Page 39 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate

Chapter 8 - Athena

The glamor was killing her.

Athena pressed her back against the bed, fighting another wave of dizziness that threatened to send her to her knees.

Three days. She’d been maintaining the complex illusion for three solid days longer than she ever had without a pause, and her magical reserves were running dangerously low.

But she couldn’t afford to show weakness. Not in front of Marcus.

She hated this. Hated the weakness that was clawing under her skin. Under normal circumstances, she would have dropped the spell hours ago to recharge.

At home, she had built her routine around the glamor’s limitations—maintaining it during the day when she might encounter others, then letting it fall away each evening to give her magic time to replenish itself. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and she couldn’t risk Marcus recognizing her.

The wind clawed through the trees outside, cold and sharp. Inside the barely insulated cabin, the temperature dropped with the night. Athena curled up on the bed.

The night was cold.

She had already used a warming charm for Riley earlier to shield him from the creeping cold, before tucking him to bed, but even that simple enchantment had cost her more than it should have.

Athena pulled the threadbare blanket tighter around her shoulders, but it did little to shield her from the biting cold that gnawed at her bones.

She clenched her jaw, furious at herself.

A simple warming charm. That’s all it would take, and heat would blossom through her like firelight in winter.

But she couldn’t risk it.

Not without risking a crack in the glamor that cloaked her true form.

Her breath came out in faint, shivering puffs. She dug her fingers into her sleeves, furious at the weakness creeping into her bones.

You’re fine, she told herself.

You’ve endured worse. She really had.

But the lie didn’t help. She could barely feel her toes. Her magic pulsed erratically under her skin, flickering in protest. She bit her lip, silently begging her body not to betray her.

Not tonight.

Athena pulled her thin jacket tighter around herself, but it did little to ward off the cold that seemed to seep into her very bones.

Then, suddenly—without warning—

A pair of strong hands wrapped around her arms, drawing her gently backward. She stiffened, instinctively, before realizing—

Marcus.

He was laying behind her, his body pressing along the length of her back and his arms bracketing her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“What—what are you doing?” she demanded, trying to wriggle free, but he held firm.

“You’re shivering,” he said, his voice low, close to her ear. “Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m not—” Her pride clashed with the undeniable heat of his. He radiated warmth like a furnace, and her traitorous body instantly began soaking it up. “I don’t need—”

“Yes, you do,” he cut in.

“You’re going to freeze to death,” he said quietly, his voice carefully neutral.