23. Warrick

Chapter 23

Warrick

E ver since I got the report from Councilwoman Talia that Arabella's dorm was broken into I have been on edge. I wanted to run straight to her and make sure that she was okay but I couldn't. Damn, this position and the rules put in place. If only I had told Arabella we needed to tell Talia the truth about us being mates. If we had then I could have been there to help her. Heck, I could have provided her a safe place to sleep until whoever did this was caught. Instead, I was stuck waiting and pleading for her to come find me. I lasted all of twelve hours before I sent my first text just saying "hello". I didn't want to draw any suspicion toward us. I know she had told her roommates about us being mates but just in case anyone else was around it would only look like a friend was checking in on her. Thank the Divine that Talia was already aware of Arabella being a friend from home and didn't see an issue with me being her mentor. If anything she welcomed it, especially when I had Seraphim Cassiel's blessing. Then again according to the email I received on Monday, he was just banned from R.I.S.E. Academy grounds.

Good riddance.

"Come on, Arabella," I mutter, pacing my work office and staring at the clock for what feels like the hundredth time. She is already ten minutes late to our mentoring session. Never, once in my life have I known her to be late to anything. That may have been from the fear her father instilled in her from his beatings, but it's still something I know or at least thought that she was always on time. I had checked her file when I first arrived here and was assigned students to mentor. She didn't have any strikes for tardiness in her file. The only thing I saw was a complaint about disrupting class. After I read the teacher's notes about what happened I knew she wasn't at fault and decided to pretend it didn't exist.

Grabbing a stress ball from the side of my desk, I continue my pacing back and forth. It's taking everything in me to not go storming through the halls trying to find her. Heck, if I knew where she was staying I would check there as well, but I don't. Talia said it was all in hand and that she was safe. It was the only answer I had gotten, despite my many protests. I even tried to question Isis about it during her mentoring session yesterday but she said everything was fine. I could tell she wanted to say more but she hadn't, even with me pushing slightly. Whether it was because she had the answers or she didn't I wasn't sure.

"Gah!" I shout, throwing the stress ball against the wall. Never in my life have I been this worried before. Well, that's not true. I was worried every time I had to leave Arabella alone at her parent's house. When she was younger, I tried to stay over, or at least sneak in so that I could watch over her and keep her safe. It seemed her father never would wake her for a beating. No, he did it during the day or before she would go to bed so her body had time to heal overnight. It was disgusting but I had no way to stop it. I still don't. He's too powerful and I honestly don't think most ruling members of the Seraphim Council would even care. They would chock it up to disciplining a difficult child and leave it at that. Disgusting.

When I realized my feelings for her had changed from looking at her as just a girl in a bad position, to someone I was growing to have strong feelings for my sleepovers had gotten less often. I tried to keep a professional distance between us despite the fact we were thrust together for at least three hours every day. Those hours were absolute torture. Arabella is ten years younger than me and I knew it was wrong. The second she came of age and turned twenty, I almost went to her and declared my feelings. If I knew she could have kept it a secret and not tried to spite her father I probably would have. A small part of me regrets not saying anything and waiting, but I know I did the right thing. Sacrificing my feelings to keep her safe was the least I could do. I will always put her first. It's why I refused to let her say anything about our mate bond. It's why I'm here trying to be her mentor and ensure she succeeds at becoming everything she has ever wanted and then some. It's why I'm freaking out that she isn't here yet.

The door to my office bursts open, the wood slamming against the stone wall behind it, startling me from my thoughts and pacing. My body automatically goes on the attack as I tense, ready for whatever fight is about to come my way. As I turn to look at the intruder, I see it's here. My obsession. My love. My Mate. Arabella.

"I'm sorry," she manages to mumble around her gasps for breath. "I'm so sorry I was late. We lost track of time talking."

