Page 47 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate

The silence was shattered.

Loud shrieks pierced through the woods. They came from the trees and from the ground. Clawed, snarling, red-eyed creatures surged forward, foam at their mouths and the stench of brimstone trailing behind them.

Demons.

Marcus didn’t wait too long. He drew out his sword from where he had sheathed it on the side of the horse, with his eyes faintly glowing gold as he charged into the first wave.

The air filled with screeches, the clash of metal, and the reek of sulfur.

Marcus swept his blade low, catching one of the demons across the knees. It collapsed with a snarl, and Marcus pulled Kieran’s horse further to the side behind Athena before meeting the next creature with a growl.

On the other side, Kieran fought through with his knives and fists.

Suddenly, he heard Aza cry out—a gasp, sharp and shaken, and he turned, heart in his throat.

Two demons had lunged toward her and the boy.

Marcus leapt forward, intercepting mid-air and driving his sword through the first demon’s torso, as the other one crashed both of them into a tree trunk. Pain flared in his ribs, but he didn’t stop.

“Get down!” Kieran shouted.

But it was too late.

Another demon slammed into Marcus from above, with claws raking his shoulder. He barely had time to throw it off before another demon erupted from the air.

He needed to act faster.

Kieran was thrown into a tree, his body crumpling against the bark with a dull thud.

Marcus fought two demons at once, holding his ground by sheer will. But then—he saw it.

A third demon broke through, heading straight for Riley’s unconscious body.

“Aza!” he shouted—but she was already locked in combat.

Time slowed down.

Marcus growled loudly, his wolf grumbling at the surface. He broke free from the first demon that hooked him against a tree and sliced his sword into the neck of the creature as black ichor stained his blade.

Another demon had kneed Marcus to the ground, but he managed to pull a dagger from his hip and threw it across the grounds toward Aza.

She caught it mid-spin without even turning and swiftly plunged it into the neck of her attacker, and pivoted toward the boy to guard him.

He heaved a sigh of relief, but the demons were too many.

They were losing the fight.

Suddenly, the world around them exploded in white.

A wave of pure, radiant energy blasted across the forest floor. A tidal wave of raw divine energy. It swept the ground clean, vaporizing all the demons where they stood in one swift charge.

The loud screech of the demons in unison filled the air until it faded into the distance as far as the charge vaporized them into.

When the energy surge had cleared, all the demons were gone.

Marcus staggered forward in exhaustion.

The white light began to dim slowly, and at the epicenter of the blast stood Aza.