Page 19 of Rejected Darkness

"Fancy meeting you out here. I figured you would have had an early class, considering how concerned your father was when he dropped you off." His tone is light, but I can hear the veiled threat underneath.

Doing my best to ignore him, I pick up my pace through the woods, praying to the Divine that he will get the hint and leave me alone. Whatever obsession this guard has with me, I would really like it to stop.

"You know you really shouldn't be out here walking alone. Who knows what could happen to a beautiful female like you?"His hand reaches out to grasp my bicep, but I anticipate the move and step out of reach just in time.

"With the amount of security I've seen around campus since arriving I would say I'm pretty safe. Thank you for your concern," I give him a soft smile in an attempt to be kind before picking up my pace even more. At this point, I'm practically jogging away from him, but I can't seem to lose him. If he doesn't leave me alone, I will need to tell someone about it. I really don’t want to be the cause of problems here. This was supposed to be a new leaf for me to turn.

"Even the safest places have dangers lurking, Little Angel," he smiles at me, and the sight makes my stomach drop. I want to be a smart ass and tell him he's the danger, but I don't want to earn his ire. "Have a good day, Little Angel. Remember to be safe out there."

I watch him walk away, leaving me standing at the gardens’ entrance at the back of the school. I will definitely need to be on the lookout more after this. Maybe it will be better if Harper or Isis are with me when I walk to and from the main part of campus. Hopefully, if I have someone with me it will keep him away from me. It's at least an idea to start with before taking a more drastic measure.

With a few minutes to spare before my mentorship starts, I make it to the room, where I'm greeted with a closed, black wooden door. It's out of place with all the other dark brown doors. This one even has an intricate swirl design on it, whereas the others are just plain. There's no sign designating it as belonging to any one specific person, so I still have no idea who to expect as my mentor.

Taking a deep breath, I center myself and my magic before opening the door. What I‘m not expecting is the person standing with their back, looking out the window on the far side of the room as I enter. I know that back, and I would know those wingsanywhere. My best friend and the other person I am tied to as a mate.

Warrick.

I'm completely floored seeing him before me. I never thought I'd see him again. At least not until I managed to get back to Aeris somehow. I should have known he'd find a way to get to me. My best friend always has. My heart sores seeing him standing in front of me, and the panic I felt leading up to this mentorship is gone. I know what to expect when it comes to him and his teaching style.

Warrick has been mentoring me for years under my father's instructions. Hopefully, now that we are here, it will be different, and he doesn't need to answer to my father in the same way that he has been. We also now have an opportunity for him to explain why he didn't want me to speak up about him being my mate. I know it is rare for someone to have multiple mates. There are very few angels who do, most choosing to live a life of solitude, away from the main city and the chaos that comes with it. I don't blame them either. If not for my position, I would have chosen a life in the outskirts versus one in Aeris and all the politics.

"Warrick," I squeal, running toward him. A second before I reach him, I slam into a barrier preventing me from throwing my arms around him. I watch as he slowly turns around to face me, his expression blank as he stares at me. My heart stops beating. He's acting like we don't know each other at all. It's as if he's completely forgotten me. My arms drop to my side, and I begin to hide my emotions so he can't see just how much his actions have hurt me. Two can play this game. He doesn’t deserve to see my hurt when he acts as if he has no idea who I am. Never before has he shut me out like this.

"Good morning, Arabella," he greets me. "Why don't you take a seat, and we can get started." He points to a set of chairs that I had paid no attention to in my pursuit to get to him.

Turning around, I move to the chairs he pointed at and take the one closest to me. It's an oversized black leather armchair I can easily sit in, with my wings resting on the seat, without pulling them inside me. Many angels prefer to have their wings on display at all times, and it’s usually my preference as well.

While we've been at school, it's been a tad bit easier pulling them in since it only requires a small amount of magic, and the hallways are just so busy. I only have them out today because I had a later class and I knew the halls would be pretty empty when I came here. Plus, I didn't want to risk them expanding due to my magic use today, depending on what my mentor would expect me to do. Turns out I was right. I'm still embarrassed that I broke one of Warrick’s mother's vases when we practiced my magic inside when I was younger. I lost control, causing my wings to come out inside the house. She said it wasn't a big deal, but to me, it was.

"Good morning, Mentor," I answer. If he wants to continue playing this game, we can both do so, but I will get him to talk to me one way or another. "What are we working on today?"

Warrick ignores me and stops walking to flip open a folder on a large, dark wooden desk. "It says in your file that you were rejected for being unable to control your magic and because you would not submit to your mate. Is this correct?" His tone is stern, harder than I’ve ever heard him be with me. It’s almost as if he has no emotion.

"If that's what it says," I answer. It’s what I expected, but I don’t agree with it at all. My magic is controllable, just not to the level that everyone wants it to be. As for the submission, yeah, I'm not going to submit to someone who wants to control me. I have my own ideas and opinions, and I want to be free to express those, not live my life as someone I'm not. If that's a reason for rejection then that is a them problem, not a me problem.

I will deal with most of how the Angels expect us to live our lives, but that is one I refuse to do. Many Angels are free to make their own choices, and their partners fully support that. It seems that the Angels in positions of power are the ones who don't want their mates to have their own voices.

"Should we add attitude problem to this list?" he questions, slamming the folder closed before resuming his walk toward me.

I keep my mouth shut, waiting to see what he says next. I showed part of my hand with that previous answer, and I refuse to give him any more than that.

"I suppose that's a yes," he sighs, sitting opposite me. "Today is about getting to know you and the expectations that RISE Academy has for you. We want this to be the best experience that it can be for you during your time here."

I roll my eyes at his diplomatic explanation. I really think he is brainwashed at this point because there's no way he would say that he has to get to know me otherwise. He's known me since I was born. This whole charade is stressful, and I'm getting to the point where I either want to yell at him or storm out as I'm yelling at him. Neither accomplishes anything other than making me feel slightly better.

"What would you like to know? I promise you I've had a better experience here in the past three days than at home." It's a lie, well, sort of. If I were home, I would be subjected to my father's abuse. Here, I can at least be myself for the most part and not worry about repercussions coming my way if I do or say something he doesn't like. However, if I were home, it would mean I have a mate who chose me, and we would be settling into mated life, which I really wanted to explore.

"Why would you say this is a better experience for you?" he asks while tapping his pen against an open notebook sitting on his leg.

Oh, this man is just trying to test me today. That's it. I'm over it.

"What the fuck is your problem, Warrick?" I snap, tired of this game he is playing. "Have you been brainwashed or something? You've known me since I was born, so can we cut the bullshit and have an actual conversation that matters?"

"Arabella," he sighs, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter how long I've known you. This is an opportunity to explore who you are and who you want to be while discovering truths about yourself that you never would have learned if you were still in Aeris. I came here to make sure you were okay and that you got the most out of this experience."

I can't help the snort that escapes me at his answer. "Well then, why not speak up at the mating ceremony about you being my mate? You could have prevented me from coming here in the first place. I wouldn't have had to face the rejection I went through by Maverick or the beating I got from my father after it."

That is what stings the most. That he could have prevented all of this if he spoke up. If he had just fought for us the way I would have. Maybe that is just the crush I have had on him for forever, but it's still the truth. I thought just maybe he felt something for me but I'm starting to feel like I was just an assignment to him.

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