Bonds

Chapter 79

-Alex’s POV-

The slam of the car door echoed in the tense silence, a punctuation mark to the infuriating exchange that had just transpired. Amaya and Ivan were gone, their taillights disappearing into the night like a fading dream. My fists clenched, claws digging into my palms hard enough to draw blood. The bloodlust that had been simmering beneath the surface since the news of the bombing boiled over, a primal rage that

threatened to consume me whole.

“That was intense,” Miranda drawled, her voice dripping with her usual brand of morbid amusement as she followed me back into the house.

Lignored her. Every muscle in my body felt coiled tight, ready to spring. “So,” She continued, her voice laced with a sly curiosity, “care to share what that little reunion was all about? Planning a war council perhaps?”

My jaw clenched tighter. “Leave me alone, Miranda.”

Her smile faltered for a brief moment, a flicker of genuine worry replacing the usual mischief in her eyes. But it was fleeting. She recovered quickly, her lips curling into a smirk. “Oh come on, Alex. Don’t be so grumpy. As your fiancée, I practically have a need to know these things, you know, pick a side and all that. After all, you were getting awfully chummy with Ivan there for a second. You know with you helping his

company.”

I scoffed. Fiancée. The only thing that wore was a title. I would keep her long enough to f*ck her senseless because that was the only thing we could agree on but I’d never marry her. We would be companions perhaps forever in our shared loneliness and hate.

Pushing past the pang of anger, I focused on the present. “This has nothing to do with you, Miranda. Stay out of it.”

“Oh, but it does,” she countered, her voice losing its playful edge. “You’re about to declare war on my brother’s pack, and for all I know this might be a way for you to take him out leaving dear Amaya-”

holding in check finally erupted. “Shut your mouth!” I roared, my voice laced with a dangerous edge. “This isn’t about Amaya or Ivan. This is about what that old man did

at my outburst,

her gaze meeting mine defiantly. “How do you plan to strike back, then? With a bunch of angry speeches and brooding stares? Because last I checked, a

racing, formulating a plan. The bomb had been a calculated move, a brutal display of dominance meant to intimidate, to cripple. But it had backfired. It had only served to ignite a firestorm within me, a burning desire to make Daniel Stone pay

movements, his whereabouts. Every detail, every chink in his armor, would be exploited. Vargas would be useful here. Despite his annoying self–importance, he possessed a cunning mind and a network of informants that could prove

a bloody clash of fangs and claws. No, that was a game expected, a game he was likely

a plan,” I finally growled,

Stone

an eyebrow, a hint of skepticismy flickering in her eyes. “Oh really? And what exactly is this brilliant plan of

10:27 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 79

days since the bombing and all you have done is shift,

spine, even I could tell. “Let’s just say Daniel Stone will be receiving a little… surprise. A taste

of the devastation I would unleash on Stone’s territory, the fear it would instill in his

said, her voice softer now, laced with a hint of concern. “There will

me off guard for a moment, like she actually cared about what would happen. I knew she was right. War was a brutal game with no winners, only survivors. But the thought of backing down, of letting Stone get away

I acknowledged, my voice low and gravelly. “But if I don’t act, there will be more. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but Stone won’t stop until

me for a long moment, her eyes searching mine and I almost backed away from the intensity of her gaze. She looked normal, not like the manipulator I knew she was.

it’s going to be against my brother who has been nothing but an irritant,” A look crossed her face then she continued, “If you need

am still

corner of my lips. For the first time, it felt like we were capable of