Bonds

Chapter 118

-Maya’s POV-

The slam of the front door echoed through the empty house, a punctuation mark to the whirlwind of emotions I was feeling. The nerve of them

both

gut.

–

Alex waltzing in like he owned the place, and Ivan letting him. I fumed all the way down the sidewalk, my anger a hot coal burning in my

Reaching the house, I practically threw myself through the doorway, collapsing onto the couch with a sigh that could have rivaled a hurricane. My phone, nestled on the coffee table, buzzed once, the tiny notification light blinking accusingly. Figures. Just what I needed – Ivan checking in to see if I was okay. Another sigh escaped my lips, this one tinged with irritation.

They could all go to hell. This was going to be a me–day. A day of escape. Ivy and Nate were safely with Ms. Rodriguez’s for the afternoon at the park, leaving me with a glorious expanse of empty time. No work, no mind–numbing worry about the vanished mark, and definitely no Alex to disrupt my carefully constructed peace.

Today, I was taking back control. Today, I was going to be a woman with needs and desires that extended far beyond the tangled mess that was my relationship with werewolves and supernatural drama. It was a day for self–care, a day to recharge the emotional batteries that had been steadily draining ever since this whole madness started.

With a renewed sense of purpose, I pushed myself off the couch and padded towards the kitchen. Wine. That was what I needed. A nice, deep glass of something red and robust, something that would help me unwind and forget the world outside these walls for a while.

out a bottle that looked promising. After a brief struggle with the stubborn cork, I poured myself a generous glass, the deep crimson liquid swirling in the light. Sinking back onto the couch, I curled up with the wine and a photo album tucked away on

my lips as then as my fingers grazed a particular picture from my college days, a wave of emotions washed over me, strong enough to halt my nostalgic journey. It was a photo of Natalia and me, but it wasn’t the image itself that stopped me. It was the rush

flooded back with the vividness of a recent event. The insistent drumming of the professor’s voice

she murmured, her voice a soothing balm against the storm of emotions brewing within me. “We’ll figure things out

abruptly, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. “We are not going anywhere near him.

if he found

demeanor replaced by a flash of fierce protectiveness. “For the last time,” she hissed, “screw Daniel Stone. He’s nothing but

mate is Alex freaking Thorne,” I whispered back, the weight of the name pressing down

though, if you put in some effort to fight for it. I know if I found my mate,

into a meaningless drone. All I could think about was the jolt of electricity that coursed through me the moment Alex touched me in the bathroom

just had to be fated to the billionaire alpha who was my father’s biggest enemy. It was a story written for tragedy, doomed before its first

finally pierced the fog in my head, its shrill ring snapping me back to reality. Class was

coming?” she asked

my head, the words catching in my throat.

unwavering. Then, with a silent nod, she gathered her things and left the classroom. The hollow echo of the closing door was the final punctuation mark on the scene, leaving me alone with

Was I really going to let fear dictate my life! Was I going to let this fated bond turn into a burden? The

Alex’s touch, the way my wolf responded to him, was a co. my father’s fury, the potential for bloodshed,

But the image of

There had to be a way. There had to be a way for us to be with him, even if it meant defying everything I thought I

open to see Natalia standing next to me again, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. Her phone was pointed directly

a mixture of surprise and