Chapter 4

My mother's gasp broke us apart in an instant, blood dripping from Rhyan's lips and onto my white shirt spreading between the threads as they soaked up the thick liquid.

Her body spun immediately back out the way she came, crashing down the stairs and out of our view snapping Rhy's eyes back to mine where they widened, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form words.

His wolf was gone from his eyes and all that was left were those brown orbs; a reflection of mine but terrified at what he had done.

''Shh shh it's okay. I'm okay.'' I soothed him, patting his head, wincing at the pain as I moved my right shoulder the motion pumping out fresh blood with every move.

''I'm sor-'' His words spluttered as he was ripped off of me by the back of his neck and thrown to the floor by our father.

He scampered away on all fours trying to get out of his murderous reach, tumbling down the stairs when father's heavy footfalls pushed him further back.

I watched on terrified. My father was always the authority figure but he never laid a hand on us. Not once.

As I heard silence at the bottom of the stairs, I ripped myself from the bed and flung myself at the door to try and see my twin who was grabbing painfully at his arm, cradling the limb with his other. His scared eyes were searching mine before father blocked my view, his eyes nasty as he shut the door in my face, a click of the lock turning in my ears before silence.

A cry of pain split the house before silence once more.

I slipped to the floor of my door cradling myself as I tried to imagine what was happening downstairs, trying desperately to hear a noise to help piece together the puzzle of my house and the events unfolding but it was silent, then footsteps, then our basement door shut and silence once again.

Owls hooted from my window and creatures scampered in the forest all heard clearly, but I couldn't focus on myself. My mind was rushing but it couldn't process what had just happened until a soft splash pitter pattered to the floor as my flurry of motions reopened the trying to heal wound on my shoulder.

''Fuck'' I whispered as I put pressure on the wound and rested my forehead into my elbow.

A howl split the woods as the Alpha called for us to gather up.

I stood and moved around my room looking for a bandage to wrap around my neck so no one pried into my business but when my parents never came to unlock my door and the heavy sound of our front door clunking closed vibrated the house, I knew I was not going to be attending this meeting.

Quickly running to my drawers hidden under the fake bottom I pulled out the spare key Rhyan had made in case of an emergency and unlocked my door breathing in a breath of relief when my door pushed open.

I had about 45 minutes if I assumed it was a meeting as long as usual.

I almost tripped down the stairs as I took them two at a time rushing to the basement and opening the door with the same key. My family never assumed they'd need more than one different lock which worked heavily in my favour right now.

''Rhyan?'' I felt around the walls in the darkness looking for my brother, a grunt of pain leading me towards my right side and to the switch lighting up the gloomy room to reveal my twin with a heavily bruised right arm, the bone poking out awkwardly.

A cry of horror left my mouth as I ran to his side and quickly but carefully cradled his shoulder looking for exactly where the bone needed to be popped back into.

His eyes screwed shut tightly and he nodded his head when I found the spot, a moment of silence falling between us before a pop noise filled the room followed by a wince contorting Rhyan's face and then a wave of relief washed it away.

Cautiously avoiding his shoulder, I wrapped my arms around his neck, kneeling between his knees and hugging his head softly brushing his head comfortingly.

We sat there for a moment just relaxing against each other until I felt his arms on my back move up to the bandages on my neck, his fingers creeping over them and pulling them down.

''It's okay. It'll fade in a few days.'' I continued rubbing his head before shock shot up my spine as his tongue lapped at the raw flesh.

My head rested on his shoulder as I watched him close his eyes and help heal the non-permanent wound with his saliva which was jump starting my healing into overdrive.

A scar would remain for a few days up to weeks but it was not a permanent mark. We were luckily not 16 yet and our toxins had yet to surface.

It only felt like seconds had gone by before the front door was clicking shut. Our mirrored eyes reflecting one another's horrified expressions as heavy footsteps came upon our basements open door and loomed above us.

''If you wanted to be down there so badly I would have put you there instead.'' My father's canines flashed in the dimly lit room before mama put her hand on his arm and whispered in his ear, her eyes then turning to us.

''It was a mistake, right kids? A little joke? Let me talk to Rhyan.'' She smiled down at us but it didn't quite reach her pretty eyes.

We sighed in relief that maybe she was trying to understand and trying to be hopeful for us. Our father was no convinced though as he barely left Rhy enough room to exit the room, myself still sitting on the floor of the basement where they all left me, the door clicking shut behind them until I was submerged in only a lone light shining down on me, the edges of the room creeping in darkness.

I really loathed the basement.

Quietly I made my way up the stairs to hear mama calmly telling Rhyan he was most certainly grounded for his tattoo that was on full display. However, the tattoo was the least of his worries.

The conversation was going back and forth about the importance and re-education of marking another wolf. Our parents thought he had not fully understood the gravity of a marking and misused the process much like how Tommy had done.

My eyes were ready to close in bore of the dragging conversation before the door was slowly creaking open and my mother stood to smile a big warm smile, hugging me close and patting my head cooing about how hard it must have been to see a wolf lose control and how sorry she is that she never taught us proper.

Growling conversations were whispered under breaths in the other room between Rhyan and dad. I could faintly hear promises of the bite not happening again and dad's agreeance or an ultimatum of Rhyan never seeing me again.

This horrified me as I latched onto my mother's back which she took for my response to her coddling and she smiled into my shoulder, her patting continuing.

I couldn't care less about how I 'should know better as the older twin' or how I 'should know my father has a short temper' and 'gays are wrong' that she whispered in my ear.

I only cared about the fact that they were seriously threatening to separate my twin from me.

I would die without my brother.