Eclipse Sector (V-Clan #3)

10. Ivana

CHAPTER TEN

IVANA

This has got to be a joke, I thought, glaring at the bed.

Sure, it was a nice size. A king. Maybe even a little bigger. But it was a solitary fixture. Single. Only one.

A growl escaped me as I paced before it, my silky pajama pants swishing with each step. I can’t share this bed with Cillian. I just can’t. Not with all the dreams I’ve been having about him.

Gods, how embarrassing would it be to fantasize about a mind reader while sleeping beside him? He’d hear every word. Witness every detail.

Then he’d pity me even more.

Probably lecture me to my face about playing in the wrong league or something.

“Ugh,” I groaned, my palms covering my eyes. “This is horrible.”

Not only had I chastised him, but I now had to live with him. For a week .

“This is a nightmare. A complete and utter nightmare .”

I’d been tempted to beg Benz to switch roommates with me, but I hadn’t wanted to appear weak.

And maybe a small, tiny, inconsequential part of me had wanted to share an igloo with Cillian.

But I hadn’t realized there would only be one bed. I’d expected at least two. Preferably in separate bedrooms.

Then Cillian had started posturing with Prince Lykos, something he’d been doing since we’d arrived, and I’d reacted. Their mounting Alpha testosterone had been wreaking havoc on my senses, making my legs feel weak. I’d felt my slick building, my insides roaring with the need to be claimed by the Alpha I’d stupidly considered mine for far too long.

Which had led me to responding in the only way I’d known how—acceptance of the lodging assignments.

It was that or suffer public embarrassment by begging Cillian for his knot.

Stars, why is he even here? Couldn’t King Kieran have assigned another Alpha to protective duty?

But of course he couldn’t have; there was no one else. Lorcan had to protect Night Sector. And Cillian was the only other Alpha that could be trusted with this task.

Another growl rumbled in my chest as I dropped my hands and glared at the mattress. “I’m not sleeping next to him. I’m just not.”

And the couch was far too small for him to rest on, which meant I had to sleep there.

Because the only other option was to share the bed and that wasn’t happening.

I crept forward to test the couch cushion with my palms. It was firm, but not too firm.

“Hmm,” I hummed as I relocated our bags to the floor—Cillian’s was notably light—and considered the throw pillows. There was a blanket tossed haphazardly across the back of the sofa as well. Alas, it wouldn’t be enough to keep me warm in this sector.

Magic might have warmed the interior of the igloo to a more palatable temperature, but it was still chilly.

All the Omegas kept commenting on how it reminded them of home—a home I intended to move to with my future mate.

I shivered at the thought. The moment my skin felt the subzero climate here, I’d felt… ill at ease. Like I didn’t belong here. I’d been okay with that realization until I’d overheard all the Omegas excitedly chattering about how “homey” it felt in this sector.

Does that mean I won’t feel at home in Night Sector? I’d wondered. Will I hate it there?

The realization that I might not fit in… had left me feeling out of sorts.

That, on top of being paired with Cillian, had basically rendered me an emotional mess. One I’d taken out on him.

Blowing out a breath, I returned to the bed to take off the comforter and grab a pillow. “This will have to do.”

Thankfully, Cillian was nowhere to be found. The jerk would probably argue with me. Or worse, demand that I talk to him again—something I did not want to do.

“Stop calling me Alpha Cillian” had been his final words.

Gods, the things I’d wanted to say back to him in that moment.

How many times have you demanded I call you just that?

Trust me when I say “Alpha Cillian” is the nicer form of what I’d prefer to call you right now.

You’re chastising me for being formal now? How ironic.

Would you prefer “Prince Cillian”?

Don’t tell me what to do. You lost that right when you broke my heart.

Fuck you, Alpha Cillian.

Stop bothering me.

Stop growling at me.

Stop existing.

Stop haunting my dreams at night.

The list was endless. Each statement had percolated through my mind during my shower and continued to do so now as I lay down on the couch.

If only my brain had an off switch.

The entire evening scrawled across my mind as I closed my eyes.

The flight to Glacier Sector. Ashlyn’s weird behavior. Me trying to write in my journal. The welcome party. Ransom’s soft dominance as he’d stood beside me without saying much. Cillian’s not-so-soft dominance as he’d basically challenged Prince Lykos.

The words I’d exchanged with Cillian in this igloo.

The words I wished I had said in return.

The words I was glad I hadn’t said in return.

I punched the pillow beside my head as I tried to get more comfortable.

Stop, I told my brain. Just stop. I need to sleep .

Ransom had asked me to go ice-skating with him tomorrow, something I’d never done before. Maybe it’ll be fun, I thought. Or maybe I’ll break my neck.

Good thing I’m basically immortal.

Oh my Gods, stop thinking.

La. La. La.

I pictured Ransom and his gentle smile. Ice-skating will be fun. I mean, it’s going to be absolutely freezing. But… but I’ll like it.

I have to like it.

I have to like this environment. It’s my future. Not Cillian. Not Blood Sector.

Night Sector.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

The chant echoed in my head, drowning out my uncertainties.

Or so I’d hoped.

But when I finally dreamt, it was of a time long ago. A time when I’d been cold. Alone. Frightened. And nearly dead…

A time when Cillian had been my hero.

“I’ve got you,” he’d whispered into my ear. “You’re safe now.”

Warmth unlike any I’d ever experienced had touched my heart in that moment. A warmth I’d reserved solely for him.

My intended mate.

My wolf’s obsession.

My Alpha .

His scent—peppermint tinged with something masculine, something that was all Cillian—swathed me in a blanket of protection.

I inhaled deeply. Lovingly. Longingly .

Mine, my wolf purred.

Except Cillian’s words from the Blood Sector coronation night soon followed in my mind, stirring me from this strange sleeplike state. And I woke in a sea of unfamiliar darkness. I drew my knees up to my chest as a violent tremble overtook my spine.

Where am I? I couldn’t possibly be back in that hole. The softness beneath me was nothing like the cold, hard ground of that savage pit.

Still, I felt the need to sniff the air, to ensure the stench of copper and dirt didn’t fill my senses.

Instead, all I scented was Cillian. A refreshing peppermint kiss.

Just like every other morning recently.

Only, I hadn’t dreamt of him like I had then; this dream… this dream had been too realistic. Too reminiscent of our past.

I blinked, confused, and rolled to my back on the soft mattress.

My lips curled down then, my gaze scanning the unfamiliar bed.

How…? Where…?

Memories of last night—or perhaps earlier this morning—assaulted me at once, reminding me that I was in Glacier Sector. In an igloo. And I went to bed on the couch.

Only… only I was no longer on the couch. I was wrapped up in the blankets on the bed.

And Cillian… Cillian was nowhere to be seen.

All I sensed was his residual scent and the heat he’d left behind.

Against my back, I realized, my palm touching my spine. It was hot, like I’d been pressed up against another body for hours.

The bed… I moved my touch to explore it. The bed’s still warm beside me.

Cillian had been here.

He’d moved me to the mattress.

And then… Did he hold me? For how long? Is this even real? A dream? What does it mean?

My mind raced with so many questions, my imagination threatening to overwhelm me with too many hopeful images.

I shook my head, forcing myself to clear it. I would go mad if I started considering the what-ifs of the situation.

Cillian had put me in the bed.

I’d slept.

End of consideration.

I checked the time on my watch and noted that it was still a little early to be up, but I left the bed anyway. Sleeping was no longer an option. I’d just… get ready.

For my date.

With Alpha Ransom.