Hell Kissed: A Rejected Mates Romance (The Rejected Realms Series Book 1)

by A. K. Koonce

  A shiver races through me despite how hard I hold my arms around myself. Cold breath wafts around my face with every heave I release, and every slip of my boots against the several inches of slush makes me fight for balance.

  Latham’s arm locks around mine suddenly, and he holds me up against the extreme slant. I look at him, and with a wave of his hand he extends a thick black coat to me. Meanwhile, the three of them remain in tee-shirts, completely unaffected by the weather around us.

  His hand is warm against my hip. He takes my book bag and peacefully purring cat while he steadies me as I slip into the soft material. Long fingers catch at the hem, and he carefully zips me up, his hand sliding quickly up my stomach, my breasts, and collarbone in a single fluid movement.

  “Thank you,” I breathe out in a puff of white frost.

  His pretty ice-blue eyes hold mine. The simple weight of his alluring gaze sinks through me with a tremble of reckless emotions pressing at my chest. A spark of my magic stings the air, and I have to look away before I assault him with the strange magic I sometimes expel without even trying. Now is not the time to make someone feel good. My magic has helped me ease people’s anger toward me over the years, but it’s also been known to cause the occasional four hour erection from time to time. Although all three of these men are deadly beautiful, and I’m sure their cocks are just as nice to look at, I need to be careful what I reveal about myself to them.

  I still can’t trust them.

  I take a single step and my foot slides right out from under me. I stagger back but someone catches me… with two firm hands… right on my ass.

  “Shit, sorry.” Aric drops his hold on my cold cheeks and my weight rushes into him instantly. His chest collides with my back and then he’s all around me. He tries to push me upright, but his palm slides against my back and cups the side of my boob awkwardly. His arms flail at my sides to find a platonic place on my body. “Fuck,” he hisses. “Motherfucking snow in the middle of fucking California.”

  A big palm snatches my wrist and flings me forward, barely letting me find my footing as a glare is tossed down at the still cursing man behind me.

  “Keep up. It’ll only get worse from here,” is all Torben grumbles out before walking away from me and continuing up the jagged, icy trail.

  He’s guarded. I see it in his quietness and I see it in the space he keeps between not only me, but also the two men who should be his companions.

  No. I won’t be getting any help from Torben if my life is on the line during this trip.

  Latham and Aric stay at my sad pace despite their leader becoming a blur within the thick, windy snowfall.

  Something tingles over my skin, and I’m not sure if some sort of magic or the growing cold is to blame. Either way, my nose is downright rosy, my fingers are frozen, and it’s growing even harder to trudge through the deepening snow and slippery ice.

  “Can’t we use your weird magic to travel?” I question as my teeth chatter from the chill. Having a shortcut would make this so much more bearable.

  “Our magic won’t support us carrying another person outside the Realm of the Living,” Latham informs me apologetically, eyeing my chattering teeth like he can’t fathom being cold enough to physically shiver.

  We’re not in the Realm of the Living any longer? Fuck. What have I gotten myself into?

  I almost question it, but Aric mutters something about barriers, realm magic, and fucking rules. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I believe them. If there was an easier way to travel than hauling my sorry ass up this mountain, I have no doubt they’d do it.

  My conversation dies to nothing but exerted, gasping breaths, but I never stop moving. My future might be at the top of this mountain, and I won't give that up. I won’t give up the chance to find my mother after all these years.

  I can’t even remember what she looked like. It’s like a blank space is there when I try to think back to my life before I joined the Dark Moon Pack. She doesn’t exist at all to me. Sometimes I think I still remember her voice.

  But what if that’s just a part of my mind trying to comfort me after all these years?

  I shake my head at the pathetic thought and focus on the journey ahead.

  “Where do we go once at the top?” I yell from over the howling wind.

  “What?” Aric mouths, but I can’t fully hear him.

