Eclipse Sector (V-Clan #3)

28. Cillian

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CILLIAN

A Few Minutes Earlier

I stared at Kieran, both disgusted and shocked by everything he’d just said regarding Alpha Carlos and his infamous estrus parties.

Kieran shared in my disgust, his mind telling me just what he would like to do to Alpha Carlos. Alas, the bastard was already dead.

But there had been plenty of Alphas who had attended the parties, several of whom were still alive. Such as the V-Clan Alpha Quinnlynn had scented on a few occasions.

Unfortunately, none of the Alpha candidates matched the notorious scent. Apparently, Kieran and Quinnlynn had checked this while I’d been busy with Ivana.

“So then it’s none of the candidates,” I said now. “What about the Glacier Sector Alphas?”

“She’s met about twenty of them thus far—all of them brought here by Lykos—and none of them are a match,” Kieran replied, his irritation palpable. “Even Tadhg brought a few Alphas over. All of them were just as charming as their damn prince.”

His dry sarcasm wasn’t lost on me. Tadhg wasn’t known for his charm, even if he had mustered a little magnetism during his recent visits to Blood Sector. But it was all a facade. A pleasant face for the political arena.

Beneath it all, he was a warrior.

And a powerful one at that.

Fuck .

I could only imagine the restraint it had required of Kieran to just sit back and observe while his pregnant mate sniffed other Alphas. When—or if —one of them ended up emitting a scent she recognized, Kieran would kill the wolf on the spot.

“Lykos intends to bring another five Alphas with him tonight, but I’m beginning to think?—”

Lorcan appeared in the office, effectively cutting off Kieran’s statement. Surprise registered in Lorcan’s features, then a frown etched its way across his face. “You’re unmated,” he said, stating the obvious.

“Yes, I am,” I drawled, doing my best to ignore the sensation clawing at my gut. ‘Thank you for noticing.”

His frown deepened. “Why?”

“Because he’s an idiot who doesn’t know how to properly communicate,” Kieran interjected. “What did you find out about Ashlyn?”

I started, not just at Kieran’s offhanded insult but also at the comment about Ashlyn. “What’s wrong with Ashlyn?”

“She’s gone missing,” Kieran said distractedly. “Lorcan?”

“Missing?” I repeated before Lorcan could reply. “An Omega has gone missing, and you didn’t feel the need to tell me that?”

“I can only deal with one Omega concern at a time, and Ivana is the one I want you focused on, not Ashlyn.”

“That’s not your call to make.”

His dark eyes flashed as he met my gaze. “Actually, Cillian, as your King , it is my decision to make.”

My jaw clenched, the arms of my chair creaking much like Kieran’s desk had moments ago. Only this time, I was squeezing wood encased in leather.

“If you’d like to challenge me for the role, I’d be more than happy to entertain the request,” he went on. “But as you’ve shown no desire to lead, then I’ll lead for you. Ivana is your priority right now, not Ashlyn.”

“Ashlyn is my priority,” Lorcan interjected. “She’s an Omega in my sector. And to answer your original question, Kieran, no. No one knows anything about where she went or how she disappeared.”

Kieran leaned back in his chair, a curse littering the air between us.

“Was she in Night Sector when she went missing?” I asked, trying to catch up on what I’d missed.

Kieran’s answer was promptly drowned out by someone screaming my name in my head.

Fuck ! I instantly searched for the source of the voice. Mindy.

Cillian! Cillian! Cillian! she shrieked.

What the hell is going on? Where are you? I demanded, only to catch the location a half a beat later as several more thoughts assaulted me.

“Ivana,” I breathed, shadowing to a street a few blocks away from where she lived. “Oh, Ivana.” I picked her up off the pavement, a growl vibrating through my chest. “What happened, macushla?”

She said nothing, her mind silent.

Until it wasn’t silent at all.

But loud .

With all the mental voices of everyone around us.

“Oh, shit.” I should have expected this. Sometimes Omegas—especially powerful ones—inherited their Alpha mate’s talents during the bonding process. It didn’t matter if I hadn’t bitten her back yet; the process had already started.

