REJECTED MATE のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

There was a saying in Logris that Hell was the pinnacle of pain.Whoever penned that phrase was full of bullshit. Sure, Hell was bad. It was loud and hot and filled with endless torment, and I wasn’t talking about the demons who supervised the Punishment Pits. The most torturous part of being in Hell was watching painful memories on an endless cycle of repeat.I sat in my three-foot-wide cell within Tower Thirteen- Thirteen, one of the many mega-stalagmites that made up Pit 666. The rough stone wall raked across my back, even though I was no longer in possession of a body. There was just about enough standing room in my cell to straighten my spine and stretch my legs, but that would mean bending my neck at an uncomfortable angle.When the imps weren’t taking us out for torture, this shit hole was a constant barrage of petty discomfort. Floors that grated against the skin like steel wool, a ceiling of sharp stalactites that crumbled dust in the eyes. The stick

The palace’s interior wasn’t what I had imagined based on how it looked on the outside. For starters, the hallway looked like a picture I’d once seen of Versailles. Sunlight—I have no idea where it came from—streamed in through twelve-foot-tall windows and hit a row of crystal chandeliers that took up the twenty-foot-wide space.Opulence didn’t begin to describe the life-sized gold statues of people twisted in agonizing positions, their faces forever frozen with terror. Each of them held candelabras that provided unnecessary illumination.“Wow,” said the imp. “I thought a bitch as ugly as you would gobble down my cock like it was the last salami on a smorgasbord.”The insult stung as it usually did, but it was nothing compared to a lash made of barbed flames. Nor was it as bad as what Griff had said the day he’d died. They’d called me everything when I had been alive: moose, beast, behemoth, monster. I’d heard it all.When Mum told me I took after my Dad, it was no lie. I was six-two a

Hades stepped back and gave me one of those grins that would have been frightening if my blood wasn’t already thirsting for revenge. I gazed up at the Demon King, my eyes steady, my chest rising and falling with excited breaths. Anyone looking at us would think we were a pair of maniacs. Maybe we were. Because of Griff’s calculated betrayal, I had ended up here in Hell instead of leading my pack.“Wonderful,” Hades drawled as he swept his arm toward the other side of the room. “Healer Iaso will fortify your magic and prepare you for an induction to the modern world.”He stepped back to reveal an even larger space with doors leading out on both sides. At the far end of the room were a pair of staircases on each side that led to a mezzanine. My gaze slid to a gold-framed mirror, where a short woman in a hooded cloak beckoned me over. My brows rose. Had she been standing there the entire time Hades and I had been talking?“Come along, Miss Aibek,” she said, sounding brusque.

I leaned forward, my brows furrowing, and stared at the screen. Everything we’d learned at the academyhad indicated that Fenrir was a wolf, not a shifter. He was the offspring of Loki, the Norse god of mischief, and Angrboda, a giantess also known as the mother of monsters. The only non-animal child they’d had was a daughter called Hel, a goddess who was beautiful down one side of her body but a withered corpse on the other.The man standing with Griff was more like an angel than a god. He had a mop of golden curls that framed a classically beautiful face of high cheekbones, full lips, a darker stubble, and eyes like vibrant turquoise. Men like that didn’t exist. At least not in our pack.“How did Fenrir gain a human form?” I asked.Hades folded his arms across his chest. “According to his sister, Fenrir performed a heinous act of magic to end the world.”My brows drew together. Something in his tone suggested that he thought the explanation was bullshit.“How did Griff convince a go

I ignored those three and focused my gaze on Beki. She was all that mattered. Her, and finding Griff. Hades hadn’t said it directly, but it looked like we would be able to stay together if I satisfied the Demon King’s demands. Not that I needed any incentive to cut down the mangy wolf who had broken my heart and stolen my pack, but it now meant that I couldn’t let my hatred for him compromise the mission.“Everybody, take a deep breath in.” The healer raised both hands, which each held glowing wands.I filled my lungs with air, wondering if she meant for us to inhale our wolves.“And exhale.” Bright light filled my eyes, making them water.Letting out all the air from my lungs, I blinked away the tears, only to feel a slam against my solar plexus that hit harder than any fist. I staggered back, my lips parting in a moan. The other women’s cries echoed across the room, with one of them shrieking as though someone had punched her through the ribcage.As the glare faded, I raised my hands t