# Chapter 55

The next seven days passed in a frenzy of preparation that made Arianna's previous challenges seem almost simple by comparison.

Duncan worked his diplomatic channels relentlessly. Through the bond, Arianna felt him in constant meetings—calling in favors, making promises, leveraging every relationship Lycaon had built over decades. By the second day, he'd secured tentative support from two packs who'd been neutral but had their own concerns about Viktor's aggressive expansion.

"It's not a military alliance yet," he cautioned through their nightly bond conversations. "But they've agreed to publicly question Viktor's coalition, to call for mediation before conflict. That creates political pressure—makes him look unreasonable if he attacks...