Alpha Hell: A Dark Rejected Mates Romance (The Rejected Mate Series Book 1)

by G. Bailey

  He moves closer to me, lining up our bodies, and the disgusting thoughts circling in his head are written on his face as clear as day. This asshole better back off. He can’t touch me; his father himself accepted me into the pack, which means I have the alpha’s protection until he isn’t alpha anymore. Of course, I worry about what will happen to me if the next alpha, AKA Dumb or his brother, Dumber, become alpha. But that won’t be for some time yet. Right now, my focus is to get this unwanted paw off my body.

  At the sight of me trying to wiggle my arm free, his smirk deepens into a malicious smile. He tightens his grip and pulls me closer, bringing his lips to my ear.

  “You and I both know no one would notice if you went missing. You are just the outcast, the red wolf in a pack of white purebreds.” He jolts me harder against him, his hands leaving bruises on my arm, but I refuse to turn away, to even wince at the pain. “Actually, that begs the question as to why you are still here. I’m surprised my father let you into the academy at all, half-breed.”

  Searing rage slams into me at the insult. Half-breed is the delightful nickname purebreds use for wolves like me; a subtle reminder of our so-called inferiority. Well, that’s what they like to think. Anyone who’s called me a half-breed usually walks away with a black eye.

  I ball my hands into fists. “Maybe your dear father likes my mum a little too much. He does always seem to be admiring her.”

  The wolf’s smile fades, and I inwardly chuckle at his stupid expression. So easily provoked, these young alphas. However, my satisfaction is short-lived. With a growl, he slams me into the wall, and I gasp from the impact. He presses his thick forearm against my neck, holding me in place, and the air dies in my lungs.

  “Is that… any way… to treat a lady?” I choke out, unsure why I’m using my last breaths to anger him further. Then again, the fury burning on his gaze does make my sacrifice worth it. Besides, it’s not like I’m unused to assholes like this one asserting their authority over me. Alphas love putting unruly wolves like me in their place.

  Too bad I’ve never quite learned how to stay in mine.

  Despite the black spots seeping into my vision, I stare up at him, wondering what exactly he’s going to do. One thing is for sure—this dickwad has solidified my desire to leave his pack as soon as possible. I’ll never follow an alpha who treats their packmates this way.

  “Do you want to die, half-breed?” he growls.

  I resist the urge to give him a sarcastic reply. I may be brave, but as my brother puts it, I can be pretty stupidly brave.

  And I know that challenging an alpha son is really not a good idea.

  I might be able to fight well, thanks to all the training the Academy has taught me. But even I know that you can’t beat a guy twice your size in a small corridor like this, with no weapons on me, and his forearm pressed on my windpipe.

  He gazes down at me and raises an eyebrow, but something burns on my arm.

  In the corner of my eye, my wolf mark in the middle of my arm burns vividly. The swirls that form a wolf shape glow a deep, vibrant red, at first burning painfully but they quickly fade into a dull ache that fills my entire body.

  Mathi follows my gaze to the mark and smiles.

  “Seems like your parents are calling you home,” he snarls, loosening the pressure on my throat. “Did your mum’s mate ever realise that you weren’t his?”

  This asshole knows damn well my dad knows I’m not his. I was conceived and born before my mum ever mated. Everyone in the pack knows it. It was a big scandal, and to this day I still hear the boring wolves talking about it. Caeli wolves love to gossip because they have nothing better to do.

  I grit my teeth at the jab. “Fuck. Off.”

  He raises his free hand as if to strike me. I don’t flinch, and that seems to piss him off. He grabs me by the scruff of the neck and slams me against the wall again, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Go back to your little family, half-breed. But just remember that when I’m alpha, your kind will never be welcome here.” He releases me with a derisive scoff. “Off you go now, run back home.”

  I don’t reply despite the tinge of fear that his threat elicits in me. My wolf, however, bares her teeth and snaps her jaw at him in retaliation. I need to get out of here before I shift and try to take on an alpha twice my size. The fading burn from my family’s mark sears in my mind, screaming down to my soul for me to move.