The same thing had happened to Quinnlynn and Kieran. She’d received a portion of his healing ability, allowing her to help all those Omegas in Bariloche Sector for nearly a century.

Had Quinnlynn slept with another Alpha, the bond would have been broken. But she’d remained faithful to him, thus her power had remained intact as a result.

Just as Ivana would now be able to read minds, and possibly communicate telepathically, too. Both talents would only deepen once I bit her.

Assuming she even wants that.

“Ivana,” I said, ignoring the unwanted thought. I held her close, intent on safeguarding her. Supporting her. Helping her. “ Ivana .”

A purr ignited in my chest, my need to soothe her flourishing inside me.

Ivana relaxed for half a beat, then winced and instantly covered her abdomen. I frowned down at the motion, aware that she was attempting to protect our unborn child. I just didn’t understand who she was protecting the baby from.

The voices?

From me?

I wasn’t sure because I couldn’t hear her over all the other thoughts echoing in her head.

Listen to me, I demanded. Only me, Ivana. Hear my thoughts. My words. Only mine.

She shuddered in response. Or perhaps she’d been trying to move.

Ivana, I tried again, this time reinforcing my tone with my wolf’s dominance.

A subtle whine echoed in response, her animal acknowledging my presence and my power.

So I kept going.

Focus on me, macushla. Pretend there are doors in your mind and slam all of them shut except for the one connected to me.

No, no, she replied, her voice soft. Too soft. Like she was lost down a long, dark tunnel. He doesn’t want us. Me or the baby.

I frowned. Why do you think that? I asked her, confused by her thoughts.

Nothing.

Ivana, why do you think I ? —

She went limp in my arms, her mind quieting once more.

Sighing, I pressed my forehead to hers. “You and I are going to have a very long talk when you wake up, Vana.”

“That would be wise,” Kieran drawled from behind me. He and Lorcan had followed me here, anticipating a threat. I hadn’t noticed, too caught up in Ivana and the chaos in her mind. But I heard Kieran and Lorcan clearly now.

“She needs food, too,” Kieran went on.

No shit, I thought, already aware that my Omega needed food. I’d intended to bring some back to her after talking to Kieran.

“Pregnant Omegas are always hungry,” he continued, like I was completely inept at understanding the needs of my female.

I slowly turned to face my oldest friend while tightly clutching Ivana to my chest. “Any other relationship advice you’d like to share?” I asked him darkly, not at all amused by his blatant teasing.

“Just to communicate,” he said with a quick grin. “Go take care of your Omega.”

We’ll update you as we learn more about Ashlyn, Lorcan added with a thought.

Thank you, I telepathically replied to both of them.

I started toward Ivana’s condo—walking rather than shadowing since she was pregnant—and ventured more than a block before realizing I’d just prioritized her over everything and everyone else. It’d been a natural response.

My intended mate needs me. How am I supposed to focus on anything other than her?

I winced, another thought swiftly following. This is why I never took a mate. It’s changing everything.

Except… is that change so bad? I wondered, frowning.

I’d spent over a thousand years alone, atoning for my inability to kill my own father. I’d vowed to never extend his familial line. To never take a mate.

But what if creating a new life is actually the solution?

Living beneath my father’s constant shadow made it impossible to truly escape his ghost. However, with Ivana, I felt… renewed. Like a different man entirely.

Perhaps the true way to demolish my father’s past was to replace it with a brighter future.

A future with Ivana , I thought as we neared her building.

She was still silent and unmoving against me, her skin paler than I liked. Given where I’d found her, it seemed clear she hadn’t rested like I’d suggested, and she also likely hadn’t eaten.

Benz , I called, the telepathic link one I’d used several times over the last two weeks. First, in Glacier Sector. Then, in Blood Sector.

I hadn’t trusted anyone else to bring us supplies while Ivana had been in heat.

Yes? he thought back at me, his irritation palpable. I swore I heard the term Master follow that response, but he seemed to be trying to fight the sarcastic title.

Ivana passed out, I told him, instantly grabbing his full attention. His mind started firing questions, but I ignored them and added, She needs something to eat, and quickly. Can you pick up a cheese pizza with pepperoni and green olives from San Marinos? I knew from observing Ivana in the past that it was one of her favorite meals.

