Page 61 of Rejected Pregnant Mate

"He said there was magic involved," Scott continued. "And I could smell your magic on him, but it smelled wrong. Bitter."

The darkness. I could still feel it lurking, not inside of me, but all around us. "I can explain."

"You're going to explain how you're secretly wielding dark magic and losing control of it?" Jayce barked a cruel laugh. "Or are you just going to lie?"

"Let her speak," a third voice added. Joe, standing near the edge of the room, giving us space. He wasn't looking at me with accusation, just caution.

I sighed and turned back to Scott, who had pulled me into his lap like he feared I would disappear if he let me go. I didn't know what to say, so I started at the beginning, the night of the car crash, the accident that killed my parents. And how it had warped something inside of me. Turned a part of me black. And when my magic manifested, I was still so lost in my grief that I'd accidentally fed that darkness, combining it with my growing power. As I got stronger, so did the darkness, and it tainted every spell I'd tried to cast.

"But it's gone now," I insisted, motioning for Scott to help me stand. "It forced me to come here, the epicenter of my grief and insecurities, where it would be strongest. It thought it could force me to accept it back in full, not just the little pieces of it that had been left behind when I broke our bond, Scott. But I managed to banish it."

"Then how can we all still sense it?" Jayce bit out.

"I banished it from my body, but it was still so strong that it managed to soak into the land here." I looked around at the house I'd loved so much before avoiding it, and was surprised to realize I didn't feel any panic being here anymore. "But I know it now. I can banish it for good, if you give me the chance."

"How can I trust you?" He snapped. "After what you did to Aaron?"

"Jayce," Scott warned. He stood next to me, hands clenched into fists at his side, jaw set. "Don't talk to her like that."

"Scott," Joe said, voice low. "She could be dangerous. If what she's saying is true, and she casts dark magic without even realizing it..."

Tired of the arguing and tired of the heaviness surrounding me, I raised my magic and called it forth. For the first time, it answered me easily, glowing a clean, pure gold as it poured over me. Before they could refuse, I let it wash over Scott, Jayce, and Joe, letting them see for themselves that the darkness was truly gone.

Joe stared at me in shock. Jayce looked...less angry, at least. And Scott was looking at me with so much pride in his expression that I couldn't stop the blush rising to my cheeks. I let the magic go, and it dissipated, leaving us alone in the center of the room.

"Now, can you help me banish the darkness from my family home?"

Chapter 26 - Scott

I knew I was fully back in control of myself when I resisted the urge to throw Nayeli over my shoulder and run with her until we were far away from that dark house. Somehow my mate had ended up in the place she wanted to avoid more than any other place on the planet, and she was still being so damn brave.

I didn't know what she'd seen when she was in the dream state before I found her, but it had shaken her to her core. Despite that, Nayeli still stood tall, ready to banish whatever horrible thing had been haunting her and fucking up her magic for years.

Jayce and Joe watched her every move, and I could tell neither trusted her. At least not fully. I didn't blame them, but I also didn't care. I trusted Nayeli, and I knew I'd never let anything happen to her.

"Do you need any supplies?" I asked her, and Nayeli shook her head.

"No. There isn't really a spell for this. I will just draw the dark energy out of the soil and banish it."

"Where? Into the air?" Jayce scoffed. "Won't that just spread it further?"

"No," Nayeli said patiently. "The darkness is strong enough to linger here but not strong enough to survive on its own for long. It's feeding off the leftover negative energy in the house, the grief that I left behind. Once it's gone, the darkness will dissipate on its own."

"And you can do that?" Joe asked, eyebrows raised. He was looking at her in a different way now, more interested than suspicious.

She nodded. "I know I can. I just might be weak afterward." She turned to look at me, a soft smile on her tired face. "But Scott is fine with carrying me. He's proven that a few times already."

The idea of her banishing the darkness and draining herself to the point of fainting didn't sit well with me. Hell, it pissed me off. "No. That's not going to work."

She frowned. "We can't just leave it like this."

"I felt you pull on our bond for some of my strength earlier. This time, let me be your anchor. You're not doing this by yourself."

"You're sure?" she asked, a tremor in her voice. I nodded.

"Absolutely."

With that, we went to the center of the living room, Nayeli's hands in mine while the other two Alphas bore witness. I wanted to get her out of that house so damned bad. There were memories of her old life in every corner, from the dusty furniture to coupons still attached to the fridge with magnets. The darkness was tangible, but beneath it, I could also sense the warmth of good memories. Maybe once this was done, Nayeli could return here and reminisce without it shattering her.

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