Under The Sea

Chapter Thirty-Three

Aran

Cold showers were the best; the droplets were like small shards of ice, cutting away the pain temporarily. I just wanted the pain to go away; it had come slowly after she was taken; slithered up inside of me like a snake looking to kill. And that's exactly what it was doing; killing me softly, wrapping around my throat and cutting off my air. It controlled me; sometimes I wouldn't eat or sleep because of it. I was an absolute mess, a mess that couldn't look Jacin or the queen in the eyes, a mess that had no idea what to do when the scouts had told me there was no trace of her, a mess that had suffered for four days; unable to sleep without her by my side.

Love was destructive; at first it felt amazing like cold lemonade on a hot summers day, but once that person was taken from you, it became a game of truth or dare. I dare you to live, it would hiss, and right when you considered leaving your life because they had, it'd say no I dare you to die. The truth of your love for that person would be questioned; perhaps you would start to hate them for leaving you, or you would try to move on. I shook my head, love was just too complicated.

A knock on the door shook me from my thoughts. I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I made my way to the front door of my house. Jacin, Forest's mom, Aqua and Thea were all at the pack house; they blamed me.

When I opened the door I was met with a pair of cynical winter blue eyes, which only heightened the anger I felt. Beyond them, the leaves on the trees, now starting to tinge with the red of autumn, rubbed together as the wind blew through them creating a noise similar to that of waterfall, but less roaring. "Get out of here Talia," I refrained from growling at her, my anger contrasted with tranquility of the forest behind the maniacal girl on my doorstep.

"Don't you want to talk more about the treaty between our packs?" I sighed and felt my annoyance rise to a blinding level. I did not want to talk about the treaty that was now off, due to misunderstandings, and I sure as hell did not want to talk about it with Talia, if anyone.

"I'm asking you to leave, please." My teeth shifted together in renascent vehemence. Truly, all I wanted was for her to stop rubbing her eerie presence into mine, it ticked me off. When I looked back into her eyes, I was taken aback by the tender love and care that I saw placed there, almost purposely. She touched my shoulder, and when she did, I felt the coolest amount of peace I had ever felt in my life; although it felt forced, on her part. For a second, it felt as if I were the leaves on the trees, swaying peacefully, without a care in the world, occasionally being taken to a new home by the whistling wind that blew past, but never minding. What an odd sensation it was.  What an odd girl she was. She was nothing like Forest. Forest was kind-hearted, determined, sweet, and shy, but Talia, she was simply odd. She had this power that surrounded her that might be attractive to some, but ultimately was deceiving and cruel.

 That day, when I kissed her, I had felt the same odd sensation that I did now. It were as if all that nonsense she sprouted about our childhood and our friendship was just small talk meant to distract me. To distract me from the uncomfortable way her body moved closer to my body, and the snake like way her lips jolted onto mine. In fact, I had never known her as a child, I hadn't even known that the Alpha of the DarnMoon pack, Henry, had even had a daughter until that week. Not to mention that she looked nothing like Henry. Henry's dark hair contrasted with her strawberry blonde hair, and her eyes were not Henry's eyes. Although keep in mind that I had never met his Luna. I made a mental note to call him later that night, maybe the stricter voice of her father would be enough to get her prying hands off of me.

"I'm going to ask you to leave one more time, before I call in my guards to forcefully take you off of my territory." My voice was dangerously low as I glared down at her through long lashes.

A flash of fear, and then a prize-winning smile. "Did you ever find that girl that went missing not two days ago? You know the one that ran off after she saw us, you know," she blushed, "together."

I froze as a haze settled over my brain, and I found myself smiling at her, finding her blush cute, itching to tuck that long blonde strand that hung in her eyes behind her ear. She giggled under the heat of my stare, and my smile grew. "Can I come in?" She asked shyly. I nodded, stepping aside to allow her in.

Her shyness reminded me of someone, but for the moment I couldn't remember who they were or why they were shy like Talia. Talia was all I could think about at the moment.

"Aran," she spoke once we were seated in the living room, "do you remember that girl's name? The one who ran off?"

I sat back pondering her question. After a moment of deliberation, I answered. "No, I'm not sure that I do." Although I could have sworn I had just moments ago. A victorious smile lighted her face in the most pleasant way.

"Very good." She said, running her fingers up and down my arm. But then I felt it. It was small at first, but not hard to miss, like a tiny blue buoy bobbing in a vast blue ocean, my chest seized up with faint pain. It was pain only I could know the meaning of; the bond I shared with Forest was stretching and twisting in the wrong directions. I flashed Talia a tight lipped smile to hide what I felt inside, but every time I looked at her the pain would increase.

When wolves meet their mate, a bond starts to grow. First, it starts almost nonexistent, like a thin piece of string used to restore a small hole in a sweater, but over time, as the relationship between the two mates progressed, the string would mature into a thick heavy rope; an unbreakable bond. If ever that bond was put in danger, the type of danger relationships endured; disagreements, adultery, life-changing events, the bond would stretch and eventually snap, much like a string would. Fortunately, there did come a time when a bond between two mates was unbreakable; a strong, rough rope that simply could not be broken. Unfortunately, Forest and I were not at that point yet. At the moment, our bond was entirely breakable; a rope as thick as a slender finger. When a bond broke, there was no restoration; the two mates would act as if they never knew each other; as if they had never met; forgotten.

Quickly, I excused myself feeling slightly confused at the sudden pain in my chest. I stumbled into my empty room clutching my chest while groaning. Talia, it must be Talia. . . unless Mason and Forest were. . . Just the thought of that intercourse caused more pressing pain to erupt in my chest. Talia burst into the room, with a knowing look plastered on her face; she didn't even try to hide what she was trying to do. The pain increased, and this time I cried out falling onto the bed behind me.

"Get away from me." I hissed at her when she started to come closer. She seemed unfazed by my demands. I quickly contacted the guards posted near my house through the link all wolves shared in human and wolf form.

Not once did I ever think I would be taken advantage of by a woman, I was wrong. Without warning she sprung her body onto mine and wasted no time before she forcefully molded her lips with mine. The more we touched, the more pain both me and Forest felt. Forest. Using every once of strength I had left, I pried her body from mine, breaking the slimy kiss. A scream widened my parted lips. I could feel the bond stretching; like a knife slowly making its way to my heart; incredibly painful and hopelessly real.

Forest. Forest. Forest. I could only imagine what she was going through; confusion, and so much pain. I cried out for her, as long as Talia the instigator was around, the pain wouldn't stop. Where were those damn guards? Upon thinking about the guards, they lunged through the door, all three of them looking frazzled to see their Alpha screaming in pain, yet there was no sign of the cause. I managed to tell them who to arrest. They pulled Talia away from me and quickly followed my orders to knock her unconscious and get her out of the house. 

Slowly, unfathomably, the pain began to dissipate, although it did not completely vanish. Now it was like the knife had been yanked from my chest, leaving me to deal with the second round of pain. I took deep relaxing breathes and settled my racing heart, but all I could think about was Forest.

My Forest.