Jack's pov

Selene collapsed, unconscious. Looks like she really can't match Slender's power. Her dogs, Fang and Saber, both stood over her protectively, snarling at the faceless man.

Of course, Slender easily scared them off. They both went fleeing back into the woods, whimpering as they did. All the skeletal animals fell apart, littering the ground with bones. I guess without Selene controlling them, they have no way of staying active.

Looking down at myself, I had bleeding bite marks across my arms and small chunks torn from my torso where the rodents had chewed right through my clothes.

Masky and Hoodie's pants legs were torn up and large teeth marks covered their ankles. Jeff came out relatively unscathed this time.

"Now someone tell me how the hell Selene found us." Jeff said with annoyance.

I sighed and turned my gaze to my feet. "I brought her here."

"Jack? You were the one to cause all this?" Slender questioned.

I quickly nodded and explained, "We made an agreement. She spoke to me in my head and asked to see Naomi. I agreed to her terms and didn't tell any of you, but I figured it would be a trap all along. So I used my secret weapon against her, looks like it worked too."

I showed Slender the ring. "Interesting. Well, I suppose everything worked out. Selene has now been captured thanks to you. Just be more careful in the future."

"I will," I answered. "I'll take Selene down to the basement and tie her up as well."

Slender nodded. I went over to the unconscious girl and picked her up, slinging her over my shoulder. I walked past the others and inside, going straight to the basement.

Naomi looked at us with wide eyes. "What the-? You caught Selene?! She'd better not be hurt, or so help me, I'll cut you open the first chance I get!"

"Relax," I said, sitting Selene next to her and taking the dagger off her hip. "She's just unconscious."

I began tying her ankles together and tied her wrists behind her back, same as Naomi. "How did you do it?" the golden-haired girl asked.

I grinned under my mask. "It was easy. She asked me to bring her here and then I used this to get her attention."

I held the ring between my fingers. Naomi glared at me. "You cheating bastard, it's not fair to use something like that against her."

I shrugged. "Whatever works."

I stuffed the ring back into my pocket. I then noticed the necklace and bracelet that Selene wore. They both had swirling smoke inside their crystals as well. I leaned closer, reaching my hand out and brushing my fingers over the necklace.

"Hey, don't touch her!" Naomi shouted.

I retracted my hand and turned my gaze to Naomi. "Why are these pieces of jewelry so important to her? She even called the ring a him."

Her expression turned to one of confusion. "Him? I don't get it. Like I said before, there's a lot that even I don't know about Selene."

"Then I suppose I'll wait to talk to her myself," I said.

I took a seat across from the two. The others came in briefly to check on the the girls, but Jeff was the only one to sit with me and wait. Why he wanted to, I have no idea.

Getting to know others isn't normally his kind of thing. But I didn't bother asking him. Although, by the way he's been acting, I think he's got a thing for Naomi, even though he'd never admit it.

Of course it's not like I'm one to talk. Despite everything Selene has done, I still find her quite fascinating. She and Naomi would both make valuable allies. Besides, I want to be able to learn more about this secretive girl.

Jeff's pov

I don't know why I'm sitting down here too. Jack wanted answers from Selene, but I couldn't care less about that. I think I just mainly want a chance to see Naomi. She's actually really pretty, especially when she's vulnerable like this.

"What? You just gonna stare at me all night?" she said, glaring at me.

I chuckled. "Maybe, why? Does it bother you?"

She turned her head away. "As if, I don't care what you do."

Jack laughed lightly. "You two are so much alike. You'd make a great couple."

"No way in hell!" Naomi and I yelled at the same time.

Jack's laughter died down and he said, "This reminds me of the time you got into an argument with that guy you were gonna kill. Remember that, Jeff?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "How could I forget? That idiot thought he could hide in a damn closet, then when I find him, he yells about how he didn't have time to find a better hiding place."

"What an idiot!" Naomi cried, bursting into laughter as well. "You'd think he was playing hide-and-seek or something! What kind of dumbass says that to a killer?!"

I was actually a bit surprised by Naomi's outburst. I didn't think she'd just join in the conversation like that. Too bad I can't carve her a grin, because she looks better when she smiles like that.

I don't get why I feel this way all of a sudden. Part of me still wants to kill Naomi, but then another part just wants to shower her with affection. Ugh, I hate having feelings like this.

