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Acacia/Ciarán - Age 12
"The water is so clear!" Sophia giggles while taking her shoes and socks off, dipping her feet into the water. The sounds the waterfall makes hitting the water has me entranced as I stand a few feet away from the edge, Holden also lingering beside me. The three warriors are spaced out around the area, listening and watching, their attention set to everything but what we're admiring.
Seth decides to continue climbing trees while Fawn is off walking around the edge of the lake. Taron turns to Sophia and asks, "How about a swim then?"
She gives him this weird look and says, "Uh, we didn't bring bathing suits."
"So?" He laughs at how the spontaneity is lost on her. Shaking his head, Holden decides to kick off his boots and to take off his shirt and throw it to the ground before pulling his jeans off. Left in his boxers, Holden grins while he's about ready to take the offer of going swimming himself.
Sophia gasps, "What are-"
A second later, Holden runs back away from the lake before turning right around and then sprinting to the water's edge. He yells before propelling himself into the air, the water spraying everywhere including...getting Sophia wet.
She screams and moves back away from the water, frowning before she glares at Holden when he resurfaces, "My new clothes are all ruined because of you!"
Holden laughs, "Then take them off!"
"It's just a little water..." Taron appears to be irritated while also simmering her down.
"I'm not swimming in my bra and panties," she snips back while glaring daggers.
Rolling my eyes, I breathe out, "How is that any more coverage than a bikini?"
Ridge snorts a laugh while I receive a surprised look from Sophia. She continues to stare at me and then laughs, "Alright...then why don't you go swimming in your bra and panties."
The water is beautiful to look at...
...even in my bathtub I hardly feel safe. The water is beautiful and alluring, but what comes from me shrinking down below the surface scares me more than any heights.
The way Taron's muscles stiffen at Sophia's words makes me more uneasy, and I shake my head and take a step back away. Sophia arches a brow and says, "Uh-huh, that's what I thought."
Ridge moves forward a bit and releases a sigh, kicking off his boots before he takes his shirt off. Sophia rolls her eyes when he takes his jeans off and steps out of them leaving him in his boxers. He takes a few steps backward as I know he's getting ready to charge in like Holden had prior, Sophia taking even more steps away, so her clothes won't get any more 'ruined.'
When he should have run right past me...
...that doesn't happen. Instead, my eyes widen when I feel arms around my waist. I'm lifted off my feet and into the air against his chest as Ridge moves us both to the edge of the water before he launches us into the air. A scream is ripped from my lungs before I feel the cold water surround me as I sink under the surface.
My heart beats extremely fast, my eyes frantically glancing around me. Ridge is in front of me, a grin on his face while bubbles drift up to the surface. I try to calm myself...there's nothing wrong with the water...there's nothing wrong.
He lifts his chin and kicks up to the surface. Out of the corner of my eye, I see it...
...purple tendrils extend from the farthest reaches of the lake.
My heart is going to beat out of my chest...frantically kicking my legs with the slightly extra dragged weight of my clothes; I gasp while surfacing. The fear kicks me over my rational thinking, and I immediately lunge forward while reaching out.
My eyelids close for a moment when I feel my arms wrap around his neck, my face buried into his bare chest as Ridge asks with concern, "Wait, are you okay?"
I hear loud arguing between Taron and Sophia off distantly, opening my eyelids when one of his arms wraps around my back while the other keeps us on the surface treading water.
Sophia lashes out at Taron yelling, "What's wrong with you?! It was just a joke!" She's pointing at Ridge and I...even I know it was supposed to be a joke...but no one can dismiss what I've seen and what I saw.
"Do you not remember the last time we went swimming?!" Taron flips right back at her as he's taken a few steps into the water while Sophia is snapping right back at him.
"That was over four years ago! You seriously think she's still scared of the water?!" Sophia is trying to understand what's going on...even I am when Taron's gaze lands back on the both of us.
Ridge whispers, "I'm sorry...I didn't know you still..."
"That's the thing...you didn't, it's okay though. I'm not mad," I say back while finally evening out my breathing, my heart beating regularly.
"You think your clothes will survive?" He lightens the mood.
A giggle leaves my lips, and I nod, Taron's irises having shifted to a golden color as he glares.
There's no need for him to be angry...
...Ridge was playing around.
Our visit ends rather shortly after the incident.
We are all taken back down the cliff face, the warriors helping us and because I was thoroughly soaked, I was strapped to the back of one of them as it was the only safest way down. The walk back was silent, but the tension I could feel was abuzz. Seth and Fawn rarely said a word, to begin with, and I understand what Jelena meant by them not interacting in a fun way aside from just standing around strictly.
They branch off away from us when we get past the forest tree line and closer to the lodge. Jelena and Dexter are running around outside, and as they catch sight of us, she waves at me, though her smile turns into a frown.