  “I said—”

  A blade of white ice slashes through the storm. It slices into my arm with searing pain that steals my breath away before the blade flings back up. It arches to come down even harder. Aric darts out and he pummels the attacker to the ground, both of them being eaten up by the thick flurries in the dark.

  I turn toward Latham but…

  He’s gone.

  Cold hands meet my chest and it’s only then that I see him—a monstrous man, several feet taller than Torben, looms over me. Jagged icicles dangle from his beard, and dry gray eyeballs look down on me as bony white fingers wrap around my neck.

  “This is no place for the living,” he croaks like glass as ice fills his throat.

  My fist collides with his chest, but my fingers slip right through. Rib bones crack against my forearm, and for a second, I’m stuck within him. I slash against his gigantic body and his frail, tattered torso breaks apart around my arm like shattered ice.

  Scrambling to my feet, I glance around with widened eyes. Latham stumbles into me, his fiery swords slashing at the attacking corpse in front of him. There’s no time to think, so I act instead. Kicking out, my boot collides with the leg of the attacker and his femur makes a sickening crack that echoes off the stone mountain pass surrounding us.

  The giant skeletal man falls to the snow with a coarse scream that pierces the night. With a slash of strength, Latham drives his blade through the large skull of the thing withering on the ground. A nasty crunching sound follows every inch the sword sinks in.

  “Ice giants,” he tells me. “They guard this realm.”

  “Right,” I say blankly just as another descends on me.

  I fling it off before it can fully grip my bloodied arm. It tumbles down the mountain behind me,

  but another rises in its place. Latham’s attack sends the giant staggering backward against the slick ground, but it takes Latham with him, the snowfall overtaking my friend and washing the last image I see of him away into the night. I lunge forward at the man of bone standing before me, but two more of the skeletal giants leap onto my backpack, earning themselves a harsh meow from the sleeping cat inside.

  Just as I shake one of them off, two more dig their bones into my flesh as they drag me down into the cold blanket of snow. I try to escape with slamming fists and kicking feet. The wolf inside me growls to life, but I can’t focus on her. I can’t focus on the strength of her magic enough to bring her forward through all my chaotic emotions. Finger-like claws scrape at my skin. Bony limbs flail over me. Cold weight presses down on me.

  It’s all too much.

  Green eyes meet mine from over the icy skulls of the giants. Torben stomps hard, and a flash of fire erupts around us. A blaze of flames circles out from his enormous body, igniting the walking corpses as they stagger off, wailing into the night. The ones on top of me scatter like bugs, and the godlike man stares down at me like a true savior. The snow whips at his long, messy blond hair. Snow clings to his beard. He looks untouchable.

  His big hand lowers to me.

  A breath slips into my lungs for the first time in what seems like an hour. I take his hand. Warmth spreads through my fingers and up my arm until it sears through my chest like magic. My lips part to ask him about his power…

  But his eyes widen suddenly. His mouth drops open. And then he falls into me like a mountain collapsing. His weight pins me to the cold ground. A long blue sword made of lethal ice sticks out of Torben’s back.

  And the largest giant I’ve yet seen stands over him.

  “This is no place for the living!” he crackles.

&nbs
p; And then they all surround me.

  My arms ache from where the giants drag me through the snow. Spindly fingers dig into the wound on my upper arm, leaving a chill that goes bone deep. Undeniable power pours from them like rhythmic lapping waves. I shiver from the feel of it as much as I do from the swirling snow. The magic they possess crawls like ants across my flesh until all I want is the hottest shower so I can scrub myself raw and wash their touch down the drain.

  Behind me, one of the ice men haphazardly carries my bag while angry, mewling sounds from inside where Loki is stashed away. The strange men who have infiltrated my life called him my guardian, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s biding his time now, or if he even feels the danger we’re stuck in. My cat is apparently much more badass than I ever knew, but I doubt he has a death wish.

  Loyalty only goes so far. I shouldn’t be shocked. It’s a hard lesson I’ve learned my whole life.

