Chapter 18 The Threshold
Ryker POV
"I salvaged what I could." Marcus straightened his jacket, his composure returning. "And I've been trying to unlock what's left inside her ever since. The second binding wasn't punishment, Alpha Ryker. It was research. Every time Maya endured pain, every time her wolf tried to emerge and couldn't, I gathered data. Five years of data on how modified genetics respond to suppression."
Maya made a small sound, something between a gasp and a sob. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. She was shaking, her whole body trembling with shock and horror.
"You used her like a lab rat," Owen said, his voice thick with disgust.
"I used her like what she is—a scientific resource." Marcus's eyes never left Maya. "And she still is. That contract you're so proud of, Alpha Ryker, doesn't change her fundamental nature. She's not just a wolf. She's something more, something unprecedented. And eventually, that's going to become very obvious."
"What does that mean?" I demanded.
"It means the modifications don't stay dormant forever. Sooner or later, Maya's enhanced genetics will activate. When they do, she'll be stronger and faster than any wolf you've ever seen. She'll also be unstable, possibly violent, definitely dangerous." Marcus leaned against the table, his expression almost sympathetic. "Her parents couldn't control what they created. What makes you think you can?"
Maya's hand tightened on mine, her nails digging into my palm. "I don't believe you. I would remember being experimented on. I would know if something was wrong with me."
"Would you?" Marcus tilted his head. "Your parents suppressed your memories along with your wolf. They wanted you to have a normal childhood, to forget what they'd done. But memories don't disappear, Maya. They just hide. And when your genetics activate, those memories will come back. All of them."
This was too much, too fast. Genetic modification, suppressed memories, dormant enhancements waiting to emerge—it sounded like something from a science fiction story, not real life. But the photographs were real. Marcus's certainty was real. And the fear in Maya's eyes was heartbreakingly real.
"Why are you telling us this?" I asked carefully. "What do you want?"
"I want you to understand what you've taken from me." Marcus's smile returned, cold and sharp. "You think you rescued Maya, but you've just created a ticking time bomb. When her modifications activate—and they will—she'll need specialized care, specialized containment. Resources that your pack doesn't have."
"You want her back." The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.
"I want what's mine." Marcus straightened, all pretense of negotiation gone. "Bring her back voluntarily, let me continue my research, and I'll ensure she's treated humanely. Fight me, and when she becomes dangerous, when people start getting hurt, the Council will order her destroyed. Those are your options, Alpha Ryker."
Maya stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "I'm not going back. I don't care what's inside me or what my parents did. I'd rather die than spend another day under your control."
"That can be arranged." Marcus's voice was soft, almost gentle, which made the threat infinitely more terrifying.
I stood as well, putting myself between Marcus and Maya. "This conversation is over. We came here for a Council meeting, not to be threatened and manipulated.
If the Council meeting is happening, we'll attend. If not, we're leaving. Now."
"The Council meeting is happening." Marcus checked his watch. "The other Alphas should be arriving within the hour.
I suggest you use that time to think very carefully about your next move, Alpha Ryker. Because once you walk out of this packhouse with Maya, you'll have made an enemy of me. And I promise you, I'm a very dangerous enemy to have."
"I'll take my chances." I guided Maya toward the door, Kade and Owen moving with us in perfect formation.
Marcus called after us, his voice carrying across the chamber. "One more thing, Ryker. Ask Maya about the fire. Ask her what she remembers about the night before her parents died. That should give you a preview of what's coming."
Maya stumbled, her legs nearly giving out. I caught her, holding her steady as we pushed through the door and into the hallway beyond. We didn't stop moving until we were back in the sitting room Owen had found earlier, the door closed and locked behind us.
Maya collapsed onto the sofa, her whole body shaking. "He's lying. He has to be lying."
But I could see the doubt in her eyes, the terrible uncertainty. What if Marcus was telling the truth? What if Maya really had been genetically modified? What if there was something dormant inside her, waiting to emerge?
"We'll figure this out," I promised, kneeling in front of her and taking both her hands in mine. "Whatever the truth is, we'll face it together."
"What fire?" she whispered, her eyes searching mine. "I don't remember any fire."
That was what scared me most. Not the genetic modification or the dormant enhancements or even Marcus's threats. It was the gaps in Maya's memory, the pieces missing from her past. If her parents really had suppressed her memories, what else had they hidden from her?
And what would happen when those memories returned?
"We need to tell the pack doctor everything," Kade said quietly. "Dr. Chen needs to examine Maya, run tests, see if there's any truth to what Marcus claimed."
"No." Maya shook her head violently. "No more doctors, no more tests, no more people treating me like a lab specimen. I just want to be normal. I just want to be free."
My heart broke for her, for the fear and confusion in her voice. She'd been through so much already, endured years of abuse and control. And now this—the possibility that her own body was a weapon she didn't understand.
Owen's phone buzzed. He checked it, his expression darkening. "The other Alphas are here. Council meeting starts in thirty minutes."
Thirty minutes to pull ourselves together, to hide the shock and fear, to face a room full of powerful wolves who would smell weakness like blood in water. Thirty minutes to figure out how to protect Maya from threats I didn't fully understand.
Maya looked up at me, her eyes red-rimmed but determined. "What do we do?"
"We go to that meeting. We face the Council. We show Marcus that he doesn't control us anymore." I cupped her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing away the tears on her cheeks. "And then we go home and we figure out the truth. Together."
She nodded slowly, drawing strength from somewhere deep inside. This girl who'd survived five years of torture, who'd endured binding and suppression and cruelty, who'd somehow kept her spirit intact through all of it—she would survive this too. I would make sure of it.
"Okay," she whispered. "Together."
But as I helped her to her feet, as we prepared to face the Council and whatever came next, Marcus's words echoed in my mind.
Ask her about the fire.
What fire? What had happened the night before Maya's parents died? What memories were locked inside her head, waiting to break free?
And when they did—when whatever dormant power Marcus claimed she carried finally awakened—would I be able to protect her from it?
Or would I be protecting my pack from her?