Maya's POV
The mixing bowl slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor, sending flour everywhere.
"Maya!" Mrs. Henderson's sharp voice cut through the kitchen. "That's the third bowl you've dropped this morning. What's wrong with you?"
I stared at the white mess on the floor, my hands still shaking. "I'm sorry. I'll clean it up."
But I couldn't stop thinking about last night. About the way Alpha Damon had looked at me during the opening. Like I was the only person in the world. Like he wanted to eat me whole.
It was just my dream. It had to be.
"Well, don't just stand there!" Mrs. Henderson snapped. "We have orders to fill!"
I grabbed the broom and started sweeping, trying to push away the image of those golden eyes. Alphas didn't notice girls like me. Everyone knew that. Especially not Alpha Damon, who was famous for using women and throwing them away.
The door chimes jingled, and I looked up automatically to meet the customer.
My heart stopped.
Alpha Damon stood in the doorway, filling the entire room with his presence. His dark hair was messy like he'd been running his hands through it. His clothes were wrinkled. He looked like he hadn't slept all night.
His eyes found mine instantly, and I felt that same electric shock from the ceremony.
"Maya," he said, and my name sounded different coming from his lips.
The broom fell from my numb fingers.
Mrs. Henderson appeared from the back room, took one look at our Alpha, and practically melted. "Alpha Damon! What an honor! What can we do for you?"
But he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"I need to speak with Maya," he said. His voice was rough, like he'd been screaming. "Alone."
Mrs. Henderson's eyebrows shot up. "Maya? But she's just—"
"Now," Damon said, and the Alpha order in his voice made both of us freeze.
"Of course!" Mrs. Henderson said quickly. "Maya, take the Alpha to the back room. I'll... I'll mind the front."
My legs felt like jelly as I walked toward the back of the kitchen. I could feel Damon following me, could smell his scent of woods and danger. It made my head spin.
In the small storage room, surrounded by bags of flour and sugar, I finally turned to face him. He seemed even bigger in the tiny space. More dangerous.
"Why are you here?" I whispered.
He stepped closer, and I backed against the shelves. "Your scent," he said. "I can't get it out of my head."
My face burned. "I don't understand."
"Neither do I." He reached up and touched the shelf beside my head. "I've never... no omega has ever affected me like this."
My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode. "Alpha, I think there's been a mistake—"
"No mistake." His eyes were completely gold now. "Last night, when your smell hit the air, something inside me woke up. Something I thought was dead. "
I tried to speak, but no words came out. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.
"Tell me you felt it too," he said. "Tell me you felt something when our eyes met."
I had felt it. Like lightning in my blood. Like the world had suddenly made sense for the first time in my life.
But I couldn't say that. I couldn't say that I'd been dreaming about him all night. That I'd woken up with his name on my lips.
"You're going to hurt me," I said instead. "Everyone knows your rule. You never sleep with the same woman twice."
Something painful flashed across his face. "My rules don't apply to you."
"Why not?"
"Because you're different." He leaned closer, and I could feel his breath on my face. "Because your smell makes me crazy. Because I haven't been able to think about anything else since the moment I saw you."
My hands were shaking. "This is impossible. You're the Alpha. I'm nobody."
"You're not nobody to me."
The way he said it made my chest tight. Like maybe, just maybe, I could be important to someone like him.
"Maya." He said my name like a prayer. "I know this is crazy. I know it doesn't make sense. But I can't stay away from you."
Before I could think, before I could stop myself, I reached up and touched his face. His skin was warm under my fingers. Real.
He closed his eyes like my touch burned him. "You have no idea what you do to me."
"Then show me," I whispered.
His eyes snapped open, burning with heat. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me right there in the storage room.
Then the door burst open.
"Maya, we need—" Mrs. Henderson stopped dead when she saw us. Her mouth fell open.
Damon stepped back so fast he knocked over a bag of flour. White powder burst everywhere, covering all three of us.
"I... I'm sorry," Mrs. Henderson stammered. "I didn't know... I mean, I didn't think..."
"It's fine," Damon said, but his voice was tight. "We were just talking."
Mrs. Henderson looked between us, clearly not believing that for a second. Flour covered her hair and dress. She looked silly, but I was too scared to laugh.
"There's someone here to see you, Alpha," she said carefully. "She says it's urgent."
Damon frowned. "She?" " Luna Elena Cross. She's waiting in the front of the shop. " All the blood drained from my face. Elena Cross was the daughter of the most powerful Alpha in the area. Beautiful, rich, and perfect. Everything I wasn't.
Damon went completely still. "Elena's here?"
"She says you two have important things to discuss," Mrs. Henderson said. "Something about... wedding plans?"
The world turned sideways. Wedding plans?
I stared at Damon, waiting for him to deny it. To tell me it wasn't true. That there was some mistake.
But he wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Alpha?" Mrs. Henderson pressed. "Should I tell her you're busy?"
Damon's jaw tightened. He looked at me one more time, and I saw something that looked like regret in his golden eyes.
"No," he said quietly. "Tell her I'll be right there."
My heart shattered into a million pieces.
Mrs. Henderson nodded and rushed out, leaving us alone again. The quiet was deafening.
"Maya—" Damon started.
"Don't." I held up my hand to stop him. "Just don't."
"You don't understand. It's complicated."
"No, it's not." Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "You have a fiancée. You're getting married."
"It's not like that—"
"Then what is it like?" I asked. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you were about to kiss me while your future wife waited in the next room."
He flinched like I'd slapped him. "Maya, please. Let me explain."
But I was already pushing past him toward the door. "There's nothing to explain. I understand perfectly."
I understood that I was an idiot. That I'd let myself believe, even for a few minutes, that someone like him could want someone like me.
"Maya, wait—" I spun around at the door. "Your fiancée is waiting, Alpha. You shouldn't keep her waiting any longer."
I walked out of the storage room with my head held high, even though I was dying inside.
In the front of the bakery, I saw her instantly. Elena Cross was everything I'd imagined and worse. Tall, stylish, with perfect blonde hair and cold blue eyes. She wore an expensive dress that probably cost more than I made in a year.
She was studying her nails when Damon emerged from the back room, flour still dusting his hair.
"There you are," she said without looking up. "We have a wedding to plan, darling. And I've heard some very interesting stories about your... activities last night."
Her eyes found mine across the room, and she smiled. It was the coldest, most frightening smile I'd ever seen.
"I do hope," she continued, still looking at me, "that you're not developing any bad habits that might interfere with our arrangement."
Damon's whole body went hard. "Elena—"
"Because that would be very unfortunate," she interrupted easily. "For everyone involved."
The threat in her voice was clear. She knew. Somehow, she knew about what had almost happened between Damon and me.
And she was going to make sure it never happened again.