The sun was setting when Arianna finally escaped Duncan's quarters, needing space to think without his well-meaning presence clouding her judgment through the bond. She'd told him she wanted to check on the Ravenwood refugees who'd arrived, which was true, but not the whole truth.

The whole truth was that she felt like she was suffocating.

The refugee camp had been set up in the eastern courtyard—a temporary arrangement of tents and supplies that already looked too permanent. Arianna could feel eyes tracking her as she walked through, could hear the whispers that followed in her wake.

*The Alpha's daughter. She survived. She actually survived.*

But beneath the hope in...