Phacelia

"Thanks," I try to tell my brother between coughs as I take the glass of water he is handing me. I swish some of the water around in my mouth before spitting it into the toilet where my previous meal rests in pieces. I smile up at my brother, trying to make him feel better. I'm used to this scene by now, it's been a reoccurrence since I was born. My brothers, on the other hand, I'm afraid they'll never get used to it. I have two brothers. They are both 22 years old with soft cinnamon-colored hair, credit to my father. They are identical twins who do everything together. They usually treat me like a triplet instead of their little sister, except on occurrences such as this where I am transformed into a delicate flower in their eyes. In an ironic twist, however, it fits the name. My full name is Phacelia Ray Crane. My mother chose my name from a flower of the same name. It's almost like she knew I would take after her. Though I only go by Celia now, it's nice to have something from my mother. I never got to meet her; she died right after giving birth to me. Everyone that knew her tells me I take after her, meaning she was sickly too. I don't know why I'm sick though. I have been frail and sick since I was born. My father used to take me to the pack doctor a lot, hoping to find whatever the cause was. I would sit through test after test, but none of them showed anything abnormal. After a while, my father gave up. He stopped taking me to the doctor and even stopped helping me when I'd get sick. He all but disappeared from my life. When I was little, my brothers would be the ones to take care of me. My father would only talk to me when there is any business he would need me for. My father is the pack beta so I understand he's always busy. But even little me knew it was something beyond just being busy. It's like I'm the fragile daughter who could disappear at any second and he's already said goodbye. "Are you okay?" My brother Saber asks as he rubs my back. I can hear my brother Skye throwing the sheets back on my bed, getting ready to force me in. "Guys I'm okay," I tell them honestly. "And I'm going to school." "Like hell you are," Skye shouts from my bedroom. "You are staying in bed today." Saber orders. "Please," I beg. "You can't make me stay here without you guys." Soon, my brothers would be leaving for work along with the alpha's only son, Axton. With my dad being the beta of the pack, our families are close. When the time is right, Axton will become alpha and one of my brothers will be the next beta. Until then, they are all working under the current alpha, Laurent, to train and learn what is needed. Sometimes when my father has paperwork to finish, he'll stay here in his study. So after they all leave, it'll be either me alone or me with my dad and I'm hoping for at least the former. "Don't push yourself today." Saber tries to softly coax me into bed. "Don't you care that you're ruining my birthday?" "Your birthday isn't for another 2 days." Skye retorts. "You need to rest before your birthday so you can be strong to meet your wolf," Saber says as he tucks me into my bed and pulls the cover up to my chin. "Yo, slow asses!" Axton barges in and yells from downstairs. "Up here!" Skye yells back. A moment later, Axton is standing in my doorway. Of course, he would have to see me like this too. It's bad enough my brothers treat me like a flower when I'm sick but Axton is just as bad as they are. He is almost one of the family, he breaks in, eats our food, etc. I think if he moved in my father wouldn't even notice. I'm so used to him being around I've almost gotten over my crush on him. It's a cliche because who doesn't have a crush on the hot alpha-to-be, but I can't help it. "You okay, Cel?" Axton asks. "She threw up this morning," Saber answers for me with a worried expression and a hand stroking my hair. "Is there anything I can help with?" Axton offers gently. "Yeah," I speak up before either of my brothers can. "Tell these bozos to let me go to school." Axton's face scrunches up as he thinks about it. "I dunno," he says "I don't think that's a good idea either. You need rest." "Fine!" I huff, losing the battle 3vs1. Also, the sooner they leave the sooner I can sneak out and go anyway. I only have one year of school left and I want to enjoy it. Skye and Saber kiss my forehead and follow Axton out of my room. I listen for the front doors to open and close before I get out of bed. I send a text to my best friend, Miya, to pick me up before changing into pink shorts and a black fringed t-shirt. Just to be safe, I open my window and climb down the lattice that leads into the garden. My mother loved her flowers. We keep the garden alive just like she