Chapter 5 Broken Bond and Family Ties
1709 Words
Skylinda settled quietly on the couch, surrounded by her family—her parents and her older brother, Zarek.
Her posture was stiff, hands folded neatly on her knees like a child awaiting judgment.
Zarek, whose energy burned like a wildfire, had practically dragged her down the stairs the moment he heard the news.
He burst into the room, voice loud and proud, announcing the broken matebond as if it were a victory.
Skylinda watched her parents nearly faint from the shock.
Thalia, her mother, a gentle Omega, began to hyperventilate, clutching her chest. Alpha Toren, her father, immediately moved to fan her, concern etched into his stern features.
“This is just great!”
Zarek happily exclaimed, pacing like a restless wolf.
“That asshole wasn’t even worthy of my little sister! It’s good the matebond is broken!”
But his ears drooped low the moment his father turned to him with a sharp look.
“This is not a cause for celebration,”
Alpha Toren looked stern; he was firm and gentle in his own way.
“You know what it means to have your bond broken. The consequences that a broken matebond brings is no joke.”
Zarek’s mouth opened, then closed.
He looked away, chastened.
Alpha Toren turned to Skylinda, his expression softening, though the weight of his words remained.
“Is it true?” he asked quietly. “Your bond… It’s broken?”
Skylinda nodded slowly, her gaze lowered. “Yes.”
The room fell silent.
Omega Thalia looked at Skylinda weakly, her voice barely above a whisper, as if the strength had drained from her completely.
Skylinda kept her head low, eyes fixed on her knees.
She didn’t want to look up—not yet.
She feared the disappointment she might see in their faces, the silent judgment that she hadn’t been enough.
“Yes… it’s true,” she said.
Her voice was steady.
“My… I mean, Alpha Zander rejected me as his mate.”
Skylinda confirmed, not weakly but firmly.
Her voice did not stutter or waver; instead, she looked up at them, and her eyes met theirs, unflinching as if the rejection was nothing of concern to her.
She expected blame.
Expected to see it in their eyes—the unspoken question of why she wasn’t chosen, why she wasn’t worthy.
But it wasn’t there.
All she saw was worry.
Skylinda paused, her lips curling slightly in disbelief.
“You don’t blame me?”
Her family gasped softly, exchanging glances.
Their expressions were fragile, touched with sadness—not by the rejection itself, but by the fact that their daughter had ever thought she’d be blamed.
Thalia reached out, her hand trembling as it brushed Skylinda’s arm.
“My daughter… no,”
Thalia gently took Skylinda’s hand into hers and softly talked to her as if she were made of glass.
“We don’t blame you.”
Alpha Toren, despite his usual sternness, knelt in front of Skylinda.
His eyes were red, glossed with emotion as he gently took her hand in his.
Omega Thalia followed, sitting beside her daughter and wrapping her arms around Skylinda’s shoulders in a trembling embrace.
“You’re our precious daughter,”
Thalia was almost in tears.
“Why would we ever blame you?”
Zarek, standing nearby, grinned with his usual goofy charm—though the sadness in his eyes betrayed how deeply he felt for his sister.
“Of course, sis! Why would we blame you?”
Zarek grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
“It’s good you broke up with that bastard! He wasn’t worthy of you anyway!”
Skylinda looked around at the faces surrounding her—her father, her mother, her brother.
Her chest tightened, and her eyes welled up again.
The lingering ache in her heart, Linda’s, began to melt under the warmth of their love.
“I thought…”
Skylinda’s voice cracked.
“I thought you’d be ashamed of me. As an Omega, rejected by my Alpha—I thought I’d failed you. Failed our family. That I’d become a shame…”
Tears slipped down her cheeks, her heart heavy—but slowly, it began to lighten. The weight didn’t vanish, but it shifted, softened by the arms holding her close.
“No,”
Alpha Toren was stern and firm, his voice thick with emotion.
“We will never be ashamed of you. You are our daughter. Nothing will ever change that.”
Thalia nodded, pressing her forehead gently to Skylinda’s.
“You are loved. Always.”
Zarek threw his arms around both of them, squeezing tight.
“Yeah, sis! It was that bastard’s loss, not yours! There are still tons of Alphas out there. It’s not like he’s the only one in the world!”
Skylinda let out a soft laugh through her tears, the first in days. And for the first time since the bond broke, she didn’t feel alone.
