Jake's POV
My phone buzzed with an emergency message just as Alpha Damon ran past me like his tail was on fire.
Elena Cross arrived early. She's in your office demanding answers about delayed wedding plans. - Secretary Kate
"No, no, no," I muttered, looking at the screen. This was a disaster. Elena wasn't meant to be here for another week. And Damon was currently standing in a ceremony circle, looking at an eighteen-year-old omega like she was the only person in the world.
I'd been Damon's tester for eight years. I'd seen him handle war, pack politics, and death threats without blinking. But I'd never seen him lose control like this.
The way he'd crushed that glass in his bare hand without even noticing. The way his eyes went fully gold when Maya Rivers' scent hit the air. The way he'd rejected every order I'd given him and run straight toward her like a man possessed.
This wasn't just interest. This was something way more dangerous.
I rushed down the stairs after him, my mind running through all the ways this could go wrong. Elena Cross was the daughter of the most powerful Alpha in the western regions. Their marriage would unite two big packs and control three important trade routes.
But political marriages and mate bonds don't mix. Ever.
I'd seen it happen before in other packs. When an Alpha finds his real mate after agreeing to a political marriage, it always ends in blood. Either the political partner gets killed, or the mate does, or sometimes both.
And from what I'd just watched, Maya Rivers wasn't just any omega. She was the Omega Prime from the old prophesies. Her scent was so strong it could drive any Alpha crazy with want.
Including mine.
By the time I reached the ceremony circle, the situation was already spinning out of control. Maya stood in the center, looking scared as her scent rolled off her in waves. Every unmated male in the area was fighting their wolf nature, and several had already shifted.
But the worst part was watching Damon.
My Alpha, the man who prided himself on never showing weakness, was nearly vibrating with need. His whole body was tight like he was holding himself back from doing something stupid.
"Stay back, Alpha," Elder Samuel warned. "Her scent during awakening could make you do things you'll regret."
I wanted to grab Damon and drag him away before he did something that would destroy everything we'd worked for. But I could see it was already too late. The moment Maya's scent hit him, something basic had changed.
"Maya," Damon said her name like it was holy, and my heart sank.
He was falling. Hard and fast and totally out of control.
I pulled out my phone and texted Kate: Keep Elena in the office. Tell her Alpha is handling pack emergency. Whatever you do, don't let her come outside.
But even as I sent the message, I knew it wouldn't be enough. Elena Cross wasn't the type to wait calmly when she wanted answers.
"This is impossible," Damon was saying to Maya. "I don't feel things like this. I don't want things like this."
Liar. I could see exactly how much he wanted her. It was written all over his face, in every line of his body. For the first time since his parents died, Damon was letting himself feel something real.
And it was going to destroy him.
"Then leave," Maya said, tears in her voice. "Go back to your perfect Luna and forget about me."
I saw Damon flinch like she'd hit him. He didn't know Maya knew about Elena. Of course she knew - everyone in the pack knew about the engagement news.
"You think I haven't tried?" Damon said desperately. "You think I want to feel this way about someone who..."
He stopped himself, but the damage was done. Maya's face sagged with hurt, and I realized Damon had just made the worst possible mistake.
He'd made her think she wasn't good enough for him.
"Maya, no. That's not what I meant," Damon said, fear in his voice.
But Maya was already pulling away from him mentally. I could see it happening, the walls going up in her eyes.
"Yes, it is," she said. "I know what you think of girls like me."
"My rules don't apply to you," Damon said desperately. "You're different. You're..."
"What? What am I, Alpha Damon?"
I held my breath, knowing everything depended on his answer. If he said the right thing, maybe they could figure this out. Maybe we could find a way to break the engagement with Elena without starting a war.
"You're everything I swore I'd never want," Damon whispered.
I closed my eyes in despair. That was definitely not the right thing to say.
But before Maya could reply, a new scent hit the air. Expensive perfume and cold determination that made my wolf want to run and hide.
Elena Cross stepped into the ceremony circle, and I knew our luck had just run out totally.
"So this is where you ran off to," Elena said, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Sniffing around some common omega like a dog in heat."
The insult made my teeth clench. Maya was many things, but normal wasn't one of them. She was the Omega Prime, more powerful than Elena could ever dream of being.
Damon's response was immediate and catastrophic. He stepped protectively in front of Maya, his whole body radiating dangerous threat.
"Don't," he growled at Elena. "Don't you dare speak to her like that."
I wanted to grab Damon and shake him. Did he understand what he'd just done? He'd decided to defend an omega over his fiancée, in front of witnesses, during a pack ceremony.
Elena's face went white with shock, then red with rage. "You're defending her? Over me? Over our engagement?"
That's when I smelled something that made my blood turn to ice.
More wolves were coming. Elena hadn't come alone - she'd brought her father's guards. And from the scents coming fast, they were armed and ready for trouble.
I grabbed my phone and sent an emergency message to every pack warrior: Code Red. Alpha in danger. Ceremony circle. NOW.
But I knew they wouldn't get here in time.
Elena smiled, cold and cruel. "Did you really think I'd come here unprepared, Damon? Did you think I wouldn't find out about your little... obsession?"
"How did you..." Damon started.
"I have spies everywhere," Elena said. "Including in your own pack."
My stomach dropped. A spy in our pack? Someone had been reporting to Elena about Damon's behavior?
"Guards!" Elena called, and six large wolves stepped out of the shadows circling the ceremony circle.
Maya whimpered, pressing closer to Damon's back. Elder Samuel raised his hands, trying to project peace, but I could see his fear.
"Now," Elena added, "you're going to come with me quietly and we're going to have a very serious talk about our wedding. And your little omega toy is going to disappear forever."
"Over my dead body," Damon growled.
Elena's smile got bigger. "That can be arranged."
That's when I realized the horrible truth.
Elena hadn't come here to talk. She'd come here to remove the threat to her marriage.
She'd come here to kill Maya.
The guards raised their guns, and I knew I had only seconds to act before everything I'd worked to protect was destroyed forever.
But then Maya did something that shocked everyone.
She stepped out from behind Damon, her chin raised with sudden fierce bravery.
"If you want to hurt him," she said to Elena, "you'll have to go through me first."
Her smell spiked with power and rage, and every wolf in the circle dropped to their knees.
Including Elena's guards.
Including Elena herself.
The Omega Prime had finally awakened to her full power.
And she was absolutely frightening.