Hazel and Maeve

Chapter 1

-Maeve POV-

“GET OUT OF HERE!” I scream out.

I can feel the anger rising inside of me as I just watch my sister stand there. I want to cuss her out as I push her ass backwards. I need her to move. I am just about to scream at her again, but the air is knocked out of my lungs. Someone crashes into my back, causing me to fall forward. I wheeze out in pain as the person, who crashed into me, pushes their knees into the middle of my back.

My fingernails dig into the ground as I try to gather myself. It is no use as they grab my arms before wringing them behind my back. I grit my teeth as I hold back my shout. I don’t need to show my sister that they are hurting me. I know she is still here because I can feel her eyes on me. My anger is now seeping out of me as I want to buck this i***t off of me, but I also want to lash out at my sister for not running away.

“Maeve..” Hazel’s soft voice rings in my ears. I can hear how torn she is. I cannot have her second-guessing herself.

I manage to lift my head up to where I can see her. “GET THE F*CK OUT OF HERE! GET UNCLE APOLLO! LEAVE ME!” My voice cracks at the end as my own heart is breaking.

I never thought I would be yelling at my sister to ‘leave me.’ It doesn’t help that my twin’s body language is breaking me down, as well. Her shoulders are slumped, as her arms are crossed over her stomach. Almost like she is curling into herself. Tears are just running down her face as she stares at me with wide eyes.

“AH!” I scream as pain shoots up my left arm. Someone broke my f*****g finger. I try to breathe through the pain as I feel a presence near my right ear.

“Your sister better leave because I would hate to bring her along with us.” The presence sneers into my ear. I can hear the hatred lacing their tone.

Genuine fear fills my lungs as they fill with air. I cannot let them get her. I would not be able to handle whatever they want me for if they take her too.

“LEAVE!” Pure anguish is heard in my voice.

“I love you..” Hazel whispers before she turns her back on me.

It is almost as if she yelled those words at me. The pain in her voice killed me, but I needed her to leave. I needed her to leave me behind before these a*sholes could do anything to her. Tears stream down my face as I finally let myself break...

“Stupid b*tch. She won’t be able to save you.” One of these bastards sneers into my ear as they fist a chunk of my hair within their hand.

“F*CK!” I scream out as someone kicks me in my side.

All of the air in my lungs escapes as my nails dig deeper into the ground. Pain shoots up through a few of my fingers as I feel some of my nails bending back, but the pain is nothing compared to the stabbing pain in my side. I try to take in some deep breaths to get some air, but I cannot. It feels like something is stabbing me from within every time that I try to take in just the littlest amount of air. F*ck, I think they may have caused one of my ribs to puncture my lung.

“What the f*ck did you do to her?! It sounds like she can’t even f*cking breathe. The boss is going to get your ass if she dies on us.” I want to laugh at the pure panic in this guy's voice. Although, just trying to get some air is more important.

“Shut up. She isn’t going to die on us. You are freaking out like a little pussy.”

“That is rich coming from you.” The guy scoffs. “Just make sure to tell the boss why she has a big a*s bruise on her side... OH, and don’t forget to mention that she could breathe just fine before you kicked her. F*cking d*mbass.”

I feel weight leave my back as the hand that was in my hair is gone. I let my face connect with the ground as I move my hands over to my left side, where that bastard kicked me. I manage to roll over onto my side as I curl into the fetal position. Just because I am in pain does not mean that I lose focus on the two idiots that are currently yelling at each other.

“The boss isn’t going to give a f*ck. He told us..”

“I know what the f*ck he told us! If you had pulled your head out of your ass, then you would have heard him say that he didn’t want us to harm her either.”

“You better shut the f*ck up..”

All of a sudden, the two men are rushing over to me as they yank me up to my feet. I hissed out in pain while my jaw clenched together. I f*cking swear, I just want to kill these little f**k-heads.

“Maeve..”

“F*ck.” I gasp out as my eyes shoot open.

I shoot up in my bed as I take in my surroundings. My chest heaves as I take in my room. My eyes dart around until they fall onto my alarm clock. 4:30 shines at me in bright big letters. F*ck. Another nightmare. My breathing finally gets under control, so I flop back down on my bed, and I stare at the ceiling. I let myself take in some deep breaths before I climb out of bed. There is no point in trying to go back to sleep. My mind and heart just race whenever I try.

So, I just walk over to my bathroom, where I know my workout clothes are waiting for me. I always leave a pair before I pass out for the night. After doing my business and changing, I look at myself in the mirror. Really look at myself. I sigh as I grab my toothbrush. I just go through the motions of brushing my teeth before spitting the toothpaste in the sink. I stare at the water as it washes it down while I will myself to get out of my head. My thoughts are too loud. I need them to stop. I quickly finish getting ready before throwing my long dark brown hair in a high ponytail. I don’t even take another look at myself before I turn off the light.

Before heading out of my bedroom door, I make sure to grab my phone and headphones while throwing on some sneakers. Then I do the walk of shame as I sneak out of my own house. I know I don’t have to...but I cannot risk waking up anyone. I cannot face them after waking up from a nightmare. Thankfully, I have mastered the art of sneaking out of the house. Hearing the click of the door shut behind me as I take in the scent of pack lands, my mind finally starts to settle.

I give myself a shake before jogging over to the fitness center. It doesn’t take me long before I am flinging open the doors to the one place that has seen me every single morning for the past 3 years.

“It is about time.” My cousin yells at me from the treadmills.

“Oh, shut up!” I yell back as I make my way over to him.

