FRAGILE

Chapter 26: I Need to be Good

"You will not kneel before me," Maximus commanded, his voice strong and steady. "You will not punish yourself. You will not act like his slave."

Levi blinked, confusion flickering behind his eyes, but still, the conditioning fought to take over.

Maximus's voice dropped, filled with a raw emotion he couldn't hold back. "You will come here, into my arms, because you are my mate. You are Levi."

For a moment, nothing happened. Levi remained frozen, his body still and stiff as he processed the words. Then, slowly—hesitantly—he began to move. His gaze remained locked on Maximus's, and Maximus could see the battle raging within him, the conditioning fighting against the wolf inside that wanted to follow his Alpha's command.

Maximus knelt in front of Levi, desperation gnawing at him as he saw his mate's hollow eyes. He tried to pull Levi back from the brink, using every ounce of his strength and authority.

"Levi, I am your Alpha," Maximus repeated firmly. "You will not kneel before me. You will not punish yourself. You will not act like his slave."

For a fleeting moment, Levi's eyes flickered with confusion. Maximus watched as his mate seemed to war with himself, the command fighting against the years of conditioning that had chained him. Levi's lips parted, a tremor running through his body, as if he was on the verge of responding.

But then, something broke.

Levi's expression twisted in agony, and his entire body went rigid. A raw, guttural sound escaped his throat as he suddenly wrenched away from Maximus, collapsing onto the floor.

"I can't—I can't!" Levi sobbed, his voice fractured, his hands clutching at his hair as he curled into himself. "I can't do it, I can't follow your orders, I don't know how! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't be what you need me to be!"

Maximus's heart lurched, his hands trembling as he tried to reach out for Levi, but the Omega flinched away as if Maximus's touch burned him.

"Levi, no... it's okay," Maximus pleaded, his voice breaking as he knelt beside his mate, desperate to pull him back from the spiral. "You don't have to be anything but yourself. I just need you to come back to me."

But Levi was no longer hearing him. His mind had retreated, his voice becoming frantic and disjointed.

"I can't obey—I don't understand! I don't know how to not kneel!" Levi cried, his eyes wide and panicked, his breath coming in shallow gasps. "Master—Thomas—he said... I'm supposed to serve! I don't know how to be... be anything else! I can't follow your rules—I don't understand them!"

Levi's entire body trembled as he pressed himself into the floor, his fingers clawing at the hardwood in desperation. "I'm supposed to serve, I'm supposed to be useful! If I can't do that, what am I? What good am I?!"

Maximus's wolf howled inside him, sensing Levi's unraveling. His mate was breaking, and the more Maximus tried to reach him, the more Levi spiraled, torn between the deeply ingrained commands from his past and the impossible expectations he believed Maximus had placed on him.

Levi's hands reached out, grabbing at the pile of blankets he had thrown to the floor, his mind locking into the only thing that felt familiar: obedience.

"I can't—I'll fix it, I'll fix the nest!" Levi babbled, his movements frantic as he tried to reconstruct the torn blankets, his hands shaking violently. "I'll do it right this time, I promise—I'll be better, I'll be what you need!"

Maximus's heart shattered as he watched Levi struggle. The Omega was drowning in his conditioning, his mind trapped in a loop of servitude that he couldn't break free from. Maximus's words—his rules—were tearing Levi apart because they didn't align with the horrific commands Thomas had drilled into him.

"Levi, stop," Maximus whispered, his voice thick with grief as he gently pulled Levi's trembling hands away from the blankets. But Levi fought against him, his panic intensifying as he tried to push himself back into the rigid roles he had been forced into.

"I can't—I can't disobey!" Levi's voice was raw, filled with fear. "I don't know how! If I don't serve, if I don't obey... what am I supposed to do? What will happen to me?"

Maximus's throat tightened, tears burning his eyes as he pulled Levi into his arms, holding him despite the Omega's frantic resistance. Levi struggled, weak and desperate, his breath hitching as his mind spiraled deeper into the conditioning.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Levi choked out, his voice breaking. "Please don't punish me, I'll be good, I'll be better—just tell me how! Tell me how to obey!"

Maximus rocked him gently, his own heart breaking with every panicked word that left Levi's lips. "No, Levi... you don't have to obey like that anymore. I don't want you to serve me like he made you."

But Levi wasn't hearing him. The years of torment, of being told he was nothing but a tool, a slave, had gripped Levi's mind so tightly that Maximus's words couldn't reach him. The conflicting orders—Maximus's compassion and Thomas's cruelty—were tearing Levi apart.

"I don't know how!" Levi sobbed, curling in on himself, his hands clutching Maximus's shirt as if he were a lifeline, yet terrified of what failing to obey might mean. "I don't understand the rules! Please, just tell me what to do—just tell me!"

Maximus held Levi tighter, his own tears spilling as he pressed his face into Levi's hair. His mate was caught in the darkest part of his mind, and no matter how much Maximus tried to pull him out, the hold Thomas had over Levi was suffocating.

"Levi, please... don't do this to yourself," Maximus whispered, his voice trembling. "I don't need you to follow any rules. I just need you."

But Levi's cries only grew more desperate, his body trembling violently in Maximus's arms as he rocked back and forth, trapped in the endless loop of his conditioning.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I don't know how to be free," Levi whimpered, his voice barely a whisper now, raw and broken.

Maximus's tears fell freely as he held his mate, his heart aching in a way it had never before. He realized now that the road ahead would be even harder than he'd imagined. Levi's conditioning, Thomas's brutal control—it was so deeply ingrained that even freedom felt like a trap to him.

But Maximus wasn't giving up. He would stay with Levi, no matter how long it took, no matter how many times they had to fight this battle.

"I'm here, Levi. I'll always be here," Maximus whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "We'll get through this. I promise."

Levi's sobs finally subsided into weak, trembling breaths, but Maximus could feel the weight of the despair that lingered in the air. His mate was still trapped, but Maximus knew one thing for certain:

He would never let Levi fight this battle alone again.