Aquila's Tears

Zane's Present

          “Good morning, Master Driscoll” Mrs. Weaver flung open the curtains “Time for you to wake up. The days are wasting!”

    “It’s a good thing I’m not a vampire, Mrs. Weaver! ” I groaned as I tugged the sheets over my eyes to shield them from the blinding morning light.

    “Oh nonsense” she huffed as she made her way into my bathroom “I’m drawing you a shower and I’ve laid out your work out clothes on the end of your bed. Now get up!”

    I hear our housekeeper, Mrs. Weaver, start the shower and promptly exit the room. She has always been a pain in my ass, but she always made sure I was up in time and was never late. I shoved the duvet and sheets off of my body and trudged my way over to the bathroom. I scratched my head while letting out a yawn. As I stretched, I glanced into the mirror. My own eyes reminded me of my mother’s. I missed her still despite her passing away nearly sixteen years ago. I fluffed my dark black hair and made a face in the mirror at myself. I was the perfect mix of my father and mother.  

    I saw steam rising out of the shower, and the glass on the door had fogged up, so I decided to stop wasting any more time, and hopped in. The hot water felt good on my back easing any tensions I had in my shoulders from the previous night of drinking. I was sure to make a habit of drowning the void I felt inside. It’s like I’m not living my life for me. I am constantly living my life for my family, my father’s company, and of course the Thunder Moon pack. I’ve known this was expected of me since I was a small child being the eldest son, but recently I can’t shake this feeling that I’m missing something important from my life. I let out a heavy sigh. There’s nothing I can do about it except stick to my duties and responsibilities. I felt selfish worrying about myself when I have so many people relying on me.

    I stepped out of the shower with my eyes lowered. I watched as the water ran down my legs and onto the marble flooring as it pooled beneath my feet. I grabbed a towel off of the heated towel rack and began drying my hair and then wiped down my body. After I was dry, I threw the towel to the floor and kicked it around to mop up the water before picking it back up and tossing it into the nearby hamper. I didn’t want Mrs. Weaver to accidentally slip on the water and hurt herself. I quickly brushed my hair and teeth while glaring at myself in the mirror.

    “Get over yourself” I say to the mirror “You have everything you could ever want you selfish prick.”

    “Don’t talk to yourself that way. You know you over work yourself for the sake of others. You should be kinder to yourself.” My wolf Titus’ voice echoed in my mind.

    “If only it were that easy.” I said aloud.

    I walked out into my bedroom and adorn the boxers and workout clothes Mrs. Weaver had set out for me. A black cotton tank top, and dark grey silk basketball shorts. I slipped on socks and some slides and headed towards the kitchen. My bedroom was in the east wing on the third story, and the kitchen was on the first. I made it down my wing past my personal arcade room, study, guest bedrooms, and baths, down two flights of stairs and down a long corridor that had windows on both sides overlooking the mansion's lush gardens. It sure was beautiful here.

    “Good morning, Alonso” I greet our chief as I plop down into one of the island’s chairs.

    “Ah good morning, Zane!” Alonso passed me a protein shake. “Did you sleep well?” He was one of the few house staff that would call me by my first name only. Probably because he has been with the family the longest next to Mrs. Weaver who practically raised me and my two younger siblings, Elric and Lenora.

    “As well as I could considering Mrs. Weaver never lets me sleep in” I grumbled as I downed the shake in one great gulp.

    “Well maybe if you didn’t stay out so late partying you would get more sleep, no?” Alonso teased as he passed me a plate of bacon, egg whites, and blanched spinach and a glass of water. I looked down at the plate displeased.

    “Don’t look so disappointed, Zane.” Alonso chuckled “This will help you with your workout this morning. Trust me!” he smiled and went back to the stove. “Now eat up!” he called out with his back to me.

    I quickly downed the food, chugged the water, thanked Alonso, and headed out of the kitchen, and back up the two flights of stairs to my study. There was a pile of paperwork waiting for me on my desk that I knew needed my review. I sat down in the chair kicking my feet up onto the desk as I pulled the first folder to rest on my legs. I began to read, and it was a proposal to support a kickstarter company wanting to reduce global warming by painting blacktop roads white to reduce the heat retained by the roads. I signed off on it for our team to investigate further as this would be beneficial for our company’s image. It wouldn’t be a money profit but would definitely make our company look good and not to mention help the planet as well. As I went to pick up the next folder there was a knock at the study door.

