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Chapter 9
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REJECTED MATE Chapter 9.1
The footsteps paused.“Good evening, ladies,” he said.“Are you going to do anything about those girls who ganged up on me?” Larissa asked.“I reprimanded them,” Griff replied. “The Hellfire Pack is about uniting wolves, not tearing ourselves apart.”I snorted.“Do you have something to say?”Blinking, I turned my gaze to Griff, and held my features in a mask of boredom. Griff looked at me, his gaze penetrating. I’d seen that expression before. It had appeared earlier on in our ill-fated relationship, when he’d tried to work out my psyche like the Supernatural Times crossword puzzle.“Oh, I thought you were someone else.” I glanced over his shoulder, acting as though I found the sight of elephant shifters at the door of Coyote Wicked fascinating.“That’s what you’ve got to say to a man you kicked in the balls?”My gaze turned back to him. “That was you?” “Have we met before?” he asked with a frown.“Hard to tell,” I drawled. “There isn’t much to make you different from the average wolf
REJECTED MATE Chapter 9.2
“Early,” he spluttered. “It’s ten o’clock and nobody turned up for brunch.”I glanced over my shoulder and met Larissa’s curious gaze. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”“He just makes things up to suit his stupid bar,” she said. Don saved me from asking when he said, “How am I going to pay the staff when you’ve chased away the Hellfire Pack?”“Have you thought about letting them keep their tips?” “Shh.” Larissa rushed down the stairs of the top bunk andran to my side. “Don, is there anything you need from us?” “One or both of you is going to the Hellfire Pack andapologizing for last night’s disgraceful display. Then, if they agree to patronize us for brunch, I want you two to serve them.”My shoulders sagged. “You can’t be serious. After what they did—”“If you two can’t understand that I’m running a business, then you can pack your bags and return to the employment exchange.”I was almost tempted to tell him where to stick his job, but Beki gave me a sharp bark and brought
REJECTED MATE Chapter 10
A sharp breath whistled through my teeth, and I glanced around Coyote Willy’s interior. Everyone sitting around the bar now turned around, their gazes fixed on me. Even Ruby and Marianna were there, eating with the Hellfire Pack and smirking at how I’d screwed up my chance of redemption.Griff’ stepped toward me, his presence a festering wound. It ached and pulsed for attention. But none of that mattered right now because I’d set back our mission.“Did you hear me?” Don roared and pointed at the back door. “Out! You’re no longer an employee of mine.”Larissa rushed to his side and grabbed his arm. “Please, Don. She didn’t mean—”“Enough,” he snapped.She released him and turned to me, her brown eyes burning with accusation.My throat thickened. I couldn’t blame her. We were already behind the other team in our mission to infiltrate the Hellfire Pack and find its secrets, and now I’d set us back several steps. The pulse between my ears pounded hard enough to make my skull vibrat
REJECTED MATE Chapter 10.1
Behind the street was the black dome that concealed the Hellfire Pack’s territory. I ran alongside it, my nostrils filling with the scent of strong magic. There was no trace of the ozone that came with angelic wards, so I had to assume that Griff had employed a witch to construct the magical barrier. Multiple witches. No single person could create something so large.As I reached the twisted oak Don had said was the pack’s intercom system, a faint curl of Hellfire twisted around my senses. It hadn’t exactly been smoke or flame, but it was a hint of power that could only come from one place.It was as thick as a regular oak tree but with limbs that twisted in all directions, like how I might expect the snakes to appear on the head of a gorgon. Some of the branches trailed onto the floor, making it possible for even a wolf to climb to the top.I darted past the oak and into the woods. Considering that this part of Shifter City had once been the mage village Natura and used to be covered in
REJECTED MATE Chapter 10.2
The food weighed heavily in my belly, and every muscle in my body relaxed with a sense of contentment. This was how life should have been. Tranquil days in nature, relaxing after a successful hunt, and returning to rule over the pack with my mate.Beki whined her agreement.Griff nestled against her again and licked at her snout.She nuzzled back and let our eyes fall shut.At some point during the night, a breeze caressed my bare skin. I must have shifted back while Beki had fallen into a slumber.The forest was alive with the melody of cracking twigs, chirping cicadas, and the occasional hoot of an owl. I shifted on my side, finding my head resting on the crook of Griff’s shoulder. His arm wrapped around my back, keeping me pressed to his side.Every muscle in my body relaxed in the cocoon of his embrace, and I exhaled a contented sigh. Lying here felt so right, so perfect, that I didn’t dare rise from this blissful state.My arm twitched, and my hand glided down Griff’s
REJECTED MATE Chapter 11
Griff wheeled my case through Coyote Willy’s backyard and down the street. I trotted at his side, my heart thrumming with promise. Larissa was going to be overjoyed when she discovered I’d infiltrated the Hellfire pack. She would act as my controller and relay messages to Hades. She would get to stay in the World of the Living, and if I was successful, she would share in my reward.A few of the women milling in and out of the stores checked out his muscular physique, but apart from that, nobody gave a shit that he was stark-bollock naked. But then, this was Shifter City.According to the intel we’d been given, everyone who lived here was either a shifter or had descended from one. Only the very rich could afford clothing enchanted to form smart collars when you shifted into your alternate self and to snap back into place around your human form when you shifted back. I doubted that magical technology had changed that much over the four decades.Instead of walking in the direction of t
REJECTED MATE Chapter 11.1
Griff’s amber eyes met mine, and he gazed at me with an intensity that made my insides melt like wax candles. “There’s something about you that I can’t resist,” he said. “And if I let you return to Albion and never see you again, I might regret it for the rest of my life.”My throat tightened. He was dead, and I’d killed him. I’d even danced on his charred remains. How on earth had he escaped and gotten himself a body? There was no way of asking unless I wanted to arouse suspicion.“Got anything to say?” He drifted toward me, his brows raised.“About?”The air became thick with tension, and the weight of his heated stare pulled my gaze down his naked body. Griff stood before me, his breath quickening, his broad chest heaving.In the tent’s dim light, every muscle on his torso was more defined. He was a living, breathing, e gy of perfection.The pulse between my legs pounded so hard that I had to squeeze my thighs together to mu½e the sound. But that only sent a pleasure bursting
REJECTED MATE Chapter 11.2
“And Neutrals?” I asked. “Same thing.”“Alpha.” A wolf in overalls jogged up to us, his eyes bright.He was decent-looking if you thought flower-power was cool, with caramel-colored hair that flowed down his chest and a beard that reached his collarbones. Like Griff, he was six-four, but he didn’t have the bulk to carry off the height. He wore a long necklace of what looked like finger bones with a piece of quartz that hung halfway down his abs. I wondered if he was the pack shaman.“Rocco, this is Katie.” Griff clapped me on the shoulder. “She’s going to take care of Bonnie.”“Cool.” His gaze swept up and down my form, licked his lips, and then fixed me with a gap-toothed grin. “Welcome to the Hellfire pack.”Griff’s hands-off growl had the slighter wolf stepping back and dipping his head in a display of submission.I wasn’t about to preen at the possessive display. Not when I was in a borrowed body, and especially not when it came from a duplicitous wolf like Griff. Ignoring them, I gl
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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
