Bonds

Chapter Six

-Maya's POV-

Natalia's voice, muffled through the phone, jolted me out of a daze. "You really think he did it?" Her words felt like sandpaper against my raw nerves.

I let out a sigh, "I don't know," the confession scraping my throat, "But think of it, Natalia. If I were to bomb a place, why would I leave evidence that it was me on the bomb?"

"Exactly!" Natalia's sharp tone crackled through the receiver. "My thoughts exactly. But still, he's the only one with a motive to stop the wedding. Maybe he realized what he lost."

I shook my head, the gesture echoing the hollowness inside me, "I looked into his eyes. The Alex that loved me... I didn't see that man anymore. There was anger, yes, but also a stranger, someone consumed by something I couldn't understand."

A beat of silence hung between us, thick with unspoken doubts. "So maybe it was his way of making good on that threat. Maybe this was his way of showing Everton that he means to really go to war with your father."

"And my father, of course, couldn't help but blame me," I muttered, bitterness lacing my voice.

"When are you going to stand up-?" Shebegan, her question hanging in the air.

"No, Natalia, please don't," I interrupted, my voice laced with a plea. "I did that once, and it ended with my heart in pieces. That fire..." I choked back a sob, the memory a barbed wire twisting in my gut. "It's gone."

"Amaya..." Her voice was laced with concern, reaching across the miles to wrap around me in a virtual hug.

I clutched the phone tighter, "It's gone," I repeated.

Silence followed as I stared at myself in the mirror. A stranger stared back, her eyes dull with pain, her lips drawn in a tight line of resignation.

Natalia's voice broke through the fog. "Amaya..." she began, her tone softer now, filled with understanding. "It's not about the fire, darling. It's about the embers. They're still there, glowing under the ashes. You just need to find the courage to fan them back into life."

"Maybe," was my only reply, a single word that hung heavy in the air between us. Natalia, bless her bluntness, knew me too well to let it linger. Instead, she sidestepped, her voice sharp but warm. "Has Ivan called you yet?"

"No," I admitted, picking at a chipped piece of nail polish. "He's probably still knee-deep in damage control after the explosion. Daniel, of course, is already planning a redo of the wedding since I, apparently, need to finish my vows. A smaller one this time, he says."

I could hear the unspoken words simmering on Natalia's tongue, her silence crackling with disapproval. I knew she wanted to cuss out my father but was holding back.

"You know what? Why don't we ditch the dust and debris of today and paint the town red? Forget Daniel's mini-wedding plans, forget dinner with the pack higher- ups. Tonight, we're breaking free."

"Natalia," I started, the protest forming on my lips. "It's past ten. I don't think my father-"

"Don't even go there, Maya Stone," she cut me off, her voice firm despite the playful glint in her eyes I knew would be dancing in her eyes, "You are a grown woman, not a porcelain doll to be shelved at his will. I know it's easier to just comply, to shrink into the shadow he casts, but damn it, Maya, that's not you. I miss the girl who could stare down a rogue wolf and laugh in his face. I miss the firebrand who started a rebellion in college because a professor misquoted Nietzsche. I miss the you that wouldn't back down from anything, the you that punched Nathan in the nose and demanded he told me he loved me like a man." Her words were a punch to the gut, jolting me out of my self-pity.

"Where are we going?" I whispered, wiping the tears that threatened to spill over.

Natalia's laughter was like a spring breeze, clearing the fog of despair. "There's this new club that just opened," she chirped, her excitement infectious. "Big Shot, it's called, and rumor has it they have a dance floor that hypnotizes and cocktails that sing opera. I've been dying to check it out, and tonight, my friend, tonight is the night."

"But what about Nathan and Ivy?" I interjected.

"Passed out in dreamland and they won't be up till tomorrow,"She replied, "I've been itching for some girl time anyway, and you need a night to forget the bomb, the broken vows, the piece of shit that broke your heart. Plus, I have this new outfit that practically screams 'watch me dance,' and you wouldn't want to deny me the audience, would you?"Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Before I could answer, she was already planning the escape. "Don't worry about details, I'll handle everything. I'll text you the address, you wear something that sets your inner warrior goddess on fire, and meet me by the back gate in ten minutes. We're painting the town ruby red, Maya Stone, and for once, the only fireworks will be the ones we spark ourselves."

I couldn't help but laugh, the sound bubbling up from a place I thought had been buried under the rubble of the day. The Natalia Rant, as she affectionately called it, had a way of doing that, of stripping away the self-doubt and reminding me of the fire that still flickered within.

"Alright," I agreed, the word slipping out on a breath of newfound defiance. "Just one favor, though."

"Anything," she promised, her voice already halfway out the door.

"Make sure there's dancing. Lots and lots of dancing."

"Consider it done," she declared, her mischievous laughter echoing down the hallway. "Tonight, my friend, we dance like there's no tomorrow."

As I hung up the phone, a spark flickered to life in my eyes, chasing away the shadows of fear and resignation. The girl who punched Nathan in the face and defied her father wasn't dead, she was simply hibernating. And tonight, Natalia was right, she was coming out to play.

I slipped through the rusty back gate, the cool night air a welcome slap against my burning cheeks. My heart hammered in my chest, a wild hummingbird trapped in a cage of nerves and excitement. There she was, Natalia, silhouetted against the streetlamp, arms crossed and lips pursed in impatience.

"Took you long enough, Rapunzel," she teased, her voice a familiar melody in the symphony of the city.

"Sorry," I breathed, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter against the wind. "Just... needed a minute."

Her eyes, sharp as diamonds, seemed to pierce through my flimsy excuse. "The alpha throwing another tantrum?" she asked, her tone laced with knowing humor.

"No," I denied, though the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. "Just needed to...

collect myself."

She stepped closer, her smile soft and understanding. "I get it," she said, "It's been a hell of a day. But tonight, we forget all that. Tonight, we're free." Her words were a balm to my bruised spirit. I let out a shaky laugh, feeling the tension seep out of my shoulders. "Ready when you are, General Natalia." "Excellent," she declared, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Now, about that outfit..."

She threw me a once-over, assessing me like a fashion critic.

"Hmm," she murmured, tapping her chin with mock contemplation. "Not bad, for a first draft. But you know what they say, Maya Stone, when you're going into battle, you wear your fiercest armor."

A playful smile curled my lips. "And what might this armor be, oh wise warrior?"

She winked, pulling a small velvet bag from her purse. “Just a little something to help you unleash your inner shield maiden."

My fingers trembled as I untied the drawstring, revealing a glistening dress, the color of a bruised sky after affiercestom. If clung to my curves like a second skin, whispering promises of confidence and freedom once I put it on.

She grinned, her eyes sparkling with approval. "See? Now that's more like it."

Her approving nod, and a sense of exhilaration bubbled up within me. I wasn't Maya Stone, the dutiful m daughter areluctant fiancée. I was Maya, the girl who could laugh in the face of danger, the girl who knew how to fight for what she wanted.

Tonight, we painted the town ruby red. The music pounded in our veins, the laughter spilled like champagne bubbles, and the dance floor became our battlefield. We spun and twirled, shadows in the strobe lights, two wolves unleashed from their cages and then it happened.

My wolf felt him first, stirring and howling. Every hair on body stood. I didn't want to turn around, but I couldn't stop myself.

Our eyes clashed across the room. His icy eyes staring through me.

My legs on their own accord wanted to go to him, somehow I managed to stop myself.

"Amaya! Look out!"

I heard Natalia's warning but it was too late.

I turned around just as a man raised his claws, striking me against my face. I fell to the ground, my entire world going black.