Shifter Domination Complete Set

"Get off me," Darius snarls, lashing behind him with sharp claws, slashing behind him to throw him off. Ethan has had a lifetime of experience play fighting with his brother and knows where his weaknesses are and how to keep him down. He's only fighting at half capacity, his wolf so desperate to run back to her that he isn't using strategy and is just mindlessly lashing out.

"You hurt her," he says, gripping his brother's hair and yanking his head back so that he is forced to see the reality of what he had done. He should have intervened the moment he smelled blood, but he thought it was just him taking her virginity. He didn't know his twin would be marking her up.

"She's mine," he snarls, still lost in the animal brain that wants her to bear his print.

"Look at her!" Ethan bares his teeth, and yanks his hair harder, forcing him to see how she's curled up on the bed with her legs folded up to her chest and her long tail wrapped around her body like some sort of shield. There's blood everywhere, clinging to her skin and on the sheets and all over his face. "You're scaring her," he says, wishing his twin would come to his senses sooner rather than later. She is holding the tip of her tail and mouthing at it nervously, making little scared noises that makes Ethan's heart clench and he doesn't even know her that well. He had seen other cat shifters do that before, mouth their tails when they're scared or frightened in order to calm down.

It takes a few seconds for his twin to really see what he's done and he sags in his grip. Blood drains from his face, though that only makes the smears on his mouth more terrible. His animal is pushed back in record time and Ethan lets go, stepping back and away now that he no longer needs to be held down.

"I'm so sorry, love," Darius says, moving towards her on his hands and knees.

Ethan has never seen his twin look so broken before.

He stops short when she flinches, ears perking back as she mouths her tail anxiously. "Master Darius?" she whispers. It's a sweet

sound, confused but yet so eager to get his attention. The chains on her legs jingle when she shifts on the bed.

"Baby, I'm not going to hurt you. Promise," he says earnestly, squatting by the bed, giving her enough space to let her know that he's not trying to crowd her or cage her in.

She sniffs, hand reaching automatically to clutch the broken skin at her shoulder. It's not bleeding anymore, but it still looks a mess, smears of red on her pale skin and deep teeth marks like a wolf had gotten his jaws on her. Well, a wolf had gotten his jaws on her.

"Again," Ethan says, unable to help himself from being cheeky about it.

"What?" Darius snarls, snapping to him.

Ethan's had a lifetime to learn not to be afraid of his brother when he's posturing. "You promise not to hurt her again," he says, gesturing at the wound on her shoulder and then the various injuries all over her.

Just like that, he deflates, anger turning into guilt. Turning back to her, he says, "I'm so sorry, baby. I lost control. I didn't- I won't-" he rubs a hand over his face and Ethan is reminded so much of their father, who couldn't stand the thought of anyone seeing their mother. He remembers the marks on their mother's shoulder too, though they're scarred over now and their father isn't as possessive as he used to be.

He supposes it's natural that Darius is like this too. Ethan wonders if he'll be as obsessed with his mate when he finds one of his own. Then again, this is probably his fault too for putting his hands and mouth on her. It's likely that Darius is just trying to get rid of his scent on her skin and got carried away. He remembers a toy Darius used to own when they were pups, a stuffed lion that he would take everywhere. Ethan had his own too, but he has always been a greedy boy, wanting what others had. He snuck into his room and stole Darius's toy one day. Instead of taking it back when Darius found it, he tore the toy apart.

"I love you, baby. You know that, right?" Darius says.

To his surprise, the little cat girl nods, ears perking up as she lets go of her tail. Her smile is beautiful, lighting up her entire face. "I love you too," she says, easy and swift, not needing to think about it at all.

Darius looks broken, like he doesn't know what to do with that.

Taking mercy on his emotionally constipated twin, he asks, "Do you know who I am, darling?"

She nods and murmurs. "Master Darius's twin brother."

"I'm Ethan," he says. "I was born tern minutes before him, so that makes me the older brother. It also means I'm automatically wiser than he'll ever be."

Darius scoffs and she manages a broken smile at his weak humor.

"Darius can be a little much sometimes," Ethan says carefully, giving his brother a warning glare when he looks like he's about to argue. "But you understand he didn't mean to hurt you, don't you?"

She looks deep in thought, and then nods carefully. "Master Darius?" she murmurs, soft and scared and Jesus, even Ethan wants to hold her and keep her safe.

It's terrifying that he understands why Darius is insistent on keeping her locked up here like Rapunzel in a high towel, away from everyone and everything capable of hurting her.

She looks conflicted for a second, and then she slips off the bed and climbs into his lap, curling her arms around his neck and nuzzling his neck like a nursing kitten. She's perfect. "I love you, Master Darius," she whispers against his skin and Ethan feels like he's intruding to something intimate.

He walks away, but not before hearing a gentle, "I love you too, baby."

Chapter Seven: Agreement

She falls asleep in his arms, so soft and sweet and trusting, even after he had mauled her neck and left so many bruises and cuts on her skin.