Chapter 6 Broken Bonds
six
Broken Bonds
*MARCELLUS*
The training hall is reserved for us privately, all windows and doors firmly closed, with guards placed around the building, so that we can have this battle in peace.
Floyd laments the rules to us. Not that it’s necessary, we both know them. They are simple enough. No shifting, no wolfsbane or poison, no weapons. The fight ends when someone dies or taps out. Simple as that.
Are you here, Amos?
Yes, don’t worry, he reassures me. Let’s make this an honorable fight.
I notice Eugene gazing at me from the other side of the ring. He looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.
“Are you ready?” Floyd asks us quietly.
“Yes,” I say.
Eugene nods too. “Yes,” he mutters.
Floyd takes a step away before giving us the signal. Eugene and I exchange one last gaze before wordlessly approaching each other. I’m a tad more muscular, but he is more athletic and faster. While we circle each other, I notice how good his posture is and how strong his aura is.
It seems the minutes drop by with neither of us making a move, just locking eyes and circling each other. I can hear no noise other than Eugene’s panting. The realization that this is my brother I’m facing off against breaks the remainder of my heart all over again.
Then Eugene makes a step forward, delivering the first punch.
Like a spell is broken, we lunge at each other.
Floyd’s lessons ring in my ears, helping me control my movements, but Eugene isn’t bad either.
His fist collides with my face, splitting my lips open before he grabs me in a headlock.
I ram my elbow in his stomach, slipping out of his grip before delivering a kick to it.
It sends him flying, but he recovers fast, jumping up from the ground quickly, and dodging my next punch.
Two weeks ago, I would have been easily strong enough to hold myself against Eugene, but today, with my mate bond weakening me tremendously, I can barely keep up.
I am proud of Amos, though, because he tries, and he really does put up a fight.
But it’s a fact that we don’t face a chance against a strong and proud alpha heir like Eugene.
My ears can only take up the sounds we make, the grunts, the panting. With some kicks and punches, I feel my bones break, with Amos trying to heal us as fast as he can in his weakened state.
I dodge a couple of Eugene’s attacks, but his next one gets me, sending me flying on the ground with him on top of me, pinning me to the ground.
One of my hands tries to grab onto his arm, to push him away.
His skin feels sweaty and slippery, making me lose my grip.
I try to wiggle free when the first punch to my face comes.
But fuck, I’m locked into this position.
Neither Amos nor I is strong enough to escape it.
I taste iron on my tongue, my sight getting blurred while one punch after another starts raining down on me. My tired gaze lands on the clock on the wall. It felt like the fight took only minutes, but it lasted for almost two hours. Good, at least I gave them a show.
“Tap out,” Dad yells. “Goddess, my boy, tap out.”
“Please,” Eugene whispers and through my clouded vision, the look in his eyes is suddenly desperate. “Marc.”
Thank you, Amos, I link my wolf. You held on longer than I expected. You were a great partner.
You put up a good fight, Amos mutters. It lasted long, much longer than any of them expected it. You didn’t make this easy.
I close my eyes, not wanting to see or hear anything, and instead let the darkness engulf me.
There is a beeping sound, constantly piercing my ears and trying to drag me up from the darkness. It’s always the same rhythm, annoyingly loud, like something is stabbing my ears constantly. My eyelids feel so heavy that I can’t bring myself to open them.
But slowly, my senses are coming back to me, one by one. I smell my surroundings, it’s sterile and clean in an almost discomforting way, and I still smell and taste blood. My blood. My body aches; every muscle and bone seems to be strained or broken.
It’s in this instant that realization hits me.
I’m still alive. I’m not dead. Fuck, I am still alive.
He couldn’t even kill me! He didn’t even have enough respect for me to end my life on my terms. Slowly, my senses allow me to differentiate between the many scents.
That’s when I smell him. I don’t open my eyes, feeling his presence next to me.
Eugene has his forehead pressed against my chest, sobbing silently. “Please wake up,” he whispers almost inaudibly. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t… fuck… please come back. Please forgive me.”
I wish I could, but I honestly don’t feel anything. It was the main reason why I agreed to this fight. It was not because of Olive or the rank; it was because of Eugene. I wanted to see how far he would go. I needed proof that he would never choose me.
The bond between twins is strong, but it can break like the one to a mate. Ours didn’t survive this. No bond would.
I feel my consciousness being dragged down again towards my sleeping wolf. Amos is curled up, exhausted and unresponsive as he is healing. I lean my body against his, hoping that at least our bond is strong enough to survive.
When I come to my senses the next time, I am much more on alert and here. I blink my eyes open, noticing Mom and Dad are at my side. Dad looks exhausted and like he has cried. Mom looks even worse.
“Marcellus,” she whispers. “You are awake.”
I groan when she reaches out for me and touches my shoulder
“I’m so sorry,” she blurts out. “You must be in pain. Wait, I’m going to fetch a doctor.”
