Twinned Flame

I don’t remember a lot about my upbringing. I felt like I had kind of just appeared and, within a blink of an eye, here I stood. A 25 wolfless nobody. My mentor, Hugo, has been raising me since I was an abandoned infant, found on the outskirts of pack territory during a rogue wolf raid. Our Alpha, Dax Jackson, allowed him to keep me under the condition that I would not be integrated into the pack until I proved my worth to it. At 25, I guess I still haven’t. It hasn’t been all bad. I was raised with the warriors. Hugo was the Alpha’s former Beta, but he chose to step down and train the recruits as he believed his talent lay there and not pack politics. He was definitely a father figure to me. I owed everything to his kindness for sparing me, a rogue pup, that fateful day. “Hey Sylvie, you up yet?” I shot up from my bed and looked at the clock ‘10:30’, clicked into ‘10:31’ and I scrambled to get untangled from the covers. “Yes, I’m up!” I lie throwing on some joggers from the floor after a quick sniff test. I stumbled a little as I pulled the garment up and yanked open the door to the very annoyed glance of Hugo. “Good morning to you too,” I said as he eyed my disheveled appearance. “I can assume you forgot correct?” He asks, crossing his arms as I try and brush my hair with my fingers. I grin at him “No, of course, I didn’t forget.” I lie as I 100% forgot, he nods slowly with a ‘hmm’ as if he’s debating on believing 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 a smirk stretching across his face. I grimace “Ok, ok, I forgot,” I mumble. He cracks a smile before patting my shoulder. “It’s OK, we got the annual assessment today at 3. Do you think you’re ready for it?” Hugo says, still holding my shoulder as he gently guides me to turn and leads me down the steps towards the kitchenette. My hovel was a little cabin that sat near the training arena. I was close enough to be monitored, but far enough away from the main packhouse and city to not be an eyesore. I nod, finally remembering, “Yes, the assessment. I can’t believe I forgot,” I admit, heading towards the fridge, and peaking in to see if there was anything I could grab quickly to eat. I pull some leftovers out, stew from a couple of nights ago, and hope it’s still good as I toss it into the microwave. “Will the Alpha be there?” I asked, turning back to face Hugo, who had chosen to stand by the door looking at his phone. “No, but his heir will be,” I frown. The Alpha’s son, Braxton, and his chosen Beta Aelis were not my biggest fans. Growing up, I was granted the privilege of going to the pack’s inner school. Braxton found me public enemy number one. He constantly harassed me the entirety of our schooling. You would think boredom would seep in sooner or later. Hugo buffed a lot of the attacks, but didn’t miss an opportunity for us to spar. Braxton didn’t like that. I never lost a fight on the field. “Are you going to be 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 at me. 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 offered a genuine smile. “Thanks Hugo, I will,” he flashes a smile before turning and opening the front door. “Finish up and meet me on the field. The AA won’t stop you from your normal scheduled workout.” He closes the door behind him and I watch his figure pass the single window, and I’m alone again. I eat what I can stomach of my stew, before I decide to shower and get dressed in cleaner clothes. I check the clock on the microwave as I exit the shower ‘11:20’. I opt to towel dry my hair, before tossing on my shoes 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. When I pulled up, I saw Braxton and Aelis standing at the entrance with Hugo. I pulled up and parked a little way from the entrance. “Are you sure, Braxton?” I hear Hugo ask as I take my helmet off and place it on the seat of my bike. “Positive Mr. Gaines,” I hear Braxton's slimy response. His way of speaking always leaves me unsettled, like speaking to a devil in human skin. “Speaking of” Braxton continues shooting a very concerning smile my way as I walk up to the three. “Hello Silvie, 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. “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,” Braxton offers, turning to Hugo attempting to remain expressionless, albeit annoyed. “Yup, Braxton has chosen to sit in on the training session. Who are we to deny the future Alpha’s 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 and get his attention. “What was that?” I whispered to him. He rolls his eyes before glancing at me sideways. “It’s just as I said. Braxton wants to sit in on training. Hugo bites, forcing the gate to the main arena open. It bangs angrily against the wall, shaking as it swings back towards us. Hugo continued to walk to the center as I grabbed the poor gate and closed it gently. “There gotta be more to it if you're attacking the gate now,” I say. Hugo spins suddenly facing 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 shrug off my equipment, tossing it against the wall as I start my run around the arena. Hugo is setting up the weights in the center, walking over to the utility shed on the opposite wall and tossing stuff over. His anger is radiating off of him and waves as he grumbles to himself. I glance up into the stands and see Braxton and Aelis, sitting a couple stands back but still close enough to make them out clearly. Aelis is on his phone, unbothered, Braxton is watching me. His smile still stretched, and I have to wonder if that eventually starts to hurt. I force myself to focus on the laps by taping the gate to keep count. 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 us as well, forming little groups to lazily stretch as they talked and laughed. Last two laps and I headed over to the provided icebox to grab a water bottle. I took Hugo's initiative and pulled my own hair back into a small ponytail. Its shoulder-length didn't do anything to help with the sweat on the back of my neck. I grab my bag and pull out my towel to wipe down my neck. “Let's go recruits, Sylvia already has 10 laps on y'all,” Hugo shouts, propping up the final target for archery. I grabbed a second water bottle and walked over to Hugo, offering it to him. “Thanks,” he says, crushing the bottle in a couple of swigs. I chuckle a bit, as he wipes his brow and I offer up my towel next, he nods and accepts it. 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 our workouts?” I ask. Hugo sighs exhausted. “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 laughed. “Steve was supposed to have the field set up last night, but I can't leave anything to the i***t, can I?” he grumbles, using his shirt to wipe himself down. “Doesn't help that they chose a midday time, 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 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 says, without missing a beat, “You've been trained by me since you could stand. These whelps no nothing of what I put you through.” I laughed at that. His training was torture, none stop until I was able to perform everything perfectly. Hand to hand, archery, swordsmanship, marksmanship, if I wasn't perfect, I wouldn't be leaving the field. “You think he'll actually allow me to win?” I asked, looking back up at Braxton, meeting his eyes. I held it 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 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 off 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 weighed heavily.