Twinned Flame

CrestFallen Pack

North of the central kingdom sits a very humble pack. In the pack sits an Alpha at his desk in the early morning sun enjoying a peaceful cup of coffee.

“Go to hell!”

Yes, a peaceful cup of coffee, at his desk.

“It’s not my fault you’re wound tighter than a bowstring.”

He has a cup of coffee at his desk.

Kibe Stone stared through the office window at the sunrise over Crestfallen's garden, savoring the warmth of his coffee. He pushes his sons screaming out of his mind. He sighs content, then the sound of a vase breaking downstairs causes his eye to twitch. Kibe takes another sip of coffee. Five seconds pass and there’s more shouting,

“Oh, bite me you prick!” and “Mange-ridden mutt” he turned toward his Beta, Hige Marshall, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa by the fireplace. Kibe could see his shoulders slightly shaking as he held in his laughter. Kibe sets down his coffee standing up from his chair,

“I gave them a chance,” He mumbles, walking towards the door.

“All I’m asking for is for you to keep your sleazy she-wolves on your side of the pack house!” Kibe heard his son Vincent yell from the living room. Kibe groaned at the noise; it was far too early for this.

“You couldn’t charm a she-wolf if your life depended on it!” came Damien's reply.

“They’re in high spirits this morning, aren’t they, Alpha?” Hige said with a chuckle, looking over the Alphas annoyed expression he couldn’t contain his laughter anymore.

“Right, high spirits,” Kibe bites out,

“All I ask for is for them to act like future Alphas,” Kibe says with a heavy sigh. Hige nods, covering his mouth to quiet his laughter. Kibe shoots him a glare,

“Better go break it up.” He walks over to the door and swings it open. His office is on the second floor to the right of the staircase. He walked to the banister looking down into the living room where his sons were bickering back and forth.

“Boys, my office. NOW,” he shouts, radiating his Alpha aura. The twins look up at their father, wincing. They shoved each other at the exact some moment, lost their balance, and stumbled backwards in perfect synchronization.

"Even your stupidity is coordinated," Kibe says, walking back into his office.

“This is all your fault,” Vincent bites out, shoulder checking Damien to get up the stairs first.

“My fault?” Damien snaps, grabbing Vincent’s shirt to pull him back so he can go first.

“It's not my fault, you're impossible,” Damien growls. Vincent growls back at him, grabbing his brother’s leg and causing him to fall. Damien catches himself on the stairs, shooting his brother a glare.

“You’d mount anything with a pulse,” Vincent says, racing past his brother. He gets to their father’s office before Damien, who follows close behind, shoving him out of the way to stand before the desk.

“Enough, enough from both of you. Please” Kibe grips at their childish display, taking a seat back in his chair. His coffee is cold and forgotten, causing him to frown.

“Can’t I have one morning, one day even, without the two of you acting like children? Can’t I wake up and see that my heirs are acting like the Alphas of the Crestfallen pack?” Kibe asks, tossing his hands up in defeat.

“He started it!” They both shouted in unison, pointing at each other, then shooting glares. Kibe rubbed his face, his 30-year-old sons, acting like their 13-year-old brother and 9-year-old sister.

“I don’t care who started it, I care that I’m always the one who finishes it!” Kibe looked at his sons, try as they might, they will always look like the other. 6’2, midnight hair, and green eyes.

“Listen my sons, my…. i***t,” Kibe paused, glancing at the two.

“But begrudgingly loved sons, what could this argument be about this time?” Kibe asked, leaning back in his plush red chair with a sigh.

“An answer that won’t raise my blood pressure would be preferred,” motioning for one of them to answer.

“His latest w***e barged into my room this morning, while I was in the shower, and decided she had the right to bare her body on my bed talking about being my Luna,” Vincent snapped a glare at Damien, who was smirking, giving his brother a sideways glance.

“Look, I was offering her to you in hopes that you’ll realize that you’ve been celibate so long. The Moon Goddess probably forgot your name,” Damien shrugged. Vincent growled at him, his eyes flashing yellow. His wolf, Thorin, was pushing towards the surface, he slammed his first into the wall, the ripples of a shift dancing under his skin. He took a breath,

“If the time comes for a contract marriage, I will oblige. Until then, I know my fate is out there waiting for me,” Vincent said. Kibe sighed again, hanging his head in utter defeat.

"I worry about you, brother. I fear you will allow yourself to be alone forever at this rate" Damien defends sincerely.

“Listen to me now, as I will only say this once,” Kibe said, and his Alpha aura burst forth, causing the twins to stumble back and fight amid the intense pressure. Kibe wasn’t holding back this time. Hige was gripping the sofa arm, leaving deep marks in the fabric, affected even though the aura wasn’t direct at him. It suffocated the room.

“Damien, you are to stop instigating your brother. If he wishes to wait for his fated Luna, so be it,” Kibe said, his voice was calm despite the overwhelming aura. It left no room for discussion.

“You are to keep the she-wolves out of the main packhouse. If you want to mess around, use the black card at the hotel. I will not have this type of behavior shown to respective guests, your siblings, or your mother,” Damien gritted his teeth, nodding at his father’s instruction. Kibe released the pressure and the three affected men gasped for breath.

“But how are we supposed to run the pack without a Luna?” Damien asked. The question caused Kibe’s own wolf, Alaric, to flash in his eyes.

“When the time comes for your ascension, the subject of Luna will be discussed in further detail. Until then, I am still Alpha of this pack. You are still just an heir,” Kibe contained his aura, assuring Alaric. Kibe looked over at his desk before grabbing an envelope and handing it over to the boys. Damien reached for it, sliding out the pages, Vincent leaned over.

