Page 26 of Rejected Darkness

"Let me see what I can do," he answers, shutting down the conversation at that. "Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Sure, but I'm not ready to go back to campus yet. I think I want to shop around and just explore." The second I arrived in town, I knew it was my chance to experience the world, even the small world it was presenting to me. No one here knows who I am. I can walk down the street without feeling like I have eyes on me, and that is the most exciting part for me.

"I saw a community garden near the center of town. Want to take a stroll through there?" He asks as we walk out of the restaurant. It's like he knows me so well.

"If it has fountains, then you know I am more than down for that," I smile, linking my arm through his offered one. In silence, we make our way down the street and to the center of town. It's a nice day out and not a single person has given us a second look as we walk down the street. It really is refreshing to experience life this way. I know I've been wanting to get back home but the more time I spend here at RISE Academy, the more I wonder if it really is the right choice. Maybe staying here and finding happiness within myself is the answer. Forget my family, or well forget my father. I don't need him.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about away from the school and prying ears," Warrick begins once we make it into the garden area and find a private area. The spot he picks for us to talk is secluded and off the main pathway. The hedges are tall around us and in the center of the area is a small fountain. It's beautiful and peaceful.

"What did you need to talk about?" I ask hesitantly. I'm terrified of what he wants to discuss. There are so many different options that my mind is now racing at the possibilities.

"It wasn't fair of me to not explain what happened at the mating ceremony. You deserved answers that night and deserved them when you asked me about it on Wednesday," he begins. My heart rate picks up, knowing he's ready to give me the answers I've asked for. I'm terrified of what answers he is goingto give me. "You know that it's possible for angels to have more than one mate, especially angels that are powerful, right?"

"Mmhmm," I nod, waiting to see where this is going.

"You are powerful, Bella. More powerful than even your father realized. I know you hide your powers. Others think it's because you don't have control, but you do. You have more control than anyone that I know. You can control all four elements. Do you know how rare that is?" He chuckles lightly. "I knew that you would have more than one mate. Heck, I'm almost positive you have more mates than just Maverick and me. He doesn't know what he did by giving you away and rejecting you."

"What are you getting at, Warrick?" I'm terrified he will reject me the same way Maverick did. He's talking like he is in awe of me. I'm worried this is his way of letting me down gently. I know that I'm powerful but I don't have the control he thinks that I do, it's why my father forced him to work with me for over a decade on my powers.

"I'm fucking this up," he growls, running his hand through his black hair, making it even messier than it already was. "I was protecting you by not letting you mention our bond. It was there just not as bright as Mavericks. You are my mate, Arabella. I'm not going to deny that to you. However, if we had come out at the ceremony it would have made your life a living hell. The Seraphim Council has already been breathing down your neck since you were a child. If you were to have two mates presented to you at the ceremony it would have put an even larger target on your back that I wasn't willing to put you through. I knew the risk of losing you if I didn't speak up but I was trying to protect you."

"That's not a good enough reason, Warrick," I shake my head and step away from him. I drop my voice lower not wanting anyone walking by to overhear me. "I deserved better than that,Warrick. I want my mate, my partner, to stand by my side, believe in me, and support me. You didn't do that."

"That's where you're wrong, Bella," he pleads with me. "I was supporting you but it wasn't in the way you wanted and I understand that. I'm ten years older than you. I've been training you in your magic for a very long time. Can you see this from my side at all?"

"I'm trying to," I sigh, frustrated at how this is going. He's giving me answers, but now I'm wondering if those answers are good enough for me. "What do you want me to do? I want your honest answer to this."

"I want you to try to see where I'm coming from," he pleads. "I want you to see this from my side. I care about you so much, and I just want to know what is best for you."

"Don't you think me having a mate is what is best for me?" I question. I know I'm being sort of standoff-ish but I can't help it.

"Yes," he answers, his eyes softening as he takes a step closer to me. When I don't back away he takes another and then another until he stands right in front of me. "You are everything to me, Arabella." He raises his hand and brushes a few strands of hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear as he rubs his thumb on my cheek. "I regret every day not speaking up at the ceremony even if I know it was for the best. There is so much that I want to tell you, but I can't, not yet. Just trust me, everything that I do, I do it for you. You don't understand and I know that. I also know that I lost some of your trust, and I plan on gaining back if it's the last thing that I do."

"It's not that easy, Warrick," I whisper, trying to stop myself from crying. The old Arabella would have caved and given in to him immediately. The new Arabella is more cautious. He broke my heart.Wow, that's something I haven't admitted before.Warrick broke my heart in a way I had never seen coming. It's not something that I can easily forgive.

"Tell me what I need to do to fix this," he pleads, leaning forward to place a soft kiss against my forehead. "I'll do anything. Please, Arabella, let me fix this for us."

"I need time," I mumble, freezing in his hold. God, I hope that I don't regret this decision. "You need to show me that you have my back, that you will support me in the way that I need. I don't want to be that girl that I was back in Aeris. I'm finally discovering who I am. Can you support me in that? Even if it means pissing off everyone back home?"

I can already see the indecision in his eyes the second I brought up pissing off people back home. That's exactly what will happen if I go down the path of finding answers about the journal. If Warrick can't back me no matter what then this won't work between us. Losing him will destroy me I know that. Maverick rejected me hurt but it wasn't the end of the world. Losing Warrick may just be the end of the world for me, but I know I need to do this for myself. For the first time in my life, I'm choosing me and my happiness.

"I'll have your back. No matter the ask, no matter the risk. I will stand by your side," he's so sure of himself with his answer and I can see the determination in his eyes. He means what he says. He will have my back and that means more to me than I can ever imagine. "I don't know what you are doing that is going to piss off everyone in Aeris but you know what, fuck it. They did you dirty there and this is about you. Whatever we are going to do, let's do it. I don't have anything for me back there. I stayed for you."

"Thank you, for this," I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tight. He will never understand what it means that he is supporting me in this. I'm not ready to tell him what’s going to happen, but knowing he hasn't even asked tells me he trusts me no matter what. That says everything that I need to know.

"I will always be here for you, Arabella," he whispers, holding me tightly to him. "When you're ready, we can talk, but take your time. I also know what I'm about to say is going to piss you off so I'm not letting you go. We can't tell the school that we are mates. Not yet, not until you are ready for what that means."

"I don't want them to know either," I agree, stepping out of his hold. He let me go easily, thanks to my surprising agreement with him. "There is a lot going on and I need to figure things out for myself but just knowing that you have my back and eventually we can do the ceremony to bind our souls is good enough for me right now."

"I'll let you keep your secrets for now but you do need to tell me eventually," he reaches out to grasp my hand. "Now, how about we get back to campus so you can go tell your roommates? Yes, I know you will," he gives me a pointed look before leading me away from the fountain. "They both were hounding me during our mentoring sessions with questions about you, about us, and our relationship back in Aeris. You have good friends surrounding you. You keep them with you."

"I'm planning to," I laugh. "Both of those girls would have my back in a heartbeat, and I would have theirs."

"I'm so glad you are finally finding friends and your place in life. I knew you would thrive here, Bella and it means everything to me that you are." I can hear the pride in his voice as he talks to me. Warrick is so damn proud of me and the friends I've made. He is right I am thriving here and it means everything to me that he can see it and experience it with me. How I'm going to tell the girls about this lunch is about to be a whole new problem. One that I'm honestly excited for. I had every intention of us leaving this lunch just being friends and never breaching the topic of mates. The fact that it didn't go that way surprised me but I'm totally here for it.

Chapter 15

Arabella

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