Star-Crossed | Boy x Boy

𝑼𝒍𝒗

"I apologized, didn't I?" I asked Aster's rigid back. He opened his door and shoved me inside, nearly throwing me to the ground. I still didn't get what he was mad about. I protected myself, I protected Suki. Was I supposed to let him attack me? I voiced this to Aster and he told me I was stupid.

"Yes. You are supposed to let him beat you up. Most wolves would show mercy if you apologized and showed submission, but you kept pushing him. This means that you were challenging him, and you beat him."

"But why are you mad-"

"Because Umbridge is going to wake up and challenge you again!" Aster yelled. "You won out of dumb luck, but you still took his rank in the pack. So as soon as his head stops spinning he'll be ready to fight again, and there's no chance of him showing any mercy this time. You embarassed him, and he wants his respect back."

I frowned. "So why-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET HURT!" hollered Aster. 

I crossed my arms with a huff. Aster sat down on his bed, rubbing his face. "I don't want you getting hurt, Red. Why is it so fucking hard for you to follow my rules? I told you not to bother anyone, not to provoke anyone, yet you go and slap one of my wolves across a goddamn island! What kind of influence do you think that might have on Suki? Huh? She's been through enough, and she's going to have to watch you get the shit beat out of you."

"I'll heal, and then I'll pretend it never happened."

Aster shook his head. "It's not that simple. Everyone will remember this fight. It's practically like an initiation to the pack, a newbie's first fight for power. But Umbridge isn't a low wolf, he's middle-class. Which means you'll be jumping straight to the front lines. No newbie's ever done that before, and I doubt you'll be the first."

"You underestimate me a lot, huh?"

"Stop that!" cried Aster. "Stop acting like everything is okay, because it fucking isn't. You're going to get fucking demolished, and if I don't do something about it then you're going to do it again."

I bowed my head. "I won't, I promise."

"I don't believe you." Aster patted his leg. "Come here." I shook my head and backed up towards the door. Aster's eyes flashed. "Red, if you walk out that door, I'm not letting you come back here. I won't let you help Elaine anymore, and I won't let you come back to the pack. No matter how much you apologize. You can be a stray wolf for the rest of your life and figure out how to shift by yourself."

That last part scared me. I didn't want to go through this alone. I wanted Aster to be there when it happened- I didn't want him mad at me. My Wolf begged me to roll over and to be a good puppy for him, but it was just so hard. I reluctantly shuffled across the carpet over to Aster. Aster grabbed my and bent me over his legs. 

"H-Hey! Aster what are you d-"

Aster raised his hand and brought it down swiftly on my backside. The bastard had spanked me. "What the hell do you think you're doi- ow!" He hit me again, over and over again without stopping. One after the other as I squirmed desperately beneath him, trying to break out of his iron grip. My ass hurt, but not as much as my stomach. I was supposed to keel over and stay still for him but I couldn't. I had to run, I had to get free. "Aster please!" I exclaimed. It stung, and everytime he hit me the pain got worse and worse. I remembered being a kid and watching the neighborhood kids get disciplined. My parents never touched me to teach me a lesson, but Aster clearly didn't have parents as anti-violent as mine were. "I-I'm sorry, I won't do it anymore!" I whimpered, grabbing at the arm that was holding me down. Aster met my gaze coldly, but I could see hesitance flash behind his golden gaze. "Please," I begged in a whisper. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please stop. Please don't hit me again."

Aster shoved me off of him, onto the floor. I curled up on the carpet like a beaten dog and let hot tears drip out of my eyes. Everything felt sore, and my brain felt muddled, like I'd been dunked underwater. I whimpered from my spot on the floor, clutching my arms to my chest. When Aster stood, I shied away from him. 

Aster knelt down next to me. Wolf didn't trust him anymore, so I bared my teeth. Aster wasn't my alpha anymore. He didn't care about me. "Bitch-" I spat, but stopped. He was still stronger than me, so there was very little I could do. 

Aster picked me up princess-style and carried me back over to his bed, not letting me crawl away from him like a crippled mouse limping away from a hungry cat. Aster sat me down on his bed, and needles of pain shot up my spine. I couldn't sit comfortably. I looked up at Aster through a gaze blurred by tears.

"Fuck you. It hurts."

Aster sighed. "I know, that's the point."

I rolled onto my side, facing the wall. "Douche."

Aster sat down on the end of the bed. "Well, now you know not to do shit like that anymore, don't you?"

"Don't treat me like a toddler. You pulled all this shit about not wanting me to get hurt yet you hit me. So now my ass fucking hurts, and it's about to hurt a lot more when that Umbridge guy comes along. You hypocritical asshole."

Aster reached out a hand towards me, and I pulled away. "Look, I know you're mad, but that's how punishment works. You're not supposed to enjoy it-" He paused. "That came out kind of wrong. But you get the idea, it's supposed to have a negative reaction. It's supposed to hurt, so that you know what will happen if you do it again."

"Fine, I won't use self-defense anymore. Since that's so horrible."

"If they're unprovoked and attack you for no reason, then you can fight back, or someone else will step in like Elaine or myself. Or maybe Abby. She seems to like you," Aster said, a twinge of jealousy in his voice.

I rolled over. "Really? She looks kind of cute." That was a total lie. I've been gay since third grade and the thought of kissing a girl used to make me cry. I deadass cried when a girl in fourth grade tried to kiss me at our Halloween party, and Adam laughed his fucking ass off when I told Jamie and him about it years later. I just wanted to piss off Aster. 

Aster went rigid. "Is that so?"

The Wolf clawed at my stomach for lying. I sighed. "No, she isn't." I tucked my arm beneath my elbow. "I don't like girls. Like, at all."

"Then why did you say it?"

"I'm not giving you jack."

Aster laid down on his pillows, leaving only a couple inches of space for me to push away from him without hitting the wall. "Are you going to stay like that all night, or are you going to come lay with me?"

I sat up, wincing at the pain at the base of my back and clambered over his legs. I stalked over to the window and peered out. The sun was setting, which meant it was only seven or eight. Aster wouldn't let me leave, and if I did Umbridge would find me. Usually I stayed up all night, but now I was tired and just wanted to cry myself to sleep. I stalked over to the other bed and flopped down on my stomach because it hurt too much to lay on my back. I heard Aster sigh and roll over. I didn't look at him as I curled up on my own mattress and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his breathing and wolves moving about downstairs.