Author's Note: Hello again! As you may have seen, I already posted yesterday, for Charlie Carver's birthday. So today I'll post for his brother Max! I hope you'll enjoy it, even if the theme is really dark and violent (just like the title 'Abused' indicates it…) so if you're sensitive to this subject, don't read (but don't worry in my fanfiction, abuse is moderate and not too outrageous).

Personal message: This story has been purposely posted on August, 1st. Happy Birthday Max Carver!

Abused.

Ethan shyly put off his shirt, turning his back to his boyfriend. He bit his lips, closing his eyes as he hoped Danny would not notice anything, and eventually faced the Hawaiian boy. The student just smiled to him—he was only looking at his brown, scared eyes—and he pulled him closer, kissing the tip of his nose. Without looking at it, he caressed his tan skin, but Ethan was trembling and could not help but escape his boyfriend's gaze. Danny finally noticed something was wrong and stopped everything he was doing.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

Ethan quickly nodded, still looking elsewhere. Danny shrugged and kept on kissing his body in the darkness of his room. Ethan sighed in relief and he let his boyfriend pin him against the bed. They started to cuddle onto the sheets, and the werewolf chilled and actually began to enjoy making out with the Lacrosse player.

But what had to happen did. Danny was kissing Ethan's neck, his pectorals, and was heading for his ribs when he suddenly stopped. His fingertips touched his skin and he looked up at him, puzzled.

"Ethan? What's that?" The brown-haired boy glanced at what the teenager was pointing. He swallowed with difficulty. "Ethan?"

"It's nothing," the other boy cut, his jaw clenched.

Ethan wished he had never stripped off. He wished Danny had never seen them. His scars.

Danny sat, letting one of his hands on the teenager's thigh. Ethan crossed his arms, hiding—or at least trying to hide—every scar that was printed on his body. They covered his chest and back, crossing his ribs and even his neck. Danny may not have seen them at first because of the darkness, but now they were quite obvious, and awful to see. All bloody and not healed, going pink.

"How did you get those scars, Ethan?" Ethan did not answer. He was looking at everything but his boyfriend. Danny sighed and caressed the wide, red marks on the tan boy. He bit his lower lip and timidly asked, "Did you fight?"

Ethan waited a few minutes before answering, during which Danny stood still. "No. No, I didn't fight. Not exactly."

"So what did you do?"

Ethan slowly shook his head. "I don't want to talk about this."

"I'm not going to make you tell me if you don't want to. I just want to make sure everything is alright."

"It is," the brown-haired teenager cut.

Danny nodded even if he was not comfortable with the fact that his boyfriend might lie to him. The atmosphere had gone tense and the two students were sitting at the two opposite edges of the bed. They stayed silent for a moment until the werewolf finally spoke.

"It's not because of you, Danny."

"If you let me, I could help…"

"I don't need help, I can handle it."

Danny looked down, a little 'Okay' escaping his lips. Ethan rolled his eyes and came near the Hawaiian young man. He hugged him tight and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry. I'd never hide something from you, unless it's for your own sake."

"Thanks. I just don't like to see you hurt like that. I just want to find the bastard who did that to you and kill him."

Ethan frowned and grimaced. He really wished Danny—or anyone else—would never find out who did that to him. Danny kissed Ethan's cheek and they lay on the bed, restarting from where they had stopped. And for a moment, just for a few minutes, he forgot everything.

Ethan quickly entered the motel room, hoping his brother was sleeping. But when he closed the door, all the lights were suddenly switched on. Aiden was leaning on the wall, arms crossed on his chest. His gaze was angry.

"Where were you?" he hissed.

"I—I was just out. Having some fresh air."

"You're lying," his twin brother noticed and he made a few steps towards him. Ethan swallowed with difficulty and pinned against the door. Aiden was so close to him now he could hear his quick heartbeat. "I know where you were. More precisely, who you were with."

Ethan opened and closed his mouth. He knew what would happen. It was going to be one of these nights.

"I don't know what you mean," Ethan whispered, avoiding his look.

"You were with Danny!" Aiden shouted. "And don't bother lie to me! You know I'm right!" He made a pause and continued, with more control over his feelings, "What did I tell you? You can't see him anymore. He is a threat."

"He's not. It was Lydia who—"

"It's no longer about Lydia, or Danny, or anyone else. It's about us. I did what I had to do and left Lydia. But you lied when you said you'd done the same. And you're still lying when you say you don't see him anymore."

"It's not—"

"Yes, it is!" Aiden yelled. "You know why we couldn't start to care for Lydia, or for Danny? Because they make us weak. And that's why we got chased from the pack and almost killed by Deucalion. 'Cause we had been weakened by what we felt for those humans. Now we're runaways, we're Omegas again, and I'm asking you: whose fault is it?"