  Biting back my spiteful retort, I jog down the corridor and take a left out of the noisy house, dodging students who whistle and tease me. The cool night air lifts my hair over my shoulders when I step onto the porch. I take a deep breath and jog into the snowy outskirts that surround the house. Snow-capped trees line the distance, and I make a break for them. The cold doesn’t bother me, even when I duck behind a tree and strip off. Once I’m fully naked, I bundle my clothes into a ball and shove them into the small bag I always carry with me.

  I rest my head against the tree and gaze up at the moon cutting through the frozen leaves. My breath comes out in puffs of smoke, and for a moment I stay there, thinking about how much I’d have liked to punch that alpha-hole in the throat.

  But my family needs me.

  I dig my feet into the earth and arch forward, spreading my fingers through the snow. Shifting is an effortless, painless task for me, almost like breathing. I transform into my wolf easily, letting my body change until my red paws sink into the ground. Picking the bag up with my fangs, I run through the forest back towards the towering academy hidden in a clearing shrouded in blankets of untouched snow. It’s eerily silent at this time of night. Most people are sleeping, and those who find themselves awake under the light of the moon, venture into the woods to hunt.

  The side door of the academy is always left open, and I slip through it. The wood corridors echo every hit of my wolf’s claws on them as we dodge around corridors of lockers. We keep running until we get to the main stairs and head straight up to our room and pause. My wolf drops my bag on the floor, and we use our advanced hearing to make sure no one is around before shifting back. Most wolves don’t care about nudity, but I’m not one of them.

  I unlock my door and head inside with my bag, quickly getting back into my jeans, plain black tee-shirt and boots. I search the messy floor for my phone next. I push a few items of clothing around before I find it and try ringing my parents, but it goes straight to voicemail. I ring my adopted elder brother, but again, straight to voicemail. My family are bloody useless with phones. Instead of trying to keep ringing them, I decide I might as well just go and see them since it’s not too far to walk. It’s a weird thing for them to use a wolf call with my mark, but I’m sure everything is fine, even if something in the back of my mind doesn’t think so. My mum never uses the mark to summon me, and my dad definitely hasn’t done it. He likes to pretend I don’t exist. That only leaves my brother, but Leo’s too busy working as a new demon hunter to bother summoning me. I guess there’s only one way to get to the bottom of this.

  Time to go home and see what the hell is going on.

  Chapter 2

  Lilith Thornblood

  Burning leaves.

  It’s all I can smell when I emerge from the trees surrounding my childhood home. The scent clings to my snow-covered fur and permeates the night air like a sceptic perfume. I pause on the outskirts of the forest and lift my head towards the sky. A stiff breeze sweeps over me and carries the scent downwind, meaning it’s coming from the direction of my house.

  The scent can only belong to a Stormfire wolf, but why would one of them trespass into our territory? Unless my parents invited them. Could that be why I’ve been summoned?

  I slip out of the trees and run across the field towards my home. The three-storey, red-brick building has been in my family for generations. The slanted roof is covered in a thick blanket of snow, and icicles dangle from the gutters to overshadow the wooden porch. My dad’s car is parked in the driveway, and the shed, which we use for sh
ifting, has been left open.

  Slowing my gait, I scan the ground. Fresh paw prints. They’re triple the size of my own when I step into them. I take a cautious sniff, and sure enough, burning leaves cling to the indentations.

  I hurry into the shed and shift back. Rummaging through my bag, I dress quickly, lock the door behind me, and climb the porch steps. Only the kitchen light is on. Mum must be cooking dinner. My stomach clenches, and a feeling of dread washes over me when I touch the door.

  Someone with magic has been there. The only creatures who can use magic nowadays are demons. Not even the headmaster at the academy is able to cast spells; he has to summon a demon to do it for him.

  I take a deep breath and open the front door. One step, two steps over the threshold, and my heart clenches at what I see inside our little kitchen. My mother, held by the throat by the largest man I’ve ever seen, and my father standing beside her as pale as a ghost. The unfamiliar male towers several feet above the both of them, and his grasp on my mum’s throat.

