Rejected Queen by Meg Xuemei X.
CHAPTER 5
Loki
My beast lost his shit when we saw a rocket shooting toward Tessa on the wrecked rooftop, or whatever was left of it.
From my penthouse in Manhattan, my operations crew, my inner circle, and I monitored the ongoing trial in the old war zone that used to be Chinatown, Little Italy, and SoHo. It was the rogue demons’ hot hangout spot, and the demigods’ Dominions loved to hunt them there as well. The war between Hell and Earth hadn’t really ended, as demons and humans would always be enemies. The Great Merge just went on more subtly, since neither the demigods nor I wanted the conflict to escalate to a large scale. I wasn’t my father, and the demigods weren’t Ares. We were an uneasy family bonded by Marigold.
The demigods now had two-thirds of Earth, my present to my little sister for helping me banish Lucifer. I didn’t care much about Earth—I liked Hell just fine—but if I gave all of my dominion on Earth to the demigods, Hell’s spawn would rebel against me.
I paced in my penthouse like a caged beast. The entire floor on the west wing that faced Central Park belonged to me. The four demigods and Marigold shared two entire floors on the east wing.
Esme and two of my dukes were busy supervising the trial. The Duke of Wickedness had stayed behind to guard Hell. He wasn’t happy about it.
Technicians maneuvered our satellite frantically, as they’d just lost sight of Tessa. I tried not to yell at them since it would be counterproductive. Most beings are terrified of me. Instead, I clenched my teeth and demanded they locate Tessa in two seconds, which I considered reasonable.
I did not care what happened on other corners of the war zone or how frenzied the media was all over the battlefield, swooping over the carnage like vultures. I wanted my Bunny to be found.
When the satellite lens zoomed in on her, a missile had just demolished the building she’d perched on. I stared at the screen in shocked horror, my blood icing over.
Then Tessa emerged out of a cloud of dust and dashed across the next building.
A second rocket whooshed toward her.
“What the fuck?” I roared.
Wind and hellfire twirled around me at my summons, but before I could teleport to Tessa, both dukes jumped on me, pinning me down. Esme joined them, holding me down with her Olympian and mage powers as if her life depended on it.
I could shake them off, but then I’d have to hurt them.
“Let me go!” I snarled in warning.
“If you go to her, you’ll be doomed too,” Esme said. “There are specific clauses of the Wild Hunt that prevent you from interfering.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I said. “I won’t let her die!”
“She might survive,” Esme said. “If you intervene, she’ll suffer the consequences.” She pointed at the screen. “Look, she dodged the second rocket. That girl is something. She’ll be fine.”
My panic eased, yet rage boiled in my veins. I shrugged off my team.
“Find out who sent the rockets after Tessa,” I ordered. “I want those fuckers’ heads! Do your best to prevent a third rocket from targeting her!”
The technicians danced their fingers on their keyboards, eyes wild and beads of sweat forming on their forehead. Esme rushed to supervise and help, her high heels tapping rapidly on the floor.
I’d told Esme that Tessa had awoken my wolf and could be my fated mate. The dukes didn’t know that yet, but they knew I wanted Tessa to be my queen. Only I’d given away my power to the fucking Underworld Bride Trials that bound me by the Wild Hunt’s rules. And now all I’d done had come back to bite me in the ass.
“Call Mari,” I barked at the spymaster. “See if her demigods—”
Just then, Marigold kicked the door in, her beautiful face flushed, her violet hair flying in all directions, infused by her Titan power, and twin flames lit her forest-green eyes.
The sky demigod, Zak, strode beside her as if he owned this patch of land. The demigods had appointed themselves as Earth’s defenders. Whenever I thought of that, I had to sneer.
My team trained their weapons on them out of instinct. Marigold arched an eyebrow, and Zak didn’t look impressed. I sighed and waved a hand, and my guards all lowered their guns.
Zak was a half-blood, the son of a mortal woman and Zeus, the king of the Olympian Gods. Earth women loved him, even though he’d been as emotionless as a rock before Marigold came into his life and conquered his heart. While the death demigod was all brooding, impatient, and menacing, Zak was the most reasonable and level-headed among his demigod cousins.
The sky demigod stood as tall as me—six foot six with all hard muscles. His most remarkable feature was the lightning flashing in his blue eyes every now and then. He’d changed since he’d met Mari. When I’d first battled him a century ago, he’d kept his golden hair cropped, military style, and he’d never smiled. Now his hair had grown to his chin, and he had this softened and warm look, especially when he was around his mate.
Despite all the changes and upgrades, he hadn’t quit wearing a red cape draped over his silver armor. His every move and pose angled to shield Marigold, even though she was just as powerful as him, or even more so.
My stepsister could break down any wards with her legendary Living Flame, her most lethal weapon. She could also teleport into my penthouse regardless of my wards, but she loved the theatrics of kicking the door open in any setting.
She must have teleported right outside the door and then booted it. That was probably why my guards patrolling the perimeter hadn’t had a chance to radio in. When the guards posted outside the door peeked in after Mari and her mate, their shocked and wary expressions proved my theory. They knew I wouldn’t blame or punish them for incompetence when it involved Mari. She was just impossible, and she enjoyed every minute of it.
But I wasn’t in the mood. My furious gaze darted from the screen that followed Tessa as she ran for her life and burned into Mari and Zak.
“It wasn’t us,” Marigold said curtly. “We checked as soon as the first rocket hit. Our technology is better, and our Dominion team is more efficient.”
Zak smirked. “Of course. And we can assure you the two-thirds of Earth under our control wouldn’t dare to cross us.”
