The gym lights burned bright, glinting off the sweat-soaked mats as Colton and I stretched, eyeing the trainers moving between other prospects like watchful hawks. Mom’s gym was bustling tonight, the clang of weights and the thud of bodies hitting mats echoing in rhythmic chaos. This place was more than just a training facility—it was home, born from blood, sweat, and determination. We grew up on the road with Mom and Dad, wrestling was our life, our identity, and this gym was our legacy.  A place where mom scouts and trains potential wrestlers, a place the locals use to work out.

 

On hand, there are several professional trainers, all with different styles. weight training, cardio, liberal training, progressive and radical training. A little bit of everything. Mom often brought in former wrestlers, to add a little flare to a specific need a potential may be suited for. She always had a knack for certain talents and their needs. 

 

Mom had a way of pairing us with the trainers that hit us hardest—our biggest weaknesses exposed and exploited, whether we liked it or not. It was brutal, but we knew better than to complain. Excellence wasn’t given to a Hurst; it was earned through pain and grit. 

 

This would have been considered "child abuse" by a normal society, but the Hursts were not normal. We lived by a code, a code of excellence. You fought till you gave completely out, or you won. there was no in-between. We were not to be considered a member of New Breed, by birth right, we had to earn it, mom made sure of it. Dad did not say a word, he never questioned mom's actions or motives, by the end of her trainings, she always produced elite wrestlers. Mom's abilities in the ring were way more defining than a piece of eye candy. She was the brains behind the scenes, the mastermind, the most dangerous of them all. What she lacked in strength, she excelled beyond anyone's expectations on working the system.

 

Colton rolled his shoulders, smirking in my direction. “Think Mom’s got us lined up for cardio again?”

 

I scoffed. “Who knows.”

 

with everything going on.

 

with me.

 

I figured she would toss me to Rowan, our liberal training coach.

 

Just then, mom’s voice cut through the noise. “Cassie, Colton! Get your asses over here.”

 

We exchanged a look and jogged over, wiping sweat from our brows. mom stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes sharp as a blade. Behind her were three trainers, each looking more unforgiving than the last. There was Kyle, a weight-training machine with arms like steel cables, Emmalyn, the cardio queen who could outpace a marathon runner, and Luke, the submission expert who took pride in folding people in half.

 

“Switch it up today,” mom announced. “Colton, you’re with Kyle. Cassie, take Emmalyn. No complaints.”

 

Colton grumbled under his breath but nodded, knowing better than to argue. I shot him a sympathetic look before focusing on Emmy, who wasted no time dragging me to the treadmills.

 

“Five miles,” she said flatly.

 

My eyes widened. “Five? As in, right now?”

 

She just raised a brow, daring me to challenge her. I bit back a snarky comment and started running, keeping pace despite the burn crawling up my legs.

 

Meanwhile, I caught glimpses of Colton across the gym, already lifting insane amounts of weight under Kyle’s watchful eye. Every muscle in his back flexed with effort, but his face stayed determined. He wasn’t going to let this break him.

 

After cardio, I got tossed to Luke, who wasted no time pinning me to the mat and showing me how easily I could be manipulated when caught off guard. Pain flared through my shoulder as he wrenched my arm back, and I barely managed to flip out of his grasp.

 

“Sloppy,” he commented. “Do it again.”

 

By the time I rotated through all three trainers, my body felt like a wrung-out rag. Colton wasn’t faring much better, his face red and his muscles twitching from exhaustion. Still, we pushed through, sweat dripping onto the mats.

 

Finally, mom gave the nod, and we both knew what that meant—fight time.

 

We circled each other in the ring, breathing hard, but neither of us willing to back down. Colton cracked his knuckles, his eyes narrowed. “Ready to lose, little sister?”

 

I shot back, “You wish.”

 

The match started hard and fast, Colton charging with brutal strength. I ducked low, sweeping his leg, but he didn’t go down. He grappled me, slamming me into the mat, but I twisted away, landing a swift elbow to his ribs. The crowd around the ring shouted encouragement, but we were too focused to pay attention.

 

The match continued for what seemed like an hour, Colton’s power was relentless, and though I managed to slip from some of his holds, his strength overwhelmed me. After what felt like an eternity of struggling, he pinned me down, pressing my shoulders into the mat.

1...

 

2...

 

“Three count!” someone shouted, and Colton released me, panting but triumphant. I glared up at him, furious at my own failure.

 

“You okay?” he asked, holding out a hand.

 

I ignored it, shoving myself up and brushing off the sting of defeat. mom approached, giving me a critical look.

 

“That’s it for you tonight, Cassie...take a breather and get back to training."

