Chapter 15 The Surprise
Maya Pov
Marcus stared at us for a long moment, his expression calculating. Then, surprisingly, he stepped back. "Get out of this room. Now. Before I report this violation to Alpha Ryker myself."
We didn't need to be told twice. Kade and Owen hurried me out, their bodies still positioned protectively around mine. Marcus watched us go with that cold smile on his face, like he'd won something. Like he knew secrets we didn't.
As we rushed down the hallway, I couldn't shake the image of that blood. Someone was being hurt. Someone needed help. And I'd just walked away from them.
"We have to tell Ryker," Owen said as we descended the stairs.
"Agreed. But carefully. Marcus is looking for any excuse to cause trouble." Kade guided me toward the main floor, his hand steady on my elbow.
We emerged into the main hallway just as voices rose from somewhere nearby—Ryker's and Marcus's, raised in argument. Whatever private meeting they'd been having wasn't going well.
I stood there, torn between going to Ryker and staying put like I'd promised. Movement on the stairs behind us made me turn. The young man from before stood there again, closer now. In better light, I could see his features clearly.
My heart stopped.
He had my father's eyes. The exact same dark brown, the same shape, the same intense way of looking at the world. His cheekbones were my father's too, strong and defined. Even the way he stood—shoulders back, head high—reminded me of the man in the few photographs I'd seen before Marcus destroyed them all.
Who was he?
Our eyes locked and held. He didn't look away, didn't smile, didn't speak. Just stared at me with an expression that seemed to carry years of unspoken words.
"Maya?" Kade's voice pulled at my attention. "What is it?"
"That man." I pointed to the stairs, but when I looked back, he was gone again. Vanished like a ghost. "Did you see him?"
Owen frowned. "I saw someone, but they left too quickly for me to get a good look. Why?"
Because he looked like my father. Because something about him felt familiar in a way I couldn't explain. Because when our eyes met, I felt a connection I'd never felt with anyone except Ryker.
But I couldn't say any of that without sounding insane. "Nothing. I thought I recognized him."
The voices from Marcus's office grew louder. I heard Ryker say something sharp, heard Marcus's angry response. They were arguing about me—I could feel it even from here.
"We should wait in the sitting room," Kade suggested. "Give them space to work this out."
But I didn't want to hide in a sitting room. I wanted answers. About the blood in my old room. About the young man who looked like my father. About everything that was happening in this packhouse.
"I need to see my old room again," I said suddenly.
"Maya, we just left there. Marcus made it very clear—"
"Not the storage room. My actual room. The one I had before... before everything changed." I looked at both men, pleading. "Please. I need to see it. I need to remember what my life was like when my parents were still alive."
Kade's expression softened. "Where is it?"
"Third floor. East wing. Last door on the right."
Owen hesitated. "That's pretty far from where Alpha Ryker is. If something happens—"
"We'll be quick. Five minutes, that's all I need." I was already moving toward the stairs, driven by a need I couldn't quite explain. I had to see that room. Had to remember who I'd been before Marcus took everything away.
They followed reluctantly, their eyes constantly scanning for threats. We climbed to the third floor, the hallways growing quieter the higher we went. This part of the packhouse was less used, reserved for family quarters and private spaces.
The east wing looked exactly as I remembered—soft carpet, family photographs on the walls, warm lighting. This had been where the real Chen family lived, before they decided I wasn't family anymore.
I walked past photographs of Sienna at various ages, always smiling, always perfect. Past images of Marcus and his mate at pack celebrations. Past empty spaces where pictures of my parents had once hung.
The last door on the right. My hand trembled as I reached for the handle. What if it was gone? What if they'd erased every trace of me, turned it into storage or given it to someone else?
The handle turned. The door swung open.
My breath caught.
The room was locked. Not just closed—locked from the inside with a deadbolt that shouldn't have been there. This had been my childhood bedroom, not a secure space. Why would it need a deadbolt?
"That's odd," Kade murmured, examining the lock. "This is new hardware. Recently installed."
"Can you open it?" I asked.
"Not without making noise. This is a serious lock, Maya. The kind you put on a door when you really don't want people getting in."
Or getting out, I thought, remembering the lock on the storage room. Someone was using this space for something secret. Something they needed to hide.
"Step back," Owen said quietly. He tested the door, pressing his ear against the wood. "I hear something. Movement. There's someone inside."
My heart raced. "Who?"
"I don't know, but they're moving around. Not pacing—working at something."
We stood there in the hallway, staring at the locked door of what used to be my room. Whatever was happening behind that door was connected to the blood in the storage closet. I felt it in my bones, knew it with certainty.
"We need to get in there," I whispered.
"We need to get Alpha Ryker," Kade corrected. "This is beyond what we can handle on our own."
But as Kade pulled out his phone to text Ryker, the deadbolt clicked from inside. Someone was unlocking the door.
We froze, watching as the handle turned slowly. The door cracked open, just an inch, then two. A face appeared in the gap—young, frightened, marked with fresh bruises.