Bonds

-Maya's POV-

The air crackled with a tense silence after my father's words. Blinking rapidly, I struggled to process the accusation hanging heavy between us. "That's what you want to talk about?" I finally managed.

My mother, sensing the impending storm, had already excused herself, leaving me alone with the man who seemed determined to make this reunion as uncomfortable as possible. His gaze narrowed, boring into me as if he was searching for some hidden motive.

"I asked you a question, Amaya," he repeated, his voice firm and laced with an undercurrent of anger. "One that requires an answer."

What was wrong with this man? Seriously. Frustration bubbled up within me, threatening to spill over into a full-blown explosion. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to push down the rising anger. "You were in jail," I stated, enunciating each word carefully. "The pack was in disarray. Petrov was aiming for the Alpha position, making threats, creating chaos. I had to do something."

"And what exactly did you do?" he countered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Declare yourself co-Alpha? Who gave you the right to do so?"

"Besides," I continued, ignoring his derision, "Ivan said you already signed off on the merger."

His eyes widened momentarily, a flicker of surprise betraying his carefully constructed mask of fury. Then, just as quickly, the surprise morphed into something far more dangerous - a cold, calculating anger. "I signed off on the merger," he began, his voice low and menacing, "with me as the leader. As the sole Alpha of the Crescent Pack. Who, he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a barely audible growl, "told you it was anything different?"

1 recoiled under his fierce gaze, a wave of incredulity washing over me. With everything that had happened, with the pack teetering on the brink of collapse, the thing that bothered him most was the fact that I had declared myself co- Alpha?Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Did he honestly despise me that much?

The anger I had fought so hard to suppress threatened to boil over. Taking another deep breath, I forced myself to remain calm. There was no point in getting into a shouting match with this man. "I apologize, Father," I managed to say, my voice tight with controlled emotion. "If that's how you feel about it, I will happily step down. No problem at all.

"Good. And don't even entertain the thought of attempting something like that again."

He waved his dismissive hand, the gesture a clear indication that our conversation was over. I stood there for a moment, my teeth grinding together in frustration. Did he ever even try to love me? The image of his dismissive hand flashed before my eyes, and the anger I had pushed down surged back with renewed intensity.

My voice, when I finally spoke, was laced with a steely edge. "Look," I said, staring him down, "I spent weeks trying to get you out of jail, facing Petrov's relentless attacks, holding this crumbling pack together. And the first thing you want to do is scold me about a title? Honestly," I continued, my voice rising a notch, "I wish you would have just stayed in jail and rot in there."

His head snapped up, his surprise morphing into a fury that mirrored my own. "What did you just say to me?" he roared, his voice booming through the study.

11:38 Fri, 21 Jun ti Chapter 50

My voice trembled with barely contained rage as I met his gaze head-on. "I got arrested because they thought I was involved in money laundering. Money laundering that you were being investigated for. You didn't even care to tell me if the accusations were true, not a single word! And the fact that I went to jail because of it... now I realize just how evil you can be!

"Evil?" he spat back, his nostrils flaring in anger. "You dare call me evil, child? After trying to take my position?"

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't gotten yourself thrown in jail and left the pack in shambles!" I retorted, my voice rising a notch with every word. "Petrov was circling like a vulture, waiting to snatch the Alpha position. The pack was on the verge of collapse, What was I supposed to do? Sit on my hands and watch everything crumble?"

A vein pulsed in his temple, and I could see the anger simmering beneath the surface. "And who," he thundered, his voice laced with a dangerous edge, "gave you the authority to make such decisions?"

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Apparently," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "no one! Because according to you, the only one fit to lead this pack is you. The one who doesn't even bother to consider his own daughter when facing accusations, the one who can't even be bothered with a three-second phone call to check on her after he gets out of jail! Or apologize for involving. I got thrown in jail because of you!"

"Jail?" he scoffed, his tone dismissive. "You call that a jail? You were barely there a week."

"A week that could have turned into a lifetime!" I shouted, my voice cracking with raw emotion. "While you sat comfortably in your cell, I faced Petrov's relentless attacks. And the first thing you do when you get out is throw a tantrum about a title?"

My voice broke, the anger giving way to a wave of despair. "How dare you?" I whispered, tears stinging my eyes. "How dare there and blame me when I was only trying to keep the pack in our family? To keep your legacy alive?"

you sit The silence in the room stretched on, heavy and suffocating. His face remained a mask of cold fury, devoid of any flicker of remorse or understanding. That was it. This wasn't anger anymore. This was a deep, soul-crushing pain that threatened to drown me whole.

"So yes, Father," I choked out, the words thick with tears, "I wish you would have rotted in jail."

Suddenly, with a swiftness that startled me, his hand shot out, wrapping itself around my throat in a vice-like grip. The air left my lungs in a whoosh, my vision blurring at the edges.

"I will reach you to show respect." He growled in my face tightening his grip. Panic surged through me, but before I could react, a feral snarl ripped through the room.

My vision swam in and out of focus as I saw Ivan appear in a blur of movement. With a force that seemed impossible, he slammed into my father, sending him crashing to the floor with a startled yelp, "Don't. You, Ever. Touch. Her. Again."

The pressure on my throat eased, and I gasped for air, my lungs burning. Ivan scooped me into his arms, his eyes softening, "I'm so sorry."

We passed by my mother, who stood frozen in the doorway, her face etched with a mixture of fear and something that could have been regret.

But the pain was too raw, too fresh to process anything else. We exited the house and walked towards Ivan's car, a numb silence enveloping us. As soon as the car door slammed shut behind me, the dam broke. Tears streamed down my face, hot and relentless, as the weight of the entire ordeal came crashing down on me.

11:38 Fri, 21 Jun Ei Chapter 50

I didn't sob, there were no dramatic wails. Just a steady stream of silent tears, a physical manifestation of the emotional agony tearing me apart. Ivan' didn't try to talk, didn't offer empty words of comfort. He simply put the car in gear and drove, his silence a strange but comforting presence in the midst of my storm.

Tears had finally dried up, leaving behind a dull ache in my throat and a raw emptiness in my chest. Exhausted from the storm of emotions, I leaned against the window, letting the blurring cityscape lull me into a trance-like state. Suddenly, Ivan's voice broke the silence, his tone cautious. "Has it always been like this? Did he... did he often put his hands on you?

The question jolted me back to reality. I shook my head slowly, the memory of his hand around mym t still sending a shiver down my throat still spine. "No," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "He's never... hurt me physically before. I don't know why he hates me so much, Ivan. He's just..."

"I'm so sorry, Amaya," he murmured, his voice sincere.

I offered a weak smile, the sadness clinging to me like a shroud. "It's not your fault," I whispered. "I guess my family puts the dy's in dysfunctional. Ever since I can remember, my father has looked at me with a mixture of... disappointment and anger. Like I was a mistake, something he wished hadn't happened."

"Like you were the wrong... replacement," Ivan added thoughtfully, more to himself than to me.

My head snapped up, the words jolting me awake from my daze. "What did you just say?" He sighed again, "There's something you should know, Amaya," he began, hesitating for a moment. "Something that might explain your father's... animosity towards you. It's not easy to say, but I think you deserve an explanation."

My heart pounded in my chest, a sense of anticipation warring with the lingering pain. "What is it?" Taking a deep breath, he met my gaze, "You have a brother, Amaya."