Maya's POV
Maya's knees buckled as fire shot through her entire body. She gripped the kitchen counter, gasping as waves of heat rolled over her skin. The birthday cake she'd been frosting crashed to the floor, pink icing splattering everywhere.
"Maya!" Chief Cook Martha rushed over. "What's wrong with you?"
"I don't know," Maya whispered, her voice shaking. "I feel like I'm burning up from the inside."
The pain hit again, stronger this time. Maya doubled over, her wolf stirring restlessly under her skin. Something was happening to her, something big and scary and completely out of her power.
"It's your eighteenth birthday," Martha said, understanding coming in her eyes. "You're going through the change. Your omega scent is fully forming."
Maya's eyes widened in fear. She'd heard about this but never really understood what it meant. Adult omegas smelled different than young ones. They smelled more attractive to wolves, especially to Alphas.
"I need to go home," Maya said, trying to stand up straight. "I can't work like this."
"No, you need to stay here where it's safe," Martha answered firmly. "Once word gets out that you've changed, every unmated male in the pack will come sniffing around. The kitchen is neutral ground."
But it was too late. Maya could already hear voices getting louder in the hallway. Male sounds. Her new smell was spreading through the pack house like wildfire.
The kitchen door burst open, and three young men stumbled in, their eyes instantly finding Maya. She recognized them as patrol wolves, generally tough and controlled. Now they looked wild and hungry.
"There she is," one of them breathed. "She smells incredible."
Maya backed away, fear shooting through her. "Stay away from me."
"Come on, sweetheart," another one said, stepping closer. "We just want to talk. You smell so good."
"I said stay back!" Maya's voice cracked with terror.
Martha stepped between Maya and the guys, holding a large knife. "Get out of my kitchen right now, or I'll tell Alpha Kai you were bothering one of his pack members."
The guys hesitated but didn't leave. Maya could see the fight in their eyes between respect for Martha and their overwhelming need to get closer to Maya's scent.
"She's eighteen now," the first man said. "Fair game for any unmated male."
"Fair game?" Maya felt sick. Was this what her life would be like now? Being hunted by every male wolf in the pack?
More voices echoed in the hallway. Word was spreading fast. Maya could hear at least six different guys arguing about who had the right to court her first.
"We need to get you somewhere safe," Martha mumbled. "This is getting out of hand."
"The supply closet," Maya said quickly. "I can hide there until this calms down."
But as she turned to run, the kitchen door opened again. This time, it wasn't patrol dogs or kitchen staff. It was Beta James, looking hurried and worried.
"Maya Rose," he said quickly. "Alpha Kai wants to see you immediately."
The other men in the kitchen fell silent. Nobody argued with a straight order from the Alpha.
"Why does he want to see me?" Maya asked, her heart pounding. The last thing she needed was to face Alpha Kai while her body was going through these crazy changes.
"I don't know," James responded. "But he seemed very serious about it. He told me to find you right away."
Maya looked at Martha, who nodded unwillingly. "You have to go. When the Alpha calls, you answer."
The walk through the pack house was a nightmare. Maya could feel every male wolf watching her, their eyes following her movement. Some looked hungry, some looked possessive, and some looked downright scary. Her new smell was driving them all crazy.
"Stay close to me," James whispered. "Don't make eye contact with anyone."
But Maya couldn't help herself. The attention was frightening but also confusing. Yesterday, she'd been invisible. Today, she was the center of every male's attention. Part of her was scared, but another tiny part felt strong for the first time in her life.
They reached the pack meeting hall, where the monthly assembly was already in process. Alpha Kai stood at the front, talking about border security, but Maya could barely focus on his words. Her whole body was still burning with the changes happening inside her.
"Wait here," James whispered, placing Maya near the back wall. "I'll tell the Alpha you're here."
Maya tried to make herself small, but it was impossible. Her smell filled the room like perfume, and she could see heads turning in her direction. Conversations stopped mid-sentence as wolves caught her new smell.
"What is that?" someone whispered.
"Who smells so good?"
"It's coming from the back of the room."
Maya wanted to sink into the floor. She'd never had this much attention in her entire life, and it was overwhelming. Her wolf was pacing anxiously, confused by all the male attention.
Then it happened. Alpha Kai stopped talking mid-sentence. His head turned slowly, his nostrils flaring as he looked for the source of the scent that had clearly just hit him.
His green eyes swept the crowd and locked directly onto Maya's.
The world seemed to stop. Maya couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think. Alpha Kai was looking at her with an expression she'd never seen before. His eyes were wild, almost desperate, and his chest was rising and falling quickly.
The entire room had gone dead. Eight hundred pack members held their breath as their Alpha stood frozen, looking at a kitchen omega like she was the most important thing in the world.
Maya felt something shift inside her chest, something that had nothing to do with her eighteenth birthday changes. It was like a rope had suddenly joined her heart to his, pulling tight and unbreakable.
"No," she whispered, understanding rushing through her. "This can't be happening."
But it was happening. The impossible, fairy-tale thing that only happened in stories was happening to her. Alpha Kai Sterling, the most powerful man in the pack, the playboy who never stayed with the same woman twice, was her mate.
And from the shocked look on his face, he knew it too.
The quiet stretched on and on, until finally someone in the crowd whispered the words that changed everything: "The Alpha found his true mate."