And now that she was no longer in heat, I could properly feed her.

Before, it was all sandwiches and a few light meals I’d prepared with the groceries Benz had brought for us.

Just tell Diego to charge my account. And if you can get some strawberry lemonade for Ivana, I would appreciate it . Because Ivana loved fresh strawberry lemonade, too.

Benz didn’t reply immediately, his mind processing everything I’d just requested. A hint of surprise colored his thoughts, as well as a note of respect. Okay was all he said. Give me thirty to forty minutes .

Thank you , I replied to him, then refocused on my Omega.

She didn’t stir as we entered her building or moved up the stairs, her head resting against my shoulder as she slept.

I shuffled her a bit to find a key tucked haphazardly into her jeans pocket and unlocked her door, then settled us both inside on her couch.

“I never said anything about not wanting our child,” I told her, recalling her thoughts from before. “Why would you think that, macushla?”

My mind tracked through everything that had happened when she initially woke from her heat, recounting all our comments and twisting them around in my head.

“I thought you didn’t want our baby,” I continued out loud while combing my fingers through her damp hair. She must have showered before heading out. My wolf and I weren’t too fond of that notion, our scent notably missing from our Omega’s skin. “I thought you were upset with me for not using any birth control.”

Still nothing.

No sound.

Not even a thought.

Unless she’s blocked me from her mind yet again .

If I bit her now, I would solve that issue. But I wanted her coherent—and accepting—when I staked my claim.

“Oh, but it will happen,” I added out loud. “I’m going to bite you, Vana. Even if I have to beg you for weeks or years to let me do it. You’re mine, macushla. I think you’ve been mine since the day we first met.”

Which explained why I’d taken her back to my lair that day rather than to one of the many temporary homes we had in Blood Sector.

It explained why no other Alpha was ever good enough for her; why none of the Alphas in Blood Sector had even tried to court her.

“I’ve been a fool to avoid this for so long,” I admitted to her, my gaze on the wall across the room while I processed everything out loud.

I’d have to repeat it all to her once she was awake, but I wouldn’t mind. I’d do anything and everything for her. Fuck, I already had. I just hadn’t realized it.

“You’re my priority, Vana. I think you always have been, but keeping you at arm’s length just made it easier for me to focus on Blood Sector. Or perhaps it just made it easier to trick myself into thinking I was doing the right thing for both of us.” I swallowed, my fingers still gliding through her hair.

She felt so fragile in my arms.

So small and still.

I wanted to feel her fight, hear her voice, explore her mind .

Instead, I continued talking, hoping that maybe my voice—underlined with my purr—would help comfort her.

“I realize now how wrong I’d been. Because the right thing is what I’m doing now—putting you first. Even when it’s killing me not to help Lorcan and Kieran track down Ashlyn, I know this is where I need to be. And I know I can trust them to find her. Just like they would?—”

“Find her?” Ivana repeated, causing my gaze to snap down to her in my arms. I hadn’t even realized she was awake, let alone looking at me. She’d been so motionless and silent that I’d assumed she was still unconscious.

“How long have you been awake?” I asked.

“Long enough,” she replied, her gaze searching. “What’s happened to Ashlyn?”

“Don’t worry about Ashlyn,” I murmured. “Lorcan and Kieran are handling it.”

She tried to push away from me, to sit up, but I clutched her tighter.

“Ivana—”

“No, I want to know what’s going on with Ashlyn,” she said, putting a little more strength into her hands as she shoved again.

This time I let her move, taking the hint that she didn’t want to touch me.

But rather than scramble off my lap, she just repositioned herself and grabbed my shoulders. “Tell me about Ashlyn.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know much,” I admitted. “Just that she’s missing and no one knows how or when she disappeared.” I ran my palm down her back, away from her hair. “Lorcan was in the process of bringing Kieran up to speed when Mindy started screaming for me. I left to help you.”

Ivana blinked at me. “Is that why Kieran needed you earlier? Because of Ashlyn?”

My brow furrowed. “Kieran didn’t need me.”

