Page 30 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate
“If it can hold it until then—”
“And if it can’t?” Athena questioned.
“What happens if those things tear through the defenses and shred us all to pieces?”
The entire ordeal had worn her thin.
Marcus’s expression tightened in similar frustration.
At least she wasn’t the only one running on exhaustion.
“That’s why I would be keeping watch out here tonight.”
***
The next few hours crawled by in tense silence, broken only by the occasional chirp of birds trading gossip in the trees outside.
‘We’ll be out of here as soon as they get here.’
The words echoed in her mind like a ticking clock.
If Marcus had called for reinforcements, then it was only a matter of time before they were transported. And with more people involved, her chances of pulling off another escape would be next to nothing.
She couldn’t afford to sit still. Not now. Not when the window of opportunity was narrowing by the second. But after that stunt she had pulled, Marcus would be more vigilant than ever. She was firmly on his radar now, and he wasn’t about to let his guard down.
Still, he wasn’t leaving either. He remained on watch, stationed at the balcony like a silent sentinel.
She needed another way in. Not through force or speed, but through trust. If she could make him lower his guard, even just a little… if she could get him to believe her, maybe—just maybe—he would release her before the transport arrived.
Riley was still asleep. That gave her a sliver of space to act.
And so, Athena decided to try something she never imagined she would: befriend him.
But how does one befriend a cold-hearted wolf who did not even hold conversations with her?
Her gaze drifted to him against her will. He was still—too still—but there were signs of exhaustion in his frame. The sharp edges of his composure were dulling. The proud set of his shoulders had softened just slightly. There were dark hollows beneath his eyes.
“When was the last time you slept?” she asked, her voice quieter than she meant it to be.
Marcus turned, a flicker of suspicion flashing in his eyes. “Why do you care?”
It was a fair question. One she didn’t quite have the answer to. Maybe she didn’t care. But if she wanted to earn his trust, she had to act like she did.
So, she held his gaze and shrugged, as if the answer mattered less than the connection she was trying to spark.
“If you collapse from exhaustion, I’ll be dealing with those demons on my own while protecting an unconscious hunter and a six-year-old child.” She kept her tone light.
“That’s not exactly an ideal circumstance.”
“And why would you need to protect me?” he asked, stepping back into the room. He settled into the chair beside the bed, leaning forward until they were almost eye to eye.
Athena recognized the opening. If she was going to convince him, this was the moment.
“Because you’re wrong about me,” she said steadily. “You think I’m some dark witch, a threat to your noble cause, like I wouldn’t hesitate to hand you over to the demons—”
“You can’t hand me over to the demons,” he cut in, calm and annoyingly confident.
Athena rolled her eyes internally.