would have wanted. As Miya pulls up to my house with her cute blue Nissan Juke, I peek around the edge of the house to make sure the coast is clear and run to her car. "Why didn't the duo take you?" Miya asks as we pull into the lower level training grounds that seconds as a school. The higher training grounds are for graduates that go on to be part of the Guard. Our school is split into the future Guard and everyone else. Even if we don't go into the Guard, we have required physical training. Everyone who is going into the Guard gets more training time and those who aren't can study and practice the boring stuff, like how to become a pack doctor. "I got sick this morning and they wanted me to stay home." "Oh, a rebel, that's hot," Miya smirks at me as she gets out of the car. Miya is beautiful with her dark skin, dark hair, and olive-green eyes. I laugh as we link arms to walk through the school. A couple of people are already on the field training. Attendance isn't counted at our school; as long as you're making progress you're good to go. Some people come in early and some people come in later, depending on what their lives and families need. "You want to start with some sparring?" I ask eagerly. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Miya looks at me skeptically. I smile and nod innocently. Miya rolls her eyes but obliges me like I knew she would. She trusts me to know my limits. We change into some workout clothes that the school provides and take ourselves to the field. After a bit of basic warm-up, my blood is pumping and my nausea is barely noticeable. I feel better and excitedly taking swings at Miya. "Stop having fun with this." Miya orders with a laugh, obviously having fun herself. Miya takes a left swing at me. I turn my body toward her swing to block with both hands and lift my leg to take a kick at her. Miya's body freezes and her eyes focus somewhere behind me. I stop attacking her and spin around to see what it is that has her entranced. Julien, one of the future guard members is standing right in front of me. He's tall enough that I have to look up to see his sparkling blue eyes. He didn't bother putting on a shirt so his abs and muscular arms are plain as day. He isn't sweating so it looks like he just got on the field. "Remember to bend your leg when you kick." He says. "Oh," I say after a few seconds. "Thank you." I take a few steps away from him, make sure my back leg is bent, and swing out my other leg to kick. "Like that?" Julien blocks it easily with his hand. "Yeah like that," Julien says with a smile. "Good job." His smile is so adorable I can feel my heart melt in my chest. "Can you kick here?" Julien holds up his hand in front of his chest for me to use as a target. Miya walks off to find a new sparring buddy as Julien continues to help me train. My body turns heavy and my arms grow weak. I can't bring myself to train anymore so I sit down on a bench nearby. Julien sits next to me looking as if he hardly broke a sweat. "You look small but you did well." Julien praises me with a heartfelt smile on his face. "You're just saying that to be nice." I tease. "No, really, I wouldn't lie." "Thank you," I say as I feel my face get warmer. I don't bother hiding my blushing face since I can just attribute it to the workout. "I'm going to grab Miya and go change. Do you want to come to class with us?" "Sure!" Julien agrees excitedly with a bright smile. "I'll meet you guys out front." I don't have to grab Miya, she appears as soon as Julien takes off. It wouldn't be a surprise to me if she was watching us the whole time. "So," Miya says as soon as we enter the changing room. "How did that go?" She has a large grin on her face. "He's really sweet," I reply innocently. "I was going to invite him to Mussy's with us but I want to make sure it's okay with you first." Mussy's is the bar and grill that Miya and I frequent. It's also the only restaurant in town and everyone frequents there. "Of course it is!" Miya blows off my concern. "What if he's your mate? He's already 18. And in a few days, you'll just walk onto the training field, and BOOM!" I let Miya daydream for me. She's a couple of months younger than me and therefore longer off from meeting her wolf and finding her mate. I let her live vicariously through me without bringing her back to harsh reality, which is I don't think I even want a mate. I'm not sure how long I will get to live or if I can have pups. I don't want to put anyone through that. When we leave the changing room Julien is waiting for us as promised. "Do you want to join us at Mussy's after school?" I ask him as we walk through the building. Julien quietly agrees with his bright smile as we make it to the classroom.