Word Count: 1560

~Kezziah

Time greeted me in a local bar once I had thanked Rosie and left.

It is almost empty in here considering the time of night. Once man sits in the corner of the room, sipping on his drink drunkenly. Time sat in a booth, holding a drink filled with a bronze liquid full of froth. He raises a dark eyebrow at me expectantly, waiting for me to share with him whether I succeeded or not.

"It's done," I mutter, falling into the otherside of the booth tiredly. I'm empty after doing that, after seeing her in person and commiting what would normally be a heinous crime were it not for an Immortal like Time.

"Thank you," he murmurs, taking a sip of his drink. "How is she, dare Rosie? As depressed as I assume she is?"

I shrug, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing.

"You don't deserve her. I hope she never wants you, and gives you all the hell on the world until you realise how truly lonely you are," I spit, folding my arms on the table. Time blinks, golden eyes blazing silently. He doesn't look all that affected by what I said, however, there is that small flicker of anger within him that he cannot hide.

"That's no way to speak to your mate," Time mutters, leaning forward. He grabs both my hands, but no matter how hard I pull away, I can't escape him. His grip is so tight, it almost begins to hurt, pressing my knuckles together.

I grit my teeth, knowing that is his warning. "I did what you wanted me to. Now keep your end of the deal, and get rid of this mate bond between us."

Time smiles almost deviously, but nods.

"I am a man of honour, believe it or not. A deal is a deal," he tells me, as I believe for a second he has any honour. I'm not going to say no to this deal though. Once I am free from him, it is only the brand I need to get rid of. Maybe I can get the cure off Time earlier through Thought so a cure of Alden can be the main focus.

Time closes his eyes, so I do so too. His hands tighten even more around mine to the point I was going to protest, until I could feel something pulling inside me. It runs through my entire body, until I can feel it seep back into Time, leaving my body completely.

Once it was fully gone, a spark of pain floods through me, making me jerk away from him. My heart doesn't slow down it's beating until the pain diminishes.

The mate bond is gone.

Relief consumes what had left me empty in that moment. It's gone. Finally, I can be with Alden and there is no worry anymore. All I need to remove is this brand on both him and I. Then, we can be free, and I can live my life happily, for once. Time has taken my family from me, but he won't take anyone else.

Pulling my hands from his, I stretch, feeling as if a weight as diminished off my shoulders. Even Time looks satisfied. He might have been using me, but I can tell he is relieved he can be with his own mate now.

I decide I need to see if I can get anymore out of him. "And this ugly brand on my skin? I've done what you've wanted."

A smile touches his lips.

"I quite like keeping a piece of me with you forever," Time tells me slowly, throwing back the rest of his drink. I should have known, considering he is the most narcissistic being to exist that I know of. At least I know I have another way of forcing him to get rid of it. "Do you really think I want you to forget me?"

Gritting my teeth, I know there is no point in arguing with him about this, considering how stubborn he is. So I decide to change the subject, hoping he will hurry and take me home. "Why are you drinking alcohol?"

"I like knowing something that completely manipulates a mortals personality can't touch someone like me," he tells me, the lowlights above him shadowing his face.

I almost roll my eyes. Almost.

Luckily, Time stands, and we leave the bar, going outside. I'm excited to go back to Alden, but nervous to tell him what I did to get rid of the mate bond. He might be mad, considering I practically murdered a girl for him. Just thinking about it makes me want to be sick, but it was either me or Time who was going to it.

Time grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop just as we left the warmth of the bar and back into the bitter cold of the Independence Pack. "I can reunite you with your parents, you know. Just like Rosie, it would be that simple. You could be an immortal."

It takes me a moment to realise what he is saying, until I realise he is insinuating he wants to kill me. I pull away from his grasp, shaking my head.

"Take me home."

Finally, Time decided he didn't need to terrorise me anymore, and took me home, grabbing my wrist, letting the world around my disappear. When my eyes opened again, I was standing at the border of Alden's property. Luckily, Time can't go in, so the moment he lets go of me, I step over the line.

"When will I see you again?" he questions, leaning his arm against a tree. I'm unsure of whether he is trying to be coy or not, but I'm not having it. I turn around and walk in the opposite direction to him toward the house.

He doesn't call for me again, and when I glance over my shoulder, he is gone. It feels good seeing him gone. To feel the mate bond being gone.

I couldn't feel better.

Walking into the house, I first see Alden, sitting down on the couch, head in his hands. I pause in the doorway, unsure of how to approach him. I've only been gone for a small amount of time, however, it feels like I haven't seen him in decades. I can't wait to tell him the mate bond between me and Time is gone.

"I'm home," I say softly, trying to get his attention. Alden looks up quickly, startled by my voice. He looks over me for a fleeting moment, seeing if Time has harmed me in any way while I was gone.

He jumps up, grabbing me into a hug that consumes me with so much warmth, I never want to leave his grasp.

I can feel, though, he has a million questions.

He pulls away, holding my at arms length. "Are you okay? What did he do to you? I was so worried, I barely slept last night. All I could think about what Time taking you to a dark prison within a place I would never be able to reach you. You shouldn't have agreed to go, I thought..."

He breaks off, taking a deep breath. Once he looks over me again, realising there are no marks or no harm on my body. He seems to visibly relax. Leading him over the couch, I make him sit, wanting to explain things to him.

"I met Time's true mate," I tell him. "It was sad knowing her fate is to be mated to one of the crulest creatures in existence."

"He wanted you to meet her?" Alden questions.

"It's a long story, but that doesn't matter," I tell him firmly, grabbing his hands tightly between mine. I'm not sure when I will tell him about what happened to Rosie, but I know now wouldn't be good. Not when I just returned from being taken by Time. Alden seems shaken up enough as it is.

"All that you need to know, is there is no more mate bond between Time and I," I tell him, beyond happy to get it off my chest.

He looks confused for a moment, as if he can't quite believe me. "How?"

"Let's just say, Time most likely wanted it gone at the end of the day as much as I did. It didn't take much," I tell him. Alden smiles softly, leaning up to kiss me. I savour the feeling of his lips against mine for a moment before speaking again. "All that matters is that it's gone. We don't have to worry about it."

Alden nods, his fingers tracing around the base of my neck. "Now, all that is left is this mark. Then, he will be gone from your body forever."

Hopefully Thought will be able to help us with that. He wants revenge on his own brother, and we are going to get it.

And then he can concentrate on his own mate, and I can concentrate on mine.

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

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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)

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Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