Hembry Twins

POV – Leora

I stand in front of the honour roll and scroll down reading the names on it. At the top is Hamish Stillman, Alpha of the Greenwood Pack. Only he’s an Elder now. The second is Christopher Morris, another Alpha. But third, third is my brother, Henrik Erstad, Beta. He’s the only Beta in the top ten list, and he’s been in that place for over ten years now.

I remember when I first came to Alpha Training School, in Capital State. I was eighteen, and it was just after the war. I remember standing there, looking at the honour roll, looking at my brother’s name. I love my brother. Although he looks intimidating with his big build, piercings, and tattoos, he’s a real softie, especially when it comes to his mate and family.

Every year children from Alpha’s and Beta’s who turn eighteen come to Alpha Training School. All children, not just the firstborns. We learn about pack business, wolf lore and of course how to fight. Some of us are better than others, but Henrik, being a Beta, has been one that many people strive to beat.

“Is your name there?” Olivia teases. She’s an Alpha female, the second child like myself, and we’ve become good friends over these past two years.

“Number twenty-three,” I smile, pointing to my name as if she can see it. Truthfully, the names change places every year, except the top five. The only change was when my famous brother placed third. Otherwise, your place moves up or down depending on death (goddess forbid) or when someone takes another wolf’s place. And I’m happy with twenty-three. I’m in the top fifty of high-blood wolves, and out of those high-blood wolves in the top fifty, I’m one of sixteen Beta’s, including my brother and father.

“Ready?” Olivia smiles at me. I nod, walking out the door of the main foyer, and to the awaiting Uber.

The train station is busy, and we all stand in a group. There are six of us taking a train back to our packs or to nearby towns, and this is our final farewell.

“We have to keep in touch!” Mason cries, giving us a hug one by one. I nod.

“Where’s the next Changing Ball being held?” Fiona asks. The Changing Ball is a formal event held in the north to celebrate the Autumn Solstice and is hosted every year by different packs. It’s also a chance for unmated wolves to find their mates.

“Crimson Tides,” Garrett says, while Olivia and I nod.

“If I haven’t found my mate, I’ll see you there,” I tease. We’re all around twenty and most Alpha’s and Beta’s tend to find our mates after training camp. The unlucky ones find their mates beforehand- then have two years where they spend time away from them.

A bell rings to note the hour and Garrett and Olivia freak out.

“Five minutes! We’ve got to go!” Olivia cries, looking at us. We hug and say our final goodbyes to each other before we walk our separate ways.

My parents drove me to Alpha Training Camp from our pack on the other side of the country. It took almost a week to get here from home. But I’m not taking a train back to Little Vallis, the biggest town next to my pack. I’m taking a train to Sefton, a town near my sister-in laws family pack, Genesis Pack.

I look for the platform I need to take and sigh, handing my ticket to the worker standing at the train door.

“Fourth Carriage, upper level,” he says, and I nod. The train my brother booked is an overnight one, travelling through twelve states and making several stops until it reaches Sefton. It will take me three days and two nights to get there, and that’s my weekend, gone.

I count the carriages and then show my ticket to a different worker who nods and stands aside. Walking into the carriage I walk up the stairs and look for my cabin number, 04U14B. Fourth carriage, upper floor, room fourteen, B side. When I find it, I tap in the code on my ticket and walk in, plonking my bags on one of the two seats.

I sigh, lifting my legs up and relax, hoping for a quick trip.

I’m interrupted for dinner service, and I walked up and down the corridor just to get my legs moving. I thank goddess Henry booked me in first class, in a cabin all my own. I watch as the day turns to dusk through my cabin window, houses and backyards rushing by quickly as the train zooms through towns and cities towards my end destination.

I look at the instructions on how to turn my cabin into a bed for the tenth time and think I know how to do it. Moving the table down and pulling the footrests up, I’ve made myself some sort of mattress. This cabin supposedly turns into two double beds, with a very narrow by my estimate’s walkway in-between. Again, I thank Henry for booking me a private cabin. I open the cupboard above the bed and bring out sheets, blankets, and pillows. Once my bed is made, I crawl underneath the covers and turn on my phone to watch ‘Yellowjackets,’ on Amazon Prime.

//\\//\\//\\//\\

I turn my bed back into a seat the next day and spend the beginning of my day bored out of my brain. I watch the view from the window as we pass through paddocks, forests, mountains, and suburbs. The train stops a few times to drop off and let new passengers on, and I spend those times locked in my cabin with the curtains closed as I try to binge watch my new favourite program, Yellowjackets.