“But you said you had to talk to him. I assumed he’d called you.”

“No, I needed to talk to him about your heat and the serum—or I guess it was a drink —used to provoke it.”

She stared at me. “You left me to talk about me?”

“To talk about the serum used on you, yes. I wanted to know if it altered your ability to consent.” My palm fell to her hip, my gaze holding hers. Rather than play with words, I decided to be direct. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t claim me because of the serum.”

Her eyes widened. “ What ?”

“Well, you were upset about me not using birth control, which is warranted. I should have asked how you felt about pups before…” I trailed off, wincing. Kieran was right— I am acting like I’ve never knotted an Omega before .

Clearing my throat, I attempted to start over.

But Ivana started speaking first. “I wasn’t upset about the lack of birth control. I was— am —upset that you didn’t claim me, Cillian. That you don’t want to claim me. That you said you wouldn’t have, even if you could have. And?—”

I slanted my mouth over hers, silencing her with my lips.

Which turned out to be the wrong thing to do because the little vixen bit me again. Hard. Drawing blood in the same place she’d bitten me last week.

Don’t you dare kiss me, she snarled into my head. You rejected me and our child. You don’t get to kiss me anymore or ever again.

I pulled back to gape at her. “I did not reject you.”

She rolled her eyes, her full lips parting on what I knew would be some sort of argument.

I grabbed her nape and forced her to look right into my eyes as I repeated, “I did not reject you, Ivana Michaels. And I certainly didn’t reject our child.”

“You said you weren’t sorry and that you wouldn’t have bitten me even if you could have.”

“I said I wasn’t sorry about the lack of birth control and that I wouldn’t have used it even if I could have,” I corrected her immediately. “Which makes me an asshole, I know. But the notion of you being pregnant with our child makes me so fucking hard that I can barely think straight. And you being in heat? Yeah, there’s no way in hell I would have even wanted to try to prevent the outcome because it’s all I could possibly want.”

Her eyes widened, her lips parting as she attempted to form words.

But nothing came out.

“And all I’ve wanted to do for nine fucking days is bite you,” I decided to tack on. “But I wanted you coherent and willing. Not moping and upset about me impregnating you without permission.”

She blinked. “Moping and upset…?” She shook her head, some of her thoughts seeming to escape her in the process.

He wants the baby.

He wants to bite me.

He… he isn’t sorry about impregnating me.

I bit back the urge to growl at that last line, but Ivana’s mouth was suddenly on mine, her tongue tracing the wound she’d left on my lip.

My arms came around her, my wolf purring with approval inside as she straddled my hips and pressed her heated center against my groin.

It was such a stark contrast to moments ago when she’d looked ready to kill me. Now she just seemed to want to devour me.

I let her lead, giving in to her kiss as she encircled my neck with her arms, her tongue dancing with mine in a quest for something more. Something profound.

My hand slid up her spine to her nape, holding her to me as I opened my mind, allowing her to hear my innermost thoughts. My fears. My past. My desires. My love .

She shuddered, part of her overwhelmed by the wealth of information blossoming before her, while an intrinsic side of her latched on to the truth— my truth.

I want you. I want this. I want us. I want our child. Our future. Our lives together. I had no idea how alone I was until you. How meaningless life was until you. You’re my world now. My priority. My purpose. I love you, Vana. It’s only ever been you for me. Only you.

She started to cry, causing my palm to shift to her cheeks. But she wasn’t sad. She was… relieved .

Because she understood me. She understood everything.

“You’re mine, macushla,” I whispered. “Just as I’m yours.”

A bite didn’t prove that; our souls did. Our hearts did. Our bodies did.

But as she licked my lower lip once more, I felt my wolf growl, longing to repay the favor, to finally taste her.

I allowed her to hear that need, that stark yearning . The clawing sensation inside me demanding that I finish this, that I claim her once and for all.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Please.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her to be sure when a knock sounded through the living area, drawing a growl from my chest.

Benz entered in the next moment, choosing to shadow rather than open the door.

And my head fell to Ivana’s shoulder.

Fucking Beta. “Your timing is as impeccable as ever.”