"I didn't—"

"You did! It was your fault! I broke up with Lydia the minute I knew my feelings for her could get us out of the pack! When you were asked to do the same, you chose a human over your own pack members, over your own brother!"

"I didn't 'choose him over you'. I can't help it, I'm in love with him."

"Shut up!" Aiden cut. "You can't possibly be in love with him. He's a… He's a human. He's a male."

"Well, it didn't string you out when you told me I had to get information from him."

"I—It was what Deucalion asked you to do. It didn't occur to me you would fall in love with a… man."

"You perfectly know I'm gay."

Aiden stopped breathing. Ethan knew he had gone too far. His brother grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and mumbled between his teeth, "Don't ever say those words again in front of me."

"I know you don't like this. But it's a part of who I am, you have to accept it."

"You are not gay, okay?! You can't be." Aiden shoved him against the wall. Ethan felt his scars burn his skin under his shirt. He didn't say a thing. Aiden growled at him. "I'm gonna say it one last time: stop talking to Danny."

"I can't, I—"

"Listen to me. You're under my responsibility. I am meant to take care of you. And I'm entitled to decide for your punishments if you betray my rules. Which has happened too many times lately. You know how it ends up for you when you don't do as I say. Don't you?" His look was mad and his eyes were staring at his brother, as if he were going to kill him. But there was a sort of sadist light glittering in his pupils. He was enjoying this. "Don't you?"

"I—I do," Ethan stuttered in a mumble.

"Ain't I allowed to treat you like this when you behave bad? Is it legitimate?"

"It—It is," his twin moaned, starting to cry.

He knew his brother was right. It was his fault they were not in the Alpha Pack anymore. He had betrayed them all by falling in love with their target. He had done even worse when he had betrayed his brother, and disappointed him, when be became gay. He was not like he should have been. And now he had to pay the price. He accepted his penalty. He deserved it, he knew it.

Aiden suddenly slapped him. Really hard. It let a red mark on his right cheek. The dominant twin then caught his head between his hands and violently slammed it against the thick wall. Ethan was dizzy for a minute and his brother used his inattention to pin him against the cold floor. He beat him with all his wolf strength, calling him an 'ungrateful faggotty brother'. Even if his whole body was hurting, Ethan did not wolf out. He did not move either, nor made anything to fight back. It was the right thing to do after all the loss and the pain he caused to his twin. Then Aiden turned. His sharp claws dug into Ethan's flesh, where his previous scars had still not healed. The suffering twin restrained a scream when his brother pulled his hair to make him raise his head towards him. Aiden then hit his jaw and, as Ethan was looking up at him again, he clawed his face. Blood was spreading all over the motel room and Ethan had more and more trouble staying conscious. His body was weakening and trying on its own to wolf out.

"If you turn, I swear I'll kill you," Aiden whispered in his ear and he bit his shoulder.

Obeying, Ethan quickly passed out.

Ethan softly opened his eyes. Every cell of his body hurt, and even moving his eyelids was painful. He noticed he was in he and his brother's bed, alone. The young werewolf sighed and got up to head for the bathroom. After a few minutes of suffering, he reached the shower and nearly fell while entering it. When he got out after half an hour of chilling and cleaning his body, he got out, only wrapping a towel around his waist. In the mirror, he closely looked at the damage on his skin. He had even more scars and bruises than before. His face was crossed by a bloody scratch, and he had a black eye. Ethan looked down and left the room. Aiden was in the bed, eating something he surely just had bought. His brother glared at him, more specially at his chest and face.

"Ain't it supposed to be healed by now?" he only asked, with indifference in his tone.

"They ain't healing. Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Since you've started to…" Ethan could not say the words 'beat me'. "I've not healed for a while."

"Does it hurt?"

"Only when I touch them. But not too much if I don't think about it."

The fact was Ethan had a clue why he did not heal anymore. He believed that he had lost the capacity of healing because when Aiden had started hitting him, he had not fought back. He never had. Thus, he had never fought to heal. He had stopped defending himself, he had let Aiden destroy him. And due to his voluntary weakness, his healing had been even less effective. Ethan had been his own weapon of destruction.

"'Kay. I've bought crisps. Want some?"

"No."

Ethan gently caressed his right arm, where a huge scratch striated it, and went get dressed. He wondered if his scars would ever disappear. He was not thinking of those on his body, because they would fade with the speed of healing of a human. He was thinking of his inner scars. The ones his brother printed in his self, down in his mind. He doubted they would ever fade.

