# Chapter 88 – Kieran's POV
## The Mate's Truth
"You can't seriously be considering this." Kieran's voice echoed off the stone walls of the ancient library, where Vanessa had retreated after the war council. Books and scrolls lay scattered across the table before her, but he could tell she wasn't really reading them. Her eyes moved across the same paragraph over and over, never actually absorbing the words. "Three different attack formations? Splitting our forces when we're already outnumbered?"
She didn't look up from the tactical manual she was pretending to study. "It's a sound strategy. Hit them from multiple angles, prevent them from concentrating their power in one place."
"It's a desperate strategy," he corrected, moving closer. His wolf was restless beneath his skin, pacing and whining at the distance she was maintaining between them. Ever since Damien's confession this morning, she'd been avoiding everyone—but especially him. "And you know it."
