Word Count: 1604

~Rosie

We didn't stay in one place for very long.

Almost as soon as I witness Time killing Jasper, everything around us began to shift and change once again. I grip him, unsure of whether I'm grateful to get away from that, or irritated that I didn't get to know more of the story, and Time's motive. I know why he did it, but I can't just accept it as that. Did he really send Jasper on a mission just for me? I don't want to believe it.

My feet hit the ground with a jarring jolt. Time keeps me standing, as I regain focus on the new world that forms around me. My hand reaches out and I'm touching the rough bark of the tree. We are hiding, again, I realise. This time, we are starting at a scene that takes my mind a few moments to wrap around.

It's Alpha Faye, of the Independence Pack, standing in front of a figure I have never seen before. He has dark curly hair and...golden eyes.

Is that Time in a different body?

They stand by a cliff's edge, the man who I've determined must be time, stands close enough to the edge to have me biting my nails if Time beside me didn't have my hands in his grasp. Faye stands in front of him, distraught look, throwing her hands up in disgust at Time's chest, pushing him violently away from her. He stumbles back a few steps, but doesn't appear too bothered.

"Get off me! Get the hell away," she screams violently.

I glance at the Time beside me, raising a questionable brow. How does Time know Faye? Am I watching a bad breakup? If so, I would be surprised, after what Time did to Jasper for me. Faye is beautiful, but if they were ever together, it would mean everything Time told me is a lie.

He leans into me. "I killed Jasper. For good. She found out and she was angry. I had been inside that bodies head for awhile, and was working on getting out of it. Faye...she had every right to be angry."

"Woah there. I nearly fell," Time says sarcastically to Faye, feigning another step backward like he's about to fall off the cliff. That doesn't seem to impress Faye, who clearly knows if he fell back off the cliff, it is unlikely he would die anyway.

"Good. You deserve to suffer. You will suffer," Faye growls, her anger clearly taking over.

Time doesn't even flinch, regarding Faye with a smile I am most definitely familiar with. I can understand why, after everything he has done, they don't like him so much. But for some reason, hearing that makes my heart fall.

He says something which triggers even more anger out of Faye, as she continues to blow up at him. "No one will ever love you. All of you immortals come from the same damn place, but I'm sure all of them could find love...but you. You're disgusting. You're broken and ruined and all you want is for the best people to hurt. No one will ever care about you."

Suddenly everything seemed to fall into place. Time's doubt, the entire time I've known him, is because of this. Maybe not just because of this instant alone, but with everything in his past, it all lead up to this moment. A breaking point, it seems.

I want to watch more, but at the same time, I don't. I haven't known Time for a very long time, my perception of time passing is all skewed with our wandering through centuries, but the bond has ensured that I've gotten close enough to him that hearing these words hurts me to. As much as I want, or maybe should agree with Faye, I can't. Because somehow, I know Time is more than just his actions.

And I hate that about myself.

Time grabs my hand, and once again, the world shifts around us. With all this transportation, I'm starting to get light-headed, so by the time my feet hit ground, I stumbling backwards, surprised when I sink into the plush clutch of a lounge suite. It takes a few long blinks for me to come to terms with the fact that we are in another room I've never seen before. An intimate style room with dark wallpaper and a lack of windows. I have no clue where we are.

Looking up at Time through my spinning vision, I see him taking his hands back desperately through his hair. He looks at me with vacant eyes, with what little he lets me see being something close to distress.

"One person needed to tell me what I had known for thousands of years. That no one could ever love me. That nothing about me appeals to anyone. When I found out you were a mortal girl living a normal life, I didn't know what to think. I knew you would never come close to loving me," Time says in one breath.

I blink, letting that sink into my brain.

He continues. "Why would you want me? Not because I'm immortal. Do you know how many girls have told me they wanted me for a night to try me out? To know what it is like to be with someone as powerful as me? Too many to count, that didn't want anything more to do with me past their fleeting fascination."

His words hang in the air for a painful amount of time. I let that sink in, each word hitting me differently, eliciting a variety of emotions. Anger, sadness, resentment for people I don't even know. How could they? No, I know how easy it would have been. Wanting apart of a life you don't understand, but not enough for them to witness his power.

"And to think, I though that if I did everything to get to my mate, it wouldn't matter. I wouldn't have to worry, because my mate would love me no matter what, and it would all be worth it. I didn't think it would be so complicated, because clearly I'm not very smart, because you're your own person, and you deserve someone good," Time says, sounding completely breathless.

He breathes in deeply. "You deserve someone better than me."

I'm hardly thinking, as I get to my feet, walking a few cautious steps toward Time. Reaching up, I place my hands on either side of his face, forcing his golden gaze into my own.

"Don't say that. We are mates. I'm not going to lie and say that I accept why you did everything you did, but I understand. Despite how demented it might be, no one will ever want me like you do. If something like that never happens again, then I really think we will work."

Time doesn't seem as though he's thinking as sensibly as I am. His eyes swim with emotion, threatening to pour out across my hands.

"I didn't kill him. He isn't dead," Time whispers.

I frown, surprised at his sudden admission. "What are you saying?"

"You can't hate me. I never killed Jasper. I'm not as foolish as the rest of them are. I know Jasper is alive, in Death's realm, where he will be resurrected soon enough. I never killed anyone, you have to forgive me," Time begs. Of course Jasper isn't technically dead now, but I can't blame them for being angry with him. They may not see Jasper for a very long time, but I also can't bring myself to be completely furious with him either.

"I'm not angry. Is this really what you were so afraid of me finding out?" I ask him lightly. If this was it then...I don't know what to feel. It was bad, yes, but it wasn't the end of the world completely. He hadn't massacred an entire village for no reason at all. He had simply lead himself get lead astray by revenge.

I run my hands over his arms, feeling every slope of muscle. He still looks bothered, his eyebrow never coming unfurrowed. There is more to this than I've caught onto.

"I'm scared of what else I might to do keep you mine. I expect you to leave me, to return to our current time to never speak to me again. That I would understand. But the idea of anyone else coming between us drives me wild. It makes me want to do even worse things than this. I'm scared that will make you hate me even more," he breathes, eyes glowing a brilliant gold under the dim lights of this room.

I sigh deeply. "I'm scared to. But I'm willing to keep giving you this chance. This one chance to prove yourself to me, if you can be completely honest with me.

Just when I thought his mood had improved, his gaze starts to swim again.

"But you shouldn't give me a chance. I put you in this horrible situation myself. I'm selfish and cruel," he breathes. I frown, not quite understanding.

"Time, what do you mean?"

He grabs either side of my face, grip tight. "I'm the reason you came to the Immortal realm in the first place. I'm the one who killed you."

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~Midika 💜🐼