behind.
REJECTED MATE Chapter 22.2
It looked like he would do a round of the Asphodel Meadows until each of us had a soul crystal, then once the last of us had rejoined the procession, we would all return to the tunnel. This went on for another twenty minutes, and we passed a few large mansions that had to be where the demons lived. Glinda and I continued, waiting our turn, until it was us riding behind Griff.My heart thrummed with anticipation as we rode through a field littered with obelisks. I kept my eyes on Griff, waiting for him to show me my pick-up, and then he slowed by a pile of stones.The soul crystal sat among them. It was bright orange, the size of a small watermelon and with white mist clouding its inside like a playing marble.Beki barked.I smiled and ordered Glinda to stop. “Yes, I know.”As soon as my feet hit the ground, the other Hellhounds continued without me. I rushed to the glowing stone and shouldered off my backpack. When I tried to pick it up, it was too heavy of me to lift.“Of course,”
REJECTED MATE Chapter 23
The demon kept in pace with me for several heartbeats, his fiery glower fixed in my general direction. I curled my fingers into Glinda’s fur, trying to ignore the infernal hoofbeats hitting the grass in counterpoint to my frantic pulse.Our surroundings became streaks of orange. The only things remaining clear were the crimson clouds above us and a craggy hill that blotted the green landscape. It was backlit by the sky as though they’d both been set alight, and this part of Hell was becoming too hot, too stifling, too deadly.I leaned away from Glinda’s neck, but his glaze didn’t shift with the movement. My throat spasmed.“He can’t see us,” I told Beki. She barked her agreement. “If we stop to dismount—”Becki’s panicked growl had my spine stiffening, and I blurted into our bond. “I won’t leave Glinda as a decoy. It was just a hypothetical thought.”She remained silent, giving me an approving nod. I bit down on my bottom lip and considered my options.
REJECTED MATE Chapter 23.1
What about the others? One of the first pieces of information I had given Hades was about the secure enclosure of Hellhounds. He was bound to assume that the pack had returned to his domain to steal souls.“Let’s seek higher ground,” I whispered to Glinda. “Maybe we can see the others.”She ran through the trees, and I swore that some of the branches were trying to reach for us. A few grabbed my arm but snapped off as we passed. My breath turned shallow. Even the dead trees in Hell were hostile.The forest inclined upward in the beginnings of a hill. We ascended at a rapid pace, using the dry vegetation as cover, until the incline became too steep. Glinda bowed her head and panted with effort. The air wasn’t exactly thin, but it was obvious that the strain was becoming too much.I patted Glinda on the side of her neck. “Let me down.” She shook her head.“It’s all right, we’re not separating,” I told her in my gentlest voice. “We’re going to make better progress if we walk side by sid
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