Twinned Flame

It’s hard to recall pleasant memories, when the bad ones hold so much weight. Countless lonely nights away from everyone and everything. Years drifting by until I blink, and suddenly I’m aware of my existence in this world. A rogue. Wolf-less and worthless. Abandoned at birth and burdened with the reality that I was nothing to nobody. My mentor and father figure, Hugo, was the only solace I was allowed. Tasked with raising me, training me to be worthy of my pack. 25 years and I am still a disappointment. Hugo raised me best he could, fought for me to be given the barest of necessities, and trained me alongside the warriors of our pack since I could walk. Fought to allow me an education and had even stepped down as Beta. He liked to tell me it was because he was better suited as a trainer than a political figure. I reached up towards the ceiling, stretching my arm out as far as it could go, splaying the fingers as if trying to grasp the very air that felt so heavy. I let my arm plop to my chest with a sigh, before reaching up to rub my face. A knock on the door draws my attention. “Hey Sylvie, you up yet?” I sat up in bed rubbing my face more aggressively to wipe away the exhaustion, while I lazily looked over to the alarm clock on the nightstand ’10:30’ clicked to ’10:31’ and realization struck me. I scrambled off the bed with a thud and I hit the floor, grabbing the first piece of clothing I could snag. I sit up and do a quick sniff test, when another knock resonates. “Sylvie?” The voice sounds again; I toss on some joggers, stumbling as I pull the garment up. “Yes, I’m up!” I shout, fighting the clasps on my bra and I walk towards the door. I pulled open the door after pulling my shirt down to see Hugo standing there. His hand was raised to knock again and when he gave my disheveled appearance, a once over annoyance crossed his features. “Good morning to you too,” I mumbled, fixing my clothes and brushing my fingers through my hair. “I can assume you forgot what today is correct?” he asks, crossing his arms with a small smirk. “No, of course not,” I lie as I 100% forgot, he nods slowly with a ‘hmm’ as if he’s debating on whether to believe me or not. “Well, since you didn’t, why not enlighten me as to what we are supposed to be doing today?” He says with that ‘know it all’ smirk. I grimace, pondering, trying to search my mind for the answer. Nothing. I look up at his smiling face, “OK, I forgot,” I relent, and he laughs, patting my shoulder. “It’s OK, we got the annual assessment today at 3. Do you think you’re ready for it?” He asks, holding my shoulder as he gently guides me to turn around and lead me down the steps. My house is a very small two-story cabin that sits close enough to the training arena. Close enough to be monitored, but far enough away from the city for pack standards. I nodded, allowing him to lead me to the kitchenette. “Yea, the assessment. I can’t believe I forgot,” I admitted, heading towards the fridge and peaking in to see if there was anything I could grab quickly to eat. I pulled out some leftovers, a simple stew from a couple nights ago, and tossed it into the microwave. “Will the Alpha be there?” I asked, turning back to face Hugo. He had chosen to stand by the door looking at his phone. “No, but his heir will be,” I frown. Alpha’s son, Braxton, and his chosen Beta Aelis were not my biggest fans. Growing up, when I was granted the privilege of going to the packs inner school, Braxton had found me public enemy number one. He constantly harassed me the entirety of my schooling. During training before Braxton went off to the Alpha academy, Hugo was able to buff a lot of the attacks but didn’t miss an opportunity for us to spar. Braxton didn’t like the fact that in the arena I was unbeatable. “Are you OK with that?” Hugo asked as the silence stretched too long after his answer. I shook my head before shooting him a smile, “Of course not. Who wouldn’t want to show off to the future Alpha?” I mumbled as the microwave beeped. Hugo chuckled at my attempt at nonchalance. “Just go there and prove to everyone what I already know. That you’re the greatest warrior Bloody Dagger has to offer. Wolf or no wolf,” Hugo said. I looked up at him, warmed stew in hand and found myself genuinely smiling. “Thanks Hugo, I will,” he flashes me a smile before turning and opening the front door. “Finish up and meet me on the field. The assessment won’t stop you from doing your normal scheduled workout. Which you are already late for,” He closes the door behind him, and I watch his figure pass the window, and I’m alone again. I ate what I could stomach of my stew, before I decided to shower and get dressed in cleaner clothes. I check the clock on the microwave as I exit the shower at ’11:20’. I opt to towel dry my hair, before tossing on my runners and grabbing my bow, quiver, and workout bag at the door. I sling the equipment over my shoulder and take the helmet off the hook as I step outside. It’s bright in the near afternoon sun, the spring weather has finally shaken off the last of the winter frost. I walk around to the side of the cabin where my motorcycle is sitting, I pull off the protective tarp and start the bike. I put on my helmet and sped off towards the training grounds. I’m close enough to the grounds, only 5 miles down the road from the main arena, but walking will take too long when I’m already late. As I was coming up the hill, I saw two figures standing next to Hugo who was unlocking the main entrance gates. When I pass by, I notice it's Braxton and Aelis, I park quickly next to the main lot, tossing off my helmet and