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.

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

a single word that hung heavy in the air between us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger.

“He’s probably still knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already

Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out my father

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

my lips.

the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that’s not you. I

a punch to the gut, jolting me out

wiping the tears that

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

about Nathan

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

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 only fireworks will be

place I thought had been buried under the rubble of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately

a

voice

Lots and lots of

it done,” she declared, her mischievous laughter echoing down the hallway. “Tonight, my friend,

of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the face and defied her father wasn’t dead, she was simply hibernating. And tonight, Natalia was right,

hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird

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

breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter against the

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

though the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just

smile soft and understanding. “I get it,” she said, “It’s been a hell of a day. But

laugh, feeling

mischievous glint in her eyes.