Drake's POV
I shoved the wedding invitation off my desk so hard it flew across the room, but I couldn't stop looking at the door where Maya had just entered.
Everything inside me went completely still. Then everything exploded at once.
Her smell hit me like a physical blow - wildflowers and honey and something so perfect it made my wolf howl inside my chest. I gripped the edge of my desk to keep from jumping over it and grabbing her.
What was happening to me?
"Close the door, Maya," I managed to say, though my voice sounded like rock.
She reached for the handle with shaking hands, and I could hear her heart beating fast with fear. The sound should have made me feel guilty, but instead it made my wolf purr with joy. She was afraid, but not the kind of fear that meant she wanted to run away. This was the kind of fear that came from feeling something strong and not understanding it.
I knew exactly how she felt.
"Sit down," I said, trying to sound normal even though nothing about this was normal.
Maya perched on the edge of the chair across from my desk like she was ready to bolt. Her smell was driving me insane. I'd never wanted anything so badly in my entire life, and I didn't even understand what I wanted.
Well, that wasn't true. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to kiss her until she couldn't breathe. I wanted to hold her so close that her smell would stay on my skin forever. I wanted to mark her as mine and make sure every man in the pack knew she was off limits.
But Maya was an omega. I was the Alpha. There were rules about this kind of thing, rules that had existed for hundreds of years. Rules I was seriously thinking about breaking.
"Am I in trouble?" Maya asked quietly.
"No." The word came out rougher than I meant it to. "You're not in trouble."
"Then why did you want to see me?"
Good question. Why had I called her here? The smart thing would have been to stay far away from her until whatever this was wore off. But when Martha had said Maya was in the kitchen, I'd given the order before I could stop myself.
"I wanted to apologize," I lied. "For earlier, in the dining room. I made you nervous."
Maya's eyes widened. "You don't need to apologize to me, Alpha. I'm just—"
"Just what?" I leaned forward, and her smell got stronger. My hands started shaking. "Just an omega?"
She nodded, looking confused by the question.
"Do you know what I think about that?" I stood up and walked around the desk, stopping right in front of her chair. Maya's breath caught, and I could see her pulse beating fast in her throat. "I think the pack's rules about omegas are stupid."
"Alpha Drake—"
"Call me Drake." I crouched down so we were at eye level. "Just Drake."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because you're the Alpha and I'm nobody."
The words hit me like a slap. "You're not nobody, Maya. Don't ever say that again."
She stared at me with those big brown eyes, and I felt something crack open inside my chest. When was the last time someone had looked at me like I was just a person instead of a title? When was the last time I'd had a real talk with someone who wasn't trying to get something from me?
"Tell me about yourself," I said.
"What?"
"Tell me something about Maya Stone that has nothing to do with being an omega or working in the kitchen."
She looked frightened by the question. "I... I don't know what you want me to say."
"Anything. What do you like to do when you're not working? What makes you happy?"
Maya was quiet for so long I thought she wasn't going to answer. Then she said, very softly, "I like to read."
"What do you read?"
"Stories about people who go on adventures. People who get to see the world outside the pack lands." She blushed. "It's silly."
"It's not silly." I meant it. "What kind of adventures?"
"There's this one book about a girl who goes across the ocean to find a lost island. And another one about a woman who climbs mountains just because she wants to see what's on the other side." Maya's face lit up as she talked. "They're brave and smart and they don't let anyone tell them what they can't do."
For the first time since I'd become Alpha, I met someone who understood what it felt like to dream about being somewhere else. Everyone always told me how lucky I was to be born into power, but they never understood that power could feel like a cage.
"Have you ever been outside pack lands?" I asked.
Maya shook her head. "Omegas aren't allowed to move without permission. And I've never had a reason that was important enough to ask."
"What if I gave you permission?"
Her eyes went wide. "What?"
"What if I said you could go anywhere you wanted? Where would you go first?"
"I..." She looked like I'd just offered her the moon. "I'd want to see the ocean. I've never seen water that goes on forever."
I made a choice that surprised even me. "Then I'll take you."
"Alpha Drake—"
"Drake," I corrected.
"Drake," she whispered, and hearing my name on her lips made my wolf go crazy. "You can't take me to see the ocean. You're getting married in three days."
The memory hit me like cold water. Lila. The wedding. The political union that would strengthen both packs. Everything I was supposed to want.
But looking at Maya, sitting there like she was afraid to dream too big, I realized I didn't want any of it.
"What if I wasn't getting married?" I asked quietly.
Maya's face went pale. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying..." I reached out and touched her cheek, and she leaned into my hand like she couldn't help herself. "I'm saying everything changed the moment you walked into this room."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?" I moved closer, until I could see the gold flecks in her brown eyes. "Don't you feel it too, Maya? This thing between us?"
She nodded slowly, like she was afraid to admit it.
"I've never felt anything like this before," I admitted. "I look at you and I can't think about anything else. I smell your scent and I want to forget every rule, every duty, every obligation I've ever had."
"But you can't," Maya whispered. "You're the Alpha. The pack needs you to marry Lila Cross."
"The pack needs me to be happy," I said. "How can I lead them if I'm miserable?"
Before Maya could answer, someone pounded on my office door.
"Drake!" Marcus's voice was urgent. "Open the door! Now!"
I stepped back from Maya, my heart racing. "What?"
"Elder Morrison is coming with the full pack council. Someone told them you called Maya to your office alone." Marcus's voice was tight with worry. "They think you're having second thoughts about the wedding."
Maya jumped to her feet, her face white with fear. "They'll think I lured you. They'll remove me from the pack."
The door handle shook as someone tried to open it from the outside.
"Drake!" Elder Morrison's voice boomed through the trees. "Open this door immediately!"
I looked at Maya, seeing my own desperation mirrored in her eyes. In thirty seconds, the pack council would break down the door and find us together. Maya would be punished for something that was completely my fault.
Unless I did something that would change both our lives forever.
"Maya," I said quickly. "Do you trust me?"
"I—"
"Do you trust me?"
She nodded.
I grabbed her face in both hands and kissed her just as the door burst open.