Chapter 14 Furious Alpha
MAYA POV
"This might sting." He ran cool water over my arm, washing away the sticky residue. I bit my lip against the pain, refusing to make a sound. His eyes met mine in the mirror. "You can react, Maya. You're allowed to say when something hurts."
"Old habits," I whispered.
He dried my arm carefully, then opened cabinets until he found basic first aid supplies. His touch was so gentle as he applied burn cream, his large hands moving with practiced care. "I hate that you learned to hide pain. I hate everything they did to you here."
"It's over now." But even as I said it, I wondered if it was true. Being back in this packhouse felt like stepping into a nightmare I'd barely escaped. Every hallway held memories of cruelty, every room echoed with past pain.
A soft knock on the outer door made us both tense. Kade's voice came through. "Alpha, Marcus is requesting a private meeting with you."
Ryker's expression darkened. "Tell him I'll be there in five minutes."
"Already did. He's waiting in his office."
Ryker looked at me, conflict clear in his eyes. "I don't want to leave you."
"I'll be fine. You have to talk to him." I forced strength into my voice I didn't quite feel. "That's why we came here, isn't it? To handle pack business?"
"Pack business and protecting you. In that order." He cupped my face in his hands, his thumb brushing my cheek. "Stay with Kade and Owen. Don't go anywhere alone. Promise me."
"I promise."
He kissed my forehead, lingering there for a moment like he was transferring courage through touch. Then he stepped back, his Alpha mask sliding into place. "Kade, Owen—she doesn't leave your sight. Understood?"
"Understood," they both replied.
Ryker left, his footsteps heavy with reluctance. The moment the door closed behind him, I felt the absence like a physical thing. He'd become my anchor so quickly, my safe place in a world of danger.
Kade entered the sitting room proper, his expression kind but alert. "How's your arm?"
"Better. The burn cream is helping." I looked at the two men who'd been assigned to protect me. "Thank you. Both of you. For everything you've done."
Owen shifted uncomfortably, not used to gratitude. "Just doing our jobs, Luna."
Luna. The title still felt strange, unearned. But it came with power, with protection, with the ability to make choices. "I want to see something," I said slowly. "My old room."
Kade's expression shifted to concern. "Maya, I don't think that's a good idea."
"I need to see it. I need to face what I left behind." It was partially true. But mostly, I needed to prove to myself that I really had escaped, that the nightmare was truly over.
Owen exchanged a glance with Kade. "Alpha Ryker said you weren't to go anywhere alone."
"You'll both be with me. That's not alone." I stood, trying to project confidence I didn't feel. "Please. It's important to me."
Kade sighed, running a hand through his hair. "If we do this, we do it quickly. In and out. The moment Alpha Ryker's meeting is done, we leave that area. Deal?"
"Deal."
They led me through the packhouse hallways, both men flanking me like bodyguards. Pack members we passed stared openly—some with shock, others with disgust, a few with what might have been pity. I kept my head up, remembering Ryker's words. I had power now. I didn't have to shrink and hide anymore.
We climbed the stairs to the second floor, then down a narrow hallway I knew too well. The storage area. My heart pounded harder with each step, memories flooding back. Five years of sleeping on a thin mat on cold concrete. Five years of being locked in darkness. Five years of existing in a space smaller than most people's closets.
The door came into view—plain, wooden, unmarked. Kade reached for the handle, then stopped. "It's locked."
I stared at the lock—a simple bolt that could only be opened from the outside. "It wasn't locked when I lived here. They wanted to be able to check on me whenever they wanted."
"Someone's using this room for something." Owen tested the lock, his expression grim. "And they don't want people getting in."
A cold feeling spread through my chest. "Can you open it?"
Kade looked uncertain. "We'd be breaking into a locked room in another Alpha's packhouse. That's—"
"Please." I put my hand on the door, feeling the smooth wood beneath my palm. "I need to know what's in there."
Owen pulled a thin piece of metal from his pocket. "I might be able to pick it. Might."
He worked the lock for several long minutes while Kade kept watch on the hallway. I stood there, my hand still on the door, feeling like I was standing on the edge of something terrible.
The lock clicked. Owen pushed the door open.
The room was exactly as I remembered—small, windowless, bare concrete floor. The thin mat I'd slept on was gone, replaced by nothing. But there was something else now, something that made my blood run cold.
Fresh blood on the floor. Not a lot, but enough. Dark red drops that hadn't fully dried yet, leading from the doorway to the far corner.
"Someone's been hurt here," Kade said quietly, his voice tight with anger. "Recently."
I stepped into the room, my legs shaking. The walls were the same gray concrete, the single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling the same as it had been. But the blood—that was new. That meant someone else was suffering now, the way I had suffered.
"We need to tell Alpha Ryker," Owen said firmly. "Right now."
But I couldn't move. I stood there staring at those drops of blood, and all I could think was: who? Who was Marcus hurting now? Who had taken my place as the pack's victim?
A sound from the hallway made us all freeze. Footsteps, coming closer. Heavy, purposeful footsteps that I recognized immediately.
Marcus.
"Out. Now." Kade grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the door. But it was too late.
Marcus appeared in the doorway, his expression thunderous. Behind him stood two of his largest enforcers, blocking any escape route.
"Well, well," Marcus said softly, dangerously. "Breaking into locked rooms, Maya? I thought you'd learned better manners than that."
My voice came out as a whisper. "Whose blood is that?"
Marcus's smile was cold and cruel. "That's none of your concern anymore. You don't live here, remember? You have no right to ask questions about pack business."
"Abuse isn't pack business," Kade said firmly, stepping in front of me. "It's a crime."
"Bold words from a wolf in another Alpha's territory." Marcus's eyes glittered with malice. "I could have you arrested for breaking and entering."
"Try it," Owen challenged. "And explain to the Council why you have a locked room with fresh blood in it."
The standoff hung there, tension crackling like electricity. Marcus's enforcers moved closer, their intentions clear. Kade and Owen shifted into defensive positions, putting themselves between Marcus and me.
And I stood there, trapped in my old prison, staring at blood that belonged to someone I didn't know, someone who was suffering the way I had suffered.
Who was it? Who was Marcus hurting now?
And how could I save them when I could barely save myself?