Selene's pov

I awoke to the sounds of laughter. I opened my eyes, seeing Naomi, Jeff, and Jack. All three seemed to be chatting. I moved slightly, finding my ankles and wrists bound.

"Oh, Selene, you're up," Naomi said, smiling from her spot beside me. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

I returned her smile. "I could say the same thing."

Jack interrupted, "Now that we have you here, Selene, I want answers. How did you bring Naomi back to life?"

"I went to the otherworld and retrieved her soul," I answered simply. "I guided it back to her body, giving her another chance. While I was at it, I enhanced her, giving her the power to heal."

Jack then dug into his pocket, pulling out the ring. "And this? You called this "him", what does that mean?"

"I'd actually like to know about that too," Naomi said, tilting her head to the side. "Would you tell me what's going on?"

After a moment, I sighed in defeat. "Alright, I guess I couldn't keep this from you forever. Remember how I told you that those crystals belonged to my family and that they were all I had left of them?"

She nodded. I glanced at the two boys who sat across from us. They were both completely silent, listening to our conversation.

"Well... I lied. Those crystals weren't from my family, they are my family."

Naomi gasped. "B-But how? I thought they died."

"They almost did," I explained. "The disease that plagued them slowly took their lives. I too was affected by it, but for some reason, the spirits favored me and gave me the strength to fight off the disease."

I turned my gaze to the floor. "I then discovered a ritual that would preserve the souls of my family. So I did it. But the results were not what I had expected. Instead of saving their lives I only trapped their souls within those crystals, and I even managed to lose them."

I felt tears forming in my eyes. "I was a foolish, naive child. I shouldn't have performed that stupid ritual. Now the souls of my family are trapped because of me. They must really hate me."

"I'm sure they don't," Naomi said, attempting to comfort me. "You just made one mistake."

"A mistake that cost my family's freedom," I commented.

"But isn't there a way to help them? Couldn't we just break the crystals?" she asked.

"Absolutely not!" I replied. "Shatter the crystals and you destroy their souls. But I suppose... I could perform a ritual to counteract the other. I'd have to have all five of them at once though."

Naomi grinned. "Okay then. Sounds easy enough, well, if it weren't for these guys."

She shot Jeff and Jack a quick glare. Jack held out the ring in his hand.

"I had no idea these were so important to you," he said. "Which one is this?"

I was shocked by his words and his interest in my problems. I stared at him briefly before smiling.

"That would be my brother, Lucien. In the bracelet is my father, Cain, and in the necklace is my mother, Lilah. But we have yet to find my little sister or my grandfather."

"Then... I'd like to help," Jack said.

"R-Really?" I stuttered, stunned by his answer. "You... want to help me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I can tell you need it. We can't free you or anything yet, but I'll keep an eye out whenever I leave."

I smiled. "Thank you."

Jack nudged Jeff with his elbow, causing the white-skinned man to sigh and say, "What the hell, I guess that's a pretty simple task."

"If we do this for you, do you think you could trust us enough for us to untie you both?" Jack asked.

I glanced at Naomi, seeing the surprise on her face as well. I eagerly nodded. "Yes, that would definitely put us on good terms."

"Alright," he replied, "then we'll do what we can."

The two boys stood and left the room. Images of the vials of their blood flashed through my mind.

I lowered my head and muttered, "I still don't see how that fits in."

"How what fits in?" Naomi asked, hearing me. "What do you mean?"

I stared at her briefly, debating whether I should tell her or not. "Well, when I had taken blood from those two, I ran a few tests and discovered something you wouldn't believe... I don't know if I should tell you this."

"Yes, please tell me," she pleaded. "I wanna know."

I chuckled at her. "Very well. According to the spirits, those two are meant to be our mates."

"W-What?!" she yelled, her face turning red. "You mean Jeff and I... together?! There's no way I'd ever accept him!"

"And you think I'd willingly choose Jack after he threatened my brother? No, the spirits must be wrong. They can be quite mischievous sometimes."

She quickly nodded. "Yeah, that must be it. They're most definitely wrong. I refuse to believe it."

"But remember, not a word about this to any of them," I told her. "We don't want to give them the wrong impressions. Pretend this conversation never happened."

She simply nodded. Seems we both refuse to accept something as big as this. But I get the feeling that it will be unavoidable.