Bonds of the Alpha Billionaire (Maya and Alex)

-Alex's POV-

The concept of a Moon Goddess was a fairy tale to me, nothing more. Sure, the stories spun tales of her weaving destinies, forever binding two souls together. But fate, in my experience, was a cruel mistress. If such a being existed, she wouldn't have allowed what I'd endured under my father's iron fist. She wouldn't have snatched my mother away, leaving a gaping hole in my life. No, I didn't believe. Not until the moment the darkness claimed me.

The life drained out of me, replaced by a bone-chilling emptiness that threatened to suck me under. Then, nothing. Just pure, unadulterated blackness. The end, I figured. An eternity of nothingness stretching out before me like a never-ending blank canvas.

But then, light. Blinding, white-hot light that ripped through the suffocating darkness. I couldn't make out any clear shapes, but a flicker of familiarity washed over me, a feeling like recognition from a dream. Then came the falling, a seemingly endless descent that stretched time thin. Finally, a crushing pressure, a smothering sensation like I was drowning.

With a gasp, I ripped my eyes open. My hands instinctively flew to my chest, the place where the bullet had ripped through flesh and bone. But there was nothing. No pain, no gaping wound, just smooth, unmarked skin.

Healed.

Amaya. She was the first thing I registered, slumped in a corner of the room. Dried tear marks streamed down her dirt-streaked face, her eyebrows furrowed with worry even as she slept.

Then everything came flooding back. Memories, pictures flashing in my head one after another. I remembered calling out to her wolf, trying to connect with her, any way I could. It felt weak, shaky, the connection barely there. Strangely, I didn't need the wolves from my pack to find her but they had been a welcome distraction from the humans attention on me while I raced forward. And from the looks of it, they were finally getting some payback after weeks of being hunted down.

The weak connection with her wolf, that faint pull, led me somewhere an abandoned tunnel on the edge of the city. It took me right back to the spot where I shielded Amaya with my body, where I took the bullet for her.

I looked down at her again, her face peaceful as she slept. And in that moment, I knew without a doubt, that I would do it all again in a heartbeat. My feet found me moving, drawn out of the room and back into the main living area. A loud crash shattered the uneasy silence, and I whipped around to see Natalia frozen in place, her face etched with shock. A shattered coffee mug lay scattered at her feet.

"You are alive. How... are... you are alive?" Her voice was barely a whisper, laced with disbelief and a tremor of something akin to fear.

I opened my mouth to reply, my mind still grappling with the events that had unfolded, when Christian's voice cut through the tension. "Even death didn't want you," he said, a hint of amusement coloring his tone. But when I turned to face him, his eyes held a genuine warmth, a flicker of relief that warmed a cold corner of my heart.

Riley came up beside him, her entrance unnoticed in the wake of Natalia's outburst. Her steps faltered as she saw me, disbelief widening her eyes until they were almost comically large. She opened her mouth, no doubt to question the impossible sight before her, but the sound was cut short by the sharp click of the front door opening and then slamming shut.

Before I could even turn my head, I felt her presence behind me, a shift in the air pressure. Her gaze locked onto mine, her entire body trembling shock, "Alex? How are you? I saw you die. You are alive?" Those were the most words she'd spoken to me in a week. Amaya avoided me like the plague, her conversations primarily directed towards Riley. Riley, whose father was pulling out all the stops to find the twins.

My twins. My children that I had no clue existed for four years.

The only time she'd looked at me for any significant length of time was when she narrated the horrifying truth: Ivan was the mastermind behind everything. The staged pictures, the systematic dismantling of my company from the inside out, the collaboration with Adrian to expose werewolves, planting Miranda in my life - it all unraveled in a sickening display of his twisted agenda. That darkness I'd felt, the darkness I'd witnessed glimpses of - it was far more extensive than I'd ever imagined. And now, he had my children. As Amaya tearfully confessed, she'd inadvertently given him the upper hand. He was their legal father, a fact that would crumble as soon as I found him.

He had another thing coming.

