20. Zane
20
ZANE
W hen Zane exited the prison and the fresh air hit him, a feeling of sickness that churned all of the contents in his stomach overcame him. He lunged over, grabbing the side of the stone wall before throwing up. He never imagined seeing anything so horrific happen to Lea. He could hardly stand it.
“If she’s unwilling to fight on her side, then there’s nothing more I can do as her lawyer.” Ferlin dropped her head as if she were paying respects to a dead person and not a living, breathing shifter.
“That can’t be it! There has to be something else we can do. I know she’s not responsible for those illegal potions. That’s something Jax would do, maybe even me, but not Lea. She’s a good person.” Zane was ripping at his shirt. His lungs felt tight, and he couldn’t breathe anymore.
“Calm down, cousin. I know that you believe she’s innocent. I do, too. But unfortunately, in the eyes of the law, innocence rarely matters.” She gripped Zane’s shoulder in the hopes of soothing him.
“But that’s not fair…” He looked up at his cousin with mist in his eyes.
She could only frown at him.
“I know she asked me to give up on this, but I can’t do that. How could I turn my back on her now when she needs me most?” That was the only thing that went through his mind as he ran straight to Dask.
“Zane! Wait!” Ferlin shouted, desperate to stop, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t!
He couldn’t stand leaving her in there one more moment.
The thought that she wouldn’t even make it another month wouldn’t leave his mind.
He didn’t stop running until he was standing outside Jax’s house.
“He must know something… Or at least seen something. Why was he acting so calm about this? Jax was never particularly close with Lea, but she was at least our friend and, at most, our business partner!”
Zane frantically pounded on the front door until Jax’s mother, Omara, answered.
“Heavens, Zane. What is the matter?” Omara pressed her hand over her heart in an attempt to calm herself.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m looking for Jax.” Zane tried to explain through his bated breath.
“Jax? He hasn’t been home the last few nights. I suspect he’s spending more time with his uncle. I don’t particularly fancy the idea, but it’s nice that Jax has a father figure.” Omara ran away with her thoughts.
“Diesel?” Zane couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Jax had been working with him this whole time. Now that I’m thinking about it, it did seem strange that Jax suddenly showed up with all that money. Dammit! Excitement blinded me to the point that I didn’t even question it!” Zane balled up his fists and let out a heavy breath.
“Thank you for this information, Ms. Ransom. I’m sorry to disturb you.” Zane successfully spoke despite gritting his teeth together. Then he turned his back to Ms. Ransom and left.
Zane tried to connect the dots in his head as he walked outside of their village. He planned to visit Jax and urge him to help stop this mess. He had always had Jax’s back through everything. Surely, his friend would come through for him now.
The more Zane thought about it, the more worried he became.
Something about this situation wasn’t right.
Zane could feel it in his bones.
There was deceit at play.
It was late afternoon by the time Zane arrived at Diesel’s home.
“His evil lair, Jax and I used to call it. Strange that I would find him here now. It’s like I’m losing Jax.” The thought unsettled Zane right down to his bones.
The guards let Zane in without much of an issue.
After all, he had worked with them so many times before… Even if he had caused problems during the last job.
Zane went to where he knew Jax would be—in the training room.
That was where Jax went when he needed to blow off steam.
Zane took this as a good sign, hoping Jax was just as upset over Lea’s predicament. He watched Jax shift in only a few seconds, which was something only a werewolf that shifts a lot could do.
It wasn’t usually a good sign.
A werewolf that could shift like that was usually into some shady business.
“How long had Jax been working this closely with Diesel to shift like that?” Anxiety seized Zane’s chest.
For the first time, Zane didn’t recognize his friend.
“Jax.”
Jax turned around and smiled, sweat pouring over his brow. “Zane, I was expecting you.”
“I can see that. Pretty impressive. When did you start being able to shift so fast?” Zane tried to hide his concern, but Jax was too smart to fall for it.
“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared for everything.” Jax grabbed a towel and wiped his face.
There was a twinkle in Jax’s eye that Zane had never seen before. He got the same detached and excited look when Diesel ordered them to rob that farm.
Jax enjoyed a certain aspect of violence and power, and Zane feared that the most.
“I thought we both agreed not to get too caught up in your uncle’s business, but now I hear from your mother that you frequent this place. What’s going on with you, Jax? This isn’t like you.” Zane’s usual well-mannered composure curdled. He was using every ounce of patience he had in his body.
“Or maybe this is just like me. Maybe this is who I had to become for my family—for you.” Jax snapped back at Zane.
Zane took a step back. He couldn’t believe what he heard from his best friend—someone he had seen as a brother. Now, Zane and Jax couldn’t be further apart. “Don’t you care that Lea is in jail? Something is wrong here, and you know it! She would never do something like make illegal potions, let alone try and transport them.”
