Damon's POV
I slammed my fist against the wall so hard that the stone cracked.
"Alpha Damon?" Elder Marcus called from behind me. "The pack meeting isn't finished."
But I couldn't turn around. I couldn't face anyone right now. My whole body was shaking, and my wolf was clawing at my insides like a caged animal.
That scent. Sweet jasmine and wild honey. It was driving me crazy.
"Continue without me," I growled through my teeth.
"Sir, we need to discuss the border patrol—"
"I said continue without me!"
My voice came out as a roar that made the windows shake. Elder Marcus stepped back, his eyes wide with shock. In all my years as Alpha, I had never lost control like this.
But that girl... Aria... she was doing something to me. Something impossible.
I couldn't get her face out of my head. Those big, scared eyes when I walked away from her. The way she smelled like everything I'd never known I wanted.
My wolf was howling inside me. Going absolutely wild.
Mate! Mate! Go back to her! Claim her!
"No," I whispered to myself. "This can't be happening."
But my feet were already moving. Walking toward the door. Walking toward her scent that was calling me like a siren song.
I tried to stop myself. Tried to remember all the reasons this was wrong. I was the Alpha. I had duties. Responsibilities. I couldn't just abandon everything for some orphan girl I'd never even talked to before.
But my wolf didn't care about any of that.
He only cared about her.
I found myself outside in the cool night air, and her scent hit me like a punch to the stomach. She had run this way, toward the forest. I could track her easily.
Too easily.
My hands started changing into claws without my permission. My teeth got sharper. My eyes began to glow gold.
"Control yourself," I said out loud. "You are the Alpha. You don't chase after random girls like some lovesick puppy."
But even as I said it, my legs were carrying me into the dark trees. Following that perfect scent that made my heart race and my wolf sing with joy.
I had always prided myself on being different from other wolves. Stronger. Smarter. More in control. While my friends talked about finding their mates and falling in love, I focused on building our pack. Making us powerful. Keeping everyone safe.
Love was weakness. Mates were distractions.
At least, that's what I'd always believed.
But now, running through the forest like a man possessed, I realized I had been lying to myself. I hadn't avoided love because I was strong. I had avoided it because I was terrified.
Terrified of losing control. Terrified of needing someone. Terrified of being vulnerable.
And this girl... this small, scared orphan girl... she was making me feel all of those things at once.
Her scent got stronger as I got closer to the lake. My wolf was practically bouncing with excitement, like a dog who sees his favorite toy.
Then I saw her.
Aria was sitting on a fallen log by the water, her head in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking. She was crying.
Because of me. Because I had walked away from her.
Something inside my chest twisted with pain. My wolf whimpered like he'd been hurt.
She looked so small. So alone. So breakable.
And she was mine.
The thought came from nowhere and hit me like lightning. She was mine. My mate. The other half of my soul that I'd spent twenty-five years looking for without even knowing it.
I stepped out of the trees, trying to be quiet, but she heard me anyway. Her head snapped up, and our eyes met across the small clearing.
Even in the darkness, I could see she'd been crying. Her face was red and puffy, and there were tear tracks on her cheeks.
"Why did you follow me?" she asked. Her voice was small and hurt.
I opened my mouth to say something cold and dismissive. Something that would send her away and let me go back to my safe, controlled life.
But what came out instead was the truth.
"I couldn't stay away."
She stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "But you said it was a mistake. You walked away from me in front of everyone."
"I know." I took a step closer, and she didn't run. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Her voice got louder, angrier. "Do you know what you did to me in there? Everyone was staring. Everyone was talking. You made me feel like I was nothing."
Each word hit me like a slap. She was right. I had hurt her. Humiliated her. Made her feel small when she should have felt special.
"You're not nothing," I said quietly. "You're... you're everything."
The words shocked both of us. I had never said anything like that to anyone before.
Aria's eyes got wide. "What?"
I walked closer until I was standing right in front of her. Up close, her scent was even stronger. Even more perfect. My wolf was purring inside me like a happy cat.
"I've never felt anything like this before," I admitted. "The way you smell... the way you make me feel... it scares me."
"Scares you?" she whispered. "You're the Alpha. You're not scared of anything."
I laughed, but it came out bitter and harsh. "I'm scared of everything when it comes to you. I'm scared of wanting you too much. I'm scared of not being good enough for you. I'm scared of losing control."
"But I'm nobody," Aria said. "I'm just the orphan girl everyone ignores."
"No." I reached out and touched her face gently, like she might break. "You're the girl who makes my wolf sing. You're the girl who smells like home. You're the girl I've been waiting for my whole life without knowing it."
She leaned into my touch, and I felt something click into place inside my chest. Like a puzzle piece I'd been missing forever.
"Damon," she whispered.
"You," I whispered back. "I've been waiting for you my whole life."
I started to lean down to kiss her, and she started to lean up toward me. This was it. The moment everything would change forever.
Then we heard footsteps crashing through the forest behind us.
Heavy footsteps. Running fast. Coming straight toward us.
Aria jumped away from me like I'd burned her. I spun around, putting myself between her and whoever was coming.
"Damon!" a voice shouted through the trees. "Damon, where are you?"
It was my cousin Kai. But why was he running? Why did he sound so panicked?
"Something's wrong," I said to Aria. "Stay behind me."
Kai burst into the clearing, breathing hard. His clothes were torn and dirty, like he'd been fighting. There was blood on his shirt.
"Damon, thank god I found you," he gasped. "We have a problem. A big problem."
"What happened?" I demanded.
Kai's eyes flicked to Aria, then back to me. "The Sterling Pack. They're here. On our territory. Armed for war."
My blood turned to ice. The Sterling Pack was our biggest enemy. If they were here, it meant trouble.
"How many?" I asked.
"At least fifty wolves. Maybe more." Kai wiped blood from his mouth. "They're surrounding the pack house. They want to talk to you. Now."
"What do they want?"
Kai looked at Aria again, and something strange flashed across his face. Something that looked like recognition.
"They want her," he said quietly. "They're here for the girl with the royal scent."
Aria made a small, scared sound behind me. I felt my wolf explode with rage.
"Over my dead body," I snarled.
"Damon," Kai said urgently. "There's something else. Something you need to know about her scent. About what it means."
"What?"
Kai's next words changed everything.
"She's not just any omega, cousin. She's moon-blessed. The first one born in over a hundred years." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And according to the old laws, that makes her the rightful Alpha Queen of all the packs."