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.

now, filled with understanding. “It’s not about the fire, darling. It’s about the embers. They’re

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

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

the unspoken words simmering on Natalia’s tongue, her silence crackling with

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

the protest forming on my lips. “It’s past ten. I don’t think

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 wouldn’t back down

the gut, jolting me

wiping the tears

Shot, it’s called, and rumor has it

what about Nathan and Ivy?” I

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.

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

The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of

word slipping out on a breath of newfound defiance. “Just one

voice

sure there’s dancing. Lots and

echoing down the hallway.

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

slap against my burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild

her voice a familiar melody in

leather jacket tighter against the

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

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

said, “It’s been a hell

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

in her eyes. “Now, about