Arsenio just smirks as he keeps his pace up. I don’t know how he knew that I was coming to the gym every single morning, but he just did. After a month of me showing up, Arsenio just shocked me one day by being here. He has never questioned why I come here or what causes me to train so hard, for which I am thankful. I don’t know if I could even explain it to him.

“Come on then, Ma. Get your butt moving.”

I roll my eyes as I start up my treadmill, making sure to get my pace right. “I am. Gah, just hang on.” I joke back at him.

I don’t know how it started, but ever since I can remember, Arsenio has called me Ma. It doesn’t bother me, nor do I think it is weird. My family calls each other what we want because we know at the end of the day, we all love each other. We will always have each other's back, as well. We call one another what we want with no shame.

After about an hour, we are climbing off of the treadmills. “Are you ready to get some training done today?” Arsenio asks me while wiping his face off with a towel.

I give him a nod. “What are we doing today?”

“Some boxing today. Along with some fighting techniques.”

“Alright, let's get it.”

For the next hour and a half, we bust our asses as we beat each other up. I can feel my body healing some of my bruises as I slump onto the ground while chugging a bottle of water.

“You are getting better at staying out of your head while you fight.” Arsenio comments while sitting down in front of me.

I look at him as I decide on how to respond. “Thanks. I am trying to really work on that.”

He just gives me a nod while his eyes tell me a different story. “Just make sure to work on your emotions. Never let the enemy know that they are getting to you while in combat. They can use that against you while it also makes you sloppy. Make yourself go numb as you fight while focusing on your opponent's movements. Look for any weaknesses. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Good.” I watch as he stands up. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Yeah, same time,” I mutter while I get my a*s off the floor.

Arsenio pulls me into a hug before we both head out. The gym is starting to fill up with the warriors, which means we ended just in time. After a quick goodbye, I jog back home as I am in desperate need of a shower. Opening the front door, I am not surprised to hear my mom moving around in the kitchen. She has always woken up around 6:40 every single morning. I say a quick ‘hey’ before heading off to my room.

40 minutes later, I am back in the kitchen as my mom places breakfast on the table. I sit down at the table while my mom eyes me.

“Have a good workout, sweetie?” She asks me in that “mom” voice.

“Yeah, it was good.” I quickly get out as I shove a mouthful of food into my mouth.

I love my mom, but she wants to ask too many questions in the morning. So, I have found a way around it. If I just shove my breakfast into my mouth really fast, then she can’t ask me anything. I wouldn’t mind her questions if I didn’t already know what she wanted to ask me. Why are you working out so much? Why do you sneak out of the house? What are you hiding? You have been distant for the past 3 years; why? I cannot handle those questions.

Once all the food is gone, I quickly rush off to wash my plate off before placing it in the dishwasher. I gave Mom a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye while heading out the door for the second time today. I make my way over to the packhouse. Making sure to say ‘hello’ to anyone who passes me. Once in the packhouse, I head straight for Uncle Apollo’s office. (and yes, I still call him Uncle Apollo)

I reach his door with my head in mid-air when I hear his voice through the door. “Come in, Maeve.”

I smirk as I open up the door. Stepping into his office, I close the door. “Good morning,” I say with a smile as I walk over to his desk. I plop down in one of the chairs that sit right in front of his desk.

Uncle Apollo just looks up at me with an unamused expression on his face. “Alright, let us hear it.”

My smile drops as I give him a play-by-play of my nightmare. “And then, I woke up. I still have no idea who this “boss” is, but I know he wants me. That much is clear.”

“Hmm.” My Uncle hums while running a hand through his beard. His eyes tell me that he is lost in thought. “You may be right.”

“May be right?” I tease.

He gives me a sharp look. “Your dreams are starting to become more violent. Last week, there was no punctured lung.”

I nod in agreement. “There was also no arguing between those two bastards.”

“I fear that whoever is after you is getting closer.”

I bob my head a little bit. “I would have to agree with you,” I say with a flick of my wrist as I look around.

“Don’t do that.” My Uncle snaps at me. “I know these dreams f*ck with you. I know that the past 3 years have been hell for you, but do not go numb on me. Do not downplay what you are going with me.” My Uncle says while hitting his chest with his hand. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. “Don’t hide from me. I am here for you, Maeve. Always.”

“I know,” I whisper with a crack in my voice. “Just let me go numb every once in a while. I need to escape.”

A deep sigh fills the office. “I think we need to cancel the birthday party. We need…”

I cut my Uncle off before he can even finish. “NO!” I practically yell. “No. This party means the world to Hazel, and I refuse to take that away from her.”

I hold my Uncle’s stare. I refuse to let my twin have any sort of joy taken from her. She deserves this birthday party.

“Fine. The birthday party will go on, but you only have until the party. The day after is when all hell is going to break loose. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it.”

“Good. Now tell me, how is school going?”

I raise an eyebrow as laughter causes my chest to shake. My Uncle laughs along with me while shooing me away with a flick of his wrist. I may be close to him as he has become the only person who truly knows what I deal with on a daily basis, but he sucks at making small talk. Thank goodness for Uncle Dominic or Uncle Apollo would suck when it came to dinners with other Alphas.

Hazel: Yo, where you at?

Me: Just now, leaving Uncle Apollo’s office, what’s up?

Hazel: Wondering where you are...

Me: I am currently rolling my eyes at you. Tell me what you want.

Hazel: FINE! Get your ass back home so we can plan.

I really do roll my eyes this time as I close the mindlink. She would mindlink me when I was literally 30 seconds from opening the front door.