Aquila's Tears

Mistakes of Men

    After the excitement of finding my mate had worn off. Lenora explained that she had come over to tell me that father had allowed her to move apartments, and that she wanted my help moving. Why she couldn’t just hire a moving company was beyond me. She had already roped Elric into helping her out but insisted on me helping too. She said it would help clear my head, so I agreed I would stop by after I got some of my work done. Lucky for her, there wasn’t much paperwork to sort through today, and I finished within a couple of hours. I sent her a text letting her know I was on the way and headed down to the garage grabbing the keys to the Ford F150 truck. The truck roared to life as I plugged in Lenora’s new address into the GPS.

    As I pulled up to the apartment complex’s gate my phone rang. It was Elric.

    “I’m at the gate” I answered while punching in the code Lenora sent me.

    “Just wanted to give you a heads-up” Elric began “There may be a problem with Lenora’s new neighbor. She kind of just barged into Lenora’s apartment to hide from an abusive ex or something like that. The guy is really weird and left flowers and a wrapped gift on her doorstep and is now waiting in his car watching the door. He didn’t seemed phased that I was in the hallway watching him.”

    “Why didn’t you or Lenora kick her out?” I growled as I sped through the neighborhood to Lenora’s building.

    “Lenora said she wanted to help her.” Elric sighed “I don’t sense anything off about her. She’s just a scared human, and like I said the guy just seems like an i***t who can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

    I parked the truck in front of the building and Elric waved at me from the 2nd floor external stairs, and then pointed at the silver civic idling towards the back of the lot in full view of the apartment doors. I growled and felt Titus’ energy pull forward as soon as we recognized the i***t sitting in the silver civic. It was Derek. I shut off the truck and hopped out locking eyes with Derek. The second he saw me his face dropped and looked like he pissed himself as I turned to walk towards him. The civic suddenly peeled out the parking space, speeding over a speed hump causing sparks to fly from it scraping the pavement.

    “What the hell was that, Zane?” Elric called rom the stairs.

    “Nothing don’t worry about it” I growled as I joined him on the stairs. I was suddenly overtaken with the scent of sandalwood and hazelnut causing me to freeze on mid-step. Elric turned to see why I had stopped. I inhaled deeply as I felt Titus pull forward taking control and causing my eyes shift to a bright teal.

    “Titus?” my brother recognized the change “What do you smell?”

    “My mate” Titus growled low through my lips before I could regain my control. I pushed past Elric to the 2nd floor landing and saw the flowers and wrapped gift sitting in front of Aurora’s door.

    “Your mate?” Elric exclaimed “Where? There are no other wolves here!”

    Titus picked up the flowers and chucked them with great force over the balcony causing the glass vase to explode on the concrete below. I managed to regain control right before he was about to rip open the gift to shred its contents.

    “Titus, calm down! You are causing a scene! This is not how an alpha should act!” I shouted at him through our mind link.

    “You expect me to just stand here and allow this behavior to continue?! I told that fool I would kill him if he ever came near her again!” Titus was on the brink of causing me to shift he was blinded by rage.

    “We will handle this, but right now we have to remain calm and loyal to the duty of our pack!” my own voice boomed in my head loud as an alpha’s, and I could feel Titus slink away to the depths of my mind to calm himself. He knew I was right.

    “I’m sorry,” I turned to Elric who was carefully watching me still frozen on the stairs “Yes, my mate must live here.” I pointed to the door in front of me.

    “That’s where the girl who barged into Lenora’s apartment lives.” Elric stated as he joined me “She’s still in there” he pointed to the next door down the corridor where a pile of books laid stacked on the concrete. “A box broke on Lenora, and Aurora helped her pick it up, and then ran inside when she saw her ex.”

    “Aurora?” my heart skipped a beat and I rushed to the door, stopped, turned to pick up some of the books, motioned Elric to do the same, “Not a word of this, understand?”