  “Welcome home, Lilith Thornblood.”

  His deep, powerful voice sends a shiver running down the length of my spine. He’s completely naked from the waist up. His torso is covered in symbolic tattoos the same black colour as his hair. Thick gold bands encircle his arms, and a black medallion with a ruby centre hands around his neck. The jewel glows just like his crimson eyes, all of them cutting into me like molten shards.

  “I believe introductions are in order,” he says, flashing the tip of his fangs in a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

  My mother’s wide, terrified ones never leave my face. It kills me to see her so afraid. Even my dad has cowered a little in size; a gesture meant to convey submission in the presence of an alpha.

  “I know who you are.”

  He lifts a scarred brow. “Oh?”

  I peel my gaze from the hand on my mother’s throat to glare at him. “You’re the alpha of Stormfire. You guard the Gates of Hell. Apparently, you have quite the temper and once wiped out an entire pack just because their alpha stole from you.”

  The alpha inclines his head. “The very one.”

  He regards me through the barest slits of his eyes. A minute shake of his head threatens disappointment as he looks at me. Look isn’t quite the right word. The Stormfire alpha is dissecting me into pieces, stripping me naked with his gaze until I’m only flesh and blood. From his stony expression, I appeal less to him than a mildly interesting object, and for some insane reason it raises my hackles.

  Despite everything my parents and pack have taught me, I make a point of holding the alpha’s gaze as boldly and firmly as he holds mine. “What do you want?” I practically spit out at him.

  My dad crosses the length of the kitchen and slaps me so quickly I stumble back in surprise, my body thudding into the back of the door. I’m used to his temper, and his fists, but still, I didn’t expect this hit.

  “Show the alpha some goddamn respect!”

  The impact forces me to break eye contact, but not before I catch sight of the alpha’s eyes glowing a deep shade of black.

  “Touch her again and you’ll lose more than a hand.” He adds just the slightest bit of pressure to my mum’s throat, and the tips of his claws dent her skin.

  She doesn’t so much as draw a single breath. Dad takes a big step back from me in fear for my mum, his mate’s, life.

  The alpha cuts his gaze to me. “Come.”

  He drags my mum from the kitchen, and my dad slowly takes up the rear, his expression a little grimmer than before. My heart thrashes so violently I can scarcely make out their footsteps as they head into the dining room. For a moment I just stand there in the kitchen, and then I follow suit, each step laced with a growing, burning hatred for this alpha. And my dad. Why is he letting this alpha treat my mum this way? It’s almost like he couldn’t care less about her. While he’s always been like that towards me, he’s never disrespected my mum. I don’t even care if he’s only doing it because there’s an alpha in our home. It’s unacceptable.

  If my mum didn’t appear so terrified in the alpha’s presence, I’d grab a knife from the kitchen and swing at the alpha, then I’d take my mum away where my dad can never find her again. She’s always deserved better than him.

  We both deserve better.

  Once I reach our open-plan living room, everyone is seated at the dining table; the alpha where my dad would usually sit, my mum beside him. I sweep my gaze over the surface, unsurprised to find it set for only one. Of course the alpha would eat before any of us. It’s customary in packs that alphas should eat first and, usually, alone. With a wave of his tattooed hand, a thin chain slithers around my mum’s wrist. It wraps around the table leg, binding her to the alpha’s side. She glances at me standing in the doorway, her eyes wide and stark with fear, and more searing-hot fury consumes me.

  The alpha pulls out a chair and gestures to it dismissively. “By all means, have a seat.”

  Everything about this male pisses me off. From the arrogant way he struts around my home like he owns it, to the manner in which he curls the edge of his lips and looks at me like I’m a piece of meat… So typical of every other alpha out there, and yet so, so much worse.

