Word Count: 1834

¬Rosie

Harlen does a good job in getting as much distance between us and Time as possible.

He ushers me quickly out of the building and into a vehicle, locking my door behind him. I don't bother fighting back, even if the closing of the car door has my blood chilling, my heart jumping into my throat. I may be in the presence of my brother, but the last thing I feel is safe. His claim to keep my safe is nothing more than an excuse.

And excuse to hurt someone I love. Love.

Time is sitting in the room still, surely concocting a plan of destruction to get me back, once the poison is out of his system. But if they have more technology like that, which hurts immortals, I refuse to get him involved.

My brother won't hurt me. Harlen may be unrecognisable, but he wants me alive; he thinks he is saving me. I have to get myself out of this myself, but quickly. I have no way of contacting Time, and he is going to be searching the moment he is free.

Harlen and I don't exchange any words for quite some time. As he drives, I pay special attention to the direction we head. I'm not coming back to the place Time whisked me away to, as I assume the moment he can use his magic, he will be out of there. But I want to keep my bearings, to have an advantage, despite everything.

We seem to drive for hours before I have the courage to muster up any words. "Who even are you anymore?"

It hurts to say it, but it's true. Who is he? Harlen and I didn't always get along in childhood; he was always so outgoing, always doing something with people I didn't know. But he was still my brother, and I loved him.

Do I still love him? Yes, of course I do.

"I'm not the one mated to a pure-blood immortal," he replies, looking straight ahead at the road. The tone of his voice makes me flinch more than the words he snaps at me. It's not anger, but a kind of disappointment that has me sinking back into my seat. I refuse to appear offended thought. You can't control who your mate is.

"Why do you hate pure-bloods so much? You never mentioned anything like that when..." I break off, my voice getting lost with the wind that whips through the half open window.

Harlen looks over at me with a grim expression, knowing what I was meaning to say. "When I was alive? Altin and I died in a stupid accident, but you...you should have lived. He didn't have the right to take that away from you. And then you go and forgive him."

"That's none of your business. How do you know any of that?"

"Ever since you came here, we have been watching. I told you that," he tells me lightly. The way he says it suggests he thinks I should be grateful for him, for looking out for me, then pulling something like this. He even has the audacity to smile, and even though its the same smile from our childhood, that used to make me happy, has my stomach turning.

I grit my teeth, trying not to erupt in anger. "Well I'm sorry I was distracted by you shooting my mate in the chest. Where did you get that technology from anyway?

"I have a lot to catch you up on, don't I?" he murmurs, that smile still painted across his face. He looks at me, the tension gone. "We used to argue a lot when we were children. Altin and I used to chase away your boyfriends."

He's right, we did fight. A lot. But we still loved and forgave each other every time.

But not this time. If Time wasn't immortal, he would be dead.

"You can't chase away a mate," I remind him. My initial anger is starting to reduce, especially with the mention of my oldest brothers name. Altin. Altin was always different to Harlen, always home helping our mother, studying or painting. He was soft, intelligent and kind, and never pushed me, nor argued with me.

As much as I was devastated with Harlen's death, Altin's left a void not just in my heart, but in the household. His death twisted my mental state into something dark, miserable and untouchable. No one could have saved me.

Until I died. And I spent many years within Death's realm trying to improve myself ...it was possible, all because I new in the Immortal realm, I could find Altin and Harlan.

And now I have...And Harlen is nothing like my brother. Not anymore.

"No, but I'm hoping to prove to you that despite the matebond, you can do better. Time is poison, like all those immortals are," he explains, the smile vanishing, replaced by a sense of pride, like he has done me a favour by getting me out of that situation. He always thought I was stupid, as the younger sister, but now he thinks I am for being with my mate.

I growl under my breath. I've had enough, I want out of this, even if I don't stand a chance."Let me out of this car."

"Gladly. We are here."

