Bonds

Chapter 123

Alex’sPOV

Regret gnawed at me, a bitter aftertaste lingering in my mouth as Adrian’s words echoed in my head. I should have paid more attention, should have heeded the not so veiled threat hanging heavy in his final words. Instead, I’d brushed it off, convinced that whatever he had planned, I could handle it.

Money, influence, power – I had it all in excess. Surely, I could weather whatever storm he intended to unleash. But for the first time, the weight of my arrogance pressed down on me, a suffocating realization of my own flaw.

The first blow came swift and unexpected. News of werewolves existence was leaked to the world. The truth became public spectacle, splashed across headlines and dissected on every news channel. Panic rippled through the human population, fear morphing into a primal hatred. Bounties were placed on the heads of any werewolf, turning former neighbors into hunters, friends into potential betrayers. We, the creatures of myth and legend, were suddenly the monsters in their stories.

The world descended into chaos. Werewolves, forced out of the shadows, scrambled to protect themselves. Violence erupted, escalating what was once a silent war into an all–out conflict. My focus narrowed, my priorities shifting. The pack, my responsibility, became my sole concern. Keeping them safe, ensuring their survival now my paramount objective. And her, Amaya, she remained a constant worry in the

back of my mind.

For a week, I managed a risky dance. The initial frenzy hadn’t reached my city yet, offering a temporary reprieve. From the safety of my heavily guarded mansion, I worked tirelessly at damage control.

. Businesses were

network of loyal followers who helped me navigate the cha

7reatened, investments sabotaged. But I had resources, a

was a general in a silent war, fighting an unseen enemy.

Somehow with undeniable evidence, my name the restaurants I owned, everything I’d built over the years,

Then, the walls crumbled. The attack was swift, brutal, and undeniably targeted right made headlines revealing to the public that I was one of them. My companie began to go up in flames.

The message was clear: I was no longer untouchable.

a

I couldn’t afford. Anger, a simmering inferno, fueled my every move. But beneath it all, cold, calculating logic took hold. This wasn’t random,

Adrian.

house, miles away from everything, I was strategizing. This whole situation was a tangled mess,

phone.

crackled through the receiver. He let out a long, annoyed sigh before drawling, “Look,

willing him to feel the intensity of my stare. “This isn’t the time for jokes,

and I aren’t

low rumble

not the end of

humor isn’t appreciated right now,” I spat.

Chapter 123

bad, Alex. Really bad. Your headquarters in the city took another hit. I

assigned two of my most trusted guards, both human and werewolf, to

attack went down,” he explained. “Her best friend’s husband – I don’t

a hand through

for now, at least from what

knotting

tighter in my gut.

walking away in a

for

pay for

on stopping the attacks on my

public enemy number one,

blood you used the monster in you to kill. I know whatever I say won’t stop you from going

went dead, leaving me staring at the phone in my hand. Public replaced by a suffocating sense

once familiar comfort of power was

Amaya. She was alone, vulnerable, and the knot of worry tightening in

another second.

ignoring the protests of the

stinging my nostrils. Debris littered the streets, twisted metal skeletons of cars the remnants of recent attacks. Looters roamed freely, their faces twisted in a mix of fear