Outwitted (The Rejected Mate Book 2), page 1
Outwitted
Bella Klaus
Copyright © 2021 by Bella Klaus.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Also by Bella Klaus
Chapter One
Seeing Fenrir corporeal and in the Living World was like a punch in the gut.
Correction.
It was like a punch in the gut, combined with two flying kicks in the face.
Hatred burned in his turquoise eyes, white and crackling and searing. My insides shriveled at the intensity of his gaze, losing every drop of moisture until I felt like an unmoving husk.
“How are you corporeal again?” The words tumbled from my lips.
“No apology?” he roared.
A shudder skittered down my spine, and recent events flashed before my eyes. It started with being sacrificed to Fenrir, skipped over the part where I fell in love with him, and ended with fleeing from our handfasting in a furry wedding dress.
I could already picture my future.
First, he would tear my soul from my body—the way he had when I’d died.
Next, he would drag me back to the pocket of Hell, and through the fireplace, and into that cave.
Then it would be me spending an eternity tied to that rock with venom dripping in my eyes.
The wood-paneled walls of the hearing room closed in on me like the sides of a coffin. Even the air turned thick with the weight of his animosity. It snaked around my lungs, crushing them until I struggled for air. All sense of my surroundings imploded, and it was just me and Fenrir and his thirst for revenge.
Panic muffled my ears, blocking out the murmurs of the Supernatural Council, Mum’s shouts, and the chanting of Alpha Gundahar’s shamans—I couldn’t hear anything but my rasping breaths.
Fenrir tore his gaze away from mine, and the tight band of anxiety around my chest loosened. He turned to Alpha Gundahar’s prone body, pushed him onto his front, and knelt at his side.
“I, Fenrir of the Norsemen, take your magic, your pack and your authority,” he growled at the unmoving corpse.
My throat spasmed. Why would Fenrir declare himself as the Norse alpha, when he was already their god?
With one downward thrust of his hand, he delved into the dead alpha’s chest, cracking bones with the force of his blow, and ripped out his heart.
I clapped a hand over my chest and staggered away, my back hitting a solid wall of air.
Fenrir rose to his feet, holding the heart aloft with a triumphant roar. Blood poured from the organ’s thick arteries and splattered over Fenrir’s blond curls, his bare chest, and his animal-skin pants.
My breath stilled, and my fingers curled around the flesh over my heart. He was about to show everyone that he was the ultimate alpha.
Fenrir brought the bloody organ to his mouth and took a bite.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. This was what he had wanted me to do to Beowulf? Was this what he wanted to do to me?
I blinked over and over, bringing the rest of the hearing room into focus. All the monarchs had left their high podium to stand around the ward they’d erected for the alpha challenge.
My gaze locked with Mera, whose eyes glistened with tears. Her husband, the Vampire King, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. From the way an oversized white robe hung from her body, part of me wondered if she had burned her clothes trying to come to my rescue during the fight.
King Hades was the first to speak. “What’s happening?” he snapped at Fenrir. “Why have you interfered with Queen Lydia’s alpha battle?”
Curling his lip, Fenrir hurled the bloody heart at King Hades, only for it to splatter against the invisible ward. “You betrayed me to Hel.”
King Hades raised his brows and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Interesting choice of words,” he drawled. “Betrayal suggests camaraderie, but I keep dogs as pets, not allies.”
Fenrir slammed his bloody palm on his chest and roared, “I am the new Shifter King.”
I placed a hand over my mouth, wondering what the hell that declaration meant for me—the actual Shifter Queen. The same Shifter Queen who left Fenrir in a pocket dimension when he had revealed his plan to keep me forever trapped in Hell.
The Fae King tossed his silver hair and sniffed. “You’re mistaken, Norse Alpha. The only way to become the Shifter King of Logris is by defeating Queen Lydia.”
“What are you saying?” King Hades hissed at his colleague.
“Those are the rules.” The Fae King made a shooing motion in my direction. “Fenrir of the Norsemen, if you wish to be one of us, you must destroy the previous queen and sit through a tedious coronation.”
I clenched my teeth, my veins burning with hatred for the wretched faerie. He sounded like getting crowned was a worse fate than my murder. If I ever got the opportunity, I would tear off his butterfly wings with my teeth.
Fenrir turned to me with those smoldering eyes, his gaze roving up and down my body before lingering on my face. “A female alpha may concede to her mate.”
The Fae King turned to me, his brows raised. “Did you really mate with this individual?”
My breath stilled. A denial rose to my lips. Fenrir and I hadn’t once mated—we’d barely even kissed. My wolf struggled within her bonds, trying to break free from the enchantment the shamans had placed to stop her from helping me in the fight. Even with the magic around her muzzle, I could translate her low warning growls.
Play along with Fenrir, or else.
I nodded.
