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 there, glowing under the ashes. You just need

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

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

words simmering on Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she

and debris of today and paint the town red? Forget Daniel’s mini-wedding plans, forget dinner with the pack higher-ups. Tonight, we’re breaking

protest forming on my lips.

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 because a professor misquoted Nietzsche. I miss the you that wouldn’t back down from anything, the you that punched Nathan in the nose and demanded he told me he loved me

the gut, jolting me out

going?” I whispered, wiping the tears that threatened

“There’s this new club that just opened,” she chirped, her excitement infectious. “Big Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it they have a dance floor that hypnotizes and

Nathan and Ivy?” I

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

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 only fireworks will be

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

I agreed, the word slipping out on a

she promised, her voice already halfway out the

sure there’s dancing. Lots and lots of

echoing down the hallway. “Tonight, my friend, we dance like there’s

chasing away the shadows of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in

burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a

voice a familiar melody in

breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter against the wind. “Just… needed a

excuse. “The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she asked, her tone laced with knowing

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

said, “It’s been a hell of a day. But

I let out a shaky laugh, feeling

in