Alana's POV
The wind carried whispers, and I had learned to listen.
I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, not this time. I had simply been walking back from the western wing of the estate, a basket of herbs in hand, pretending to help in the infirmary. Since the incident with Evangeline, Alpha had doubled the guard, and every corner of the stronghold seemed to have eyes. But even an Alpha's iron rule couldn't prevent loose tongues and fraying loyalty.
I paused in the shadowed corridor that led toward the training grounds. The voices were low, clipped, men trying to be cautious, but the weight in their tone betrayed more than they intended. Two warriors stood at the archway, backs to me, close enough that the tension between them pulsed like electricity.
"You can't tell me you agree with the way he handled the girl," one said. I recognized that voice.. It was Kael's, one of Adrian's most trusted enforcers, a warrior carved from discipline and obedience. Or so I thought.
