Eclipse Sector (V-Clan #3)

34. Cillian

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CILLIAN

A Minute Earlier

Fuck , Cael could throw a punch.

I flexed my jaw and ducked as I narrowly avoided getting hit again.

He growled.

I returned the growl.

And both of us went to battle with our minds, trying to force the other to submit.

This distraction wasn’t going to work for much longer. Cael knew I was up to something. He’d said as much with a thought right after I’d hit him the first time. I don’t know why we’re doing this, but I’ll play, Elite. Give me your best.

I’d responded by introducing my fist to his face again.

Which had infuriated Granger.

But Cael had demanded that he stand down. “I’m fine. I can handle this.”

“He just disrespected you,” Granger had said through his teeth.

“I said, I can handle this .”

And handle it, he had.

Shadowing all over the fucking room for the last few minutes. Throwing punches. Kicks. Verbal insults. And the occasional mental laugh .

The asshole was enjoying this far too much.

Begrudgingly, I could admit that a part of me felt the same. And I very much hated that we were both so well matched. If I liked him, I’d ask him to spar more often.

Alas …

My foot met his lower back as I shadowed around him in a quick move to try to knock him down. The kick sent him right into Kieran’s desk, toppling several items onto the floor.

If you fuck up my office, I’m going to be very annoyed, Kieran informed me flatly as Cael shoved off the wood with a growl.

I would take it outside, but I need access to Granger’s mind. Ivana is close to breaking through his final mental layers. I could almost hear his true thoughts now, see whatever it was that he?—

I shadowed to the opposite side of the room, narrowly avoiding Cael’s claws.

Because the bastard had just transformed his hand into a wolf’s paw.

“That’s an impressive talent,” I admitted with a huff.

The bastard smirked, then vanished.

I spun, attempting to anticipate his reappearance.

“I could rip you right open,” he said near my ear, his claws digging into my throat in the next blink. Because you’re barely trying, he added mentally, his chest rumbling with a growl against my back. What the fuck is going on, Cillian?

I muttered a curse.

He knew I wasn’t serious about this attack. I would never have done this with Ivana in the room. His mind said as much.

And he was right—I wasn’t trying. Not even a little bit.

Only a few minutes had passed since I’d first hit him, my momentary distraction short-lived.

But it seemed to have been long enough for Ivana to find her way into Granger’s mind.

Show me, I heard her demand as Cael’s claws dug into my throat.

Start talking, he thought at me.

But I was too busy listening to Ivana thinking about the mine fields in Granger’s mind. This is what Ashlyn meant about watching my step, to tread carefully, to not alert ? —

An explosion erupted, causing me to grab my head as agony sliced through every nerve ending.

Pain erupted through my neck as my knees gave out, the ground suddenly embracing my fall. Or halting it, anyway. Harshly. Coldly.

Oh, Gods, what the fuck? I couldn’t breathe. I was choking. Drowning. Lost in a sea of perpetual darkness.

Except…

Except there were growls all around me. Reverberations. Power .

My eyes flew open as Kieran hit me with a dose of his healing gift, my world suddenly right again.

Only nothing was right about what I was seeing.

Granger had his hand locked around Ivana’s neck, her body limp against the wall from whatever the fuck he’d just done to her.

Ivana! I shouted into her mind.

Nothing.

Not a single sound.

No sign of life.

I was on my feet in an instant, my gifts locking on Granger as I roared into his thoughts. Every ounce of my wolf’s dominance went into that sound as I demanded that he submit.

His legs shook, but his hand remained around my Omega’s neck.

I didn’t think; I acted, sending another thunderous rumble into his head. My chest echoed that sound, causing the entire room to quake around me.

Or that was how it felt, anyway.

I wasn’t actually looking at the room or anyone nearby. My entire focus was on the Alpha holding my female captive. And her limp form. Her pale cheeks. Her lifeless state.

A third growling howl ripped from my mind to his, ordering him to obey. To release my Omega. To kneel .

Beads of sweat dotted his brow, his mental walls wavering beneath my oppressive commands.

Cillian? Ivana whispered, her mental voice stirring a wave of primal need inside. I… I… She trailed off, her mind seeming to seek mine out for comfort and support.

No.

Not just comfort and support.

Knowledge .

I felt her absorbing it, using it, and applying it with a soul-deep determination.