  Everyone I’ve ever known has let me down. As much as I want to know about my birth mother, she abandoned me when the only thing I needed was her. She’s alive and wants to see me, but she must have given me up for a reason. I spent countless years waiting for her to come and save me. To take me away. To give me the loving home I could have had. But that was only a young girl’s dream.

  No. The only person I have who loves me is Bea, and our friendship just went from ride or die to it’s complicated.

  You’re loved more than you know… The sweet melody of that mysterious woman’s voice fills my ears, but it doesn’t bring comfort and peace the way those words are meant to.

  It brings pain instead, and frustration. Exhaustion even.

  Loved? Please. I’m nothing more than a lone wolf now. A rogue. And now I’m a prisoner of the fucking ice giants.

  So much for the pack and family. Mary is probably rejoicing that I’m gone. Her loyalty always had an expiration, and my ‘best by’ date passed long ago.

  Everyone has a line in the sand they’re unwilling to cross.

  I’m all for independence, but having no one in your corner is a lonely place to be.

  My mind immediately conjures up images of the three mystery men—Latham, Aric, and Torben—but they can’t be any better than the people I’ve been subjected to my whole life. So far they’ve helped me on this journey, but only because it’s their job. If it comes down to me or them, I know they’ll choose themselves. And I accept that.

  It’s up to me to get myself out of the mess I’m in. No one else will do it for me. I’m the only one I can fully depend on.

  My gaze darts to the injured form of Torben. He’s nothing more than deadweight that some of the smaller giants jostle in their feeble attempt to get him along the steep path they’re leading us up. I half expect their skeletal forms to collapse in a heap from the struggle.

  A mirthless smile curls the edges of my lips that they have to deal with his heavy ass. It serves them right for stabbing him with the icy sword that still protrudes grotesquely from his back.

  Worry swirls in the pit of my stomach, but I swallow it down. Torben may be hurt, but his powerful magic still fills the air.

  I take that as the small comfort it is. He’ll probably be okay. Maybe. I hope…

  Funny how much I care about a complete stranger. But he’s my complete stranger. For now, that’s enough.

  The tall pillars of an ancient-looking temple come into view through the flurrying snow that’s growing heavier by the minute.

  I’m almost glad when we finally reach it for no other reason than needing a reprieve from the cold.

  That is… until I’m dragged in front of the largest skeletal creature. He stands like a tower against the flurrying winds. His jaw wrenches open and expels a hiss into the night.

  “Earthly belongings have no place here.”

  Ivory bone tries to slip under the hem of my shirt and pry the fabric up over my stomach in an attempt to undress me. No fucking way, thank you very fucking much.

  I kick at the cold clawing bones that bite into my stomach, ribs, and breasts. My eyes clench closed as the ripping of fabric sounds through the night. The coat Latham gave me is tossed aside before more tears pull away in ribbons of cloth. My teeth grit hard. I curse them and kick them, but it’s all over in a matter of seconds.

  The giants don’t take no for an answer, and soon my clothing lies in tattered shreds around my feet. Cold wind makes my nipples peak, and chill bumps break out all along my skin like tiny mountain ranges.

  My cheeks are stinging pink when the monsters once again grab my arms and yank me forward.

  A heavy magical barrier sits at the entrance of the temple, a luminescent veil that can barely be seen. They jerk me forward and the curtain of magic caresses my skin as they drag me through it. They all stare daggers at me like their magic is a pass or fail test, and they’re waiting for the outcome.

  My eyelids fall closed hard. I’m shit at testing, it’ll reject me. I’ll be left out in the cold to freeze into an icy corpse.

  The magic rushes over me in a barrage of tingles. It slips by in an instant, and nothing bad happens… at least… I don’t think.

  I pass.

  The harsh expressions they all wear ease the smallest amount as they glare down at me. I can see that walking through the barrier and coming out on the other side passes the invisible test I had no time to study for.

  Everything’s fine.

