TIMELESS

Treason

SELENE

A feeling my mind and body had become so accustomed to made itself known once more, complete and utter terror. "So you thought that I couldn't get to you just because you were in the safety of Malachai's castle, one thing you should know Selene is that with magic there's always a loop hole," the was a twisted smile on Demetre's face which made me all the more fearful of him. I finally got a good look around the place and noticed it was a cell with silver chains hanging from the ceiling. "I'm going to punish you Selene, for the slut you are and for betraying your kingdom," Demetre said to me I'm a cold tone, I couldn't understand why he was doing this at all, "why, you clearly don't want me so why would you care if I wanted someone else?" I said while trying to get over the pain of being kicked so violently.

"You see even if I want nothing to do with you I won't have my reputation ruined and I won't have female who's supposed to be my Luna go running to the king of blood suckers. So I don't want you for anything else other than arm candy Selene, that's all you're for but because you committed such an atrocious crime in my eyes as well as those of the pack you will be punished according to the law," He looked at the man who had dragged me here and told him to teach me a lesson but keep me breathing, he looked at me one more time and said, "don't bother crying out to your precious lover because the link has been severed."

After that he left me to my fate and no sooner than that the guard dragged me to my feet and chained my up. "You're going to pay dearly for what you did to our king w***e," he said and the last word my heart hurt. Was I a w***e?

While I was lost on thought a sudden wave of pain spread through my back and to the rest of my limbs and it made me scream in agony. The whiplashes kept on coming one after another until my screams died down. I could tell my shirt was ripped and I could feel the blood seeping from my wounds, in this moment I begged for death to take me but it turned a deaf ear.

MALACHAI

I was talking to my advisors about expanding our territory east when Lara the servant I assigned to my little mate burst in, she was panting and her heart was beating as if she had just run a marathon. This couldn't be good. "Forgive me your majesty," she said between breaths, "but I can't find miss.Selene anywhere and I've searched all possible locations but I can't find her.

Every hair on my body stood at attention as a feeling of worry settled at the pit of my stomach, "get the guards," I told her Calmly even though I was panicking, I left the meeting in search of Selene she couldn't have gone far the castle was huge she was probably somewhere here right? right?! I tried to reach her mind but I couldn't, all I was getting was static from her end.

The guards had searched the entire castle and some of them went into the castle town but there was still no sign of her. This was when I really started to get worried, where the hell was she but somewhere deep down I knew that wherever she was it wasn't a good place.

JULIETTE

I sat in the office trying to negotiate with my brother and lunatic of a father, this was the problem with alpha males, they always thought they were right and everyone else was wrong. "You surely can't be serious, you've seen how he treats her father do you really blame her for wanting someone else and let's not forget that he is her mate for crying out loud!" I screamed, I did not get the full story but from what I knew Demetre shouldn't be thinking of what he was, "This doesn't concern you Juliette, your friend committed a crime this is practically treason because she was your brother's chosen before she was his mate, " my father said.

I threw my arms in the air when the door suddenly opened revealing my terminally ill mother who shouldn't be out of bed, I immediately rushed to her side and helped her walk the rest of the way in. "Demetre, I heard what you're planning on doing and I'm here to tell you it's not right, ever since that girl came here you've done nothing but abuse her verbally and physically and now that her mate found her you want to take that away?" "I admit I was wrong for forcing you to taker her but you cant keep this up," my mother said with much difficulty.

He rolled his eyes, "I am not only the alpha of this pack but the king of all werewolves everywhere and I will not have my name dragged through the mud by a human female. She will pay and I have decided, I am the king after all," he said in a tone I had never heard before and it made me wonder if the person I was talking to was actually my brother or his doppelganger. "Demetre, if you harm Selene in any way you will face the full wrath of the king of vampires, there will be war brother and you know that the only other kingdom who can beat him is the king of the ghouls and he will undoubtedly side with him on this, do you really want the anger of those two directed at you?" I asked him, he had to be scared if he was smart, Malachai was not one to be tested and fact that he was always cheery made you all the more wary of him, " If he wants a war I will give him one but that slut will pay," he declared and walked out. I slumped back into my seat, if he harms her and Malachai finds out that he so much as kidnapped her there will no doubt be dire consequences.

