Page 113 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate

“How?” one of them asked.

“She is strong enough.” “But she is already expending a lot of her magic with the barrier. And if only magic can flow through this,” he pointed to the barrier.

“The fastest way is to lend her your energy,” he said, turning back to face the witches as they nodded in agreement.

Without wasting time, the witches moved into position, forming a circle around the warehouse. Their arms were outstretched, their lips moved in perfect unison as they began to chant.

Streams of magic flowed from their palms as they surged toward Athena.

Their chants rose, harmonizing across the field like a hymn as their bodies glowed with energy.

It was working. Athena’s green eyes snapped open, glowing fiercer than before as the power surged into her, amplifying her strength.

The demon staggered backward, like it suddenly sensed the change and the high rise of energy converging around its prey. It shrieked, clutching its ears shut as the witches resumed their spell chants at a higher frequency.

Immediately, the barrier started to crack open.

Marcus took that as his opening as his eyes met Athena’s across the field. He withdrew his silver dagger from his back and swung it through the gap.

Both the demon and Athena reached for it in the same breath, and Marcus tensed, but Athena caught it first as she elbowed the demon hard in the face.

She twirled the dagger in her hand as she slammed the creature to the ground.

Athena pinned the demon beneath her and with a loud scream, she drove the silver blade straight to the demon’s chest after pinning it beneath her.

With its nails clawing at the ground, the demon thrashed and howled in pain.

One final psychic scream ripped through the air before the demon’s skin started to smoke where she had stabbed it, and it dropped its head lifeless on the ground. Black blood sprayed from the wound, and its entire skin started to flake away into nothing but a sizzling dark smoke.

A burst of golden light glowed from Athena’s chest, which she let out. The light expanded in waves across the clearing as the witches staggered backward, releasing their hands as the energies returned to them.

The barrier dropped completely, and the grounds finally went still.

Panting, Athena fell to her knees just as her magic faded out.

Marcus ran across the field, falling to his knees next to her, and grabbed her before she could fall.

“You did it. You did very well,” he whispered into her ear as she leaned her head on his shoulders for support.

The others rushed toward her too, ragged with fatigue but filled with awe and concern for her.

“Oh my God, Athena, are you okay?” one of the younger witches gasped, kneeling beside them.

“Are you dumb? Of course she’s not okay. We all just saw her fight a demon,” another one snapped.

“How were you out here alone? How did that thing get to you?” another witch murmured in worry, tightening her voice.

Athena stirred as she raised her head from his shoulder. The murmurs went silent as they all waited for her to speak.

“That thing…” She raised herself upright. “That thing... was Aubrey.”

“What?” Gasps of shock erupted across the group.

Even Marcus blinked as his brows scrunched in confusion.

“She wasn’t a witch…” Athena muttered.

“She was a demon. And when I sniffed her out, she tried to lock me here,” Athena explained.