At about two o’clock I head for the food carriage and order myself a large steak and salad, side of chips, buttered roll, and slice of chocolate cake for dessert, getting some strange looks by the humans, who see my table full of food. I smirk. I’m a werewolf and love my food.

One thing the overnight train does not have is showers. There are toilet facilities with sinks so you can at least brush your teeth, but no shower. I feel dirty and can’t wait to shower when I get to wherever I’ll be staying in Sefton.

I wake the next morning and decide to have my breakfast in the food carriage rather than in my cabin, so I leave my bed out and not put it away. There will be three stops more before the train finally pulls into Sefton, and again, I’m bored. At least I’m not stuck in a car, I suppose. I’ve finished the first season of Yellowjackets and have begun watching Bridgeton. I smile at the concept. Back in the day, if humans danced with the same suiter four times they were considered practically married, unlike us wolves, who have our soulmates predestined to us by the moon goddess. I don’t know which is easier, finding someone you’re attracted to and slowly falling in love, or being matched with someone and feeling an undeniable pull towards them.

I sigh as I sit on my seat and look out the window as the train takes its route through Sefton, my last stop. Sefton is not a huge city really, it does have a central business district and is divided into boroughs like Little Vallis, but it’s not a big City like Titan or Capria. I sigh as the train stops at the main station and grab my duffle bag, suitcase and backpack out from the overhead shelf.

Adjusting my backpack on my bag and taking my bags in my hands, I make my way out of the cabin and out into the hallway. Down the stairs and out the carriage I walk, looking up at the signs to see which exit I need to take to get out. I’m meeting Henry out at Eastern Street, and finding the sign, I follow the throngs of people down an underground hallway and out the gates.

People push past me in their rush to get to wherever people go from the train station in the middle of the day, and I find myself outside a large sandstone building with shops selling food.

“Lee!” I hear from my right. I turn in that direction and see my tall brother looking at me with a huge smile on his face. My brother Henry stands taller than the human males in the crowd. He’s six foot-four and built, and I watch as males walk nervously past him, and females look affectionately at him. Henry wears his hair with a classic comb and fade back, which shows off the many piercings he wears in his ears and face. If you didn’t know him, you’d feel intimidated, but he’s really a big softie.

“Henry!” I smile as I drop my bags on the ground and hug my older brother. Henry is also ten years older than me, but thanks to his werewolf genes, he looks younger.

“Hey sis, how was your trip?” Henry asks, lifting my duffle bag and suitcase as if they weigh nothing.

“Boring,” I admit, making him laugh.

I follow Henry into the outside carpark and towards his chevvy truck.

“Is this bigger than your last one?” I ask Henry as I watch him swing my luggage into the trailer. Henry looks at me and smiles, his white teeth showing.

“Shut up,” he laughs, opening the door so I can climb in.

Henry makes his way out of the carpark and drives out of the CBD towards I don’t know where.

“We’re staying at Hembry house,” Henry explains, breaking the silence as he drives.

“The Hembry House,” I repeat, looking at my brother. Henry smiles again. I’d learned about the Hembry's when I was at Waning Moon pack Hospital after the war. They’re a family of white wolves, or should I say, female white wolves. My nieces’ best friend is the first white wolf born in her family after sixty or so years- they’re very rare.

“How is Rhiannon?” I asked, thinking of my niece. I’ve been getting letters in the form of drawings over the past two years, and we’ve had zoom conversations. She’s a little mini-me.

“Cheeky. She starts school next year and is really excited,” Henry replies

“Have you guys decided on what you’re doing, are you coming back to Silva Luporum?” I ask him. Henry and I are both from Silva Luporum pack, which is on the other side of the country, and Henry is our Beta. For reasons I am not going to go into-- Tatum, Henry’s mate, ended up in Waning Moon pack (which is the sister pack of Genesis- they’re next door to each other and share a boundary line), and completed her Applied Sciences in Physiotherapy course at Sefton University here. Henry moved out here to be with his family while our dad temporarily takes over the Beta role.

“Well, like I said, Rhiannon starts school next year, and Tatum’s graduation is at the beginning of next year as well. We’re thinking of staying another year and then moving back to Silva Luporum,” he explains. I nod. I hadn’t decided what I wanted to do after training. I’m a back-up Beta, and unless my mate is a beta or an alpha, or I take the role as a temporary position like dad currently is doing, it’s a skill I probably won’t use. I’m not interested in being a Delta, which is a pack warrior, my short stint in the war putting me off that idea. I did well in weapons use, which helped my ranking, but I’d like to do something else. I was thinking teaching, but I’m not sure. I know the workload is over the top.

“We’re here,” Henry smiles, looking at me.

Silva Luporum – (latin) forest of wolves

Leora pronounced Lee-ora