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.

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

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

course, is already planning a redo of the wedding since I, apparently, need to finish my vows. A smaller one this time,

with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out my father but was holding

know 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 with the pack

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

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

the gut,

wiping

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

about Nathan and Ivy?”

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.

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 only

of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of doing that, of

on a breath of newfound defiance. “Just

voice

there’s dancing. Lots and lots of

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

fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the face and defied her

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 streetlamp,

she teased, her voice a familiar

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

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

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

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

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

a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Now,