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Chapter 21
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2022-11-02 10:53:37Related chapters
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
Last Updated : 2022-11-02REJECTED 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
Last Updated : 2022-11-03REJECTED 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.
Last Updated : 2022-11-03REJECTED 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,”
Last Updated : 2022-11-03REJECTED 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.
Last Updated : 2022-11-03REJECTED 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
Last Updated : 2022-11-03REJECTED MATE Chapter 23.2
“You haven’t done anything wrong,” I whispered to Glinda. “If the time comes and it looks like I’m about to be captured, run for your life.”She shook her head.“For fuck’s sake, Glinda. Save yourself.”Her low growl told me that we would stick together, no matter what.“All right,” I whispered as the footsteps became heavier, cracking twigs and shifting stones. It sounded like there were three sets, of which I would shoot two, and Glinda would tear out the other one’s throat. “If they come inside, then you attack.”She gave me a sharp nod.I clenched my teeth, trying to keep my head clear. This time, I would wait to make sure the demon was dead. Then I would steal his flare or anything else he would use to send an SOS.“Katie,” growled a familiar voice. My stomach dropped. Was that Griff?“What the fuck are you doing up here? Come out of that tent.”“What are you doing here?” I whispered, in case it was a demonic trick.His rolling growl made the fine hairs on the back of my neck sta
Last Updated : 2022-11-03REJECTED MATE Chapter 24
I thought Griff would start talking right away, but he stood and walked out of the tent with Glinda’ssaddlebags, leaving me staring at his broad back. My gaze dropped to my hands, and I reached into my bond with Beki, since she was so deeply connected with his wolf.“Is he furious?” I asked her.She hesitated before shaking her head.“Then he’s angry?”She nodded.“Because I screwed up the mission?” When she tilted her head to the side, which meant I was getting close, I asked her, “Because we’re both stuck in Hell and there are demons looking for us?”Beki’s sharp nod told me that I was describing exactly how Griff felt.Moments later, he stepped into the tent, followed by his huge, black Hellhound. “These two can bunk together for the next couple of days,” he said, his words gruff. “You and I will stay in my shelter.”I rose on shaky legs and moved aside as Griff settled the massive creature at Glinda’s side. He was the alpha of their pack and fair
Last Updated : 2022-11-04
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REJECTED MATE 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 pack’s protected wards. Griff and I would venture out to reap any wolves who died within the Supernatural World.We didn’t even need to hide in the trunk of an Überwald 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 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 o’clock stubble that he probably thought made him look cool.Griff gave me a nudge. “His best man is Lucifer, King of the Seventh Faction.”My brows rose, and I scanned the groom’s 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 he’d 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 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, “This is completely unnecessary. After everything you’ve endured, there’s no need for you to face Hades.”Griff spoke first. “This is the least that bastard deserves. He has to learn that striking at Midgard has consequences.”“Agreed,” Fenrir said. “But I don’t want to put either of you at risk.”“It’ll be worth it to teach him not to embed curses in people’s souls,” I said. “And I also can’t wait to melt the smirk off his face when I interrupt him with his mate.”Griff 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. “Fine, but doing th
REJECTED MATE 78.1
My breath turned quick and shallow, and my gaze remained fixed on what was looking to be a terrible earthquake. “Were the others too late to save the wards?”“It’s Fenrir.” 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.“Don’t tell me Fenrir’s the size of a blue whale,” I whispered.Griff rubbed his chin. “He once told me he couldn’t shift without destroying the village, but I didn’t completely understand what he meant until now.”Chunks 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 Beki’s. The only difference between them apart from size was that Fenrir’s wolf had turquois
REJECTED MATE 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 he’d 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 wasn’t quite so hopeful.How many times had I gone through this before? I needed to know that the bond wouldn’t bring up something else that would turn Griff away.“Why?” I asked. “Why did you return if it wasn’t for Fenrir?”The muscles in his handsome face tightened, and his gaze jerked to the side. “I didn’t want you to leave the island,” he said, his voice tig
REJECTED MATE 77.2
Mum rushed to our side with a bucket of water and set it on the floor. “I’ll get more.”Some 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. “Dad.” I gave him a nudge in the side. “Let’s try getting these stones wet.”Without 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.“This way.” 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 77.1
By now, the air was thick with smoke, but it was nothing compared to the brimstone of Hell. I’d 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.“Urus, teimas, mannaz, othala,” said the voice of an old man. “What a clever combination. Especially when crossed with wunjo and era. Yes... yes… Fine work.”My 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 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. He’d given us days five before it took control of Griff’s body and destroyed Shifter City.We’d 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 hadn’t 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. I’d 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 couldn’t find a way to stop the swarm, it wouldn’t just mean the destruction of Midgard. It could mean the end of Shifter
REJECTED MATE 76.2
The chief enforcer snorted. “I was a few years younger, but I remember you from the academy. Even back then, I knew you were destined for greatness.”My lips formed a tight line. I didn’t need to read his mind to catch his meaning. Randel couldn’t believe that a man like Griff was capable of achieving all those things without my intervention. As a member of Fenrir’s inner circle, he would have heard about our progress, but I couldn’t let him walk away believing I had done all the work.“Franklin Griffiths is more capable than any wolf. It was his knowledge and strength that got us through our trials, not just mine.”Randel 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