“Our neighbor pack, Bloody Dagger, is holding their annual assessment today. I want you to take your younger siblings over to be a spectator. As you know, Bloody Dagger is renowned for their warriors. They were immense help in the rogue war all those years ago,” Kibe said as he watched them read over the letters.

“To keep good relations, I feel it's best for the future Alphas of Crestfallen to meet the future Alpha of Bloody Dagger.” Damien read over the letter again, before Vincent took it to read it over himself. It was a simple invitation by the current Alpha Dax Jackson, explaining how the assessment will help with their yearly warrior trial they do with other packs in the kingdom.

“Bloody Daggers future Alpha, what was his name again?” Damien asked. Vincent folded the letter back into the envelope and laid it back on their father’s desk.

“Braxton,” Kibe said, the air shifted as both heirs frowned, giving each other a glance. Kibe understood the reaction to the name.

“He’s an odd fellow,” he added, choosing his words carefully.

“Yeah. No. He’s not odd, he’s extremely off-putting. Like a feral rogue after gorging himself,” Damien said. Vincent frowned.

“I’d rather fight a rogue then interact with him,” Vincent said, then turned to Damien.

“What’s weird is that he wasn’t always like that. He did a complete personality flip after the last ball we had. Not to mention the whole pack acts like it has something to hide,” Vincent said.

“Whether they do or not, we must stay on their good side. The Lycan King holds them in his good graces after the war. Much of his guard is from Bloody Dagger,” Kibe said.

“The war was 25 years ago. Isn’t it a little odd that out of every pack that fought, they came out more victorious than the rest?” Vincent said skeptically.

“It’s not our place to question or investigate, go to the assessment. Enjoy time away with your siblings. They are dying to leave pack grounds,” Kibe said, waving them off. Damien and Vincent gave a glance at each other before walking out of the office. When the door closed, Kibe slumped further into his chair, groaning out loudly. Hige steps in front of the desk

“What to stomp your feet too, Alpha?” He says with a laugh, causing Kibe to glare at him.

“They’re 30 years old Hige, 30!” Kibe says, rubbing his face. Hige nods.

“They’re still your sons though,” Hige says, and Kibe sighs, rotating his chair back towards the window, slouching further down.

“I’m afraid they’re not ready,” Kibe said gently. Hige came around to stand beside his friend, he patted his shoulder solemnly.

“They will be ready, they have you guiding them,” Hige offered. Kibe looked at him.

“One day they’ll take over and be responsible for thousands, millions if the king has no other heir. How can I be so sure they are going to be ready?” Kibe asked. Hige tapped his chin, pondering for a moment.

“By continuing to watch over them and guiding them. They’ll always bicker, they’re brothers and the most, opposite, set of twins,” Hige said, and Kibe gave a chuckle, nodding in agreement.

“They have this whole pack standing behind them, it doesn’t have to fall on your shoulders alone,” Hige continued. Kibe gave another nod, sliding back up in his chair,

“You’re right, I got to get them prepared no matter what. For Crestfallen, and for Silvarune,” Kibe said, turning back to face his desk, Hige smiled and returned to the couch picking his own paperwork back up. Kibe picked up his coffee and took a sip. Cold.

"....Figures"

~

“He says not too, but I feel it is our right to,” Vincent said. Damien nodded as the two of them headed towards the dining room situated on the far left of the stairs they had just come down from. A maid was cleaning up the broken vase shards but stood and bowed when they approached.

“Greetings Alphas, may I assist you with anything?” She asked, head still bowed,

“Now thank you, Maria, do you happen to know where Jenny and Raphael are?” Vincent asked. Maria looked up at them.

“I saw the young masters head out towards the garden shortly after breakfast. I am unsure if they are still there,” she explained. The twins nodded, moving towards the kitchen door that leads them outback.

“Thank you, Maria,” Vincent said. Damien thanked her as well. She blushed, tucking some stray hairs behind her ear, and biting her lip.

“Of course, Alpha,” she said. They stepped through the dining room into the large open kitchen, a couple of chefs were making themselves busy with prepping various ingredients.

“You know she has a thing for you, right?” Damien said as Vincent moved through the prep counters to the back pantry offering hellos to the staff at work.

“Yeah, so?” He said, rummaging a bit before pulling out a couple of apples.

“Why don’t you pursue her?” Damien asked. Vincent rolled his eyes at his brother. Even if his brother meant well, he couldn't bring himself to be with anyone else.

“Because she’s not her. I know she’s out there,” Vincent said, brushing past his brother and out the back door towards the garden. Damien frowned following, stepping out, they could hear laughing in the distance. Their two younger siblings were running around the garden with sticks in hand.

“Hey! Do you guys want to go watch a tournament?” Vincent called, approaching the young siblings. Noticing their older brothers, they stopped what they were doing and ran over. Vincent bent down and scooped up Jenny with open arms and she squealed happily.

“A tournament?” Raphael asked as he approached, tossing his fake sword to the side.

“Yea, it’s a test of will and strength,” Damien explained, posing like a strong man. Raphael tapped his chin and Jenny mimicked the motion.

“Only if we can get ice cream,” he said. Jenny eagerly shook her head in agreement.

“Yes please!” she said, tapping her brother’s chest. The older siblings smiled.

“Sure, but we have to leave now if we want to make it on time,” Vincent said. They nodded and the four of them headed off.