Ethan's phone kept vibrating. He carefully glanced at Aiden, a few meters from him in the clearing, and picked up.

"Look, I can't talk to you right now, I—"

"Ethan," Danny's annoyed voice said. "It's been a week since I last heard of you. What is going on? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I am. Don't worry about me."

"I wanna see you, I miss you…"

"I know. I just can't. I'm sorry."

"Why? Ethan, please, don't hang up…"

But he already had. Aiden was coming towards him, frowning.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody."

"A prank?"

"Yeah. I hung up."

His brother shrugged and he said they were going home—even if Ethan was not sure where it was anymore.

"Wait, Aiden, I'll… I've got something to do downtown, I'll come back in an hour."

He nodded, and Ethan headed for Danny's house. They had not seen each other for a long time, because Aiden had forbidden it to his twin, but Ethan just could not take it anymore. He had to see Danny. Wen he arrived, he bit his lower lip. He was bad to see. He knocked on the door. Danny carelessly opened, but when he saw it was him, he threw himself into Ethan's arms. He pressed his body tight against his boyfriend's, which caused him pain in his scarred chest. He stood silent. When Danny pulled back, he finally discovered Ethan's face. He made a step back.

"What's happened to you?"

"Nothing. Don't worry."

"But you're covered in bruises and scars!"

"I know. But it's okay."

Danny reached out a hand and softly touched Ethan's face. It hurt a bit, but he said nothing. Danny was horrified by his appalling appearance.

"There are even more than last time…" The Hawaiian boy pulled him inside his house and they went to his bedroom. "Here," he said, opening a healing cream. "I'll apply some on your body and l'll give it to you afterwards. After a week, the scars will be gone."

"Thanks, Danny, but I don't need—"

"You do. Have you seen your face?" He pointed at the big scar that spread from his left temple to his chin. "I bet your body is even worse. C'mon, strip off."

"No, I—You'd better not see that."

Danny rolled his eyes and took off Ethan's shirt and pants himself. He put a hand on his mouth and closed his eyes in terror. There was not a part of the tan boy's body that was not striated in scars.

"Oh my God. Ethan!" he whispered.

"Told you it'd be something."

"Shut up. You need to go to the hospital or—"

"Stop. You know I don't. They're almost starting to heal. If you care so much, I'll put that cream on, but that's all."

"I'm just… worried about you… You still don't want to tell me anything?"

Ethan shook his head and Danny sighed, applying the cream on his weak body.

After he was finished, his boyfriend's skin was glittering but appeased. They remained quiet for a moment before one of them spoke.

"Why didn't you answer my calls and texts? I thought you wanted to break up, that you didn't love me anymore…"

Ethan touched his soft cheek.

"I just couldn't talk to you. Or see you. I'm not supposed to be here."

"It's Aiden, is it?"

Ethan shivered. How could he know?

"It's Aiden who keeps you from talking to me? He's never liked me."

"Yes, it's Aiden," Ethan acknowledged, relieved Danny hadn't found out about the scars.

"Why does he do that to you?"

"He… He doesn't think it's okay for me to be gay…," Ethan shyly stated, afraid that Danny might make the link between his brother's homophobia and the scars.

"Oh… I'm so sorry, I had no idea… Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No!" Ethan almost yelled, making the other one start. He could never let Danny meet his brother, Aiden would kill him. "I mean, he won't listen to you. It's useless." He detailed Danny's face, gravely attentive but so innocent, and bit the inside of his cheek before making his decision. "And… I think it would be better if you and I stopped talking too… I—I know it's going to be hard, it'll be for me too, but if Aiden finds out I'm still seeing you… I don't want you to be endangered by my fault."

Danny's eyes were filling with tears. He frowned and he said with a shattered voice, "Don't—Please, don't do this. We can figure something out."

"I am sorry. You'll be safer like that."

"I don't want to be safer, I want to be with you!" Danny took Ethan's hands. "We'll hide from your brother, we'll…"

"It's gonna be okay. Look at me. Breathe in," he advised as Danny was sobbing. "This doesn't mean I don't love you, because I do. This means I want your happiness. This is what you do when you love someone: you put their happiness and safety first."

Danny shook his head, breathing unequally, and turned his back on Ethan, who stood up. He went near the young teenager and made him look up at him, then kissed him gently. They pulled apart, and he left the house. He had done everything he could to put his lover away from his twin brother.

Ethan had been miserable for the next two weeks, without Danny. His ex had called him every day, texted him relentlessly, but he never got an answer. Ethan was determined to let him out of all this. But Danny was more persevering than expected and after fifteen days, he came to the twins' door, unannounced. Ethan opened the door, and when he saw the Lacrosse player, he immediately checked on his brother, but he was watching TV on the bed.

