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.

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

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

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

her silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss

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

protest forming on my lips.

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

the gut, jolting me out

whispered, wiping the tears that

and rumor

about Nathan

vows, the piece of shit that

could answer, she was already 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

the day. The Natalia Rant, as

out on a breath of newfound

she promised, her voice already halfway out

dancing. Lots and lots of

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

punched Nathan in the face and defied her father wasn’t dead, she was simply hibernating. And tonight, Natalia was right, she was coming out

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

teased, her voice a familiar melody in the symphony of the

pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter against the wind. “Just…

“The alpha throwing

bitter on my tongue.

said, “It’s been

were a balm to my bruised spirit. I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the

a mischievous glint in