    “Understood.” Elric obeyed.

    With my hand on the doorknob I took a deep breath, exhaled, and pushed open the door. There she was, Aurora, standing in the kitchen with my sister, Lenora, smiling and having a good time. She looked to the door and her faced dropped when she saw me. I had to fight the urge to stop dead in my tracks and stare at her. Instead I walked in, saw the busted box of books, and added what I had in my hands to it. Elric copied me, and then went back out to retrieve the rest.

    “Who is this, Lenora?” I asked cooly keeping the kitchen island between us. Lenora gave me a strange look but played along.

    “Zane, this is my new neighbor, Aurora” she exaggerated her name “Aurora, this is my brother Zane.”

    “It’s nice to officially meet you, Mr. Zane.” Aurora began “I am so sorry for the scene I caused at your club. My friend, Monica, who is one of your bartenders told me you covered my tab. Here, this should cover it.” She said as she pulled out her wallet grabbing two one hundred-dollar bills and placing it on the counter in front of me. I was frozen and didn’t know how to respond I just continued to watch her, confused and in shock. She called me ‘mister’.

    “I am not one to ditch on a tab like that. I understand if I’m not allowed back there. Again, I am so sorry!” she was blushing and kept her eyes to the floor “I should really be going. Lenora, it was so nice to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality. Your family is so kind and generous.” She rushed towards the door “I’ll see you around.” She said as she pulled it open and slipped outside nearly running into Elric who stepped out of the way just in time.

    I could hear Aurora run down the stairs. As soon as her feet hit the pavement, she took off running. I was frozen staring at the two bills on the counter before me. Elric brought the remaining books inside from the hall and closed the door behind him.

    “What the hell was that, Zane?! Wasn’t that your MATE?” my sister shrieked the second the door closed “You could have stopped her, or at least gone after her! What are you doing standing there frozen like a statue?!” I couldn’t move.

    “Wait,” Elric scrunched up his face as he dropped the books on the kitchen island “Your mate is a mere human?”

    “She’s not just some ‘mere human’, Elric” Lenora scolded “She’s our future Oracle, Nona said so!”

    “Nona said that?” Elric scoffed “Pft, she’s batty. No way father is going to allow this. Especially since Zane is the next Alpha.”

    “That’s why I let her go.” My voice was weak. I took the bills im my hand and crumpled them in my fist my anger growing “She cannot be our Luna.”

    “Zane,” Lenora cooed “There’s a reason this happened. The Moon Goddess has a plan for –“

    “Screw the Moon Goddess and her plan! She’s not the one who has to live with this stigma!” I shouted tossing the crumpled bills the floor before storming out of Lenora’s apartment.

    “Where are you going?!” Lenora screamed from the doorway of her apartment. Elric was just behind her holding her back from chasing after me.

    “To tell father why you can’t live here.” I stopped to turn and lock eyes with her “To tell him the truth about my mate.”

    “Are you sure that’s such a good idea, Zane?” Elric pried.

    “What other choice do I have?” I conceded feeling defeated.

    “Alright, but I’m coming with you.” Elric pushed past our sister “Lenora, you stay here and start unpacking. I’ll come back afterwards.”

    “You can’t expect me to just stay here and do nothing!” she shrieked “I’m coming too!”

    “NO, YOU ARE NOT” I growled with the full force of an alpha’s intensity “You will only make this worse for me. Stay put and do as you are told, Lenora.” She shrunk back into the apartment without another word slamming the door behind her.

    “Let’s go” I said turning around bounding down the stairs and to the truck.

    “What are you going to tell him?” Elric asked breaking the silence as we pulled onto the highway. He didn’t look at me when he spoke his head was turned towards the passenger window.

    “The truth.” I replied “That my mate is a human, and that Lenora needs to move away from my mate. Father will agree with me her needing to move again at least.”