"Danny," he murmured in an upset tone. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"It's been two weeks, Ethan. Two weeks without even a text. I can't do it, I need you in my life. I'm not afraid of your brother, I'll talk to him."

"Please, don't! He's—He's not there…"

"I know you're lying. AIDEN!" he shouted aggressively. "Let me in, please."

He passed Ethan, who held him by the arm, but Aiden was already coming towards them. He stopped when he saw Danny, and growled.

"Ethan, what's he doing here?"

"I—"

He was cut by his ex. "Hey, Aiden. We need to talk."

"Yeah, about what?"

"About Ethan. It's unfair what you do to him."

Aiden violently turned his head in his brother's direction. "Did you tell him?!" he asked, his voice threatening.

"No, I—I didn't tell him anything."

"He told me," Danny interrupted. "And I think you're a bastard. What kind of a brother does that?"

Although Danny did not know what Aiden actually did to Ethan, in terms of punishment, Ethan knew Aiden thought he did. Aiden's eyes widened and he said to Ethan between his teeth, "You're dead." Then he made a few steps towards Danny and pushed him backwards. "Your judgment is not welcome. Get outta here."

"You're not gonna get away with it! I don't care about you," Danny added, "I'll free Ethan from you, whatever is the price!"

Aiden groaned and closed the door after he made Danny crash onto the floor of the threshold. He locked he and his brother in. Then he slowly turned to face him.

"It's not what you think. He doesn't know anything about the… about that. Nobody does." Aiden's eyes narrowed. "He thinks you're a bastard for preventing me from seeing him."

"Do you think likewise?"

"I…"

"That's what I thought. This kid seems to have too much influence on you. And I'm convinced you told him more than just that, being the weak guy you are. I wouldn't be surprised."

"I didn't! I promise!"

"Oh? You promise?" Aiden had a joyless laugh, and walked towards Ethan, whose chin he took between his firm hands. "You know what else you promised? That you'd never leave me. That Danny would just be like the other targets we had dealt with before. That you'd never hurt me." He let go of his chin and slapped him all of a sudden. "But you left me! You fell in love with Danny! You disappointed me! Don't talk about promises, Ethan, because you can't keep them!" His brother tried to answer but Aiden did not let him and violently pinned him against the wall, claws out to slash his thin skin. After a few hits in the head and the stomach, Ethan started to cry. It was quite sooner than usual, but this time he could hear Danny banging on the door and calling his name.

"Already crying, queer? You're weaker and weaker."

"I—You—"

"Does it hurt? As much as you hurt me?" Aiden kicked him, and Ethan moaned in pain. "You fags are so frail! You burst into tears whenever you're touched but still you like it up in the ass!" Ethan was on the verge of throwing up as Aiden tossed him against the bed, face on the blankets. "I bet he fucked you! And you liked it, you disgusting pig! Well, you know what? I'm gonna show you how to like it!" Aiden grabbed the smallest's pants and pulled them down. Ethan yelled and asked him to stop, but his brother was already stripping off. Ethan wriggled in order to escape him but he received a deep scratch on his back that dissuaded him. Then he felt the pain in his bottom the moment Aiden started penetrating him. He closed his eyes and bit his lips, waiting for it to end.

When Aiden was done, he collapsed onto the bed, letting his brother panting and with every part of his body burning. Ethan looked up at him, and the other werewolf hissed hatefully, "You're such a fag. I don't get what's so cool about bottoming, you queers are so weird." He then announced he was going to shower. Ethan had dried tears on his cheeks. He managed to put his clothes back on and to get up, despite his aching butt, and silently got out of the motel room. He started sobbing again, limping as he wandered in Beacon Hills. He was so chocked, so traumatized, about what his brother had dared do to him, that he could not think about anything else.

His steps guided him in front of Danny's house. He had heard him leave the motel a few minutes after being locked out. Ethan took ten minutes to subside and dry his tears, not to look too weak to Danny. He knocked and when the door opened, his ex's eyes widened and he prevented himself from hugging the wolf.

"Ethan… Are you okay?"

"Yes," he lied.

"Why did you come? Aiden's gonna be mad if he knows you came…"

"I just—" He bit his lips not to cry again. "I needed to see you…"

Danny let him in, worried. Ethan felt pain at each one of his steps but he kept a stoic facial expression. They sat on the bed. The atmosphere was tense and awkward.

"I understand why you broke up with me. And I don't resent you. It was the right choice, considering how Aiden takes your… homosexuality." He stopped for a while. "Why did you come?"