  He doesn’t even wait to see if I’ll obey his command. With not a care in the world, he claims the seat at the other end of the table and reaches for the bottle of red wine. My dad sits across from my mum, leaving only the pulled-out chair at the end for me. My every instinct screams to shift and challenge this alpha, but I’m not an idiot. Not only does he hold my mother prisoner, but I’m willing to bet his wolf is three times the size of mine. I’d be dead before I could so much as sink my teeth into his throat.

  There’s really nothing for it. If I’m to figure out what the hell is going on and get my parents out of this alive, I need to play nicely; something I’ve failed to do so far in my eighteen years.

  I settle down on the opposite side. The silence is so tense I could cut it with the alpha’s butterknife. Instead, I lift my eyes from the polished surface of the table and look at him.

  “Why are you here?” I repeat, ensuring my voice is firm. “And what do you want?”

  My dad slams his fist on the table and prepares to stand. “Dammit, child! How many times have I told you? Do not speak unless spoken—”

  The alpha’s voice stops him. Dad freezes in his half-crouched position, and his worried eyes flick to the other end of the table.

  “You’d do well to follow your own advice, Valerio.” The alpha narrows his eyes on me. “At any rate, I see no problem in answering her questions. She is my mate, is she not?”

  Chapter 3

  Lilith Thornblood

  It’s clearly a rhetorical question, one that sends my heart shooting to the pit of my stomach. Did he just say what I think he did? My pulse skyrockets, and I clench my hands underneath the table. For the first time since entering the dining room, my mother isn’t looking at me. It’s as if she can’t bring herself to. I’ve never seen my mum as anything but the beautiful and graceful wolf with long white hair I wish I had. I can’t ever remember seeing my mum scared or weak. I know her expression scares me far more than the alpha behind her and calling me his mate could ever do.

  “I’m here to collect what’s mine.” The alpha pours himself a glass of wine and sniffs the contents before taking a sip. His eyes cut over the glass to me. “That would be you.”

  A nervous laugh bubbles in my chest and quickly escapes my lips. “W-what? You can’t be serious?” I glance at my mum, my chest rising unevenly. “Mum, what the hell is going on?”

  But she doesn’t say a word. The colour has completely drained from her face. She seems like she’s about to be sick.

  “One thing you should know about me, little mate,” the alpha says in a dangerously low voice, dragging my attention back to him, “is that I am only ever serious. You belong to me and you are my fated mate. The Crescent Mother wills it.”

  The glimmer of
anxiety that had gripped me a moment ago vanishes, replaced with more searing-hot anger.

  “I don’t belong to anyone,” I spit back at him. “Especially not a wolf who came here uninvited and raised his own hands to my mother!”

  He picks up my mum’s favourite cutlery and begins cutting his meat. “Who says I came here uninvited?”

  My dad shifts nervously, and my mum’s face turns a violent shade of red. This doesn’t make any sense. If they invited him, why would he threaten to hurt my mum? There’s no way my mum would invite the alpha of another pack to our home. It’s unheard of unless it’s to the house of another alpha. And as much as my dad likes to pretend he’s an alpha behind closed doors, he’s nothing of the sort.

  I straighten. “I don’t know how things work in your pack, Alpha, but shackling your host to a table isn’t something we do in Caeli.”

  He chuckles and shoves a slice of meat into his mouth. “You’ve got fire in you, little mate. Good. You’ll need it when I take you home.”

  “This is my home,” I snarl at him.

  The alpha dismisses my retort and continues eating. “I see your mother failed to inform you of your situation. Allow me to explain.” He wipes his mouth with a silk handkerchief and then tosses it on his near empty plate. “Eighteen years ago, your mother and I came to an agreement. In exchange for helping her flee a rather complicated situation, your mother promised me a mate worthy of the Stormfire alpha. I’ve come to see just how worthy of a mate you truly are.”

  The air clamps in my chest. It’s like the alpha has thrust a paw into my chest and is squeezing my heart with his razor-sharp claws. Through the tears blurring my vision, I glare venomously at my dad. He used to say there would come a day when my past would catch up with me. Until this very moment, I never understood what he meant. But it was that I’d been promised to an alpha who would one day come to collect me. And he knew.