Bonds

-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.

I rummaged through the cabinets, finally pulling 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 the coffee table.

Flipping through the worn pages, a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I kept flipping through the worn pages, a bittersweet smile playing 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 of memories it triggered. Memories I couldn't escape, no matter how hard I tried.

They flooded back with the vividness of a recent event. The insistent drumming of the professor's voice faded into the background, replaced by Natalia's hushed whisper beside me.

"Amaya, everything is going to be fine," she murmured, her voice a soothing balm against the storm of emotions brewing within me. "We'll figure things out after class. Maybe we could go see him and maybe..."

I cut her off abruptly, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. "We are not going anywhere near him. My father would have my head on a stake if he found out."

Natalia's eyes narrowed, her usual carefree demeanor replaced by a flash of fierce protectiveness. "For the last time," she hissed, "screw Daniel Stone. He's nothing but a big bully. You found your mate, Amaya. Do you know how many wolves spend their entire lives wishing for that?"

*My mate is Alex freaking Thorne," I whispered back, the weight of the name pressing down on me. "My family's pack's biggest rival. We can never be together."

"You are fated," She countered, her voice firm. "No matter what, you can't escape fate. There will be obstacles, but it will work out in the end. It will only work out, though, if you put in some effort to fight for it. I know if I found my mate, it wouldn't matter if it was going to be a Romeo and Juliet reenactment, I would fight tooth and nail to be with him."

I didn't respond, my gaze drifting away from her and towards the professor, his words turning 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 stall. My wolf had been a whirlwind of emotions, a primal urge pushing me towards him. But even then, a part of me knew it was a path leading straight to disaster.

Out of everyone in the world, I 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 chapter. The weight of the situation pressed down on me, suffocating and heavy.

The bell finally pierced the fog in my head, its shrill ring snapping me back to reality. Class was over. Natalia nudged me, her expression a mix of concern and determination.

"Are you coming?" she asked softly.

I shook my head, the words catching in my throat. "I need some time alone."

She studied me for a moment, her gaze 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 the chaos brewing within me.

Tears pricked at my eyes. Was I really going to let fear dictate my life! Was I going to let this fated bond turn into a burden? The struggle raged on within me, a war between logic and desire. The memory of Alex's touch, the way my wolf responded to him, was a co. my father's fury, the potential for bloodshed, was a looming threat.

But the image of I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to find a solution. 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 knew. But how? In the deafening silence of the classroom, the answer remained frustratingly elusive.

Just then, a click startled me, breaking the tense silence. I snapped my eyes open to see Natalia standing next to me again, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. Her phone was pointed directly at me.

"What was that for?" I yelled, a mixture of surprise and irritation flooding through me.

Natalia, unfazed by my outburst, simply turned the phone screen towards me. There, frozen in time, was my face a picture of misery with tear tracks staining my cheeks. Next to it, on the other half of the split-screen photo, was Natalia - her face plastered with a goofy, mischievous grin.

"I just wanted to show you how dumb you look sitting down and sulking about a mate that you can't have she declared, her voice laced with playful amusement. "When you should be out there trying to fight to put your father in his place, right after you tell him that you are mating with Alex! Now, get your ass up and let's go."

There was no point in arguing. Natalia, once she set her mind to something, was an unstoppable force. With a sigh, I pushed myself up from the chair, the familiar ache in my back a dull reminder of how long I'd been slumped over.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

As we walked out of the classroom, she thrust the phone into my hand. The picture of our contrasting expressions stared back at me.m Something about it, the sheer absurdity of the situation captured in that moment, made me laugh. A genuine, full-bodied laugh that echoed through the empty hallway, chasing away the storm clouds of despair that had been brewing inside me.

Looking back, I realized that picture was more than just a funny memory. It was a symbol of Natalia's unwavering support, a reminder of the strength I found in her friendship. It was a snapshot of the day I decided to stop letting fear control my life.

Two weeks later, I had that picture printed. Gazing at it now, years later, a sad smile touched my lips. So much time had passed since then, yet Natalia remained a constant in my life, a rock I could always rely on.

And as for Alex? I didn't even need to go searching for him. When I stepped out of the classroom that day, he was already waiting, a mix of worry and determination etched on his face. It took just look, one glance into his eyes, to know that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life.

That was when the fight truly began. It wasn't easy, not by a long shot. But with Natalia by my side, and the unwavering belief in me and Alex's bond, we fought tooth and nail. We fought for our love, for our right to be together, and eventually, we won.

Yes, we won for a little while. For three years until everything fell apart.

thin m

I felt a tug on my mind like in the office again but it was strained, weak. Just before I walked out, he had looked at me like he wanted to fight that battle again and the most scary part as I stared down at the album in my lapas was that I wanted us to win.

Again.

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