Under The Sea

Chapter Twenty

I stood there, eyes wide, like a lone deer caught in headlights. Jacin was here. He was actually here. His eyes met mine and I saw a rainbow of emotions flicker like a candle through his eyes; surprise, guilt, frustration. Before I made any moves toward him, I took a step back and looked at him, really looked. He was fatigued. His body never sagged like it did now, the skin under his eyes had never looked so dark. It were as if he caught a malady of some sort. He looked defeated. Beaten. Brought down by something that I now wanted to defeat myself. Just for hurting him.

His sea blue eyes were still bright and alive, but now with worry, and stress.

My voice bubbled up from inside of me, "Jacin," I said hesitantly. I couldn't imagine the emotions he felt for me at the moment. I had defied his trust, lied to him, put him in a position he said he never wanted to be in.

"Forest," he said, the frustration never straying from his eyes.

"Jacin, I'm sorry," they were the first words that fell from my mouth, the only words I could think of that he probably wanted to hear.

He looked away then, sighing through his nose. His jaw clenched.

I looked to the guards, "let me in please," I said softly. They nodded and soon the light clanging of keys filled my ears. I stepped into the cell, and slowly yet indefatigably approached Jacin.

I sat beside him, the cold floor biting into my back side. Touching his arm lightly I spoke again, "Jacin? Talk to me." He looked at me, nervousness burning bright in his eyes.

"The kingdom," he hesitated, "it's all gone to hell." He said bitterly. "There is so much we need to talk about," he shook his head, and then he looked at me, finally. "Forest, what have you gotten yourself into?" He looked around, his eyes doing all the gesturing for him. He eyed the guards, the cell, and  Aran, who was now walking towards us. Jacin automatically shifted closer to me, ready to pounce, attack, win. When he placed an arm on mine and pulled me closer, a deep inhuman grumble escaped from Aran's throat. I found myself being pulled out of Jacin's hold and pushed behind Aran. I watched the two men fight each other with their eyes. An unspoken introduction hung between them.

I stepped between them, "Aran this is Jacin, Jacin this is Aran," I said slowly, hoping they would both simmer down.

"Who is he Forest?" Aran grounded out.  I sighed, I had a lot of explaining to do.

                            • • • •

The three of us sat around the dining table of the pack house, waiting for either one of us to start explaining. Aran looked fairly bored, but occasionally flashed a glare at Jacin. And Jacin looked on edge, ready to strike if need be. I on the other hand felt in the middle of a great battle, trying not to get hit by either side. The tension was thick, and so was the awkwardness.

I cleared my throat and two pairs of hard eyes landed on me. "So, Aran, Jacin is my best friend and was also the person that protected me at home, he was like my body guard," a protestant snarl was heard from Jacin; he hated being referred to as a 'bodyguard'. I watched Aran digest the information, and then slowly look back to Jacin, this time without hate, but with suspicion. I didn't expect him to trust Jacin right away.

"Jacin, I'm not going to beat around the bush about what Aran is. I'm sure you've noticed how odd they smell and how different they act compared to normal hu-"

"Just get on with it Forest," Aran sent a warning growl his way for the disrespectful tone he used. I sighed.

"Fine, Aran and probably everyone you've met so far is a werewolf."