  The monstrous man carrying my bag strides through the magical barrier, except something snags him. His arm jerks back and he falls to the ground in a billow of snowy air. Long, bony fingers scratch over his skull, confusion seeming to seep into him. Until he settles his sights on my backpack.

  Shit.

  A drum of noise consumes my ears as my heart pounds harder to see the giant stand once more, his attention on the bag as he takes a deliberate step forward. Just to be slammed back into the snow once more from the simple but strange weight of my bag…

  Loki can’t enter here…

  Why?

  The giant roars, standing quickly and rushing the veil. A meow of annoyance crawls through the silence as the two of them are thrown to the ground, and this time anger lines the asshole’s deathly features. His claws rip open the bag, and he shakes the contents out. A wad of shirts and jeans as well as my infamous hot pink panties topple out and land with a suspiciously heavy plop in the thick snow.

  I watch that spot with wide eyes.

  Don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t move.

  The giant tosses the bag into the wind before striding through the barrier with ease. A breath slips from my lips, and it’s the first sigh of relief I’ve had the entire fucking day.

  Loki’s fine. Everything’s going to be okay.

  A scream of agony echoes off the marbled halls in direct contradiction to that thought. It’s a deep and rumbling sound, but I know instantly who it is. Icy sweat dots Torben’s panting body as they forcefully drag him, a creature of Hell, through the magical veil.

  And he doesn’t pass their test.

  Chapter Eleven

  All the Swords

  Rhys

  Torben is completely and utterly naked.

  Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.

  Despite the fact that I passed the test that allowed me an uneventful entrance into what they’re calling a holy temple, I’m no saint.

  My gaze tracks along the dips and curves of his prone body. Scars mar his sides. Pale lines of wounds long healed rip up his arms and throat, even though it’s all just rugged beauty. Torben is gorgeous. A god in his own right. A majestic, powerful creature.

  It’s why I’m confused as to why he’s still passed out cold.

  They toss us into barred cells like dogs. Torben needs help, but they do nothing more than slam his face off the frost kissed floor before slamming the door on him. My eyes flit to the icy sword that’s still sheathed within his body like it’s a permanent part of his anatomy now.

  It looks painful, the jagged edges gleamin
g in the dim light like broken glass. Blood wells around the wound, but it’s slowed now. I can only hope the blade is stabilizing anything vital that may have been hit.

  I crawl across the gleaming, frozen floor and press myself into the bars made of the hardest ice that secure us in our own cells. The outside walls are made of stone, but everything inside is ice and snow, as if they repurposed the room to fit their needs. I never would have pegged the ice giants for having a dungeon below their place of peace and worship, but tonight has proven that I don’t know much about the world outside the bubble of the pack I grew up in.

  My worldview has been broadened, and I have a feeling I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

  But I can’t think about what else is left for me to discover. A shit ton, I’m sure. If I survive this frozen hellhole.

  My bare tits squish against the bars as I stretch through them, trying to reach Torben, and I swear my nipples are glacial diamonds by now. I almost pray he doesn’t wake up and see me like the snow cone stripper these giants have turned me into.

  The edge of my fingers just graze his cold, clammy skin. The light hair on his arm abrades my fingertips. The half-giant has a patch of dark chest hair in that sexy bear kind of way.

  I press my lips into a thin line and try to jostle him enough that he’ll wake up.

  “Torben,” I whisper, afraid if I speak too loudly, we’ll draw attention back to ourselves. The ice giants have left us alone for the moment, but I doubt my luck will last.

  An eerie chill whispers through the room and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. It feels like we’re being watched, but a quick glance around shows the large room is still empty. It’s just the two of us.

  Or is it? I don’t even know anymore. After watching Latham and Aric disappear in bursts of flame or shadows, anything is possible.

  The thought only makes me strain harder.

  “Torben!” I say quietly but harshly. “Wake. The. Fuck. Up!”

  I can’t do more than gently shake his arm. It’s not enough. Biting my lip, I pinch some of his arm hair between my fingers and yank. If there’s one thing girls know, it’s the pain of hair removal.