    “Why do you punish yourself so much and give up everything for the pack so easily?” he turned to look at me, but I refused to make eye contact. “The way her heartbeat changed when she saw you, her scent changed too, her body recognized you as a mate would, but she was human. There has to be something more to this.”

    “I know, but I don’t have a choice. It’s for the good of the pack, and it is my duty as first born, and future Alpha to ensure I do what is best for the pack always. If that means putting my wants and desires on the backburner so be it. I would be a disgrace to our pack – an alpha with a human mate is taboo and looked down upon and shamed. I refuse to bring dishonor to our pack like that.”

    Silence fell over us, and Elric knew not to push it further. He knew I was right and knew our father would see it that way too. Titus whimpered in the back of my mind because he also knew it to be true. Even the alpha wolf in me refused to betray our pack like that. The pack must always come first. I parked the truck in the garage, mustering my strength before stepping out. Our father’s BMW was there, so we knew he was home. Elric placed a supportive hand on my shoulder squeezing it as he shot me a sympathetic smile. We headed inside and towards our father’s office. I knocked on the office’s closed doors and our father beckoned us in.

    My father’s office was grand covered floor to ceiling in dark oak wood, lined with books, and a grand stone fireplace stood to the left of the room framed neatly with a black leather sofa and matching chairs. A bear skin rug peeked out at us from beneath the fireplace, and a gold chandelier hung in the center of the room casting shadows this way and that. Father’s heavy dark stained oak desk sat in the middle of the room two ceiling length windows stood behind it with heavy forest green drapes which were currently pulled open to let in the sunlight. In front of the desk were two additional black leather chairs that faced the windows. I approached stepping in between the two chairs in front of his desk, and Elric floated in the doorway pretending to examine one of the books on the wall. My father looked up at us from his paperwork, removing his glasses, and placing them on the surface before him.

    “Hello, my sons,” my father smirked at us “It’s rare to see you both here together in my office like this. Is something wrong?”

    “Father,” I began trying to maintain my composure “I have found my mate.”

    “That is wonderful news!” he belted out suddenly causing Elric to jump and drop a book to the floor “Well, who is she? I must meet her!”

    “It’s more complicated than that, father.” I said as Elric replaced the book on the shelf and joined me by my side. “She’s human.”

    “Human?!” Father growled “How can this be?! Surely you are wrong!” his nails dug into the surface of his desk “No son of mine, no! No, future alpha of this pack will be mated to a measly human! This is an outrage! Why has the Mood Goddess punished us? We can fix this! It has to be a mistake.”

    I felt helpless as I watched my father begin to rummage through his desk drawers throwing countless papers to the floor as he dug deeper searching for something specific. I slunk down into the chair to the left of me, and Elric joined me sitting to my right as he shot me a concerned look, but he refused to speak.

    “Ah, here it is” our father said pulling a packet of paper bound together like a book missing its cover and he sat back in his chair slamming the bound paper onto the desk covering the fresh claw marks. “It’s a proposition from the Lunar Honey Pack I received a couple of years ago, but never acted upon it, because I believed you to be a strong future alpha that would find his mate.”

    He flipped the document around so we could read it. My heart began to pound loudly in my chest. It was a marriage proposal to unite the two clans. The Alpha’s daughter’s mate had been killed in combat four years prior, and this was a proposition from her father offering his daughter’s hand in marriage to me for the exchange of a promise of protection during times of war.

    “This is how we fix this.” Our father beamed “You are to marry Katarina Salazar of the Lunar Honey Pack, and then you will be crowned alpha of the Thunder Moon Pack.”

    I felt the weight of the world crash down on me. I was sure my father would banish me from being with my mate; however, I did not anticipate my father to arrange a marriage for me so suddenly. I could feel the color drain from my face as I tried to process what had just happened. Our father did not wait for my reply. In an instant he stood up from his chair pulling out his phone out of his pocket to dial a number.