"I miss you… So much. I can't live just with my brother because… I need you too."

Danny faintly smiled and whispered, "But if we get back together, I don't know what will happen with your brother. He might just separate us for good." Ethan closed his eyes. He did not want to think about what Aiden would do to him, or to Danny, if they were a couple again. "Though I'm not ready to give up on you," Danny added. "I love you."

Ethan opened his eyes but there was only pity in his look. Suddenly, the Hawaiian teenager put his hand on the werewolf's cheek and leaned forward to kiss him softly. Ethan stiffened up under his touch but did not make anything to end it. He finally subsided and kissed him back. He only realized now how much he had missed being with Danny. The werewolf felt Danny's hand go down on his body and get under his shirt, petting his scarred skin. Ethan started to feel nauseous and everything got confused in his mind. The contact of the tan boy's hand on him reminded him of his brother's earlier. He clenched his fists and tried to make the sight of Aiden disappear. But he was already starting to shiver and he could not help but weep. Danny noticed and broke the kiss.

"Ethan? Are you all right?" Danny frowned. He had never seen Ethan cry before. "Did I do something wrong?"

Danny tried to take Ethan's hand but he did not let him, pulling back instinctively.

"Sorry," the Omega mumbled between two sobs. "I'd better go."

"No. No, you stay. I won't let you go in your condition. What is it you're crying for?"

Ethan shook his head. Memories of Aiden wiggling on top of him, hurting him willingly, invaded his mind. He got up to reach the door but pain in his back made him fall down. He moaned and threw up on the carpet. Danny immediately rushed to help him stand up.

"Oh my God, but what's happening to you?" Danny guided him to the bathroom in order to get him cleaned up and refreshed. "Do you want me to call your brother?"

A sheer glint of terror glittered in Ethan's eyes and his limbs started to shake.

"No!" he nearly shouted. "Not Aiden, please!"

"Why? What's with Aiden?"

"I—He…" But he could not finish and he let himself fall on the floor, back against the wall. He took his head between his hands and murmured, more to himself than to Danny, "I'm not safe with him anymore." He sniffed, and Danny sat next to him. He did not even dare touch him. "I know I should've told you before but…" He shed a few more tears that he dried. "There was—There is something going on with Aiden. He—" Danny encouraged him with a soft smile. "He's started… Well, at first it was just slaps and insults, but… Then, he began with the hits and… it was always more painful and it always lasted longer each time… But it was okay, he was just—"

"OKAY?!" Danny cut in a yell. He had stood silent during Ethan's confession because he was too shocked to say a word, but hearing him take Aiden's attitude for granted got him out of his mind. "Ethan, it is not okay to be beaten by your brother! How could you let him do that to you?!" He had kneeled in front of the other boy to take him by the shoulders.

"He—Danny, you don't get it… I deserved it."

"What?! How could you deserve to be ill-treated?! What have you done for that?!"

"I put my brother and I in danger and I made a nightmare out of our lives, I—I betrayed him when he needed me the most, and I turned my back on him to go with you, with a male. He had all the rights to punish me."

Danny was mortified. How much had he been brainwashed by his brother into thinking everything he suffered from was justified?

"Ethan, what the—Come on! You can't seriously believe those are valid arguments! It's—What your brother does to you—the bruises, the scars, the pain—it's sick! Can't you see it?"

"You can't understand." Ethan had stopped sobbing, but tears were still silently rolling over his angular cheekbones. "But I wasn't talking about that when I said I wasn't safe with him anymore."

"Wait. You mean he's done worse than beating you?" Danny whispered, taken aback.

"Yeah, well… After you left today… He got mad at me for telling you stuff about him, and… Well, he hit me and he shoved me onto the bed and…" He swallowed with difficulty, the salty taste of his tears on his tongue. "He took off—He… I'm sorry." He was crying again, and he had to breathe in and out a few times before continuing. "He was mad at me because I was gay, he didn't like it I had sex with you… So he—Well he took off both my pants and his and he…"

It did not take long to Danny to get what he was desperately trying to tell him. Aiden had raped him. Fighting the urge to puke too, the Lacrosse player stood speechless. He had turned pale and looked at the other boy in utter bewilderment. It could not be.

"E—Ethan," he quickly stuttered. "Have you been abused by your brother?"

