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.

fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re still there, glowing under the ashes. You just need to find the courage

the air between us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me

probably still knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo of

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

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

the protest forming on my lips. “It’s past ten. I

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 because a professor misquoted Nietzsche. I miss the you that

punch to the gut, jolting me out of my

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

called, and rumor has it they have a dance floor that hypnotizes and cocktails

Nathan and Ivy?” I

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

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 the ones

under the rubble of the day. The Natalia Rant,

I agreed, the word slipping out on a breath of newfound

she promised, her voice already

there’s dancing. Lots and lots of

laughter echoing down the hallway. “Tonight, my friend, we dance like there’s no

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 and defied

hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in

you long enough, Rapunzel,” she teased, her voice

I breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter

flimsy excuse. “The alpha throwing another tantrum?” she

lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “Just

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

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

a mischievous glint in