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“Ah,” I breathe. “I can see how that would seem like the case, but I like the security of living here. I like knowing that even if our hunters have a streak of bad luck, there are gardens and cellars full of preserved food that will get us by. I like sleeping behind a wall, knowing we have basic medical supplies, and able bodies to do supply runs. Maybe it’s not always easy, but there’s comfort in security.”

He hums with interest and asks, “Doesn’t it feel stifling, being stuck in here like a penned animal?”

“Stifling?” I laugh, incredulous. “No, it feels safe. It feels good to know that the wall keeps out Biters. I actually get full nights’ sleep now and I’m able to have a permanent nest, even if it isn’t anything special. That’s more than I thought I’d have,” my voice trails off, suddenly a little self-conscious.

Dair doesn’t say anything for a while, just walks beside me, his face looking around the compound, glancing at the wall. “How do you know it’s to keep Biters out?”

My head whips to him. “What?”

“The wall. How do you know it was built to keep Biters out?”

“What else could it possibly be for?” I ask, exasperated.

His face is stony when he says, “To keep people in.”

I think about how often Clay volunteers to go on scouting and supply missions. I used to assume that he doesn’t like being cooped up inside the compound, like maybe he craved freedom after growing up underground in a bunker. Vale had told me that the first time either of them felt the sun on their skin was when they escaped. I certainly wouldn’t blame either of them for never wanting to be trapped in one place ever again. However, since learning that he has a secret scent-match, I imagine Clay leaves to get some distance from them too.

I also remember the morning after Mother’s death when River left with a small group of guards to take her body to the burning grounds for burial. I’d begged him to let me go, but he’d told me I wasn’t allowed because I wasn’t a hunter, runner, or a guard. He completely ignored how capable I am and seemed to forget the experience I fought to gain right alongside him in the Wilds. So, I stormed away and had a mental breakdown in our cabin, where Ferris found me.

Dair calmly studies my face, watching as emotions flit across my features. His intensity unnerves me because it feels like he can peer into the deepest part of who I am and read what lies there despite not even knowing me. The way he focuses so deeply on me, like he wants to memorize everything about me, is fascinating. Addicting. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt, but it’s exactly what I’ve always wanted.

“I suppose safety can be a double-edged blade,” I concede. “I think I’ve just become accustomed to my cage.”

“Wild things don’t belong in a cage,” he says fervently.

“Am I a wild thing?” I breathe, body swaying toward him.

“The prettiest,” he says as his hand raises toward my face. I lean further toward his touch, starved to rub my cheek against his skin.

“Raine!” I jump several feet away from Dair as my heart pounds against my chest. I turn slowly with my shoulders hunched to my ears to see Clay jogging toward us. He sidles up next to me, wrapping a friendly arm around my shoulders. I watch his nostrils twitch, probably taking in how I’m covered in not only Ferris, but Dair too. In my periphery, Dair’s hands flex at his sides.

“Hey,” I try to sound upbeat and unsuspicious. “Are you off already?”

Clay smiles. “Nah, I just saw you walking when I was on perimeter check and thought I’d come say hi.” He leans down like he’s going to kiss my cheek but instead softly whispers in my ear, “If you’re going to jump the visiting alpha’s bones, maybe pick a less public place to do it.”

I cover my gasp with a small cough, feeling the heat of mortification all over again. “Right,” I whisper back. Then I say aloud to Dair, “Sorry, I have to go.”

“Sure,” he says, starting to back away, but then he stops and blurts out, “maybe we could take another walk together tomorrow night?”

Blushing, I nod my agreement. “Okay.”

As we walk away, I feel Dair’s eyes glued to where Clay’s arm drapes across my shoulders.

Over dinner, River excitedly explains the alliance discussions he had all afternoon. Instead of eating in the dining hall with everyone else, he wanted us to eat around the kitchen table like we used to when Mother was still alive. She always made us all sit together at the cabin every few days to talk about what we were separately doing in the compound. Since her death, this table has only been used for collecting clutter and rare family meetings.

I try to focus on what River is saying, but all I can think of is what Dair said to me earlier about cages. At first, I thought he was talking about me being literally confined in this compound by the wall itself, like I am literally caged in because I am unable to leave. I do think part of that conversation was about his disdain for the way we keep safe, but as I’ve turned the conversation over in my head, I’m beginning to think he meant more. I can’t stop thinking about the crevice I’ve been backed into.

On one side, there’s my brother who has done everything in his power to keep me safe behind the walls but has done very little to assure my happiness or get to know me as an adult. He’s so far in his own head about running the compound and making the right calls that everyone else around him is invisible. Me and his packmate included.

The other side is Ferris, my own scent-match who refuses to accept me but also won’t let me go by formally rejecting our bond. His heart is so traumatized that he latched onto the first person who wanted to give him what he needs, and his loyalty is so stubborn and misguided that he can’t imagine a life where he gets what he wants. Or maybe he’s just conditioned to expect that.

If he gave me the chance, I’d be everything he ever needed. Instead, he just keeps me perpetually floating in suspension, pushing and pulling like the tides, expecting me to either sink or swim.

Then there’s this third obstacle: my potential fake mating with Clay. He has done nothing overtly wrong, but a fake mating agreement where we are both forced to rescind our happiness for the illusion of freedom is a heavy weight to carry for the rest of my life. What’s worse, I’m stuck feeling like I owe it to him to keep the agreement because I know firsthand how terrible it is to not be with your scent-match. And that’s if the assembly and River even choose him.

I could end up matched with someone terrible, someone who will expect me to be their real mate and act as a bonded omega should.

I am safe here at Grand Prairie, but has safety cost me my happiness?