    “Come in” I shout, not looking up from the folder now open and balanced on my propped-up legs.

    “Master Zane” Gregor’s voice boomed “Let’s go it’s time to get your stringy ass into shape!” I put the folder on top of the unread pile of documents, kicked my legs off of the desk,  and stood up.

    “Yeah, yeah.” I scoff with a smirk “You know I can kick your ass any day, Gregor. Let’s go.” We headed to the basement where the family gym was. It was a full-sized gym with multiples of all of the gym equipment you could imagine. There was even a rock-climbing wall that led up to the first story. I thought it was a bit much, but father always got a kick out of watching us kids fall from the wall. He said it was a good outlet for us to get our frustrations out, and he wasn’t wrong.

    “Today,” Gregor started, “We will be training in the dojo.” He flings open dojo doors, steps inside, and with a smirk says “You know what that means” as he strips his clothes and I hear his bones pop as he begins to morph. Within moments a large six-foot tall grey wolf with orange eyes. Gregor’s wolf’s name was Kai. I sigh, close the doors to the dojo before casually stripping and begin to morph myself. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to morph. The first couple of times it was beyond painful, but it seems overtime your bones and joints become adjusted to it and it becomes just as easy as folding your arms.

    My wolf, Titus, was a good foot taller than Kai but that was not a disadvantage to Kai. He was fast and nimble and knew how to dodge attacks with ease. He was the top fighter of the Thunder Moon pack, and my trainer. As the future Alpha of the pack I needed my fighting skills to be sharp to defend our territory and kin. We danced around the dojo striking and dodging one another’s attacks like it were choreographed. Suddenly, Kai saw an opening and lunged for Titus’ right back leg and landed a nasty bite drawing blood. Titus yelped in surprise but was quick to slam the left back paw hard into Kai’s head knocking him off. Kai shook his head from the impact trying to shake off the pain, but before he could come to his senses Titus lunged for Kai pinning him to the ground and quickly clamped down on Kai’s throat with his large mouth. Kai was unable to move, and it was obvious that Titus had won.

    “Alright! I submit you win…” Kai mind linked Titus, but Titus growled and wouldn’t let up “You’re making me bleed I promise no sneaky stuff. I surrender!”

    “Told you I could beat your ass anytime” Titus scoffed as he released Kai’s throat and pranced around the room in a victory lap all be it with a slight limp.

    “Show off…” Kai wasn’t a sore loser, he just disliked how Titus was an arrogant winner. “Come on, we should get your leg looked at. We’re done for today. Let’s shift back.”

    After we morphed back, we assessed the damage. Gregor’s neck had a few puncture teeth marks that were already starting to heal. My right ankle was cut pretty deep, but it didn’t hurt as bad as it looked. I may have won the fight, but Kai definitely dealt more damage. I sat down on one of the nearby benches, elevating my foot, but applying pressure to the wound to try to stop the bleeding.

    “s**t! Stay there. Let me call the doctor.” Gregor stepped out of the dojo to make the call. The doctor wasn’t far away and would be here within 20 minutes. By then the bleeding would have stopped and the wound would be partially healed, so for now we played the waiting game. Gregor joined me on the bench “Man, you stink” he wrinkled his nose at me. I shoved him, knocking him off balance and almost off of the bench.

    “Yeah well that’s how we know it was a good match. You don’t smell so much like rainbows and butterflies either, princess.” I retorted.

    “Princess?” Gregor roared laughing “Look who’s talking Mr. I have a maid and chief and personal trainer.” He teased but it cut deep, and I hung my head. I didn’t ask for all of this. This was the life I was given and I was grateful for everything, but some days I wished I was just a normal guy who didn’t have the stress of taking over a multi-billion dollar company and the entire Thunder Moon pack. Gregor noticed my mood shift

    “Hey, I’m sorry man.” He nudged me gently in the ribs “I didn’t mean it like that. Hell, without you I wouldn’t have a job and I’d be on the streets. You’re my best client… and friend.” I just nodded my head as I got lost in my thoughts. We sat there in silence waiting for the doctor to arrive.