Shocked, I look out the window, to see a pair of gates gliding open, revealing a magnificent manor behind it. I had been so wrapped up in arguing with Harlen, I hadn't realised we had made it. I'm not exactly sure where we are, but by the trees everywhere, I'm going to guess Thought's territory. That's good...Thought is on our side, he can help me.

Harlen gets out of the car, rounding it to unlock my side. Brushing past him, I look toward the main entrance of the estate, seeing a figure walking out the door towards us. It takes me only one glance to realise who that mussed deep brunette hair belongs to.

"Altin!" I yell, running toward him with outstretched arms. That characteristic smile of my older brother greets me, as I throw myself into his arms, immediately basking in the familiar feeling of his arms around me.

"Rosie. It's so good to see you," he breathes into my hair, before holding me outstretched. "And you're healthy, and alive."

"Of course I am. What's going on here?"

He grins down at me, his lazy, boyish smile and ruffled hair not having gone anywhere. The glasses he once wore have vanished, with immortal perfection having whisked away any sign of deterioration. And of course, those blue eyes haven't changed, which all of us siblings share. Despite our differences, we could always look at each other and know that no matter what, we are related.

"This is where we have been staying. Where we have been working. Here you will be safe, away from all these immortals," he tells me warmly, shaking me shoulder gently like he used to when I was a child. But it's not enough to stop the cold chill that falls over me.

"You believe what Harlen does? You were always the smart one,"

"Think about it, Rosie. People fear immortals for a reason. Being mated to one is only going to get you killed," Harlen says from behind me. I don't even waste a glance in his direction. Harlen was a surprise to begin with, but now it's settled fine. Altin is the biggest shock.

Altin still smiles at me, making my stomach turn. "If we hadn't gotten to Sinful first, he would have come for you. Luckily, he has no interest in dealing with Time's business."

"Which means us. He doesn't want to be involved with any resistance."

I narrow my eyes, letting that sink it. It sounds utterly ridiculous, like my two brothers have been brainwashed by some unknown force. I want to grab their shoulders and shake some sense into them. Yet I can't, because despite this sounding absurd, this is serious. Harlen shot Time in the chest, and Altin was likely a part of it too.

"So that's what this is, some kind of resistance by two powerless guys," I retort, as Altin leads me inside the manor. It's awfully bare of furnishings in here, clearly unlived in. This must be the base of operations they speak of, which is almost comical enough to make me laugh.

"We have power in the technology. Harlen builds it, and I do the research," Altin explains, closing the front door behind me. I've yet to try physically escape; I've been biding my time. "But there are more people involved. More than we are willing to show you."

"We can't have you reporting anything back to Time. Not if...you've affirmed your mate bond," Harlan says, his voice drawing off awkwardly at the end. Altin doesn't know what he means, but I surely do. My cheeks immediately flush bright red, as I think about what has occured only hours ago between Time and I.

"What are you going to do, lock me in a dark room and torture me until I agree not to be his mate anymore? Pretty sure that's not how it works," I says flatly.

Altin and Harlen exchange glances, and suddenly my heart jumps into my throat.

I can't possible have guessed that, right?

"No, we have other plans for you," Harlan says softly, suddenly now looking like he feels sorry for me. Reluctantly, I let Altin grab my arm, leading me up a winding staircase to the top level. They don't stop, despite my protests, until they reach a room, pulling me through into it. It's a small room, but it's well furnished and more comfortable than the dark room I was expecting.

I whirl around, already anticipating what they are going to do."Altin, don't let him do this, you know this is wrong."

"We are trying to help you, sister. We love you," Altin tells me firmly, before he closes the door behind him and Harlan.

The faintest click of the lock chills my blood.

The moment I hear their footsteps disappear down the hallway, I turn around, walking toward the bed to sit upon it. Closing my eyes, I think...hard. Concentrating on the darkness of my mind, I think, far beyond my own mind, calling for someone who isn't in the room right now.

Thought, please...I need your help.

💗••💗

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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~Midika 💜🐼