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Chapter 7

Author: Benita Abel
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-02 23:36:16

Ryker

The question hung between us like a physical thing. Maya wanted the truth about why I'd brought her here, and she deserved it. I'd kept her at arm's length with half-answers and protective gestures, but that wasn't fair to her. Not after everything she'd survived.

I gestured to the chairs in my office. "Sit with me. This conversation requires honesty."

She moved slowly, her body still healing from years of abuse. Every careful step reminded me of what her uncle had stolen from her. She settled into the leather chair across from my desk, her hands folded in her lap like she was preparing for punishment. That gesture alone made my wolf snarl with rage.

"Maya, look at me," I said gently.

Her dark eyes lifted to mine. Even dulled by trauma and malnutrition, they held a strength she didn't recognize in herself. I'd seen it the moment I walked into that meeting room in Silvercrest. Something in her called to something in me.

"When I entered your uncle's pack house, I came for a milita
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  • The Alpha's Prisoner    Chapter 23

    Ryker POV "Tell Alpha Marcus we accept his invitation." I kept my voice steady and calm, projecting confidence I didn't entirely feel. "We'll be there at eight."The servant's footsteps retreated down the hallway. Owen locked the door again, then turned to face me with concern written across his features."You know this is a trap.""Of course it's a trap." I returned to the documents spread across the table, studying them more carefully now that the immediate danger had passed. "But refusing would show weakness. Marcus would use it against us, claim we're hiding something or afraid to face scrutiny.""So we walk into his trap and hope we can survive it?" Kade shook his head. "That's a terrible plan, Alpha.""We walk into his trap with conditions." I pulled out my phone, composing a carefully worded message. "Marcus wants a dinner, he gets a dinner. But Maya sits beside me at all times, surrounded by our people. No separated seating, no opportunities for him to corner her or poison he

  • The Alpha's Prisoner    Chapter 22

    Maya Pov "Father, what's happening?" Leo's voice carried clearly down the hallway. "Why are there armed guards surrounding our guests?""This doesn't concern you, Leo." Marcus didn't take his eyes off me. "Return to your quarters."But Leo didn't move. He stood there in the hallway, looking between his father and the trapped guests, and I saw something shift in his expression. Decision, maybe. Or defiance."Let them go." Leo spoke quietly, but with unexpected firmness. "They're under Council protection. If you harm them or detain them, you'll answer to more than just Alpha Ryker."Marcus's head snapped toward his son, genuine shock breaking through his controlled mask. "What did you say?""I said let them go." Leo moved forward, pushing through the gathered pack members until he stood beside me. "I'll vouch for them. Whatever they found, I'll testify it existed. I'll tell the Council everything I saw."The gathered pack members murmured their agreement, a ripple of support spreading

  • The Alpha's Prisoner    Chapter 21

    RykerI heard the commotion before I saw it. Raised voices, the heavy thud of boots on wooden floors, the sharp command of guards moving into position. Every instinct in my body screamed danger, and I was running before my mind fully processed what was happening. Maya was in trouble. I could feel it through the bond we shared, that invisible thread connecting us across distance and walls.The hallways blurred past me as I ran. Pack members pressed themselves against walls to let me pass, their faces confused and alarmed. I didn't stop to explain. I just followed the pull toward Maya, toward the escalating tension I could feel building like pressure before a storm. Owen and Kade were supposed to be with her, supposed to keep her safe, but something had gone wrong. Something had drawn Marcus's attention and anger.I rounded the corner into the old servant quarters section of the packhouse and stopped. Six guards in black uniforms blocked the narrow hallway, their bodies forming a wall b

  • The Alpha's Prisoner    Chapter 20

    Maya Pov Heavy footsteps pounded in the hallway outside. Not just one person, but several, their boots hitting the wooden floor in synchronized rhythm. Guards. Marcus's personal security team.They appeared in the doorway behind Sienna—six large men in black uniforms, their expressions hard and hostile. They fanned out, blocking the only exit from the room, their hands resting on weapons holstered at their belts.We were trapped.The lead guard stepped forward, his eyes scanning the scattered documents, the open wall panel, the folders Kade held. "Alpha Marcus has been notified. You're to remain here until he arrives.""We're guests of the Moonstone Pack," Owen said calmly, though I could see the tension in his shoulders. "We have every right to be in this packhouse.""This is a restricted area. You're trespassing." The guard's hand moved to his weapon. "Put down the documents and step away from the wall."Kade didn't move. "These documents are evidence of crimes committed against pa

  • The Alpha's Prisoner    Chapter 19

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  • The Alpha's Prisoner    Chapter 18

    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

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