“My mates and I have spread the word about Tessa Morrigan being under our protection,” Mari said. “No one in our region would dare to hit her unless they’re willing to risk the demigods’ and my wrath. And everyone knows that we aren’t the forgiving kind. The rockets aren’t from our side. Check with your minions.”
“Anything useful?” I grated, turning back to my team, a storm in my eyes. “This should not happen under our watch. We control the program!”
Esme wheeled to me, tearing her eyes from the screens. “We talked about using a rocket to bomb a vacant building to make an impression, but it was never in the actual program.” Her face paled, and her eyes flashed with anxiety. “Something odd is happening. I think the Wild Hunt is rewriting its programming to pit itself against Tessa. This has never happened before.”
Ice coated my bones.
The Wild Hunt had never taken an interest in anyone before. My thoughts drifted to incidents from the fantasy realm, opened by the crystal ball.
I’d wanted to show my Bunny a good time before the second trial. My guilt had been eating me up for having placed five trials in front of her when the throne should have been hers as my destined mate. And I’d fucked up again. I’d almost lost her to that ice bastard.
She’d said he was the Ice God who had the audacity to claim that she was his mate and future queen. The motherfucker had come to collect her and try to drag her back.
I’d never seen Tessa show any fear until she faced that jackal, as helpless as a leaf in his vile grip. It wasn’t just that he was very powerful. What had the motherfucker done to her in the past?
I’d shatter his every bone when I saw him again. Our spies were now scouting every corner of the Earth for any sign of him.
She wasn’t his. She would never be his. She was mine through eternity.
“I don’t want another rocket to go off,” I ordered, “Figure it out!”
On the screen, Tessa ran away from the collapsed buildings in the direction of SoHo. It looked like she had a plan, but then Tessa always created a plan. She made me proud.
“She’s heading toward a bad spot,” Leviathan said grimly.
With the assistance of the satellite and the layout of the program, we could see the entire war zone, but Tessa couldn’t. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to warn her or pull her out of there.
Anxiety bubbled in my stomach like acid. I kicked a chair away from my path, and it slammed into a glass cabinet.
A truck sped toward Tessa, about to run her over.
Mari zoomed in on me and placed her hand on my arm, sympathy filling her big eyes. She knew what I intended to do, and she was trying to prevent me from going to Tessa and making a bigger mess.
Zak rolled up his sleeves and stalked toward us, ready to aid his mate and tackle me to the ground as if I were a dangerous animal.
“Tessa will be fine,” Mari said. “Give her some credit. She’s—” She stopped, glancing at me, then at her mate, before she fixed her gaze on the screen as well.
Holding our breath, we watched Tessa take down three bikers.
Marigold smiled. “Very cool.”
I gave her a hard stare, worried that something worse was coming for Tessa. The trial was out of control, and some dark force was tampering with the game. At my nod, Pythius dashed out of our operations office and into the field for damage control.
When Tessa shot down a media helicopter with a weapon none of the Earth army possessed, I would’ve cheered if worries hadn’t turned my whole being to lead. My muscles tensed like a piano wire, ready to break.
Tessa didn’t play by other people’s rules, and she was ruthless. She’d do well as Queen of the Underworld.
I checked the clock anxiously. “When will the trial end?” I asked, my voice laced with menace.
“Ten more minutes,” someone answered.
I cursed profusely. Tessa might not survive another ten minutes. Anything could happen, especially if, for some reason, the Wild Hunt had turned against my future queen.
Then my fear turned to nightmarish reality as I watched the game throw her into another trap. Hundreds of mercenaries and contestants from most of the tribes besieged her.
I’d reached my limit. She wouldn’t get out of there alive. Not this time. And I wasn’t going to sit on my hands and watch my mate die.
“Fuck the Wild Hunt!” I snarled.
My hellfire came, but Zak grabbed me from behind like a bear, not caring that I was burning him. The demigod locked my throat in a chokehold with his forearm, determined to prevent me from leaving.
“Stop burning my mate, Loki. I warn you!” Mari hissed as she countered my hellfire. “The Wild Hunt is testing you too. Once you set it off, all manner of nasty things can happen, and we won’t be able to contain it.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I snarled, struggling to kick off Zak, but I didn’t want to burn him again.
“Tessa is my friend,” Mari said. “And there are loopholes with the Wild Hunt. I can’t pull her out directly, but I can get a tribe to help her. Does she have allies in the game?”
“Try the shifters,” Esme cut in.
“Don’t let him go, Zak darling,” Marigold said. “Don’t let him do anything stupid. And Loki, if you burn my beloved mate again, I’ll crack one of your ribs. I’ll be right back.”
And she vanished.
The demigod and I wrestled on the floor. Momentarily pinned by the Demigod of Sky, I suffered through watching an arrow pierce Tessa through her foot before she climbed to the top of a brick building.
Just when I thought Tessa had found help, the fucking shifter bitch dumped her into the canal like trash.
My wolf saw red and lost his shit.
I shifted. My massive wolf bit Zak’s arm.
The sky demigod leapt back with a curse, his blue eyes widening and flashing lightning.
“What the fuck? How dare you bite a demigod?” He cursed more. “You’re a demonic wolf now?” he shouted over my wolf’s vicious growl. “Turn the fuck back, Loki! I’m fucking serious! My mate won’t be happy to see you like this!”
Hellfire twirled, and my wolf rode it. We vanished from my penthouse.
There was only one desperate thought driving through my head and pounding through our blood: We couldn’t lose our mate. We wouldn’t lose Bunny.
