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Chapter 29
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REJECTED MATE Chapter 29.1
By now, the clouds had lightened and thinned, flooding the terrain with light.I clenched my teeth, wishing we could have traveled under the cover of semi-darkness, but Griff had been too feverish and unreasonable to be moved until now. And since I wasn’t sure if our bottomless water canteen’s magic would continue to work in Hell, we couldn’t wait any longer unless we wanted to drain away what was left of our strength.As we approached the demons from a hundred feet away, I ordered Glinda to pause.Twelve of them stood before a small cave within a large rock. From the outside, it looked like its surface had a hairline crack, but having exited through it, I now knew that to be a special ward.I chewed the inside of my cheek. “How on earth did the demons work out the location of the entrance?”“Someone told them,” Griff said, his voice heavy with accusation.“You had better not be talking about me.” I leaned against Griff’s broad back and whispered, “Throw the rocks on the rock’s other
REJECTED MATE Chapter 29.2
Out of the corner of my eyes, I was sure Griff was giving Glinda silent signals to giddy up, but she was my special friend, not his. And there was no way she would abandon me inside a creepy tunnel. I mounted again, this time, keeping my hands on my thighs.He shot me a filthy glance. “Too proud to hold onto me?”“Actually,” I said with a yawn. “I think I can do better.”Ignoring his low growl, I got Glinda to continue up the gentle slope. She broke into a gentle run that became faster and faster and faster, as though the ground had turned into a travelator and was propelling her forward by magic.My eyes fluttered shut, and the muscles around my chest finally loosened enough for me to exhale. That little trip to Hell had been more emotionally grueling than the Punishment Pits. At least in Tower 1313, I knew exactly what to expect.All the exhaustion I had held at bay while Griff had been recovering from his wounds rushed back, and I slumped against his broad body.“It is time for us
REJECTED MATE Chapter 30
I was about to dismount, when Griff whirled on me, his teeth bared. “You did this.”I reared back. “How could you possibly—”With a roar, he cut off my words and leaped several feet through the air, interrupting whatever I was about to say and knocking me off Glinda’s back. I fell onto the grass with a heavy thud and an infuriated Griff cutting off my air with his weight.“What did you do?” he snarled, rolling me onto my back.I tried to buck him off, but his hands tightened around my neck. He was just holding me in place, so I wouldn’t escape, but he sat on top of my lungs, and I was struggling for air.“Stop.” I tried to jerk to the side.Griff followed my movements as I thrashed from left to right, holding onto me with his powerful leg muscles as though he’d spent his entire life taming buckaroo horses.“Answer me,” he roared.“Trying to,” I said with my last breath.He finally got the message and shifted his weight onto his knees, but he still pinned me down by the shoulders.I gl
REJECTED MATE Chapter 30.1
Griff stopped the Range Rover as close as he could get to the stage, opened the door, and stormed out without a glance in my direction.I glared at his back, wishing I could set it alight with the force of my hatred, but then my body unfastened my seatbelt and hurried after him.Crowds shoved at either side of me, jostling me from left to right. I couldn’t shove anyone aside because the arrogant, pack-stealing bastard hadn’t given me back control of my arms.Up on the stage, Fenrir stood between his mate, Lydia, and the clean-cut blond wolf Hades had shown us on the slide show. Apart from a blonde shamaness, a pair of mischievous looking twins, and a few enforcers, the entire platform was crowded with young women.My lip curled. All that effort for one boy who was probably basking in all that female attention. Gerrison hadn’t made men compete for my hand in marriage, but then Griff had come along and had made his intentions clear.I finally made my way through the crowd and stopped at
REJECTED MATE Chapter 31
Fenrir’s threat hung over us like a giant guillotine. Swaying on my feet, my gaze locked with Griff’s as he gaped at me, open-mouthed. Maybe he had expected Fenrir to swoop down on me with the wrath of the Norse gods and toss me out of Shifter City to meet my fate with the Demon King. From the shock on his features, he hadn’t imagined Fenrir would make us work together.“Your Majesty,” Griff said, still looking at me as though I was the agent of his death, which I was, but even he had to admit that I had also saved his life. “I can’t work with Cathwulf, she’s a—”“Murderer?” Fenrir growled.“Yes.” My mate turned to look the wolf god full in the face. “She attacked without mercy. I told you how bad it was.”“You did.” Fenrir placed a hand on Griff’s shoulder.In the midst of my panic, part of me took stock at the sheer beauty of these wolves. They were opposites. While Griff was dark haired with golden skin and tight-fitting clothes to accentuate every muscle on his delectable body, Fe
REJECTED MATE Chapter 31.1
“He’s smuggling us out of Shifter City.” Griff pulled me tighter to his body and shifted. “Demon enforcers always get a little jumpy after our runs and search vehicles going in and out of the wards.”I huffed a laugh. “Do they think anyone would transport souls in a car?”“It’s their way of saying they know Fenrir’s behind the raids,” he growled. “Now shut up.”The engine rumbled beneath us, and Griff scooted backward, pulling me with him. With each movement, my ass bounced against his hardening bulge, and the trunk became too hot, too cramped, too intimate.His cedar and woodsmoke scent curled around my senses, awakening parts of me that should have lain dead. Even though I hated Griff with every fiber of my psyche, my body hadn’t gotten the message and longed for his hands to wander.My nostrils flared. “What do you think you’re doing?”“There’s a second compartment in Beowulf’s trunk,” Griff said, as he continued shifting, his body lighting up my pleasure centers like a New Year’s
REJECTED MATE Chapter 31.2
“Let go of me, you dick.” I snatched my hand away. Why did he even give a shit?He rang the doorbell, but it made the kind of ominous sound I’d only heard in Hammer House of Horror movies. “That thing arranged Lydia’s murder and the sacrifice of her wolf.”I glanced over my shoulder at the dark-haired figure sitting in the front of the cab. “Why on earth would he have done something so cruel?”“The details are murky, but if you know what’s good for you, stay away from Beowulf Kenneally.”There had to be more to this story. For starters, Lydia looked alive and happy and in love with Fenrir. I was pretty sure that the shamaness up on the stage had been Gerrison’s wife, Aunt Sybil. But just because someone was in the living world didn’t mean they weren’t dead.“If Wulfie was that bad, then why would Fenrir call him to transport us?” I asked.“He wouldn’t risk any self-respecting shifter on such a dangerous task.”I was about to remind Griff that Fenrir had sent us out while the demons we
REJECTED MATE Chapter 32
I turned to where Griff stood by the tree and swings, my brows raised. Why wasn’t he using his charm on the old crone to get her to find an alternative solution? It was as through the mention of faeries had put him into a state of shock.Perhaps he was thinking about the awful bargain he’d made with them to spare his father. Perhaps he was reliving what the faeries had made him do when they discovered he would never have a first-born to pay off his debts.Clearing my throat, I turned to meet Demeter’s cornflower-blue eyes. Within those irises were a multitude of colors—golds, greens, and glimpses of white that made them look like a washed-out globe of the world. Perhaps once she had been an earth goddess, but whatever had happened to her had left her devoid of magic.“How did you build the tunnels in the first place?” I asked.She exhaled a long breath, her shoulders sagging. “Back when I had my powers, I only needed to look at a seed, and it would grow.”“All right,” I said with a no
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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
