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-”

I’d been 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

my

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

brutal display of dominance meant to intimidate, to cripple. But it had backfired. It had only served to ignite a firestorm within

detail, every chink in his armor, would be exploited. Vargas would be useful here. Despite his

It wouldn’t be a frontal assault, a bloody clash of fangs and claws. No, that was a game expected, a game he was likely prepared for. My attack would be swift, surgical,

growled, the words laced

Stone

eyes. “Oh really? And

10:27 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 79

three days since the bombing and all you

even I could tell. “Let’s just say Daniel Stone will be receiving a little… surprise. A taste of his own medicine, if you

moment of execution. But the image of the devastation I would unleash on Stone’s territory, the fear it would instill in his pack,

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

the thought of backing down, of letting Stone get away with his attack, was unthinkable. It wasn’t just about revenge,

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

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. She looked like she was

know that even though it’s going to be against my

surprise must have shown on my face because she barked out a laugh, a humorless sound that lacked its usual falseness. “Don’t worry. I am still going to irritate you with my games. I’m still going to throw shade at your ex love. Just… try not to get yourself killed,

of my lips. For the first time, it