Chapter 17 Ryker POV
Ryker POV
The Council chamber was empty when Marcus led us inside, which told me everything I needed to know. This wasn't about the meeting at all. This was a trap, a private confrontation disguised as official business. I kept my expression neutral, but every instinct I had screamed danger.
Marcus closed the door behind us with a soft click that sounded too much like a lock engaging. Maya stood close to me, her body tense, her breathing shallow. Something had happened while I was in that earlier meeting with Marcus. Something that had shaken her badly. I could feel her distress through our bond, sharp and electric.
"Please, sit." Marcus gestured to the long conference table that dominated the room. Chairs lined both sides, but he positioned himself at the head like a king on his throne. I guided Maya to a seat on the opposite end, putting as much distance as possible between her and her uncle. Kade and Owen flanked us, their presence a silent reminder that Maya wasn't alone anymore.
Marcus poured himself a drink from a crystal decanter on the sideboard, his movements casual, unhurried. "Alpha Ryker, let's speak plainly. We're both leaders. We both understand the importance of pack stability and tradition."
"I'm listening." I kept my voice even, emotionless. Give nothing away.
"This contract you had me sign—it's invalid." Marcus swirled the amber liquid in his glass, watching it catch the light. "It was signed under duress. You came into my territory with superior numbers, with legal pressure, with the implied threat of Council intervention. That's coercion, not negotiation."
I almost smiled. He'd rehearsed this, probably with lawyers, probably thought he'd found a loophole. "Duress requires proof, Marcus. You'll need to demonstrate that you were under immediate threat of harm, that you had no reasonable alternatives, and that you didn't voluntarily enter into the agreement."
"I had no choice. You made that clear."
"You had multiple choices." I pulled my phone from my pocket, setting it on the table between us. "You could have refused the contract and faced a Council investigation. You could have negotiated different terms. You could have requested a neutral mediator. Instead, you read every clause, asked clarifying questions, and signed of your own free will. All of which I have recorded."
Marcus's hand tightened on his glass. "You recorded our private negotiation?"
"I recorded a legal proceeding between two Alphas regarding the transfer of a pack member. That's standard practice for any official agreement." I tapped my phone. "Every word, Marcus. Every expression. Every moment where you were given the opportunity to refuse or request changes. Would you like me to play it for the Council?"
His facade began to crack. The smooth, diplomatic Alpha disappeared, replaced by something uglier. His eyes went cold and hard, his smile turning cruel. "You think you're so clever, don't you? Coming here with your contracts and your lawyers, playing the hero for poor little Maya."
"I think I'm protecting my mate from someone who's been hurting her for five years." I kept my voice level, refusing to let him bait me into anger. Anger made you sloppy, made you make mistakes.
"Hurting her?" Marcus laughed, a harsh sound with no warmth in it. "I gave her a home when her parents died. I fed her, clothed her, kept her safe. Everything she had came from my generosity."
"You made her a slave." Maya's voice was quiet but steady. "You locked me in a storage closet and made me clean floors on my hands and knees. You let Sienna burn me with coffee this morning. That's not generosity, Uncle Marcus. That's cruelty."
Marcus's eyes flicked to her, dismissive and cold. "You were being taught humility. Your parents spoiled you, filled your head with ideas above your station. I was correcting their mistakes."
The casual way he spoke about breaking a child made my wolf snarl inside my chest. I forced it down, forced myself to remain calm. "The contract stands, Marcus. Maya is under my protection now. Accept it."
"Or what?" He leaned forward, his Alpha presence pushing against mine. "You'll report me to the Council? Tell them I was too harsh with an orphaned relative? They'll sympathize with the challenges of raising a traumatized child. They'll see a struggling Alpha doing his best with limited resources."
"They'll see the medical reports documenting malnutrition, untreated injuries, and psychological trauma." I pulled up files on my phone, turning the screen toward him. "They'll see testimony from multiple witnesses about Maya's treatment. They'll see evidence of a second binding performed without consent, designed to cause maximum pain and control."
That got his attention. His eyes narrowed, calculating. "The second binding was necessary for her protection. She was unstable after her parents' deaths, a danger to herself and others. I had every right—"
"You had no right." I cut him off, my voice hard as steel. "I've consulted with medical experts who specialize in wolf bindings. They've reviewed Maya's case and are prepared to testify that what you did was malicious, not protective. That the binding was designed to suppress her wolf permanently, to cause ongoing pain, to break her spirit."
