Chapter five
Words That Cut Deeper Than Steel
Maya stormed through the trees, her boots crunching against the underbrush as she tried to get as far away from Liam as possible. Her chest heaved, her breaths sharp and uneven, like she'd just come out of a fight. And in a way, she had—a fight with herself. Her wolf clawed at her insides, howling in frustration, demanding she go back to him. Demanding she accept the bond.
No. Not him. Never him.
"Running away again?" Liam's voice cut through the air like a blade.
Maya froze mid-step, her back stiffening at the sound of his voice. She didn't have to turn around to know he was there. She could feel him, as if his presence was burned into her very soul. That stupid mate bond. It pulled at her like an invisible chain, tying her to the one person she wanted nothing to do with.
"Leave me alone, Liam," she said, her voice low but sharp.
Liam didn't listen. Of course, he didn't. He never did. Footsteps approached, and before she could stop herself, Maya turned to face him. He was standing a few feet away, hands shoved into his pockets, his shoulders tense. His dark hair was tousled, and his sharp eyes, gleaming under the moonlight, pinned her in place.
"Running won't change anything," he said, his tone softer now, but still laced with that aggravating arrogance that always set her off. "You know that, right?"
Maya narrowed her eyes, fists curling at her sides. "You don't get to tell me what to do, Liam. I'm not one of your lackeys. You don't control me."
Liam's lips tugged into a smirk, one that made her blood boil. "Is that what you think? That I want to control you?" He took a step closer, his voice dropping slightly. "You're so determined to fight me, Maya, you haven't stopped to consider what you're actually fighting."
"I know what I'm fighting," Maya snapped, her voice rising as anger bubbled to the surface. "I'm fighting you. I'm fighting this bond. I'm fighting every instinct telling me I have to be tied to someone like you for the rest of my life. And I'm not going to give in."
Liam's smirk faltered, his expression darkening. "Someone like me?" he repeated, his tone cutting. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what it means," Maya shot back, her eyes blazing. "You're arrogant, entitled, and a bully, Liam. You've spent years pushing people around just because you can, and you think I'm going to let some mate bond force me to accept that? To accept you? No." She shook her head fiercely, her voice trembling with emotion. "I deserve better."
For a moment, Liam just stared at her, his face unreadable. His silence almost threw her off balance. Then he let out a bitter laugh, low and humorless. "Better?" he repeated, his jaw clenching as his voice hardened. "And what exactly makes you so much better than me, Maya?"
Maya's heart skipped a beat. "I never said I was better."
"Sure sounded like it," Liam shot back, taking another step forward. His gaze was intense, as if he was peeling back the layers she kept so tightly guarded. "You think you've got me all figured out, don't you? I'm the spoiled Alpha's son. The bully. The bad guy. Fine. Maybe that's who I am to you. But don't act like you're perfect. You're so busy fighting me that you refuse to see what's right in front of you."
"And what's that?" Maya challenged, glaring up at him.
Liam's eyes locked with hers, and for a moment, the tension between them was suffocating. "That you're scared," he said quietly. The words struck like a blow, sharp and precise. "You're scared of this bond. You're scared of me. You're scared of what it means. And you hate that you can't control it."
Maya's breath caught in her throat. She stumbled back a step, her hands trembling at her sides. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I?" Liam pressed, his voice growing louder. "I feel it too, Maya. Every damn second of every damn day. The pull. The need to be near you. The way it hurts when you look at me like I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to you." He ran a hand through his hair, his frustration clear. "You think this is easy for me? You think I want to feel like this? Like I'm losing my mind every time you walk away? I don't want this bond any more than you do, but at least I'm not lying to myself about it."
"I'm not lying!" Maya shouted, her voice cracking as the words tore out of her. "I don't want you, Liam. I don't want this bond. I don't want us." Her throat tightened, the truth in her words twisting inside her like a knife. "I won't let it control me."
Liam's expression shifted, something in his eyes dimming, but he didn't back down. "You think you're fighting the bond, Maya, but you're really just fighting yourself."
"Stop it," she whispered, her voice breaking.
"No." Liam's voice was firm. He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him. "You need to hear this, because you're tearing yourself apart. You're tearing us apart before we've even had a chance to figure out what we are."
"What we are?" Maya let out a bitter laugh, though tears burned at the edges of her vision. "We're nothing, Liam. Nothing but a cruel joke of fate."
The silence that followed was heavy, the air between them charged with an energy that neither of them could ignore. Liam's shoulders sagged slightly, his gaze softening as he looked at her. For a brief moment, Maya saw something in him that she didn't want to see—pain.
"If that's what you really believe," Liam said finally, his voice low, "then maybe you don't know me at all."
Maya swallowed hard, her chest aching as he turned and walked away, leaving her standing alone under the moonlight. Her wolf whimpered, the loss of his presence almost unbearable, but she forced herself to ignore it.
He doesn't understand. He can't.
And yet, as Liam's figure disappeared into the darkness, Maya couldn't help but feel like something had broken inside her.
Something
she wasn't sure she could fix.