The tension drops out of my shoulders the second I realize it's her, in the flesh, safe and sound. A slight bruise is still fading on her cheek but if it wasn't for knowing about her prior abuse I never would have seen the mark. Concern fills me as I take a tentative step toward her. I have a million and one questions, but I also want to yell at her about communication and finding out where in the hell she has been. My mind and heart war with one another as I try to find any sort of words.

"Uh, are you okay?" she asks, walking forward until she comes to a stop in front of me. If I lifted my arm I could run my hand down her face and pull her against me into a hug. It's exactly what I want to do but I can't move. "Warrick?" she questions, again softly. "You're starting to freak me out."

"Where were you, Arabella?" I bite out, barely containing my anger and fear. She doesn't deserve it, logically I know that, but trying to tell my mouth that it isn't working well.

"I told you I lost track of time," she answers softly, shying away from me. Her eyes are filled with confusion and a hint of fear as she takes a step back out of reach. The smile she had on when she walked through the door is gone.

Shit. That wasn't what I wanted at all and I have no idea how to make this better.

"Why didn't you answer your phone the past two days? I was worried about you. Councilwoman Talia told me what happened with your dorm. I tried to message you, but you didn't answer me. Do you know how worried I was about you?" I growl out, shaking my head as I begin to pace once more. The control I thought I gained back by her entering the room snapped once more and is gone.

"I'm... I'm sorry," she stumbles, clutching the strap of her bag tighter to her chest. "I haven't looked at my phone at all, I'm not even sure if it's alive to tell you the truth. It's been a little hectic and Councilwoman Talia kept me out of classes yesterday I had special one-on-one training sessions instead." Her voice sounds confident but her posture is not so much. That's what gives it away to me. There's more going on here.

"Is that all?" I push, hoping she will just tell me herself. I don't want to force it, but I will. If it means keeping her safe, I'll do whatever it takes, even if she tries to hate me for it at first.

"Yes," she answers, nodding. "Are we going to have our session, or are you going to grill me the whole time about my whereabouts?" The sass in her tone makes me think that she isn't trying to hold a grudge, but I wouldn't put it past her.

"If you told me the whole story or I don't know, bothered to tell your mate," I added emphasis to the word," then I wouldn't be standing here grilling you about anything."

"After all this time you're finally going to use us being mates against me? You," she pushes, "the one who didn't want to admit that we were mates over some sense of protection? If that's how this is going to go then I'm done." Arabella turns and storms toward the door and I don't bother to stop her, knowing full well that she isn't going to leave.

No, Arabella is a fighter, especially with me. She shows her true self and shines. She won't leave this fight, especially because she's right. I gave her what she so badly wanted by admitting we were mates. She won't give up on us that easily. Plus, I will grab her and pull her back into this room if she steps out that door. We aren't done talking. Not by a long shot.

I watch as she wraps her hand tightly around the handle of my office door and begins to turn the knob. Fear spikes inside of me afraid that I got it wrong and she really will walk away from me. "You know, I'm really tired of people thinking they can tell me what to do today," she sighs, shaking her head.

"I'm not telling you what to do, I'm asking for you to respect me as your mate," I answer as I watch her pause at the door. It's not like I'm asking for much just some consideration from her. I was worried and it seems like she could care less which is only leading to pissing me off more than I already am. She's definitely earning herself a spanking with this if I had my way.

"Respect?" she responds with a dry laugh. "Learn the definition of the word before trying that with me, Warrick. I thought you were different. What happened to the guy who was my best friend and was always there for me? I've never seen you behave like this and honestly, I'm disappointed. I thought you would be better. I guess that's my mistake. I built up what it would be like to be with you in my head over the last couple of years and you are falling so short of that line, it's disappointing. When you get your shit together and can treat me right let me know." Her tone left no room for argument as she opened the door and walked right out slamming it behind her in the process.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I snarl, grabbing the closest thing to me, a book, and throwing it at the very door my mate just walked out of. None of this is how I expected that conversation to go. Not one little bit of it. How did it go from her being in the wrong and not telling me what happened or answering her phone, to me being the asshole? Shit, I have no idea how I'm supposed to fix this.