SELENE

I don't know how long I had been here for because this cage had no windows and was probably one of the ones underground. I was basically starved down here given the pitiful amounts of food and water I received, definitely smelled piss too because every time I had to go he only placed a bucket under me. Aside from that a witch came every so often and did things to me; I assumed that she was cloaking me meaning by now Malachai and Cassandra knew I was missing and were definitely looking everywhere.

I paid mind to the footsteps that had stopped at my cell assuming it was either my tormentors or Demetre who gloated often. The gasp is what caught my attention making me lift my head with the little strength I had, it was Juliette and tears were streaming down her delicate face. She apologized to me for letting it go this far and asked for my forgiveness because there was nothing she could do to avoid the inevitable outcome.

After a few minutes the guard came back with another in tow, they unlocked my chains and dragged my almost lifeless body to wherever or was I was going to receive my final punishment. When we walked out the exit the harshness of the light burned my eyes making me hiss; so it was daylight after all. They dragged me all the way to the entrance of the forest that I'm sure I had never been near, where a crowd gathered and these were all the officials, the council members, the beta pair, gamma pair, and delta pair.

All of them looked at my with disgust, pity or hatred and then I saw him standing at the middle of it all, with three guards restraining huge wolves that looked rabid. The wolves bared their teeth at me and this setting was all too familiar; the only thing different between now and that dream not so long ago was that we weren't in an arena.

"What is this?" I asked him and he smiled at me, it was an innocent smile that could fool even a god, "Selene Marshall, you as the Luna of this pack and unofficial queen of werewolves have committed a grave sin even before your coronation, your sin is infidelity against the king as his chosen mate and as such have brought shame upon us, for this you shall be charges with treason and pay for your atrocious crimes with your life just as your parents have paid with theirs."

I could have sworn my heart stopped beating in that moment, "what do you mean just as my parents what did you do?!" I yelled and he waved for someone to come forward, in his hands he held a bloody picnic blanket, laid it in front of me and opened it revealing two severed heads one of which was my mother's and the other my father's.

In that moment time stopped moving and the world froze into place as I stared at the lifeless eyes of my parents frozen in terror, an image that was not my own flashed my my memory as clear as day but I was too engrossed by the fact that I was staring at the heads of my parents. "you killed, them..." I said still looking at that horrifying sight, "the law is the law now you better start running if you don't want to end up like mummy and daddy Selene I'll even give you a five minute head start," he cooed and the growling of those mutts brought me back to reality and I bolted.

The adrenaline pumped in my veins making me forget how badly I hurt, the only thing on my mind was survival no matter how hopeless it seemed. I ran in the woods twisting and turning on to a new route every few seconds. My legs hurt and my lungs were on fire but I had to keep running if I had any hope. All too soon I heard the sound of leaves being crushed and barking. My fear rose to new heights but I kept running no matter how many times the sharp pebbles broke the skin on my feet, no matter how much my body begged me to stop.

While trying to switch to a new path I tripped over a root and my body was sent tumbling forward, when it came to a stop all the adrenaline had worn off and I found myself looking up at three huge wolves. At least this way I would see them again, I was so mad at them that I forgot they probably had no say in the matter.

My entire life flashed before me as I accepted my fate when suddenly one of the wolves had it's neck snapped and fell right next to me, while I watched the life drain from it's eyes I had not noticed that the other two had been taken care of.

A man knelt down in my line of sight and smiled in relief; his appearance screamed vampire with his crimson and black veined eyes. "You're lucky I was close to the border and found you when I did because the King would have gone more insane over your death than he is over your disappearance," the stranger said and picked me up; when his arm came into contact with the wounds on my back I hissed earning an apology from him then he started to run. The trees became nothing but a blur as he ran in the direction I was previously headed; within a short time we were in the outskirts of the city that I had never seen before and in no time were at the castle gates where he slowed to a jog. By the time we reached the door Malachai and Cassandra burst out, "Lucas where did you find her and who did this?" he seethed and moments later I was delicately placed in the warm arms of someone who smelled like orange blossoms and damp earth, my favorite scent and I tried to snuggle in to him, "thank your for saving me," I said to Lucas, "and thank you for looking," I told Demetre and Cassandra as I was sucked back into the darkness I had grown so fond of.

