Rhea.

I scrubbed harder at the imaginary stain on the wall, frustration lingering in the air. Last night, my mother had walked in while we discussed men—men, not boys. Men nearly twenty years older than me. Alpha Damien, surprisingly youthful for his thirty-five years, and Remus, whose age remained a mystery.

Alpha Damien seemed ageless, but I couldn't shake the embarrassment of my mother catching us. A sigh escaped me, my mind replaying the moment. Aria's quick lie about a guard's crush saved me, diverting my mother's concern.

I felt guilty. My mother thought Alpha Damien harbored feelings for me, but he couldn't stand me. It seemed he resented my...