There was a dead silent. Ethan eventually nodded, ashamed. He testified quickly, "That's why I—When you touched me, it reminded me of how he'd touched me and I—The memories in my head went on and on and on… I'm so sorry for—"

"Don't," Danny cut abruptly. "Don't you ever apologize again for being abused." He stared at him for a second. "I'm the one who should apologize. Because all of this is my fault. If it wasn't for me, he would've never been mad in the first place. I'm sorry, Ethan. I should—I should've seen what you were going through..." He looked down, eyes already filled with tears. "May I—Hum, I know you freaked out when I touched you earlier, but I think you could use a hug. May I?"

Ethan slowly nodded and Danny carefully took him in his arms. They stood like this for a moment before Danny pulled back to say, "I don't want you to go back there. You can stay here if you want. As long as you need it."

"No," Ethan whispered. "If I don't come back quickly, he'll know I went off to see you. And if he finds me with you, he might just hurt you. I can't risk that."

"But you're not considering going back to him after what he did to you?" Danny said in shock.

"What other choice do I have?" his ex harshly replied. "I'll handle him, don't worry about me."

"Just like you handled him today? Ethan, I don't want this to happen again." Danny breathed in. "If you're really going back, I don't want you to let your brother hurt you without doing a thing. Ethan, I want you to fight back. If he ever lays a hand on you, I want you to face him. Do you hear me?"

"I—I can't do that."

"Why? Do you really think he has some rights over you? What makes you think he can decide and run your life?"

"He's always been the strong one, he's always taken care of both of us. And if I happen to put us in danger for diverse reasons, I must be punished. I'll admit he's been going a bit hard on me lately, but it's for the best, believe me."

"Because raping you is for the best?!" Danny yelled. "Ethan, you've gotta realize none of this is sane or normal! Stop blinding yourself, for God's sake!"

"Danny, don't get mad, please… Aiden knows what is good for me."

"Ethan, I swear that if you don't fight him, I will."

"No! No, Danny, you can't," Ethan replied, shivering.

"So what are you gonna do? Stop me? Or stop your brother?"

Ethan resigned. "I'll try and talk to him but…"

"Just make him understand that this cannot go on. He has to stop."

"'Kay. Thanks. For helping me."

"I will always be there. I love you so much." He made a pause. "Can I kiss you or is it too soon…?"

"No, I want to kiss you."

The Hawaiian boy leaned towards him and was soft against his lips. When they broke the kiss, Ethan whispered, "I shall leave."

"You text me right after you've arrived."

"Yeah. Don't worry."

The werewolf got up and threw a last look at his lover. Danny smiled but he was not happy.

Ethan was in front of the door of their motel room, his phone still in his hand after texting Danny. He bit his tongue and held his breath. He pushed the door, he did not see Aiden at first but then he noticed he was on an armchair near the window.

"Finally got back home?" Ethan sat quietly, agreed politely. Aiden frowned as he saw Ethan shoving his phone in his pocket. "You really think I don't know where you went?" Ethan shivered at the thought of Danny but he did not say a word, scared to rock the boat and make a mess. Aiden laughed. "You know you're gonna get him killed if you keep hanging out with him. Because I don't like his arrogance. He thinks he can tell a werewolf what to do and get away with it. He obviously doesn't know me." Ethan clenched his jaw. His brother noticed. "What?"

"You're not going to lay a hand on him." He sounded firm but his hands were shaking. "Ever."

"And I assume you're gonna stop me?" Aiden was sarcastic. He quickly lost his smile.

"If it's what it takes."

"I beg your pardon? Did you just dare answer me back?"

"I think I just did," Ethan replied, raising his look towards Aiden, defying him.

"You're being rude," Aiden noticed, trying to keep calm. "You do not answer me back. You have never answered me back."

"I guess that I forgot I had a choice."

"You don't. You obey my rules. I'm in charge of you, remember? I've gotta take care of you."

"Yeah, take care of me. But care about me? For you, I've always stood for nothing."

"It's not true, you're my brother."

"Your brother? Tell me, what kind of a brother imposes rules? What kind of a brother treats you like shit? You say I'm weak, you made me believe I was weak. So I fell for everything. But you know what? I see it all, I see it now. What you've done to me, all the lies you told, how wrong what you did actually was. You took my obedience for granted but now I see through that. And do you know what else I see? Me. For the first time, I see something else than you—I see that I truly exist, that I'm not just your shadow. And it feels good, to know I can be equals with you. 'Cause I am a champion, just like you thought you were." Ethan had spoken freely, and fast. He had spat all his hatred and rage at his brother. He finished with a confident smile, "Now get ready 'cause I've had enough."

Aiden was taken aback. He was so shocked he could not make a move. He eventually shook his head to clear his bewilderment and whispered in a hoarse voice, "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, really? So abusing me—in all the ways—was genuinely for my own sake? Because I truly deserved to be hit and raped? Just admit that it was more for your personal entertainment!" he shouted. "That you actually liked hurting me!"