“Or maybe you just don’t know her as well as you thought.” Jax brushed off Zane’s emotional plea.
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing… She has always stuck her neck out for us, even to her detriment sometimes. She has never faltered. She has never failed us.” Zane’s argument was losing steam, and he could see Jax was losing his patience.
“She failed me.” Jax seemed to speak before he had a chance to think about it. His face scrunched as if he tasted something disgusting. His deep green eyes burned into Zane.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Zane could tell that Jax was pulling back.
“I suppose you haven’t read the news report from this morning. I believe my uncle still has it, if you were interested in learning about the truth.” Jax’s eyes flickered from panicked to triumphant. It appeared he managed to bury whatever fear was plaguing him.
Zane stood silent in rage and fear. He could sense that whatever Jax was about to tell him was going to be life altering. Was he prepared to know?
Jax sighed, “It’s about Lea. She confessed to her crimes this morning. They gave her a thousand-year sentence.”
“A thousand years… A life sentence?”
Zane couldn’t catch his breath.
His fingernails turned to claws as he ripped his chest.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t pull out the pain from within him. “Why? Such a harsh sentence… I don’t understand. I was doing everything I could to get her out. Why did she give up?”
“I know you’re hurting, but we can’t do anything for her. You have to let this go and move on with your life.” Jax turned away, having grown tired of the conversation.
“You never cared about her.” Zane’s voice was much deeper now as all the rage in his body pulled into his throat.
Jax turned around slowly, glaring at his friend. He pressed his lips together in a hard line.
“I’m not sure you can care about anything. I have stuck up for you my entire life, and you’ve never once thanked me. Do you know why that is?”
“Because you’re a selfish bastard. You don’t love anything as much as you love yourself. Not me, not Chika—nothing. I’ve tried to make excuses for you, but I’m done with that now. From here on out, you’re on your own.” Despite Zane’s words, he spoke in a low tone. He never raised his voice once, which made it all the more intimidating.
“You’re going to destroy our friendship over some nobody girl who would have never loved you in a million years?” Jax turned around completely, balling up his fists and baring his teeth. His eyes flickered, showing that he was ready to shift at a moment’s notice.
“That’s what you don’t get! It isn’t about her loving me back. I’m not thinking about what I can get from her. I care about her, and I’m willing to go to the ends of the earth. You wouldn’t understand something like that.” Although he tried to hold back, Zane was also on the verge of shifting. His attacking Jax and his uncle’s territory wouldn't end well. “I break our pact. I break our friendship. From now on, I want nothing to do with you.”
Jax was silent for a long time as Zane turned his back to him. He waited until Zane started walking away to say his final piece. “I slept with her.”
Zane’s heavy footfalls stopped suddenly.
“And you know what? You may be on to something. For a plain-looking nobody, she was a pretty good lay.”
Zane could hear the smile in Jax’s voice as he mocked him.
That was the last straw.
Every modicum of friendship and decorum shattered in that moment.
Zane’s skin ripped apart, revealing the fiery red and deep brown fur beneath.
His teeth turned into sharp daggers and his claws ripped into the stone floor.
Zane lunged at Jax, throwing him off his feet in the blink of an eye.
Jax had held off shifting until his friend attacked him. There was no holding back after that.
Zane bit into Jax’s shoulder, and Jax dug his claws into Zane’s chest.
They both held in pain before Jax was able to kick Zane off of him.
Blood from Zane’s chest dripped onto the floor as he circled Jax.
“After all this time… It’s like I’m looking at a stranger now. I don’t know the werewolf standing before me.”
Zane lifted his head to the ceiling and let out a heartbreaking howl before leaving. He swore to himself he would never return there.
His best friend was now dead to him. There was no going back after this—no undoing the damage that had been done.
Zane didn’t stop running until he reached Dask.
By now, everyone was indoors for supper—everyone except Lea’s grandma.
She sat on the front doorstep in a rocking chair, waiting for Lea to come home.
Out of everyone he knew, the only other person who understood his pain was her.
She was the only person that missed Lea, possibly more than he did. By now, she would have already heard the news. So why was she still waiting?
Zane approached her slowly so as not to frighten her, but she didn’t appear to be phased by the presence of a shifted werewolf.
She leaned forward, and tears dripped from her eyes. “The world has taken everything from me now. I no longer care what happens to me.”
Zane lowered his head onto her lap and whimpered in pain.
This small act of kindness caused Lea’s grandmother to burst into tears.
She hugged Zane’s head to her chest with all the might in her weak body. “My dear Lea… They took my Lea away! ”
The heartache could be heard throughout the entire village. It echoed in the chambers of Zane’s chest, filling him with anguish and unrest. It would take up residence inside him until he rectified the situation.
He could not give up on her.