Bonds

Chapter Six

~Maya’s POV~

Natalia’s voice, muffled through the phone, jolted me out of a daze. “You really think he did it?” Her words felt like sandpaper against my raw nerves.

I let out a sigh, “I don’t know,” the confession scraping my throat, “But think of it, Natalia. If I were to bomb a place, why would I leave evidence that it was me on the bomb?”

“Exactly!” Natalia’s sharp tone crackled through the receiver. “My thoughts exactly. But still, he’s the only one with a motive to stop the wedding. Maybe he realized what he lost.”

I shook my head, the gesture echoing the hollowness inside me, “I looked into his eyes. The Alex that loved me… I didn’t see that man anymore. There was anger, yes, but also a stranger, someone consumed by something I couldn’t understand.”

A beat of silence hung between us, thick with unspoken doubts. “So maybe it was his way of making good on that threat. Maybe this was his way of showing Everton that he means to really go to war with your father.”

“And my father, of course, couldn’t help but blame me,” I muttered, bitterness lacing my voice.

“When are you going to stand up—?” Shebegan, her question hanging in the air.

“No, Natalia, please don’t,” I interrupted, my voice laced with a plea. “I did that once, and it ended with my heart in pieces. That fire…” I choked back a sob, the memory a barbed wire twisting in my gut. “It’s gone.”

“Amaya…” Her voice was laced with concern, reaching across the miles to wrap around me in a virtual hug.

I clutched the phone tighter, “It’s gone,” I repeated.

Silence followed as I stared at myself in the mirror. A stranger stared back, her eyes dull with pain, her lips drawn in a tight line of resignation.

broke through the fog. “Amaya…” she began, her tone softer now, filled with understanding. “It’s not about the fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still there, glowing under the ashes. You just need to find the courage to fan them back

us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger. Instead, she sidestepped, her voice sharp but warm. “Has Ivan called you

picking at a chipped piece of nail polish. “He’s probably still knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo

silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out

and paint the town red? Forget Daniel’s

protest forming on my lips. “It’s

go there, Maya Stone,” she cut me off, her voice firm despite the playful glint in her eyes I knew would be dancing in her eyes, “You are a grown woman, not a porcelain doll to be shelved at his will. I know it’s easier to just comply, to shrink into the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that’s not you. I miss the girl who could stare down a rogue wolf and laugh in his face. I miss the firebrand who started a rebellion in college

a punch to the gut, jolting

are we going?” I whispered, wiping the tears that threatened

breeze, clearing the fog of despair. “There’s this new club that just opened,” she chirped, her excitement infectious. “Big Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it they have

Nathan and

for some girl time anyway, and you need a night to forget the bomb, the broken vows, the piece of shit that broke your heart. Plus, I have this new outfit that practically screams ‘watch me dance,’ and

I’ll handle everything. I’ll text you the address, you wear something that sets your inner warrior goddess on fire, and meet me by the

the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of doing that, of stripping away the self-doubt

agreed, the word slipping out on a breath of newfound

she promised, her voice already halfway

Lots and lots

mischievous laughter echoing down the hallway. “Tonight, my

I hung up the phone, a spark flickered to life in my eyes, chasing away the shadows of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the face

through the rusty back gate, the cool night air a welcome slap against my burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and excitement. There she was, Natalia, silhouetted against the streetlamp, arms crossed and

voice a familiar melody in the symphony

I breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket

my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another

denied, though the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just needed to…

soft and understanding. “I get it,” she said, “It’s been a

to my bruised spirit. I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the tension seep out of my shoulders.

a mischievous glint in her