Bonds

Chapter 81

-Maya’s POV-

A strong grip clamped onto my arm from behind, yanking me back just as I lunged forward. It was van. Dread washed over me for a moment, but then I saw him. My father. Emerging from the back of an ambulance, his face etched with pain and anger, burns marring his skin.

Alive

I blinked, confused. The dead body on the stretcher, covered in a white sheet, sent a jolt through me. My wolf senses had failed me

completely.

Shame burned in my throat, acrid and hot. I had assumed wrong. Whoever was on the stretcher must have been someone else. I immediately wanted to run towards him because I never learn. He’d told me point–blank he didn’t love me, yet here I was, ready to run to him again.

Ivan’s grip tightened on my arm and I turned to face the stern expression on his face. “Don’t. You know how this ends. It’s been a long night, let’s just get you home.”

I turned back to see my father’s scowl deepening deep in conversation with someone nearby.

Ivan sighed, a sound laced with frustration. “Come on.”

His grip firm as he began to lead me away. We walked in a tense silence, the image of my father, alive but uncaring, heavy on my mind. We were almost at the car when a voice cut through the commotion.

“Ivan!”

We both turned to see a man approaching, his face etched with concern. He spoke quickly, his words tumbling over each other. “We need to talk strategy. This attack on Daniel Stone, you could be next…”

Ivan’s jaw clenched tight. He let out a frustrated huff. “Look, I appreciate you coming by, but this isn’t the time. We’ve had a rough night.”

He cast me a sidelong glance, his expression unreadable. “Besides,” he continued, his voice hardening, “this whole mess wouldn’t have happened if someone hadn’t gone and bombed Alex’s meeting.”

was turned to him but his voice cut in, his voice though rough, held a chilling edge. “Alex deserves everything he got. He

you dare try to turn this on Alex! Your reckless actions are what put Maya and everyone else in danger. 1 formed this

forgetting the whole wedding thing already? The bomb? Then he goes after my company,

His

there too. A coldness that made me shiver, Ivan’s jaw clenched so

contained rage. “You could have done

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Chapter 81

the whole damn city’s

doesn’t care about hurt feelings, Ivan. Alex lit the fire, now someone’s gotta put it

a way out of this, Daniel. We can find a way to settle things that

a dangerous edge. “Just sit back and let him walk all over us? Let him take everything

for a brief moment, but there was no warmth in his eyes. Just a

us into this. These are our

too, aren’t they?” My father countered, his voice dripping with a smugness that made me

stretcher, its form covered by a white sheet. A cold dread filled my gut as I realized what he

father said with a shrug. “There are casualties. You gonna

some game, some movie where the hero could just walk away. Lives were being lost, families were being torn apart, and all because

take Amaya home. We’ll talk about this later. But one thing’s for sure this ends now. No more attacks, no more bloodshed. We

alliance is over.”

your pride or your need for revenge. This is about protecting our people. And if

way.”

me? Alex started this fight, and I’ll be damned if I let him finish it. We built this alliance on the promise of

finding a way to win without sacrificing innocent lives. You just handed Alex a weapon, a reason to escalate

play fair, and neither will 1. This city might be our home, but it’s also a battlefield now,

them was thick enough to choke on. My heart hammered against my ribs.l wanted to scream, to beg them

slightly. “The council, negotiations, anything. We can’t just keep throwing fire

You can’t re

reason with a snake.You