 

“Bullshit!” I snapped, fury boiling in my veins. I wasn’t done. I wasn’t going to leave it at this.

 

mom crossed her arms. “Match is over. You lost.”

 

Mom was expecting Colton to leave for the day, he had won, he had bested me, his reward, was to go home, but instead, he stayed. He saw the frustration in my eyes, the will to go again, the driving spirit to not fail, what he saw next, was Vanity.

 

Mom directed me to train again.

 

I refused.

 

Looking confused by my actions, mom again directed me to train.

 

and again, I refused.

 

This time, I handpicked my target, mom's prized trainer for the day; only her most elite prospects would get to train with him, he was ruthless, he was dangerous, the only man to come close to retiring my father, the only opponent dad ever respected, Lupin.  

 

Dad's true equal.

 

Colton glared over to mom, who's jaw dropped like a sack of potatoes.

 

"NO!"

 

She insisted.

 

There was no way she was feeding her children to the likes of Lupin.

 

And again, my defiance showed up.

 

I talked the smack, taunted Lupin like a steak to a lion, I was not backing down.

 

Mom argues, glaring over to him who undoubtfully could not say no to a challenge, not even to a Hurst child.

 

Colton grabbed his phone, glaring at mom, and I assume called the one person he thought could possibly stop this nonsense.

 

he called our father.

 

My jaw clenched, and before I could stop myself, I turned to face Lupin, the man I’d never had the nerve to challenge before.   He stood at the edge of the ring, watching with cold, calculating eyes. He was ruthless, the most dangerous man to step foot in our gym other than my dad.

 

If I could beat him...

 

“I want a match,” I declared, pointing straight at Lupin.

 

The room fell dead silent, eyes darting between me and the beast in human form. Mom’s face paled.

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

 

Lupin smirked, his interest piqued. I didn’t back down, despite the icy fear crawling up my spine.

 

Colton stepped forward, his voice a harsh whisper.

 

“Don’t be stupid, Cassie! We’ve got a match in two days: 2 fucking days!  You’re not even 70 percent right now.” 

 

His anger was getting the best of him. Was his claim of my need to prove myself better than him was beginning to aggravate him. What did I have to prove?  

 

Everything..

 

“I don’t care,” I snapped. “No excuses, right, Mom, no room for failure. Isn’t that what you always say?”  I used her own words against her.

 

Mom glared at me, torn between pride and fury. Lupin stepped closer, his grin widening.

 

“You sure about this, kid?”

 

Mom glared evilly at him.  "I will kill you in your sleep, if you lay one hand on her."

 

Lupin smirked.

 

Minutes passed and I saw Dad stepping in through the front door, his presence instantly commanding respect. He shot Lupin a hard look.

 

“What the hell’s going on?”

 

I held my ground, gripping the top rope as hard as I could.

 

“I want my match. I chose my opponent.”

 

“This isn’t a match, Cassie,” Colton shouted. “This is suicide.”

 

"Get out of the ring, babygirl."  Dad proudly smiled, but his words, stern.

 

“Sorry, Dad.”

 

I grinned and, with reckless abandonment, vaulted over the top rope, slamming down on Lupin with a swanton bomb.

 

The impact rattled through both of us, but Lupin barely staggered, flinging me off like I weighed nothing.

 

A mere ragdoll.

 

He was on his feet in a heartbeat, eyes glinting with predatory intent. I scrambled up, wiping blood from my lip, and braced myself. Lupin charged, his strikes brutal and unforgiving. I took hit after hit, for what seemed like hours, barely managing to dodge or counter.

 

My vision swimming.

 

I taste my own blood..and something dark clawed its way to the surface—the part of me that refused to die, the part that became something vicious.

 

Ruthless.

 

Sadistic.

 

Vanity.

 

A wicked grin split my face, and I lunged back with newfound ferocity. Lupin wasn’t expecting it, and I took advantage, driving my knee into his gut.

 

while he slumped over, I took my knee and slammed into his face.

 

he yelled.

 

my knee slammed hard.

 

and I didn’t hesitate.

 

I ripped the padding from the corner, exposing the unforgiving steel, and before anyone could intervene, I smashed his face into it with a brutal, primal scream.

 

Blood sprayed, his nose broken, his head cracked against the post.

 

I didn’t let go until his body sagged.

 

and I collapsed beside him, heaving breathlessly, staring up at the lights.

 

My laugh came out ragged and unhinged.

 

“I won.”

 

The silence was suffocating. Dad, Mom, and Colton rushed to me, concern and shock etched into their faces. I just kept laughing, reveling in the taste of victory, no matter how broken I was.