Aiden remained silent for a few seconds but ended up smiling, his eyes sparkling with a glint of insanity. He straightened his posture and approached his twin. Ethan shivered when he felt Aiden's warm breath against his cheek, and his chest almost touching his. The taller teenager murmured in his hear, "You are right, little brother. I loved it."

All of a sudden, without even taking a second to swallow this awful statement, Ethan took his brother's head between his hands and shoved him on the floor. He then kicked him violently to kneel by him and punch him in the face afterwards. Aiden snarled and got up as fast as he could, grimacing, and pounced on Ethan, his hands clenched around his throat. Surprised, the smallest could not move and he fell, Aiden astride him. He held him down, but he got up, already brushing off the dust after he sent Aiden to the ground again. When he rose, they stood squat, staring at each other with glittering blue eyes, claws and fangs out. They attacked one another at the same time, aiming at tearing the other one apart. Aiden howled as, for the first time, Ethan dared bit his immaculate skin. When he looked up at his twin brother with pain, Aiden could not help but notice the glow in his blue eyes. He had the eye of the tiger, ready to howl and kill. And Ethan, as if he were an Alpha again, majestically blew up his lungs to roar louder than a lion at his brother. When Aiden heard his voice, when he heard that sound like thunder shaking the ground, he trembled in sheer fear. Ethan slammed his claws against the temple of the tallest and knocked him down. The standing twin hit every part of the other's body. He wanted his brother to feel the pain he had made him feel all these years, he wanted retaliation and vendetta. But Aiden eventually threw up blood and coughed pitifully, face against the floor. Ethan was distracted for a second and realized that he had turned into the same person as his brother, that roles were in fact reversed. And he did not want to become like him. He made a step back, but he had been destabilized long enough for Aiden to stand up and attack him. Ethan was taken by surprise and lost his advantage. His twin yelled at him, calling him names, and ripped his shirt off, clawing his scarred skin underneath. The smallest knew that if he did not fight back, he would either get killed or seriously injured. He roared and rolled over to get up and claw Aiden's back. Without thinking, he hit and hit, as long as Aiden tried to hurt him back. Then he swung his claws at his jaw, sliding towards his throat, and Aiden fell limb on the ground, almost still. Ethan chilled down and took a look at his brother. He had been so furious, blinded by his own hatred, that he was unaware of the damage he had caused. He gasped when he noticed Aiden was now just a piece of bloody flesh.

"A—Aiden?" he stuttered, concerned. The shaking silhouette did not move but Ethan heard a whisper. He kneeled near his brother. His shriek got stuck in his mouth when he saw Aiden's throat ripped open. "Oh my God! Aiden!" he yelled, appalled. "I—I am so sorry, I didn't mean to—I—"

His brother faintly smiled and beckoned him to come closer, which he did. The lying twin's breath was irregular and whistling. Aiden was trying to tell him something in spite of the pain. Ethan put his ear against his mouth. Aiden tried to look up at him but it was too painful.

"I was such an—an ass to you."

"Shut up!" Ethan cut him, starting to cry as blood was spreading all around Aiden's body. "Spare your energy."

"No—No use. I'm dying."

"You are not! I didn't—I couldn't have killed—"

"It was legit—legitimate," Aiden laughed, but he immediately coughed and spat blood.

"Aid'!" Ethan cried and he took his hand, starting pain-siphoning him, which caused him to shout and clench his jaw because of the suffering.

"Stop that, you know it's—it's useless."

But Ethan did not obey. His brother was right, nonetheless, and soon his look was becoming vague, almost lifeless, and there was less and less pain to drain for Ethan.

"AIDEN!"

There was a soft whisper Ethan hardly managed to hear. Aiden said, breathless, "I don't resent you, Eth…" Ethan yelled out of anger and took his brother's head in his hands. Aiden's whole body was limb and his eyes now stared at something behind Ethan. There was no pulse, no heartbeat to be heard but Ethan's.

"No," Ethan whispered, tears shedding on his face. He could feel the emptiness that Aiden had left in his heart. Their bond was broken, and a part of him had died too. "No!" He held his body between his arms. He rocked him, crying over his corpse, for what seemed days.

He had killed his own brother.