The entire world believed me dead. The elaborate burial orchestrated by Christian cemented the illusion. It was a strategy I'd readily agreed to. Operating from the shadows offered the best chance of finding the twins. Ivan, convinced of my demise, would feel more vulnerable, a fatal mistake on his part.

Every human that owed me and werewolf alpha that aligned with me within range was now scouring the earth for him, thanks to the official order issued through Christian. The charade was crucial. They needed to believe I was truly gone just like I needed to fix things with Amaya.

A sigh escaped me as I poured another glass of whiskey, the amber liquid glinting under the dim lights.

"Trouble in paradise?"

The voice cut through the silence. I turned my head to see a woman walking in. A woman who had been introduced as Sarah. The last member of their friendship group. A werewolf like us. I understood that they wanted to support Amaya. That was the only reason I let them all be around but every single one of them were crowding my space, I only wanted Amaya here.

I offered her a cursory glance, irritation simmering just below the surface.

We were strangers, after all. Why was she even talking to me?

Undeterred by my icy stare, she strode up, grabbed a glass, and poured herself a drink from the same bottle.

I was about to slam it back on the table and storm off when her voice stopped me again. "Have you tried apologizing? Meaning it, I mean."

I stopped, her words hanging heavy in the air. "What?"

She moved closer, "Put yourself in a story. Imagine people reading about you right now. What would they think? I know there's a backstory I'm missing, some messed-up things that shaped you into this guy with trust issues so deep you couldn't spare three minutes to ask the woman you claimed to love if she betrayed you. Instead, you kicked her out when she was carrying your children. Then, years later, she walks back into your vortex, and you think it's okay to waltz in, stir everything up, complicate her life when it was clear to everyone, even a blind person, that she still loves you? So, I ask you again, if you were a character in a book, would you like yourself?"

I wanted to glare at her, unleash an icy stare that would send her scurrying back to wherever she came from. I wanted to tell her, in no uncertain terms, that she didn't know me and this wasn't any of her business. But her words echoed in my head, bouncing around like a pinball in a machine.

She took my stunned silence as an invitation to go on with her assault. "You're wrong, Alex," she continued, her voice firm but not unkind. "Wrong about everything. And I know men like you, with egos bigger than an entire country. You don't apologize, that much is clear. But all of this: whole mess - could have been avoided if you'd just talked to her from the very beginning. You could have been a team, facing whatever came your

this way together. Sure, Ivan probably would have shown up eventually, that seems to be his specialty. But things would have been different. He wouldn't have had the easy access to your children that he does now. Amaya wouldn't be drowning in this much pain. Because let's face it, she still loves you. She wouldn't have to deal with another heartbreak from trusting Ivan."

"Hold on," I finally managed to sputter. "I-"

She cut me off with a sharp shake of her head. "I'm not painting you as a villain, Alex. Truth is, I don't know you well enough for that. But from what I've heard, from what I pieced together, you made a huge mistake. You let a lie fester, a lie that poisoned everything. And here we are. I came in here to tell you because no one else seems to want to do it and I have always heard some of the best words come from strangers, which is exactly what we are."

Her words hit me like a physical blow. I stared at her, speechless, the truth she presented hanging heavy in the air. Truth I already knew, deep down, but refused to acknowledge. It stung, a sharp, searing pain that went beyond the anger and resentment I'd been clinging to.

"Amaya's out back," Sarah whispered, her voice softer now. "Staring at the lake. 'I'm sorry' is a good way to start a conversation, you know." She took another long drink from her glass, her eyes holding mine for a beat longer.

Then, with a sigh, she turned and walked towards the door, leaving me alone with the wreckage of my pride and the deafening silence of my own guilt.

She stopped at the doorway, her hand hovering on the door knob then turned back to face me, "I think it's high time you made yourself a more likable character," she offered me a small smile, "There are many of us out there rooting for you."Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Before I could formulate a response, the door slammed shut with a resounding bang, leaving me suspended in a sudden, suffocating silence.