    “I’m sorry it took me a second to get here, I had to make sure I had enough gauze!” Dr. Bennett called from the Dojo doorway. He scurried in with his medical bag in hand, and his nurse assistant Beverly in tow. Dr. Bennett was an older man in his 60’s with grey hair, brown eyes, and had a sturdy build. Beverly was actually his granddaughter and was the spitting image of her mother. She was in her late 20's, had blonde hair, brown eyes, a tall slender frame. She was only a few inches shorter than the doctor. “Now let me see that ankle of yours.”

    I uncovered my ankle and saw that it had healed some and the bleeding had stopped, but the wound wasn’t fully healed. Dr. Bennett and Beverly got to work inspecting my ankle and checking the mobility of it. I winced when they twirled my foot in a circle but tried my best to contain my composure. They cleaned out the wound with disinfectant and dressed the wound in gauze.

    “Well the good news is you will live” Dr. Bennett joked “The bad news is you’ll need to stay off of it for the rest of the day. It should be fine by tonight. You are lucky to have such strong Alpha blood running through your system. If this kind of bite were to happen to me or Beverly we would be down for a couple of days” he winked at me. It was supposed to be encouraging, but just another reminder of my privilege.

    “Thank you, Dr. Bennett. I owe you one.” I smile while shaking his hand.

    “Nonsense, child. I’ve been fixing your scraped knees and broken bones since you were a mere cub. That’s what the pack doctor is for! You’ll be able to shower in about an hour just be sure to redress the wound. Here are some extra pads and gauze. It’s okay if the wound gets wet just make sure you’re not soaking it. You’ll be back at it in no time.” Dr. Bennett smiled, and then turned to Gregor  “Now, Gregor, be sure to help Master Driscoll up to his room to rest.”

    “Yes, sir” Gregor saluted jokingly which made Beverly giggle as they exited the dojo.

    Gregor grabbed the wheelchair we had stashed away for instances like this, and I hobbled my way into the chair. How embarrassing. I started to wheel myself to save some dignity but the wheels suddenly stopped. I looked back and Gregor was holding on to the handles.

    “Uh-uh” he tutted me “Doctor’s orders were for me to get you up to your room, and that includes me pushing the wheelchair.” He smirked as he pushed me forwards towards the elevator doors.

    “You’re enjoying this a little too much…” I grumbled.

    “Perhaps, but it’s nice to be able to help you out for once. Just take it. It’s only once in a blue moon I get to push you around.” Gregor teased.

    “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I laughed, “Thank you for helping me.”

    “Hey don’t thank me. It was me who inflicted the wound after all. It’s the least I can do.” Gregor trailed off suddenly lost in thought.

    The elevator doors opened, and he pushed me inside, and pushed the button for the third floor. We rode in silence. My ankle was stinging a bit, but I tried to ignore it by focusing on what I needed to get done for work. The elevator doors opened up to the East wing entrance.  

    “Hey, do you think we can stop by my study so I can grab the paperwork I need to finish?”

    “Only you would distract yourself with work when you’re in pain.” Gregor scoffed “Yeah, yeah. We can do that. Come on, Princess.” He wheeled me into the study, walked over to the pile of documents, picked them up along with a pen, and placed them into my lap. Then he turned me around, and wheeled me out of the study, closing the door behind him before pushing me the rest of the length down the hall to my bedroom. Once in the room I handed Gregor the stack of documents, stood up, and hobbled myself into bed.

    “Woah aren’t we mister independent” Gregor smirked. He could tell I was sick of his s**t but was letting him get away with it because he felt guilty for injuring me in the first place. Gregor walked over and laid the stack of documents on the side table along with the pen. “If there’s anything else you need just let me know. We’ll take tomorrow off of training so you can fully recover for Monday’s training session. I’ll see you then, Princess.” I threw a pillow at him striking him in the back of the head as he headed out the door. “Nice shot” he said as tossing the pillow back on the bed and closed the door.

    I propped my ankle up on some pillows and grabbed a folder from the top of the document pile.

    “Mrs. Weaver,” I mind linked our housekeeper. “Can you please have my lunch and dinner delivered to my bedroom? I was minorly injured and am on bed rest for the rest of the day. Thank you.”

    I put up a mental block because I can only imagine what Mrs. Weaver is thinking now. She’s going to berate me when she comes up here and sees me all bandaged and put up. I sighed and then threw myself into my work. About half an hour later there was a knock at my door.

    “Come in,” I called out.