Alpha Toren nodded, his stern face softened by grief and love.
“You are our precious daughter. Nothing can change that.”
Zarek, unusually quiet, looked away—his jaw clenched, his fists tight.
Not in anger this time, but in guilt. He hadn’t realized how deeply she’d been carrying this alone.
And Skylinda, for the first time in a long while, felt the warmth of something she hadn’t expected.
Belonging.
“That ass… he is not even as handsome as your brother. Good, you broke it early! Brother will find you lots of handsome ones; he is not the only one!”
Zarek comforted Skylinda, even knowing the truth.
He didn’t deny the pain, but he refused to give up hope.
His sister had been hurt by the one she had trusted, betrayed—but she was still standing here refusing to break despite the pain.
That was enough for him.
Skylinda also did not hide anything; she took a deep breath and began to speak.
She didn’t hold back.
She told them everything—how Zander had cheated on her with Zena, how their years together had been filled with arguments, always circling back to that same woman.
How Zander had long stopped loving her, even as the matebond still tied them together.
And in the end, he chose Zena.
Not her, his mate.
The room grew cold as her family listened.
No one interrupted.
No one looked away.
Their expressions were grim, their hearts heavy with the weight of her words.
When she finished, they asked gently if she felt fine—if the breaking of the bond had harmed her physically.
Skylinda assured them she was fine, and after a brief discussion—ending with plans to have her checked by the pack doctor—she was finally given a moment to breathe.
Yet the ache in her chest hadn’t fully faded.
“I’m sorry,”
Skylinda’s voice was almost in a whisper.
“I failed you. I won’t become the next Luna… not like you hoped. Not like you raised me to be.”
She leaned into the warmth of her family’s embrace, her heart finally lightening from the burden she’d carried alone.
Linda’s family… they’re all good people.
“No, you did not fail us,” Alpha Toren said gently. “Growing up, we never expected you to become anything you didn’t want to be.”
“When we learned you were the mate of the next Alpha, we worried,” he admitted, his voice low. "Worried that you wouldn’t live the carefree life we always dreamed for you. And now… we see those worries weren’t unfounded.”
He sighed, the weight of years and quiet hopes settling in his chest.
“But sis,”
Zarek quickly chimed in, puffing his chest and flexing his arms like a cartoon bully.
“No matter what happens, we’re all by your side. Anyone who says otherwise—your brother will beat them all up!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
“Whatever,”
Skylinda teased, her voice lighter now.
“I bet you can’t even beat the other Alphas your age. You’d better say that after you manage to take down Dren.”
Zarek’s face went pale, as if she’d summoned a ghost.
“Why are you talking about that person right now!”
Zarek cried out wronged.
“That Beta is a monster! I couldn’t even land a hit on him!”
He flailed dramatically, nearly pouting, and Skylinda laughed—really laughed—for the first time in what felt like forever.
“Oh, then I guess so much for wanting to beat up Zander,”
Skylinda continued to tease, sticking out her tongue.
“You can’t even beat up Dren!”
Zarek froze, his face twisting in mock horror.
“You little—!”
He lunged toward her, and Skylinda squealed, jumping to her feet and darting around the couch.
“Ah! Dad, Mom, look at brother! He’s bullying me!”
Skylinda hid behind her parents, peeking out from behind the cushions with a mischievous grin.
Thalia and Toren exchanged amused glances, shaking their heads at the chaos unfolding in their living room.
“Bullying you?”
Zarek huffed, circling the couch like a predator.
“You little minx, you’re the one always bullying your big brother! Come here and I’ll teach you a lesson!”
“Never!”
Skylinda giggled, sticking out her tongue again as she dashed to the other side.
Zarek chased her, arms flailing, while Skylinda danced just out of reach, laughter spilling from her lips.
For a moment, the weight of broken bonds and painful memories faded—replaced by the simple joy of being home, being loved, and being herself.
Laughter filled the house, echoing through the halls and spilling out into the quiet night. It was the kind of sound that wrapped around the walls like a warm blanket—soft, familiar, alive.
Skylinda’s heart felt full.
Even in the simplicity of this moment, surrounded by her family, she found something she hadn’t felt in a long time: peace.
Her stay here was brief, but it was enough.
Linda, don’t worry, she thought, the name echoing like a whisper from another life. From now on, in your place… I’ll take care of them.
- Writer
