4. Zane
4
ZANE
Z ane undid his suit and loosened the tie as he lowered himself into his dining room chair.
Another rough day at the office. I hate having to defend these bastards! Most of them are monsters that deserve the punishment… But their money is what pays for this life, after all.
Zane sighed heavily, unable to shake the sense of discontentment writhing under his skin. Sure, he enjoyed working as a lawyer alongside his cousin, but he had gotten into law in the first place because he’d thought he would be making a difference in the world—defending the weak and marginalized against those who’d trample on them. Instead, he ended up doing the opposite.
How had things turned out so completely backward?
“Oh! Zane, I didn't hear you come in.” Mairy’s voice echoed through the huge dining area. She came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek.
He forced a wry smile and rubbed her arm. “Hello, dear.”
“What's wrong? Another rough day?” She pouted, moving around to get a good look at his face. “It'll get easier, you know? Soon, it won't bother you anymore.”
I don't want it to not bother me, Zane thought as he slinked his way out of her grasp, standing from his chair and turning to leave.
Mairy stood with her arms outstretched as if to stop him.
“I’m going to get changed,” he said monotonously.
For the first few years of marriage, he had found it easy to fake happiness, but it had become unbearable over time.
There had been only one woman he could ever truly love, but she was gone now.
“Papa!” The voice of a young girl shouted, accompanied by the sound of little feet running down the hall.
Soon his two children came into view.
Vienna was his little girl, and Demitri was his son. They were the most precious things in the world to him. If there was anything that kept him afloat, it was these two.
Vienna made it to him first, and Zane knelt down, scooping her into his arms. Demitri was right behind her, running straight into his chest.
Zane held him closely and picked them both up. “Why hello there, you two! What news do you bring me today?”
“The fortress is safe again. We had a run-in with a dragon today!” Vienna’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke of her heroic adventures.
“A dragon ?! That’s mighty brave of you! I've known many knights who ran away at the sight of a dragon.” Zane snarled in the back of his throat as he tried to imitate what he thought a dragon sounded like.
“Not us! We are the bravest!” Demitri, who was just learning to speak, managed to stutter the words out.
“Truly! Now go get cleaned up for dinner. Don’t give your mother a hard time again.” Zane kissed them both on the cheek before setting them down again. He looked over his shoulder and saw Mairy looking at them.
She watched him with so much admiration in her eyes that it only made him feel more guilty. This was the reason why he’d swallowed the ugly truth for all of these years.
“I’m going to go out for a run before dinner. It's a full Lunair, after all.” Zane shrugged nonchalantly, but he was sure even she could pick up on his restlessness.
As if she would dare deny him. Mairy would give him the world if he only asked for it.
She forced a smile onto her face and nodded, folding her hands in front of her. “Of course, dear. Just don't be late for supper. Your family has been waiting to see you all day.”
Zane went to their room to change, letting out a heavy sigh before he began tearing off his fancy clothing. Running under the divine full light of Lunair wasn’t an instinctual thing for Zane anymore. He did it now to commemorate and remember all the people he'd lost.
Since moving to the city, he also hadn't seen his siblings again. He’d tried keeping in contact with them, even inviting them for visits all the time, but they didn’t like the city or its denizens. He could hardly blame them for that.
He took comfort from the knowledge that, somewhere out there, they were also running tonight—free and unhindered by the weight of the world.
The room was blanketed over in a somber aura as his thoughts shifted. He opened up his balcony door and breathed in the fresh night air.
The breath revitalized each cell in his body as he gave way to his nature. Mid-shift, he jumped over the railing, and by the time he landed three stories down, he was fully shifted into his wolf form.
His bare paws felt cold against the smooth cobblestone streets.
Much to his relief, there wasn't another soul in sight.
He made his way out of the city, crossing the Red River into the forest.
The soft grass and squishy earth beneath his paws felt like home. Much more than the stone streets of the city.
Zane’s mood lightened immediately as he ran through the forest and passed one rolling hill after the other. It felt like power. Like freedom.
These runs were always a reminder of who he truly was.
Then his ears perked up. Someone was nearby, and they sounded out of breath. His head turned to find a beautiful shining wolf standing in the distance, just barely out of sight.
Am I seeing a ghost?
Their pelt was the exact replica of Lea’s. His mind was moving at lightning speed in all directions, seeming to ricochet around against the inside of his skull.
Who is this wolf?
Meanwhile, the other wolf held his gaze with the same curiosity, but seemed to be nervous. It wasn’t like she was scared, though, it was more uncertain than anything else.
Zane turned to move toward her but she backed away, disappearing behind one of the rolling hills.
Disappointment overtook him as he made his way over to where she had just been standing, lowering his head to the ground to memorize her scent.
The smell seemed vaguely familiar, but it was masked over with something.
If he was a less reasonable man, he would have convinced himself that it’d been Lea just now, back from the grave. But he had come to terms with her death. He couldn't afford to go down that road again.
Zane took a moment before lifting his eyes to the full Lunair, suppressing the howl pushing up his throat.