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.

the fire, darling. It’s about the

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

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

tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out my father but was

what? Why don’t we ditch the dust and debris of today and paint the town red? Forget Daniel’s mini-wedding plans, forget dinner

forming on my lips. “It’s past

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

the

going?” I whispered, wiping the tears that threatened to spill

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 a dance floor that hypnotizes and cocktails that

what about Nathan and Ivy?”

dreamland and they won’t be up till tomorrow,”She replied, “I’ve been itching 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 you wouldn’t want to deny me the audience, would

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

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

I agreed, the word slipping out on a

her voice

sure there’s dancing. Lots

echoing down the

in my eyes, chasing away the shadows 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, she

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,

you long enough, Rapunzel,” she teased, her voice a familiar melody

collar of my leather jacket tighter against

seemed to pierce through my flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she asked,

tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just needed to…

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

spirit. I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the tension seep out of my shoulders. “Ready when you

glint in her eyes. “Now, about