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.

darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still

air between us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well

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 of the wedding since

Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval.

the town red? Forget Daniel’s mini-wedding plans, forget dinner with the pack

I started, the protest forming on my lips. “It’s

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

punch to the gut, jolting me

whispered, wiping the tears

just opened,” she chirped, her excitement infectious. “Big Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it

what about Nathan and

broken vows, the piece of shit that broke your heart.

could answer, she was already planning the escape. “Don’t worry about details, 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 back gate in ten minutes. We’re painting the town ruby red, Maya Stone, and for once, the

had been buried under the rubble of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of

out on a breath of newfound defiance. “Just one

her voice already halfway

dancing. Lots

down the hallway. “Tonight, my friend, we dance like

girl who punched Nathan in the face

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

long enough, Rapunzel,” she teased, her voice a familiar melody in the symphony

of my leather

through my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she asked, her tone

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

been a hell of a day. But tonight, we forget all that. Tonight,

a shaky laugh,

she declared, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Now, about that