    “Wait” I barked standing suddenly squaring my shoulders to him “Don’t you think this is too much? I came to you for guidance. I don’t care that she is human she is my mate, and I love her. Every time I am near her, I feel the mate bond strengthen. I never hesitate to sacrifice all of myself for the sake of this pack, so for once please can’t I just have this?”  

    My father’s eyes blacked out and his wolf Theron presenting himself rushed forward at inhuman speeds grabbing me by the throat and lifting me off of the ground before I could react. I clutched at his hands dangling like a helpless child. Elric was frozen in fear and did not act.

    “You” Theron growled menacingly “You dare to cross me, son? We know what is best for this pack, and you will do as you are told, or I shall rip the life from you! You are the fruit of my loin, boy, and until I am good and dead you will obey me.” I could feel his alpha aura being shoved onto me forcing compliance and his will for me to bend and break.

    “I love her” I choked out struggling to maintain consciousness “How do you expect me to make another chosen mate happy if I am still madly in love with my mate?”

    “You will REJECT your mate!” Theron’s and my father’s voices belt out at once as he throws me across the room slamming me into the bookshelves. His alpha’s will forcing me to comply and break. As I fell to the floor hundreds of books knocked loose from the impact rain down on me further knocking the wind out of me. Elric rushes to my side pulling me from the wreckage and stabilizing me. We stare in horror at our father as he begins to shift ready to spill my blood. I push Elric off of me so that I can stand on my own.

    “Fine.” I growl while stepping defensively in front of my brother “I will reject her, but only once I learn her full name. Only then can I fully reject her.”

    Our father stops mid-shift and collects himself. Before answering he adjusts his watch and takes a seat back at his desk acting as if he wasn’t just about to shift and kill his eldest son.

    “I will allow it,” our father stated coldly “but you are going to marry Katarina Salazar, and I expect you to court her properly starting this weekend. Find out your mate’s name by the end of the week. If you fail to do so I will have her killed and I will make you watch. See yourselves out.”

    Titus lunged forward filled with rage, but Elric grabbed me pulling me out the office doors slamming them behind us.

    “Breathe, you have to f*****g breathe, Zane.” Elric shook me “Titus, now is not the time for you to hulk out! He can change his mind and have her killed if you act out! Now follow me we have to get you out of ear shot of father.”

    Elric lead us down to the garage. He hopped in the truck’s driver seat and motioned for me to get in the passenger seat. Elric started the engine and peeled out of that garage heading to the highway. I felt so numb and defeated.

    “Since when have you become so mature?”

    “Since you rightfully lost your shit.” He growled “What were you thinking going to father like that? Lenora was right. You shouldn’t have gone to him at least not until you had a plan.”

    “You’re right. I acted impulsively, and now I have to deal with these consequences.” I sighed as I noticed we were headed back to the apartments “Thank you for being there for me, Elric. It means a lot to me.”

    “That’s what brothers are for. I know we don’t always get along, but I know you wouldn’t let me face father alone with something so grave as this. I always have your back in the end.” He parked the car and smiled at me “The good thing is you weren’t a complete i***t and didn’t bring up Lenora living next door to your mate, so she’s safe from him for now. He doesn’t even know her first name.”

    “No, but he knows what she looks like.” I sighed.

    “What how?!”

    “The incident at the club the other night with the guy assaulting the girl… that was Aurora, and it was brought to father’s attention. Hell, he even pulled up the video footage, zoomed in on her face, and asked me who the hell she was.” I groaned throwing my head back hard into the head rest.  

    “f**k! You didn’t tell him her name, did you?”

    “Actually,” I thought about it “I don’t think I did. I just told him it was some girl that was attacked…”

    “See you’re not a complete i***t after all!” Elric laughed.

    “I guess you’re right.” I say while ruffling his hair with my hand “Now let’s go ‘fes up to Lenora.”

    “She’s going to be pissed.”

    “Oh,” I shudder “I know.”