setting it on the seat. I jog over to hear them talking. “Are you sure, Braxton?” Hugo asks as I approached, “Positive Mr. Gaines,” Braxton’s slimy response leaves me unsettled, like a devil in human skin. “Speaking of,” Braxton continues shooting a very concerning smile my way as I stop before them. “Hello Sylvie, excited about the annual assessment?” He quips, and I resist the urge to recoil away, “Of course, Alpha Jackson,” I say, turning and offering a nod to Aelis, who returns one in reply. “What brings you here so early?” I asked, and Braxton’s smile continued to spread across his face, in a way a demented clown would. “I’m anxious to see what training these warriors would like to participate in before an event like the Assessment,” Braxton offers, turning to Hugo, who is attempting to remain expressionless, but the annoyance is radiating from him in waves. “Yup, Braxton has chosen to sit in on the training session. Who are we to deny the future Alpha his wishes?” Hugo says, turning towards the entrance and walking in. I looked Braxton up and down before going to catch up with Hugo. I tugged at his shirt to get him to slow down. “What was that?” I whispered to him, casting a glance at the entrance to make sure they couldn’t hear me. Hugo rolls his eyes. “It’s just as I said. Braxton wants to sit in on training. Hugo bites out, walking towards the field gate and forcing it open. It bangs angrily against the wall, shaking as it swings back towards us. Hugo continued to walk to the center of the field as I grabbed the poor gate and closed it gently. “There’s got to be more to it if you’re attacking the gate now,” I say, Hugo spins so suddenly to face me, anger flashing in his eyes. I nearly stumbled back at the sudden movement. “Don’t question me and don’t question the Alpha. If we say he’s just here to watch the training, then that’s exactly what he’s here to do.” I can only nod. “Ten laps, go. Now” he snaps, I head back towards the gate and shrug off my equipment, tossing it against the wall. I start my run around the arena. Hugo is setting up the weights in center field, walking over to the utility shed on the opposite wall and tossing stuff over. His anger can be felt every time I pass by him. I glance up into the stands and see Braxton and Aelis, sitting a couple stands back. Aelis is on his phone, unbothered, Braxton is watching me. His smile is still stretched, and I have to wonder if that eventually starts to hurt. I force myself to focus on my laps by tapping the gate to keep counting. By the time I was on my 8th lap, Hugo had tied his long, grey-streaked brown hair into a messy bun. He rolled his sleeves up, and I could see the heat wasn’t helping his anger. A couple of recruits had joined as well, forming little groups to lazily stretch as they talked and laughed. Last two laps and I headed over to the icebox provided to grab a water bottle. I took Hugo’s initiative and pulled my own hair back into a small ponytail at the nap of my neck. I grabbed a towel from my bag wiping my neck down. “Let’s go recruits, Sylvie already has 10 laps on y’all,” Hugo shouts, propping up the final target for archery. I grabbed a second bottle and walked over to Hugo, offering it to him. “Thanks,” he said, crushing the bottle in a couple of swigs. I chuckled a bit, as he wiped his brow and I offered my towel to him next. He nods and accepts it, wiping his neck with a sigh. I glanced back up at Braxton, his gaze was unwavering and severely unnerving. “Seriously, what is he getting out of sitting in this heat to watch a bunch of workouts?” I ask. Hugo sighs and I hear the exhaustion. “He says it's to see who will be eligible to be assigned a special protection position he’s creating with his father. I think it’s a load of s**t” Hugo says, pulling off his button up to the tank top underneath. His dark skin is glistening in sweat. “Dang Hugo, someone needs to get you a squeegee.” He glares at me as I laugh. “Steve was supposed to have the field set up last night, but I can’t leave anything to that i***t, can I?” He grumbles using his shirt to wipe his face down. “Doesn’t help that they chose midday, when the sun is going to boil this arena alive,” he says, tossing his shirt to the side. “Yea, I’m waiting to see how many of us pass out from heat exhaustion,” I say, finishing off my own water bottle. I glance at the other recruits finishing up their laps and already looking miserable. “Who do you think is going to top the charts?” I wonder, “You,” Hugo said without missing a beat. “You’ve been trained by me since you could stand. These whelps know nothing of what I put you through. Of what the world put you through” I laughed a bit at that. His training was torture, and none stop until I was able to perform perfectly. Hand to hand, archery, swordsmanship, marksmanship, if I wasn’t perfect, I wouldn’t leave the field. “You think he’ll actually allow me to win?” I asked, looking back up at Braxton, meeting his eyes. I held it for as long as I could stomach before I opted to look at the ground. “I think he’s going to make sure you do,” Hugo said, walking past me and heading over towards the other recruits. I watched as he called to start gathering them around to explain the training session and the assessment. I looked back up at Braxton, he finally moved, lifting his hand to offer a wave. I flashed an awkward one and his gaze finally moved away from me to focus on the group. Bile rose in my throat, but I swallowed it back, walking over to join Hugo and the recruits. Any excitement I may have had about today diminished as the nagging thought of Braxton making sure I won.