Word Count: 1629

~Kezziah

It didn't take Time less than a second to grab my hand and vanish us away.

Shutting my eyes, I prayed he would take me somewhere safe. Somewhere I have a chance of escaping from. Because right now, the last thing I'm wanting to do is cling to Time's arm, being completely at his mercy. How did he even find me? He must have been waiting to track me the moment I stepped off of Alden's property. Damn it.

As the world builds itself back around us, the transportation coming to a close, Time lands gracefully on the ground, while I stumble a few steps before he grabs my arm to stop me. The moment I notice his assistance, I jerk away from him.

"For a moment I forgot how stubborn you were," Time mutters, brushing his dark gloves along his pants. I shoot him a glare.

I'm more interested in where he has taken me.

Of course, he dragged me to his own home, right in the middle of nowhere with no possible escape. Chills fall down my back, as I look back at his massive manor, which looms over me threateningly. How can anyone live in such an isolated place like this? How must truly hate everyone to willingly put himself here.

"What do you want with me?" I growl, digging the tips of my shoes into the dirt, refusing to follow him inside. He faces me, arms folded across his chest, eyes slightly narrowed on me. His impassive expression is unnerving me.

Finally, a smile tugs at Time's lips. "Can I not invite my mate over to my place? We've had this bond going on between us for quite some time now."

"You didn't invite me."

"Semantics. You've surely invited yourself here before, so I don't think you want to go there," Time says, his smile never faltering, however, I can tell he is serious. Glancing down at my fingers, I realised my ring was missing. When I look at his own, it is placed on his finger, glinting at me.

"How?" I gasp, bringing my hand up. The devious glint in Time's eye spells it all out to me. He must have slipped it off my finger when he was transporting us here. He's cunning, which is exactly why I can't trust him.

Time turns around to walk inside, and I don't hesitate in following him. I'm bothered he is walking away, as I have more questions to ask him.

"How did you know I came here? Why am I even here right now?" I question, following him into the house. The same dull music plays up stairs, some kind of classical sound. It isn't as annoying as Fate has described it.

If only I could turn it off, though.

Time doesn't stop walking as he talks. "There's little you do that I don't know. Fate is clever, however, no one comes to my house without me knowing. All he did was slow me down. If you doubt how much I know, I am completely aware of your fun with your other mate in bed. I can smell it on you."

Following Time upstairs, I'm glad he's not looking at me to see the blush spreading across my cheeks. The winding staircase takes up to a top area, all the doors closed that I walk past, the gray carpet under my feet absorbing the sound of my footsteps.

There is no denying this place is creepy. However, I'm curious to see where Time lives, as desperate as I am to get out of here.

Somehow, it's decorated nice. I wonder who did that.

"Why did you bring me here? Are you finally going to kill me?" I mutter, watching him push a door open. He walks me into an office, little furniture. Nothing I can use against him. Although, like he said, I doubt there is much I can do without him finding out. I'm just hoping he doesn't know about my plan with Thought...

"My plan has never been to kill you. I'm using you," he tells me simply, sitting down behind his desk. Naturally, he doesn't have a care in the world about how he talks about me. I'm below him, after all.

I roll my eyes as I sit down on the seat in front of him, despite every part of my body telling me not to. "Charming, as usual."

Time doesn't pay that any mind.

"Being Alden's mate, you mean a lot to my plan. I didn't bet on you being so stubborn, however, what use would you be if you served only one purpose," Time tells me, leaning back in his chair. I eye him, wishing I could see into his head to find out why he is as evil as he is.

"What do you want with me?" I question. The sooner I deal with this, the sooner I can go back to the mortal lands. Sitting in between timelines like this makes me brain hazy, as if it can't quite make sense of what is going on.

Time observes me quietly for a moment, until I have to look away. "I don't want you in particular. However, there is something you can do for me."

"What do I get in return?"

Time might be intimidating, but I'm not foolish enough to go along with every request he makes without some kind of compensation. At my request for more, Time looks pleased I asked. That smile, as graceful as it may seem, is filled with riddles and unanswered questions. He's only giving the information he wants me to know.

"If you do this for me, I'll remove the mate bond. Once you do this, I won't need you anymore. I'll have all I want," Time tells me.

It's a tempting offer. A truly tempting offer. No more mate bond, which means I'll be able to full concentrate on Alden more. Bu what could Time possibly want me to do? I would do anything to get this fake bond removed. Almost anything.

"What do I have to do?" I ask, nervous for his response.

He shrugs his shoulders, getting to his feet. He leans his hip against his desk as he stands next to my chair. He looks devious, holding his gloved hand out to me. Why is he so afraid of touching me? Whatever the reason might be, it's unnerving. The last time he touched my skin was to leave a brand on it.

Not seeing another choice, I take his hand, letting him transport me away to do what he plans. I'm nervous to find out what it is, but at the same time, I want this bond removed.

Feeling is the first sense that comes back to me. And all I feel is cold.

The bitter feeling forces my eyes open as my feet hit wet snow. It sinks right into my shoes immediately. Looking around, I'm in a small townset, the sun setting behind a few houses. Each admit a warm glow, making me want to knock on one of their doors and ask for shelter.

Time has a tight hold on my arm, which I attempt to shake off. "Where are we? It's freezing. You could have warned me."

Time shakes his head at me.

Suddenly, he pulls me down behind a bush, snow falling down the collar of my shirt. I cringe, as chills and icy water trail down my spine. Wherever this place is, it isn't densely populated, and I can tell why. Who would want to live in a place like this?

"Border of the Independence Pack," Time whispers. Of course, that explains the cold. This must be a small village nowhere close to where the Alpha, Faye lives.

"Why are we whispering?" I ask.

Time glares pointedly, silencing me. When he points over the bush, I see what he is looking at. Much to my surprise, I see it's a girl. She looks cold, a large fluffy jacket pulled up over her shoulders as she walks toward a house. I can't see much of her, light brown hair falling out of her hood.

"Who-"

Time silences me again. I watch him cautiously, as he refuses to take his eyes off the girl. Blinking a few times, I bring my attention back to her, curious about why Time has brought me here to see her.

She walks up a porch to a rather small looking house. She kicks her boots against the doorframe, snow falling off the bottoms before she slips them off. I can't see much of her, but she looks pretty, in a refined, poised kind of way.

"Rosie, is her name," Time whispers, finally looking at me as the girl walks into her house, closing the door behind her.

"Who is she to you? And what does that have to do with me?" I ask him.

He smiles at me, and for once, it's soft, not taunting. "That's my mate. My real mate, I mean."

My eyes widen. So eh does have a mate, and by the way he's hiding, she doesn't know it yet. The poor girl, having to have a mate with a heart as dark and plagued as Time's. He must be wanting to use me to tell her, or maybe put in a good word for him.

However, his next words suggest otherwise.

"You're job is to kill her for me," Time murmurs.

💛••💛

If you guys want more of Alden, the rest of available now on Radish (:

🌠••🌠

Sinful's own story is up now on Radish! I wanted to make it apart of the Seven Sins series (which will have stories involving Cian and other characters you've seen before)

☃️••☃️

Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