She leaves me and Dad behind. I don’t say anything, too tired and hurt to even open my lips to talk. Dad takes my hand. “I’m so glad you are alive, so glad,” he mutters.
His low voice is soothing to my ears, making me close my eyes again.
“You think I don’t love you,” he continues.
“But I love you so much. You are like me. Your mistakes are mine, and your strengths are mine, and sometimes it’s hard to look into a mirror.
I… I… fuck! Marc, you didn’t tap out, you didn’t tap out.
Why didn’t you tap out? You could have died.
Eugene couldn’t kill you, and I’m so thankful for that. ”
What is he talking about? I feel tired, so tired.
Someone else comes into the room. Scents I only barely register, but my mom keeps calling one of them doctor. Then I feel his presence again.
“Is he really awake?” Eugene blurts out.
“Yes, he is awake, son,” Dad reassures him.
“How is he?” Eugene asks.
“His body is still weakened, and he is healing slowly,” the doctor answers. “Slower than I want him to.”
“What about his wolf?” Mom wants to know, her voice strained with worry.
“His wolf is still there, but very weakened. The strained mate bond took a toll on him.”
“It’s all my fault,” Eugene mutters.
“No, it’s mine,” Dad says quietly. “I should have found a proper solution immediately, but I allowed it to spiral into this catastrophe. It’s my responsibility as your alpha and father.
This challenge should have never happened, and I should have made sure you and Olive stayed apart until she made a decision. I failed miserably.”
“You did,” I can hear Mom’s voice again. “But so did I.”
“Please,” the doctor says. I feel the tip of a syringe pressed against my forearm. “His heartbeat is too fast. This is stressing him out. He needs silence.”
I don’t know what he is injecting me with, but I feel my nerves calming down and my mind being dragged to yet another sleep, hoping that the next time I wake up, it will all just have been a nightmare.
But the next time I wake up, it’s all too real. There is no hoping it was just a dream. No, I’m living the nightmare. At least it’s only my mother here this time, which means the others have followed the doctor’s advice.
I’m much more aware of my surroundings than last time, shifting around to change my position.
“Marcellus,” Mom says gently. “You are awake.”
“Yes,” I say, my voice hoarse and strained even to my own ears.
“Don’t talk too much,” she says. “Wait, I will give you something to drink.”
I wait for her to scurry around my hospital room to retrieve a cup with water.
I hadn’t realized how my throat was burning until I take a few sips.
“I’m so thankful you are alive,” she says, obviously trying to sound cheerful, while her look is sad and tired.
“Don’t worry, we will find a solution to this,” she tries to reassure me.
“Your father said that, despite your weakened state, you put up a tremendous fight. You are still very strong. There is a lot you can do in the pack; there are many ranks for you. You would be a fantastic beta. And there are plenty of women who would love to be your mate,” she continues.
I know her well enough to realize she is truly panicking by now.
This whole ordeal has truly ruined our lives. Twins can only lead a pack together as alphas when their souls are connected. It’s not possible for Eugene and me anymore.
I raise my hand to stop her from talking. “Mom,” I manage. “Mom.”
“Yes, sweetheart?” she asks, before looking down at her hands. “I’m sorry, I know I am… I am…”
“I know,” I say.
For a split second, neither of us talks before I clear my throat. “Mom,” I say. “You know I can’t stay.”
“What are you talking about?” she whispers. “Of course you can stay! Your brother would never kick you out of the pack. He is devastated, Marcellus. And your father is, too. They know they are responsible for most of what happened. It’s their burden to carry. You don’t have any fault.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“This whole thing is such a mess. It should have never happened, none of it!”
“But it did,” I say. “It did happen. I got fated to my brother’s girlfriend, but she doesn’t want me. She wants him. And I battled for my rank and lost. These are the facts.”
“We are family,” Mom says sadly. “There is no way we will leave you hanging or let you disappear.”
“I loved her,” I say.
Mom raises her gaze. “Huh?”
“Olive,” I mutter. “When we were younger, I was head over heels for her.”
“What are you saying?” she whispers. “You, you never mentioned it.”
“I didn’t mention it because I knew Eugene liked her, too, and I didn’t want to steal my brother’s girl or battle it out with him. I should have been honest much earlier. Mom,” I look at her. “The goddess didn’t just make a cruel mistake, I’d liked her too.”
Deep inside, I know it’s not the only reason the goddess mated me to Olive. There was another, deeper reason, but I can’t say it out loud.
We don’t talk anymore about it, though. I know Mom can’t understand it.
Only Eugene and I can, only we know how much our bond was strained.
I loved my brother, and I think I still do.
I don’t know which one of us made the most mistakes.
Maybe it was me for always placing him first and lying about my own feelings.
Maybe it was him for not placing me first at that one moment when it counted.
Maybe it was Olive for being indecisive and not making a clear decision immediately.
Maybe it was Dad for showing his favoritism, or maybe it was Mom, who is always about keeping the peace.
But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it happened, and that we can’t undo it.