    “You have some nerve dropping that kind of information on Mrs. Weaver, and then blocking her out like that.” It was my sister Lenora. Her petite frame entered the door with a tray of food. She walked over and dropped the tray in my lap. She pushed her long black hair behind her ear and her blue eyes glared at me “You nearly gave her a heart attack! It’s a good thing that Gregor has a second sense and knew you’d pull something like that and let her know. You know how much that woman cares for you and hates to see you hurt. Why do you think I’m here in her place?”

    “Yeah, actually why are you here?” My sister was currently a nursing student at Emory College and lived on her own in a loft in downtown Atlanta.

    “Good to see you too, big brother” she scoffed, lightly punching me in the arm. “I came by today to talk to dad about moving again. My neighbors are so annoying! Then I found out that you got hurt, so Mrs. Weaver asked me to come up here to make sure you were fed, showered, and to wrap up your wound again.” She may act bratty most of the time, but my sister did love me.

    “I appreciate you taking the time to check on me” I smile at her but she gives me a confused look and punches me again.

    “Don’t get any bright ideas Mrs. Weaver forced this all on me. Now eat your food. You really need to shower. You stink!” she pinched her nose and scrunched up her face.

    I looked down at the tray and there were two servings of tomato soup, grilled cheese cut in half, and a Caesar salad. My sister plops down on the bed beside me, grabs one of the grilled cheese sandwiches dunking it into one of the soups, and takes a bite. I can tell from her expression it tastes good, so I also dig in. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until the tray was empty. Lenora let me finish her soup and the other half of her grilled cheese.

    “Ah, that was good” Lenora sighs as she pats her belly “Now, you go shower!” She gets up and moves the tray into the hallway, walks into the bathroom, starts the shower, and then helps me out of bed. She’s a nurse in training so I’ll let her help me for practice I tell myself. Once inside the bathroom she sits me down in a chair and unwraps the bandage around my ankle.

    “Damn!” Lenora winces “Kai did a number on you! The good thing is it’s healing quickly, but it’s definitely going to leave a scar. Okay, I’m going to go talk to dad while you shower. Mind link me when you’re done, and I’ll wrap your ankle again. Oh right, let me get you some clothes to change into.” She ducks out of the bathroom, and quickly returns with clean boxers and pajamas for me to change into. “Okay now don’t fall. If you need anything let me know.” With that she exited, closing the bathroom door behind her.

    I stand up and gently rest my injured foot on the ground to test its stability. It still hurts, but at least I can put some pressure on it now. I undress and toss the dirty clothes to the floor. This time I make sure to lay an extra towel down on the ground outside of the shower, so I don’t slip on water when getting out. I step inside the shower and wince with an audible groan as the water hits the open wound.

    “Damn Kai” I curse.

    “That’s what you get for taunting Gregor” Titus scolds from the recess of my mind.

    “Yeah well if someone had covered their rear flanks better, we wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place” I retorted, but Titus remained silent. I must have hit a nerve.

    I finish up my shower, get dressed, and mind link Lenora to come back to help me. She dresses my wound and helps me back into bed making sure to prop up my foot. I felt like a weakling, but seeing my sister happily take care of me makes it a little bit easier to tolerate. Lenora can’t stay long as she has a night class at the ER she has to attend tonight. She says goodbye and leaves me alone to do my work.

    I finish reviewing the pile just in time for Mrs. Weaver to knock on the door with dinner in hand. Steak cooked rare with potatoes and green beans in a beef gravy sauce. Alonso sure knows my comfort foods. I smile at her as she places the tray in my lap, and straightens the two piles of document folders stacking one horizontally on top of the other to keep them separated.

    “I’m sorry” I speak first “I’m sorry if I scared you earlier. Lenora said you were upset when you heard I got hurt.”

    “It’s quite alright Master Driscoll,” she sits on the side of the bed and pats my leg gently “I know how you get when you are hurt. You don’t want any help from anyone and want to be left alone. I’m always here for you even when you shut me out.” Mrs. Weaver smiles at me. She’s the closest thing to a mother figure that I have and I’m grateful for her.

    “Thank you, Mrs. Weaver, for always understanding.”

    “Of course!” She stands up “Now eat your dinner before it gets cold. Alonso wouldn’t forgive me if I let you eat it cold. I’ll be back in about an hour to pick up the tray, just leave it on the bed beside you.” With that she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. I finished my dinner and decided to watch some tv before I fell asleep. I am truly grateful for those that were in my life and cared for me. I vow to always protect them no matter the cost.