MALACHAI

Cassandra was desperately trying to find her just as I was, not only because I asked her but she had had her own motives for doing so, motives she would not disclose to me.

I felt a pressure in my mind as though someone was pushing through and I opened it, ' I found her your majesty but you really won't like what you'll see,' one of my scouts reported and it was Lucas the one I had sent to spy on the werewolf kingdom for anything suspicious, ' where are you and what do you mean I won't like what I'll see?' I said back and he was quiet for a few seconds. ' we're approaching the castle gates right now and trust me it's better you see it for yourself.'

I told Cassie and we made a beeline for the main entrance, at the exact moment I stepped out he was reaching the top of the stairs and the smell of blood hit me, her blood. I smelled her before I saw and and when I did eventually see her my heart shattered. She was in my shirt but it had been tattered and covered in fresh and dry blood. Her delicate skin was covered in dirt, blood and bruises. He now stood in front of me but I could not tear my eyes away from the sight of my other half on the brink of death.

I had asked him where he found her and who did that to her but part of me already knew the answer and I refused to acknowledge it. She winced when he handed her back to me, "Tell all the scouts to come back, and please come with me," I said making my way inside and heading straight for the medical wing. Lucy who was the only available doctor for humans was a bit startled when I barged in holding a semi lifeless body but didn't ask any questions.

I placed my unconscious mate on the bed and Lucy proceeded to cut her only clothes off her, While she tended to Selene I talked to Lucas, "I was on the edge of the werewolf territory when a human ran by my peripheral vision a few miles away from me and three rogue wolves ran after her." "I followed them but it was almost too late because I found her laying on the ground beneath them, I acted on instinct and killed all three rogues; it was only then that I noticed it was her and it was a miracle that she was able to run in her condition and at that speed," he explained.

The rage I had been feeling for the passed two weeks started to boil over, he took her! That mutt had the guts to take my mate and beat her close to death this meant- "your majesty I think you should see this," Lucy said breaking my train of thought and when I looked at Selene my stomach lurched. She had been turned over and there were so many whiplashes on her back that they had cut into her skin, I was unable to move or speak and so was the demon inside me.

"Treat her, do everything you can Lucy," Cassie told her and grabbed me by the arm taking me outside and into another room; she had a furious look on her eyes but there was also fear in them. "Malachai I'm going to tell you something and you absolutely cannot tell a soul about this." "Selene isn't at all human she'll survive but what I'm concerned about is a certain someone or someone's finding out what hap-" she didn't finish speaking when a portal opened revealing the same male from when seen was unconscious the last time.

He looked at her puzzled, "what are you doing in a hospital Cassie?" he asked her and for the first time since I've known her, she was tongue tied. He looked at me then back at her and his eyes lit up in realization then narrowed. He walked passed us, out the door and into the room where Selene was; we followed him and I immediately regretted it. The room was heavy and suffocating as waves or rage rolled off the mysterious man. He turned to us and his eyes were completely black, all traces of normality gone, "who?" he asked in a voice that was so chilling it frightened even me. "Two weeks ago, she was taken by Demetre we only just got her back," I told him and his anger became even more suffocating if that was even possible. "Giordano, calm down," Cassie said and I did a double take, did she just call him what I think she did? "Calm down?" he repeated, "look at her!" "She would be dead if she was human and you expect me to calm down, I am livid Cassandra and you cannot expect that from me, what do you think will happen when they find out hmm do you think they'll be able to calm down?"

"I know it's a lot to ask but please, she's not even awakened yet I know what he's done deserves a fate worse than death but please, let me handle this, you asked me to watch over her all this time for a reason," she pleaded and slowly the anger started to disappear. "Fine," he said in a clipped tone and turned to look at her one more time before walking through the same portal.

I was still in shock, this should not be possible and yet he was right here in front of me. Everything about Selene just got more complicated than it's ever been. My mind was still reeling, I had just met him and he and Cassie seemed to have a connection between them.

I stared at the space he previously stood in, Giordano VetsMata.