Marcus set down his glass with deliberate care. "Those experts weren't there. They don't know what Maya was like after the accident. How violent she became, how she lashed out at everyone trying to help her."
"Because she knew." Maya's voice shook but didn't break. "I knew you killed them. I knew it wasn't an accident. That's why I fought you."
The room went silent. Even Marcus seemed surprised by her directness, by her willingness to speak a truth she'd hidden for five years.
"Careful, Maya." His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "Accusing an Alpha of murder is a serious charge. One you can't prove."
"Not yet," I said quietly. "But we will. The investigation into your brother and sister-in-law's deaths is being reopened. New evidence has come to light, evidence that suggests the vehicle was tampered with. When that investigation concludes, you'll have more to worry about than a broken contract."
Marcus stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he began to smile. Not a friendly smile—something cold and calculating and deeply unsettling.
"You think you have all the answers, don't you, Alpha Ryker? You think you've uncovered all my secrets, solved all the mysteries." He stood, walking to the window that overlooked his territory. "But you don't know everything. Not even close."
"Then enlighten me." I kept my tone neutral, but every sense was on high alert. This felt like the moment before an ambush, that split second of calm before everything exploded.
Marcus turned back to face us, his smile widening. "Maya has a secret even she doesn't remember. Something that happened before her parents died, something they were desperate to hide. That's why they died, you know. Because they knew too much, because they refused to cooperate."
My blood ran cold. Maya's hand found mine under the table, her fingers trembling. "What are you talking about?" she whispered.
"Ask yourself, Maya—why would I bother keeping you alive? Why not just kill you along with your parents and be done with it?" Marcus moved closer, his eyes glittering with malice. "Because you're valuable. More valuable than you know. Your parents understood that, even if they tried to deny it."
"You're lying." But Maya's voice wavered, uncertain.
"Am I?" Marcus pulled a folder from inside his jacket, tossing it onto the table. Photographs spilled out—old pictures I'd never seen before. Maya as a small child, maybe four or five years old, surrounded by people in white coats. Medical equipment visible in the background. "Your parents were scientists, weren't they? Researchers studying wolf genetics and bonding."
Maya stared at the photographs, her face draining of color. "They were historians. They documented pack traditions and—"
"They lied to you." Marcus's voice was almost gentle now, like he was explaining something to a slow child. "They were geneticists working on a classified project. And you, sweet Maya, were their most successful experiment."
The words hung in the air like poison. I looked at Maya, saw the confusion and horror dawning in her eyes. She had no memory of this, no idea what Marcus was talking about. But the photographs were real, undeniably real.
"What did they do to her?" I demanded, my voice rougher than I intended.
"They enhanced her." Marcus picked up one of the photographs, studying it with something that might have been admiration. "Modified her wolf genetics to create something stronger, faster, more resilient than any natural-born wolf. She was supposed to be the first of a new generation, the template for creating super-wolves."
"That's insane," Kade breathed. "Genetic modification like that—it's been banned for decades. The Council would never approve—"
"The Council didn't know." Marcus set the photograph down carefully. "It was a secret project funded by wealthy Alphas who wanted to strengthen their bloodlines. Maya's parents were brilliant, but they had weak consciences. When they saw what their work could be used for, they tried to destroy their research and run."
Maya's breathing had gone shallow and fast, her pulse racing so hard I could see it in her throat. "You're saying I'm... what? Some kind of experiment?"
"You're a masterpiece." Marcus's smile was cruel. "Or you would have been, if your parents hadn't sabotaged the process. They tried to reverse the modifications, tried to make you normal again. That's why you're so weak now, why your wolf is suppressed. They broke what they'd built."
"And you killed them for it." The pieces clicked together in my mind, forming a picture more horrifying than I'd imagined. "You wanted their research. You wanted to know how to create more modified wolves."
"I wanted what I'd paid for." Marcus's facade of civility crumbled completely. "I invested millions into their project. I provided resources, protection, test subjects. And they thanked me by destroying five years of work and trying to disappear with my greatest asset."
He meant Maya. He was talking about her like she was property, something to be bought and sold.
"So you killed them and took her." My voice was flat, emotionless, because if I let myself feel the rage building inside me, I would tear him apart right here in his own Council chamber.