Bonds

-Alex's Po POV-

The blaring headline on my phone screen mocked me. Billionaire Tycoon Alex Thorne Announces Wedding Date to Miranda McCall Reality was a bitter pill I was forced to swallow every damn day. Two months. That's all the time I had before I was shackled to Miranda for what felt like an eternity.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

We'd made a deal. A twisted, soul-sucking deal. The truth for a public wedding announcement. Truth, a word that left a metallic tang in my mouth. The truth about her parents' death, the truth about her messed-up childhood, the truth about why she was the way she was. A broken doll, forever haunted by a past she couldn't escape.

Her parents' deaths hadn't been an accident. My father, the monster who haunted my every waking moment, was responsible. A revelation that should have ignited a firestorm of rage within me, but all I felt was a hollow echo. Maybe because deep down, a part of me already knew. My father leaving a trail of destruction wherever he went wasn't exactly a secret.

But Miranda, she'd witnessed it all. The blood, the mangled metal, the terror in her parents' eyes - a nightmare she could never wake up from. And Ivan? The perfect older brother, the shining star, the embodiment of everything good, according to Miranda. He'd had their past scrubbed clean, a fresh start for his 'damaged' little sister. Damaged. The word echoed in my head, a cruel reflection of my own fractured reality and as much as I hated to admit it, there was nothing I could find on him. He was truly just a knight in shining armor.

So here I was, staring at the wedding announcement. Pushing the phone away, I tried to focus on work. Paperwork blurred before my eyes, the scent of freshly brewed coffee a dull reminder of a life that once held meaning. The war with Daniel simmered in the background. Lives lost, territories claimed, the relentless pursuit of dominance - a game I was supposed to care about. But it all felt so hollow, so pointless but would I stop? No. My wolf needed his pound of flesh and this was the only way to give it to him, A knock on the door shattered the silence. "Mr Thorne, there is someone here to see you," Ruth's voice, laced with a hint of trepidation, filtered through..

"I told you I wasn't seeing anyone," I growled, the words rough on my throat.

The door creaked open a fraction, revealing a sliver of Adrian's face. "I think you can make an exception for an old friend," he said, a smirk twisting his lips.

Ruth's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Thorne. I asked him to wait outside."

"Just go," I muttered, waving her off. The last person I needed to see right now was Adrian, a walking reminder of betrayal and shattered trust.

Ruth shot me an apologetic look before scurrying out, leaving me alone with the ghost of our past. Ignoring him, I buried myself back in the paperwork, a futile attempt to silence the storm brewing inside..

"Aren't you going to offer me a seat?" Adrian's voice cut through the tense silence.

Silence. My weapon of choice. Maybe if I ignored him long enough, he'd just disappear.

He let out a frustrated sigh, followed by the unmistakable scrape of a chair against the floor. He knew me well, knew exactly how to get under my skin. But this time, his taunts wouldn't work.

"Heard you're getting married, his voice laced with something that sounded suspiciously like... mockery?

10:31 Sat, 22 Jun ko Chapter 94

"Married again." I corrected, my voice devoid of emotion.

Amusement danced in his eyes at my tone.

"So, you came all the way here to congratulate me?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or are you just that jobless?"

A flicker of anger sparked in his eyes, a fleeting emotion quickly masked by a chilling coldness. "You haven't changed a bit, Alex," he spat, his voice low and dangerous. "Still the same cold, heartless bastard you've always been and you aren't even a little bit remorseful for what you did?"

My jaw clenched. Cold? Heartless? Coming from the man who betrayed our friendship, who chose to sleep with the woman I loved, his words. felt like a punch to the gut. But I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Let him think whatever he wanted.

"And what exactly did I do to you?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

He threw his head back and laughed, a hollow, "You know exactly what you did," he spat. "You know what I find rather amusing? You spent years running from him, but you never really escaped, did you? You turned into the very monster you swore you'd never be."

His words stung, more than I wanted to admit.

"So you came here to play therapist?" I asked, my voice laced with a bitter edge-"Analyze my daddy issues?"

He shook his head, a flicker of something akin to pity crossing his features before he schooled his expression back into a mask of indifference. "No, Alex I came here because I have news about Amaya. Something you might be interested in."

The world stopped. Amaya's name, hanging heavy in the air, ripped through the carefully constructed walls I'd built around my emotions.

"Don't you dare speak her name,” I growled, a low rumble emanating from my chest. Every muscle in my body tensed, my wolf straining at the leash.

A slow, sadistic smile spread across his face. "Oh, I think I will," he smiled even bigger, his voice dripping with malice. "Especially since it concerns the little fact that she's now claimed by Ivan."

My blood ran cold.

Claimed?

She had let herself be claimed by him? They were married but I didn't think. She wouldn't. My mark, the spot where she had cemented our bond, a bond that I broke throbbed suddenly. Adrian had to be lying

"You're lying," I spat, my voice a dangerous growl. "There's no way Amaya would ever..."

But the glint of twisted amusement in his eyes sent a tremor of doubt through me. He knew something. Something I didn't. And the thought of Amaya being marked filled me with a horrifying dread.

I

"You think I'm lying?" Adrian taunted, his voice laced with a cruel edge. "Well I guess you will find for yourself eventually. Just thought i should do you a solid, you know give you a heads up for old times sake.

The suggestion hung heavy in the air, a challenge laced with venom.

"Get out," I snarled, the words laced with a dangerous edge. "Before I beat t all."

the living crap out of you and end your miserable life once and for

10:31 Sat, 22 Jun ∞

A slow smile spread across his face, a smile devoid of warmth. He had achieved what he came to do, "No need to get violent. I was just about to leave."

He stood up, his movements slow and deliberate, like a predator stalking away from its prey. I watched him go, my head already spinning. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, and a wave of nausea washed over me suddenly. My phone buzzed in my hand, yanking me back to reality. It was Vargas.

"Damn it, Alex," he growled, his voice strained with frustration coming through the speaker. "We're losing wolves faster than we can blink. This isn't looking good."

His words were a jumble of noise in my head. I tried to focus, to respond, but my body was betraying me. My vision blurred, and the phone felt like a lead weight in my hand. I stumbled to my feet, the phone clattering to the chrome floor as Vargas continued to rant on the other end.

"Something's wrong," I mumbled, more to myself than to him. My breath hitched in my throat, and a cold sweat broke out across my skin.

Panic clawed at me, a feeling that was unusual but I couldn't shake.

Ignoring Vargas completely now, I pushed myself towards the bathroom, the world a swirling mass of colors.

The cool tile floor of the bathroom felt like a welcome relief as I stumbled through the door. I ripped off my suit it jacket, the fabric suddenly suffocating. My skin felt like it was on fire, prickling with a thousand needles. With a primal instinct, I tore at my shirt with my bare hands, desperate to stop the burning sensation.

My claws ripped through the fabric, leaving ragged edges in their wake.

Through the haze of panic, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. My breath hitched in my throat. The spot on my neck, where Amaya had marked me, was no longer the same.

The burning intensified, a searing pain that ripped through me. I doubled over, gasping for breath, clawing at the burning flesh. Then, just as abruptly as it started, the pain stopped.

But the moment of relief was short-lived. As my ragged breaths subsided, I looked back at the mark in the mirror with a growing sense of dread.

It was gone, Not faded, not scarred - it was simply... absent.

The mark that signified our bond, broken as it may have been, had just vanished without a trace like it was never even there.