Into The Woods [boyxboy]

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven (Raven's POV)

I remember one time when I was younger, maybe fourteen, when I had stepped on a nail that had been sticking up in the barn.

It hurt for days after my dad had torn it out, then taken me to the hospital to have it cleaned and stitched.

I used to think that was the most agonizing thing in the world, unable to walk, feeling the ache and burn of where the nail had stabbed me. However...

Lately, I couldn't think of anything more painful than what was happening. Most people would see me as a bad person, I understood that. I know I was harsh, I know I was cold. It was always something that had been buried inside me and I just went with it, but it seemed like that was the exact opposite thing to do.

I used to think I was doing the right thing by being cold toward Aidan.

He was obnoxious, childish. He was maturing a bit slower than the rest of us. He was also the most sheltered, which didn't help at all, so I understood why he was so naive most of the time. He didn't know what the real dangers were like, what the real purities were. He didn't even know that he himself was a purity.

I was told to protect him, but I didn't need to be. It was natural instinct that Scythe soon linked to the fact that I was Aidan's mate. I accepted that gradually. At first, I was appalled. Aidan was my little brother. When I reached my human state before he did, I used to hold him as a puppy in my arms, cradling him. How could this beautiful person be my mate? How could my brother be my mate?

Then Scythe told me what he had told Aidan that night and I realized the truth.

Aidan was my mate.

And I was rejected by him.

I would trade that pain for a million nails driven into both my feet. Nothing hurt worse than having your soulmate, your eternal partner telling you that he didn't want anything to do with you.

At the same time, I knew I deserved this. I had been so cruel to Aidan. I did degrade him. I did humiliate him. I did hurt him. I did it thinking it was the right thing to do to protect him, to try and strengthen him maybe, or maybe it was just me selfishly trying to deny my feelings for him.

Either way, I did something wrong and now I was paying for that.

But the worst part was...

So was Aidan.

"He doesn't understand," Scythe said the next day when we had finished cleaning up breakfast and Aidan still hadn't come downstairs, "He's too immature. Maybe we should've waited until his twentieth birthday to tell him. We should've finished the story at least. He doesn't even know." He frowned at Zaid, who looked down at the table without saying anything.

I think he was still upset about Aidan.

I think we all were.

Scythe just sighed and pulled up a chair next to Zaid, taking him into his arms. I left the kitchen to give them privacy, seeing Cal and Rylan hanging out by the banister of the stairs, looking grim.

"Maybe we should go check on him." Cal said, glancing up at the stairs. Rylan shook his head, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall by the stairs. Though, he glanced up as well as if debating the idea. I just frowned, watching them.

I was jealous.

I always got jealous easily. Then again, I always wanted things I couldn't have. The more I thought about it, the more it hurt.

"We shouldn't bother him." I said at last. Cal turned to look at me, concerned. I could see it swirling in those expressive blue eyes of his that everyone seemed to adore. He had the same facial features as Aidan, after all they were twins. The only reason differences, other than personality, was their eye color and height. While Cal was a good five ten, Aidan was only five five. At the same time, I could only find myself drawn to Aidan. Cal was more like a brother to me, which made sense.