Ethan had spent entire days sat by his brother's body, covered in blood. He had not eaten nor drunk. Not even moved. But eventually, a loud banging on the motel door disturbed his grief. He ignored it, but after one minute, a voice came up, "Ethan? Ethan, let me in! Are you okay?" Ethan's heart crumbled when he recognized Danny. The student kept banging and calling for two minutes and Ethan eventually left Aiden's corpse to open the door, hiding the view of the inside of the apartment to Danny. The Hawaiian boy had a worried face and sleepy eyes. "Where were you? I've been sending you text messages, I've been calling—you never answered! I thought—I thought something had happened… And you—" He stopped. He had his gaze staring at the shorter boy's t-shirt. "You're covered in blood, you—Oh my God, are you all right? Did he—Did Aiden hurt you?"

Ethan closed his eyes for a moment. Danny threw himself in his arms. When he put his chin on the werewolf's shoulder, he had a perfect view of the room behind Ethan. He immediately pulled back. He stuttered, "Oh my God, Ethan, he is…"

"Look, I think you'd better go."

"Aiden's dead!" Danny yelled, appalled. "Did you—Did you kill him?"

"It was not intentional," Ethan firmly murmured.

"But he… God, you…" Danny was shaking. He made a step back and started to sniff. "Why did you do that?"

Ethan looked at him in sheer hatred. "Because you told me to, Danny. You told me to fight back. And fight back I did. That's where it got me. Killing my own twin brother."

"I… I didn't…"

"Yes you did!" Ethan shouted.

"But if—If you hadn't fought back, you would have been the one lying on the floor…"

Ethan blinked. "How can you say that? If it could bring him back, I would switch places. Aiden was everything I had. And I killed my everything. Because you told me, because that's what love is: a killer. You know what? Aiden was right from the start. You're bad. Maybe we shouldn't have dated. Maybe I shouldn't have fallen in love with you. Because this is where you led me. Truth is you wanted to get rid of my brother to possess me. Aiden always said it was bad to love men, because contrary to women, they can actually control you and hurt you."

"Ethan, no, it's not like you think… Please." He tried and reached out for his hand but Ethan did not let him touch him. "You've got to believe me. I was just trying to make you happy. I wanted him to stop abusing you…"

"Leave me alone. I need time to think."

"I don't want you to stay alone with… that. Don't worry, we'll get rid of the body, the police will never know. We're gonna figure something out. Let me in, I'll help you clean the mess, we—"

"Danny," he cut, "there's no 'we'. Not anymore. Not ever again."

"But you… You love me!"

"I can't forgive you for what you made me do."

"I didn't—"

"Shut up, you did!" Ethan yelled, pushing him backwards. Danny fell on the ground and moaned in pain. Ethan stood still. When the teenager got up, holding his elbow, the werewolf said in a calm, deep voice, "You should go."

"No! I want to help..."

"You did help. Here's the result. Don't you think you've already helped too much?"

"I—I just—"

"Get outta here," Ethan murmured, tired and helpless.

Danny shook his head. "I love you…," he said between his tears.

"I know. I loved you, too." A faint smile shone on his face, then faded. "Now go."

"Will we ever see each other again?"

"I doubt that." Danny sniffed and hugged him desperately, hanging to his neck as if he were hanging to life. Surprisingly, Ethan was holding his shirt tight too. Danny was crying against his muscled chest. "Danny…" The pain in his voice was striking and obvious. His ex-boyfriend leaned forward to kiss him in a last attempt to remember him forever. Ethan lost himself in his kiss and forgot everything for a second. But reality brought him back to the facts and he broke the contact with the dark-haired boy. He smiled sadly to him and whispered, "Please, go." And he watched him as he left the motel to go back home. The werewolf felt tears rushing to his eyes but shook his head. It was better like this. Danny had destroyed his life, didn't he deserve to be punished?

Ethan had packed his few possessions and was ready to leave the motel he had lived in with his brother for the past few months. Danny, as promised, had never returned. Ethan had had the time to burn Aiden's body and throw the ashes in a lake near Beacon Hills, because it was said water washed all sins.

Right now, he was already heading for the limits of the city. All that was in his mind was the memory of his brother. The first time they had crossed the boundaries of Beacon Hills, they were still close twin brothers, still safe with the Alpha Pack. He had not met Danny yet, he had not jeopardized their position. There was still hope. Now the streets seemed empty. Hundreds of people may walk around the town, but the two that had truly mattered to him were gone—the first one had passed away by his fault; the other one had betrayed him and was the reason for his misery. He had lost them both, one way or another, and he was alone, ready for a life of painful remembrance and eternal self-resentment.

Okay, I'll admit it's a bit sad and wistful for a birthday, but I had no other complete fanfiction to post! I'm currently writing another, but you'll have to wait to have this one! So leave a review and tell me what you thought of this, and if you got the reference to the lyrics of a famous song during the scene of the battle between the twins… Thank you for reading!