The Fae King huffed. “Those antiquated rules might fly in Scandinavia, but not here in Logris. If you don’t defeat Queen Lydia the conventional way, you don’t get to rule our shifters.”
“You’re just making up the rules,” Mera yelled from the other side of the ward.
“Could someone with more than a century of existence explain the rules to this petulant child?” asked the Fae King.
I tore my gaze away from the faerie, swearing revenge. Fenrir stalked toward me, making every muscle in my body stiffen. My wolf broke through her bonds and leaped to her feet, panting rapidly, the way she used to whenever Beowulf was in the room. My jaw tightened. Didn’t she know we were in the biggest trouble of our lives?
“Do you concede, Alpha?” Fenrir asked from between clenched teeth.
I raised my chin, unable to speak, my entire body shivering with a mix of anticipation and fear. Even with the power he had given me and the help of my newly liberated wolf, I had no way of defeating a Norse god.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, curled his fingers, and pulled back the magic he had given me. My stomach lurched, and rapid breaths whistled in and out of my nostrils.
“Do you concede?” he asked again, this time with more bite.
“What are you going to do to me?” My voice wavered.
Fenrir leaned in and whispered so low I could barely hear the words. “Concede, or I will withdraw the magic that’s keeping you alive. Concede, or I will leave your soul to the reapers who wanted to drag you to Hell.”
Knots of anxiety knitted though my insides, making me wince. “Will you return me to the pocket dimension?”
“I will if you don’t concede,” he snarled into my ear.
My stomach dropped. Fenrir’s little hut was nice enough, but it also led to a creepy cave I never wished to see again. I drew back, bringing his furious features into focus.
“Alright,” I said loud enough for my voice to carry across the small courtroom. “I concede my place as the alpha of Logris.”
A smattering of applause filled the room. I narrowed my eyes, looking around for who could be celebrating my defeat, only to find the Fae King grinning as though he’d just watched the most exciting courtroom drama.
King Hades stood at his side, his brows furrowed into a frown. “Since the former Queen Lydia has been divested of her throne, perhaps you can hand her over to me as a pet?”
My breath caught. Was the Demon King trying to save me, or was he taking advantage? Neither option seemed as harrowing as staying at Fenrir’s side.
Fenrir growled and pulled me into his blood-spattered chest. “Lydia belongs to me. And as the new Shifter King, I demand that you restore the wards around the village of Lunaris to exclude all outsiders, including the members of the Supernatural Council.”
“Why would you request such segregation?” King Hades asked.
Fenrir pointed at King Hades with another snarl. “If you move against me again, I will take that as a declaration of war on all shifters, and my subjects will react with force.”
My shoulders sagged. At this rate, I might never escape Fenrir’s thirst for vengeance.
King Hades raised his brows, feigning a l
The Angel King stepped forward, his palms raised in a sign of peace. “There’s no need for animosity, Fenrir. Let’s get you sworn in, and we’ll set the wards. But please consider that most of the other supernatural species have already left Logris for other locations. Wimbledon Common or Kew Gardens is ready for the shifters—”
“Swear me in,” Fenrir growled.
For the next few minutes, I had to endure watching Fenrir take everything I held dear—the leadership of the pack, my crown, and my alpha magic. I turned around, looking for Mum, but she was already deep in conversation with Mera and her husband, King Valentine.
My throat thickened. These two monarchs were the most reasonable on the Supernatural Council. When Dad had been killed, King Valentine had paid Mum’s hospital bills and wanted to bring her into his village, Lamia, but Mum had refused because she didn’t want anyone to know about the bargain she had made with a primordial force of evil to bring back her lost daughter.
Me.
Because of Mum’s deal with the demon, my wolf wasn’t strictly a lupine, but a flying, fire-breathing creature of Hellish origin.
My wolf preened at the description, seeming the happiest I’d felt her since our unfortunate sexual encounter with Beowulf. I glanced to the other side of the courtroom, where Beowulf sat hunched in his cage.
Beowulf had also made a deal with the same demon. He had bargained to become a wolf shifter with the power to be an alpha. In exchange, he would create a vessel powerful enough to house the demon’s soul by impregnating the demon’s daughter.
Again, me.
Or rather, my wolf.
That was the reason we had been linked by a cord as thick as my thumb, where others had been as thin as a length of string. It was also the reason Beowulf had ordered my death. He wanted to enjoy the status of an alpha but without fulfilling his end of the bargain. Now, he was stripped of his wolf, his ill-begotten magic, and his ability to get an erection.
I had no idea what the demon would do to him for failing to mate with me, but I had bigger problems.
“I proclaim you King Fenrir, Monarch of Lunaris, the Shifter King.” said the Angel King, his declaration pulling me out of my thoughts.
Fenrir grabbed the side of my face with his bloody hands and brought his lips down for a mockery of a kiss. It was hot and hard and full of hatred, a threat of how he was going to make me suffer for running out on him.