Funny enough...
...the second Grandpa Keir comes around the back as the warriors branch away as well; Sophia is all close to me and asking, "Are you alright?"
Where the hell was that...?!
I'm not feeding into this any longer...
The moment her hand lands on my shoulder, I shrug her off and walk toward Jelena and Dexter, both of their eyes questioning me.
Sophia appears hurt as usual only this time; I'm not putting myself back out there for her. It's obvious all she cares about is herself and doesn't want friends that don't bend to her will and fully support her.
Holden jogs away, heading around the side of the lodge and more than likely inside. It's not a split second before Alpha Chris finally makes his appearance that I hear Ridge yell, "What the hell was that for?!"
Turning around while wrapping my arms around myself, I see Taron towering over Ridge, his wolf present. There is an angry look in his eyes, but Ridge has just about had enough of his sudden change in behavior as well, kicking out Taron's legs from beneath of him. Ridge is quick to get on top of Taron, but Taron is quick and punches Ridge in the jaw while sending him off him and rolling onto the grass.
Even Sophia has her eyes wide with uncertainty, Alpha Chris barking rather loud at the two boys, "What's this all about?"
Grandpa Keir walks closer to where I stand, Jelena and Dexter moving to the other side as he looks me over. Shrugging my shoulders, I shake my head and whisper to him, "I'm fine."
Taron is on his feet as Ridge rubs his jaw, seeing his wolf present through his eyes as he snarls at Taron. They lung at one another, grappling each other's arms as their strength is tested, never taking their eyes off the other. Ridge suddenly leans his head back and snaps it forward; knocking into the bridge of Taron's nose before he falters a step.
Ridge is quick to use this advantage and moves his non-stance leg forward and to the side, sending Taron flat out onto his back.
"Boys!" Alpha Chris snaps again when Sophia cries out at the way Taron was taken off guard.
They aren't listening, because Taron recovers and punches the back of Ridge's knee and he gasps, yelling as he falls to the ground. Taron grapples him until he's on top, quickly punching him three times in the face before once in the ribs.
"Enough!" Alpha Chris bellows...the tone drastically changing, and I feel it under my skin, the hairs on my arms standing on end and it's not due to the reside water and the coldish air. Taron is reluctant, but he pulls back and rises to his feet, Alpha Chris walking toward them both before he reaches down and grabs Ridge's upper arm.
He drags him to his feet, but Taron can't escape either as he's also restrained. Alpha Chris eyes the two of them before he asks sternly, "What is this all about?"
"Ridge could have endangered Acacia's life," Taron spits out angrily. A shiver runs down my spine, and I see Grandpa Keir look down at me. I'm quick to shake my head because he's taking this way too far.
Ridge fires off right back, "That's funny," he spits blood from his mouth due to the split lip he received, "because from where I'm standing I think you're lying to yourself and why you decided to have a go at me."
Taron growls, and he snaps, "Shut the hell up! You had poor judgement, and you're not turning this around on me."
Alpha Chris looks from his son and then back to Ridge, unsure of what's going on until he releases a sigh and says, "The two of you need to separate for a while a cool off," he pauses a moment before narrowing his eyes and stating, "whatever it is that's really going on here, the both of you need to knock it off, or I'll send you back home for the rest of the summer."
Sophia's mouth is agape, tears in her eyes as she doesn't want to see her precious Taron leave her so soon and she can't follow him until the end of the summer herself. Grandpa Keir places a hand on my upper back, and I look up at him. He nods his head in the direction of the lodge, and I walk with him until we come around to the front of it.
He and I walk up the front steps and through the main door, moving toward the back mudroom as he grabs a towel and hands it to me. Wrapping it around my shoulders, I dry off a little while pulling my hair back over my shoulders.
"Acacia, what happened?" Grandpa Keir asks me.
"Ridge was joking around and threw me into the water with him," I tell him honestly and I continue, "he didn't do anything wrong...I'm still a little frightened of the water, but he didn't let anything happen to me, and he didn't know...it's been four years Grandpa Keir, how was he to know?"
I don't think it was right how Taron ambushed Ridge like that...it wasn't nice and wasn't fair...the cause genuinely unjust, and I still can't believe he did that. He was acting like a childish pup and wanting to fight for no reason...
Grandpa Keir looks me over, and he can see there is nothing but honesty lingering in my eyes, not putting up any false barriers or throwing him into a path I want for my manipulation.
He nods and then tells me, "I see both sides...Taron is a young alpha, and he felt the need to protect everyone who was with him. His actions were extreme, and Alpha Chris has already reprimanded the two. Right now, they need to cool off, so perhaps it's best to stick to your friends within my pack, alright?"
"Yeah..." I agree with him, that outburst utterly uncalled for.
Whatever that was all about, it was handled poorly...
💫--To Be Continued--💫
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