Bonds

Chapter 57

-Alex’s POV-

We locked eyes in the expanse of the hospital parking lot. The air crackled with unspoken hostility then a slow, infuriating smile stretched across his face, a taunt that sent a fresh wave of anger surging through me. My wolf snarled within, itching to rip into the man, Power radiated off him, but I knew mine ran deeper. It didn’t matter how strong he considered himself to be, I would always be stronger.

My fingers itched to wrap around his throat, to snuff out the smug amusement in his eyes. Images of burying his body in some forgotten corner of the city flashed through my mind, a dark solution quickly discarded. This wasn’t the time, not with the antiseptic scent of the hospital clinging to the air, a grim reminder of why I was here in the first place. Besides no matter what, as much as I wanted him dead, she would never forgive me if I was responsible for it.

I quickly

told myself that I didn’t care but that was a lie that had become a constant in my head for the past weeks.

With a deep breath, I forced my feet to move past him. Engaging with him was the last thing I wanted, but he wouldn’t let it go that easily.

“Respect for elders, huh?” he scoffed, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. “Seems your precious father neglected that lesson in his little horror school for raising monsters.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, the muscles in my jaw clenching, Anger, already simmering, threatened to boil over. One wrong word, one wrong

y actions. But a sliver of reason held me back. Amaya. He was her father, and for her sake, I had to move, and I wouldn’t be responsible for my swallow the bile rising in my throat.

He continued, a sly glint in his eyes. “I wish I could have seen the expression on your face when you found out I had been released. I bet that news came as a nasty surprise, didn’t it?” He took a menacing step closer, his voice dropping to a low growl. “You underestimated me, Alex. Prison was a mere inconvenience, a fly swatted away. My company will rise again, stronger than ever. Time heals all wounds, they say, except maybe your little obsession with my daughter.”

His words struck a raw nerve. My entire face hardened into a mask of icy indifference. He saw it, the carefully constructed facade, and a triumphant smirk bloomed on his face.

knew he’d gotten under my

to talk to as a child, is that it?” I drawled,

by a flicker of something

words considering the state of your pathetic life. Still pining after Amaya, are we? Stuck watching from the sidelines as she lives a happy life with a real man, a man I chose for

after everything it is all gone. You will never experience the warmth of her touch,

hand instinctively twitched towards my pocket, where my claws were already extending. I could shut him up right here. Right now,

would he go to twist the knife? How low could he sink to provoke a reaction? The challenge, perverse as it was, kept me rooted to the spot and

Chapter 57

“your attempts at emotional manipulation are as predictable as they are pathetic. Did you rehearse those lines in the mirror?

90%

cold fury. This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. He’d aimed for a fiery rage,

think I don’t see past your facade?” He was working himself into a frenzy, his face flushed with a mixture of

tempting to react, to let him see the fire burning beneath the surface. But I knew that’s what he wanted, a rise out of me. So instead, I offered

was instantaneous. His face contorted in fury, the vein on his temple pulsing like a live wire. He took a

his composure.

doesn’t matter,” he finally spat, his voice tight with contained rage. “You are nothing but a

drawled, keeping my voice flat. “Because from where I’m standing, you seem to be the one buzzing around,

is a game changer. With Ivan’s pack joining forces with mine, we’re unstoppable. The strongest, the most united. We

couldn’t be able powerful with Ivan begging me to help with his company falling apart. And the question still nagged. Why didn’t he go to Daniel? Why was Miranda pushing for it? Last time I checked, she hardly liked

voice dropping to a low growl. “And that’s just the beginning. We can make life very difficult for you and your pack. We can squeeze you out, inch by

rip into his smug self–importance. But I held him back with an iron grip. This

trying to appear nonchalant. “Sounds like a lot of hot air,

possible. “Don’t underestimate me! I’m not playing games here. This is about power,