Bonds

Chapter 94

-Alex’s Po

POV-

The blaring headline on my phone screen mocked me. Billionaire Tycoon Alex Thorne Announces Wedding Date to Miranda McCall Reality was a bitter pill I was forced to swallow every damn day. Two months. That’s all the time I had before I was shackled to Miranda for what felt like an eternity.

We’d made a deal. A twisted, soul–sucking deal. The truth for a public wedding announcement. Truth, a word that left a metallic tang in my mouth. The truth about her parents‘ death, the truth about her messed–up childhood, the truth about why she was the way she was. A broken doll, forever haunted by a past she couldn’t escape.

Her parents‘ deaths hadn’t been an accident. My father, the monster who haunted my every waking moment, was responsible. A revelation that should have ignited a firestorm of rage within me, but all I felt was a hollow echo. Maybe because deep down, a part of me already knew. My father leaving a trail of destruction wherever he went wasn’t exactly a secret.

But Miranda, she’d witnessed it all. The blood, the mangled metal, the terror in her parents‘ eyes – a nightmare she could never wake up from. And Ivan? The perfect older brother, the shining star, the embodiment of everything good, according to Miranda. He’d had their past scrubbed clean, a fresh start for his ‘damaged‘ little sister. Damaged. The word echoed in my head, a cruel reflection of my own fractured reality and as much as I hated to admit it, there was nothing I could find on him. He was truly just a knight in shining armor.

So here I was, staring at the wedding announcement. Pushing the phone away, I tried to focus on work. Paperwork blurred before my eyes, the scent of freshly brewed coffee a dull reminder of a life that once held meaning. The war with Daniel simmered in the background. Lives lost, territories claimed, the relentless pursuit of dominance – a game I was supposed to care about. But it all felt so hollow, so pointless but would I stop? No. My wolf needed his pound of flesh and this was the only way to give it to him,

A knock on the door shattered the silence. “Mr Thorne, there is someone here to see you,” Ruth’s voice, laced with a hint of trepidation, filtered through..

“I told you I wasn’t seeing anyone,” I growled, the words rough on my throat.

The door creaked open a fraction, revealing a sliver of Adrian’s face. “I think you can make an exception for an old friend,” he said, a smirk twisting his lips.

Ruth’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Thorne. I asked him to wait outside.”

“Just go,” I muttered, waving her off. The last person I needed to see right now was Adrian, a walking reminder of betrayal and shattered

trust.

Ruth shot me an apologetic look before scurrying out, leaving me alone with the ghost of our past. Ignoring him, I buried myself back in the paperwork, a futile attempt to silence the storm brewing inside..

“Aren’t you going to offer me a seat?” Adrian’s voice cut through the tense silence.

I ignored him

He knew me well, knew exactly how to get under my skin. But this time,

voice laced with

22 Jun

Chapter 94

I corrected, my

his eyes at

I asked, my

a fleeting emotion quickly masked by a chilling coldness. “You haven’t changed a bit, Alex,” he spat, his voice low and dangerous. “Still the same cold, heartless bastard you’ve always been and you aren’t even a little bit

did?”

chose to sleep with the woman I loved, his words. felt like a punch to

did I do to you?” I asked,

and laughed, a hollow, “You know exactly what you did,” he spat. “You know what I find rather amusing? You spent years running from him, but you never really escaped, did you? You turned into

than

came here to play therapist?” I asked, my voice laced with

something akin to pity crossing his features before he schooled his expression back into a mask of indifference. “No, Alex I came here because I

hanging heavy in the air, ripped through the carefully constructed walls I’d built around my

dare speak her name,” I growled, a low rumble emanating from my chest. Every muscle in my body tensed, my wolf

the leash.

think I will,” he smiled even bigger, his voice dripping with malice. “Especially since it concerns

My blood ran cold.

Claimed?

him? They were married but I didn’t think. She wouldn’t. My mark, the spot where she had cemented our bond, a bond that

a dangerous growl. “There’s no way

a tremor of doubt through me. He knew something. Something I didn’t. And the thought of Amaya being

I

for yourself eventually. Just thought i should do you a solid, you know give you a heads

hung heavy in the

the words laced with

all.”