Word Count: 1676
¬Rosie
I waited for the entire day, and deep into the night, before I was sure Thought would arrive.
With my ear pressed against the door, I listen for any sense of commotion. Usually, there's not much going on that I can hear from the room, until someone comes up the stairs. So for hours, my head has been pressed against this door, and I have been waiting for Thought to arrive, and get me out of here. And so far, nothing has happened.
Suddenly, the lock to the door clicks, making me jump back, stumbling toward my bed to appear as though I hadn't been waiting for my escape. I expected Altin to come in, to try convince me like he had done just yesterday.
Instead, Thought waltzes in.
All the tension deflates from my body, as I see the immortal, dressed from head-to-toe in darkness, looking at me with that silver glint in his eyes, that smile telling all.
"That was shockingly easy," Thought murmurs, switching my light on. Clambering to my feet, I can't wipe the smile off my face. Seeing Thought here means saviour, it means I'm going to go home and see my mate again.
"Where are they?" I whisper, not recalling any sound of struggle, of fighting. Harlen, Altin and whoever else is involved in this are powerful enough to put up a fight against an Immortal. All it would take was more of those arrows to paralyse, or potentially kill Thought.
Yet here he is, standing before me, completely untouched.
"I snuck into their heads before I even stepped onto the premises, and put them all to sleep for awhile. It will give us plenty of time to get out of here undetected," Thought explains, adjusting the lapels of his jacket casually, as if this took him no effort whatsoever. "Once we get out of here, I'm going to burn this entire place down."
"With my brothers in here?" I question in disbelief. "I won't let you do that."
"No, I have someone who can get them out," Thought tells me, allowing me to fully relax. He grabs my hand, nodding at me before we walk out into the hallway. Everything is doused in darkness, but that doesn't seem to be much of an issue for Thought, as he leads me expertly down the stairs, murmuring for me to watch my step where necessary.
At the main floor, something brushes against me, making me jump. Unable to see anything, I yelp, being quickly hushed by Thought.
"What was that?" I ask warily.
"Probably my friend. He's going to get your brothers out of here, before we burn everything down," Thought says softly, leading me out the front door. Looking around me, I try make out the figure that is Thought's friend. I'm trying this immortal with my brothers lives, as my only option for their safety. Without Thought, I may never escape.
Thought places his hand gently on the back of my neck in a sudden movement, making me flinch. "What are you doing?"
"Getting you out of here," he breathes, and everything goes black.
***
Waking up, it takes takes me a few bleary moments to realise what is going on.
I'm sitting in a chair, facing two other people on chairs. It's Harlen and Altin, except they are tied down to their chairs, looking roughed up, but not hurt. Immediately all the tension leaves my body, the relief that they are alive, and not burning in their own home right now is extraordinary.
My relief vanishes quickly, as Time steps out in front of me, hands in his pockets, looking deceivingly casual, even as he drinks in the sight of my bound brothers. I want to be excited to see him, yet immediately I know this Time who stands before me, isn't the Time I know as my mate. He's about to interrogate my brothers, to be the pure-blood immortal that people will fear. They will fear.
"Before we get into his, you're going to apologise to your sister," Time says lowly, looking between both my brothers.
Altin looks at me, concern swimming in his eyes. "Rosie knows how much I regret everything,"
Time looks back at me, and I nod.
"What about you?" he growls, focusing on Harlen.
"How dare you manipulate her, make her think immortals like you are capable of love. If you've even touched her, I will kill you," Harlen replies, the anger laced in his tone making me shiver. My brother doesn't look at me, focusing all his ire on Time. The way he talks, like he is going to try to break apart our bond for as long as he lives.
"These are brave words coming from the one at my mercy," Time murmurs, gesturing down to the ropes that are tied tightly around their wrists and ankles. "Now apologise."
Harlen glances at me. For a moment I'm convinced he's going to give in.
"You should apologise to her. You're the one who took her from us, ruined her life, and ours," Harlen mutters at Time. I'm not so sure why he is being so brave; at least Altin is smart enough to keep his mouth shut. They just everything they had been working on, all their technology and plans to take down immortals.
"The matebond can be a cruel thing. But so is brothers making their sister feel guilty for loving someone they disagree with," Time says slowly, folding his powerful arms over his chest. He is being remarkably calm, despite what Harlen did to him.
I can't imagine I would be so forgiving.
"Do you really want to live the rest of your life knowing Rosie can do better than you. Should do better than you," Harlen growls, to which I'm surprised Time doesn't even blink at.
"You're starting to bore me, Harlen," Time complains, pacing back and forth methodically, having no issue intimidating the two. He's not leaving here without getting what he wants. "You shot me with an arrow, you steal away my mate and try to make her end our bond...were you not Rosie's brother, you would have been dead long ago."
Finally that seems to resonate with Harlen, as he grits his teeth, lowering his gaze, as if to signify that he is done challenging Time.
"Just apologise, Harlen," Altin growls.
Harlen drags his gaze to me, staring under a fringe of black hair. "I'm sorry, Rosie."
He doesn't mean it. The coldness playing at the edge of his tone confirms that, but I can't bring myself to be angry at him for that. In fact, I don't blame him. But it does still hurt, knowing that after this, he will likely want nothing to do with me.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" .,. "Now, your base has been destroyed, and all other immortals alerted of the technology you were hiding. That should be enough for me to allow you to leave, and for you to know never to come back, or try any of that again, for a very long time."
"Just let us go."
"And you will do everything you can to remedy your relationship with Rosie," Time orders, to which they nod their heads mutely. I doubt there is any truth to that, at least for Harlan. Maybe there could be a relationship to mend with Altin.
Suddenly, both of their binds are released and they are rubbing their wrists gratefully. All Time needs to give them is a nod, to have them getting to their feet and scrambling from the place. I'm not exactly sure where we are, but I have no doubt Time cares where they go from here, exactly.
"You didn't have to do any of that, you know," I murmur, getting to my feet. It takes all there is in my not to launch myself into his arms, to feel his skin against mine, to breathe in his scent again.
"Of course I did. They are your brothers, and you deserve their respect," he say loosely, trying to smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
It hits me in that moment, that there is something wrong. He looks ill, all the colour having leached from his face, the slightest sheen of sweat glistening above his brow. Then, he stumbles toward me, only just managing to right himself.
"Woah," I remark, grabbing a hold of him to keep him from falling. Slowly, I guide him to where I was sitting, letting him relax, even if he grimaces as he sits down. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. That arrow wound is still bothering me," he admits, motioning to the area. The way his breath shudders, his limbs quivering...I'm starting to panic.
"Let me see" I murmur. With my help, we lift the hem of his shirt, not just revealing his well-muscled torso, but also a horrific wound of festering flesh that has turned obsidian black, seeping with blood. "Time, that's really not good."
My stomach turns, but I refuse to appear frightened in front of him. Whatever the arrow is that they used, it did more damage to Time than he let on when he was interrogating them. They must know that the arrow was meant to do more than just paralyse him. If this...if it's bad, I will kill them myself.
"I'm not going to lie to you," he struggles in a rushed breath. "I think this is killing me."
It now seems Harlen and Altin are getting the last laugh.
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Hey guys! If you're enjoying the story, you can head over to Radish and read Time ahead of Wattpad!
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I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radiah! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!
I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:
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