My entire body went limp. He wasn’t just my alpha or my king who had declared himself as my mate. He was the god of all wolves, and likely the most powerful shifter walking this earth.
He pulled back and glowered at me with an even greater loathing. His lips parted, baring sharp white teeth that were still stained with Alpha Gundahar’s blood.
“Fenrir?” Mum’s voice broke.
His head tilted to the side, his features twisted into a scowl.
Mum rushed at him with her arms outstretched, and wrapped herself around his broad torso. “Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.” She drew back, staring up at him with tearful admiration. “I’m so delighted she’s found such a handsome and powerful mate.”
Fenrir’s confused features melted into a soft smile. “You’re welcome, Sybil.”
Mum’s cheeks turned pink. “You even know my name!”
“Of course.” He stepped back and offered Mum his elbow. “I have long admired your magical knowledge and prowess. How would you like the position of our pack’s high shaman?”
My brows rose. He talked as though he’d been watching over us for years, when the first time he even saw Mum was the night of my murder. Also, since when was Fenrir a gentleman?
Mum took Fenrir’s arm, and they swept across the courtroom, leaving me gaping at their backs. Blinking over and over, I tried to clear my vision. Mum must have been at the pollen again because she completely missed the animosity roiling beneath Fenrir’s friendly facade. Or maybe he’d dazzled her with his valiant rescue and his declaration that I was his mate.
I was about to follow them, when Mera grabbed my arm.
“You don’t have to go with them,” she whispered. “Come to Hyde Park. Valentine and I will keep you safe in his palace.”
I turned to watch Fenrir step out of the courtroom with Mum staring up at him as though he was a celestial being, sent down from Heaven to save us all. My lips pursed. Even though she had been suspicious of Fenrir when I’d told her about him, she looked completely entranced by his daring rescue.
Grog, Alpha Gundahar’s pet shaman, had disappeared, leaving his colleagues behind. Each of Grog’s protégées lowered themselves into deep bows.
“He’s got my mum,” I muttered.
“But he didn’t look at her the way he glared at you,” Mera said, her voice cracking. “Please, don’t refuse my offer of help. I have no idea what these male wolves think they’re doing, but I couldn’t forgive myself if you got killed.”
I met her crystal-blue eyes. Eyes that shimmered with tears and pleaded for me to listen. A lump formed in the back of my throat. If I had listened to her the first time, I would have avoided the Wolf Moon Mixer, and would never have gotten myself into this entire mess.
But how could I tell Mera I was already dead?
King Hades strolled to my other side, filling my nostrils with the scent of brimstone. “Your mother makes her own choices, and she has proven her ability to survive the most dire of situations. Stay here with us, and we’ll keep you safe.”
A snarl reverberated from deep within my soul. It was my wolf, telling me not to believe the Demon King.
Mera took my hand. “If you come to Kensington Palace with Valentine and me, you won’t even have to deal with Hades.”
My shoulders sagged. Mera meant well, and under any other circumstances, I might have taken her up on her offer. The last thing I wanted to admit was that, without Fenrir, I would die. His power was the only thing standing between staying alive and an eternity in Hell.
Fenrir’s warning growl made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I turned back to the entrance to find him waiting for me with Mum by a door labelled MIRRORS.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ve got to go,” I whispered to Mera.
Her small hand tightened around my wrist. “If you step into Lunaris, none of us will be able to come after you.”
King Hades hummed his agreement. “The wards are now at maximum strength. They won’t allow anyone but shifters to enter without Fenrir’s explicit approval.”
Sweat broke out across my brow, and my stomach made a free-fall toward my feet. This was my last chance. Was I better off alive and suffering whatever torments Fenrir had planned for me, or dead in Hell, where demons would torture me for an eternity?
I glanced at Mum, who beckoned and smiled. A tiny spark of hope ignited in my chest. Maybe the happiness was all a big act, and she’d already hatched a plan to free me from Fenrir’s wrath.
“Lydia?” Mera said.
“Then I’ll have to be trapped.” Breaking away from the smaller woman’s hold, I jogged across the hallway, where Fenrir continued to fix me with that heated stare.
My wolf wagged her tail and yipped, making my insides twist with trepidation. She had no idea what was happening—after suffering Beowulf’s rejection, all she could see was a handsome and powerful wolf who wanted us.
Mum opened the door to the mirror room and stepped inside, revealing a space around the size of my bathroom, covered in mirrors of all shapes and sizes. A pair of guards in black uniforms stood to attention, and the smaller of them ushered her toward a standing mirror with an ornate gold frame.
Fenrir stood at the door as still as a predator waiting to pounce and with a glare sharp enough to slice my throat. “You took your time.”
My steps slowed as I approached him, and my fingers reached for my collarbones. “I came, didn’t I?”