Then she released her own growl, her newfound ability flourishing to life as she blasted through Granger’s consciousness and demolished the barriers protecting his true thoughts.

I seized the advantage, taking hold of his mind with my own and leashing him with my power. My strength. My dominance .

He snarled in response, releasing Ivana. I shadowed forward to catch her, my arms instantly locking around her before Granger landed in a heap on the floor. Another potent blast knocked him out, allowing my focus to fall to Ivana.

She shivered in my arms, her eyes still closed, her skin clammy. Kieran ! I called with my mind.

He was beside me in an instant, his palm ghosting across Ivana’s form. She’s okay, he told me. The baby is okay, too.

Then why isn’t she awake? I asked, my mental voice resembling gravel. Why is she barely breathing?

“She’s breathing just fine,” he said out loud. “Give her a moment, Cillian.”

I didn’t have a moment.

I needed her awake right fucking now.

I needed her to be mine.

Alive.

My mate.

Gods, the power she’d just exuded, the beautiful talent, the way we’d just taken Granger out together… I held her closer, my lips near her ear. “Wake up,” I demanded. “Wake the fuck up so I can bite you.”

Because I couldn’t wait a second longer.

This female was mine. And I needed her to finish this. To complete us. To embrace our future together.

Please, Vana, I whispered into her mind. Please wake up.

Kieran and the others were talking around us, but I didn’t listen. I didn’t fucking care. All that mattered was Ivana. Our incomplete bond. Our stranded souls. We needed to be united, to become one.

Her lashes fluttered, her thoughts seeming to brush mine. Granger? she asked.

Is a fucking dead man, I vowed, sending another blast through his broken mind for good measure. Someone was binding him physically.

Grey , I realized.

But I immediately disregarded his actions and focused on my beautiful Omega. Her pretty blue eyes slowly peeked up at me, her cheeks still a pale shade that made my heart race.

“Vana,” I whispered, my voice holding a note of reverence to it.

This female was everything.

Powerful.

Gorgeous.

Determined.

Confident.

She’d fought for me for so long, and I’d repaid her with rejection—something I’d denied before but now saw how right she’d been to use that term.

I had rejected her at every turn.

Told her to find another Alpha.

Someone worthier. Someone better. All while ignoring that I could be that Alpha.

Because I feared becoming my father. I feared extending his familial line. I feared letting everyone else down by prioritizing a mate over their security.

But by doing so, I gave all those fears purpose. I lived in the past. Let my father’s ghost haunt me for over a thousand years.

No more.

I was done letting a dead man dictate my wants and needs.

Done listening to that voice in my head that claimed I wasn’t good enough or deserving of a mate.

Ivana and I were more powerful together than we were apart. Today proved that. Hell, the last six years had proved that.

I’d been alone without her. Lost. Unconsciously miserable.

And it’d taken her calling me a coward to set me straight.

It’d taken me watching her with other Alphas, realizing that I might just lose her once and for all, to wake the fuck up and claim what had been mine for years.

Then I’d messed up again during her heat. After her heat. Even right fucking now.

I threaded my fingers through her hair, my gaze holding hers. “You’re mine, Vana.”

She swallowed, her eyes searching mine as I unleashed every thought into her mind. All my anguish. All my longing. All my unfulfilled desires. All my frustration. All my fears. All my everything .

But most importantly, I shared my love. My devotion. My intention. My claim .

Tears formed around her irises, making the blue depths glitter.

Then she subtly tilted her head to expose her neck, the invitation clear. “Bite me, Alpha,” she whispered, her full lips moving with the words.

I hadn’t realized how much I needed her to say that. To demand it. Because it only further proved that we were meant to be. “Always telling me what to do,” I murmured back to her.

She stole a breath, suggesting she was about to say something else, maybe utter another command.

But the air escaped from her on a gasp as I sank my canines into her neck.

Her blood touched my tongue in the next instant, stirring a possessive growl from my chest, one that immediately morphed into a purr. Because her essence was heaven . Citrusy yet tangy. Alluringly seductive. And one hundred percent mine .

I swallowed three pulls before I finally moved away to stare down at my stunning mate. Her blissed-out expression told me she’d liked that bite and very much wanted to feel it again.

I obliged by leaning down and nibbling on her lip just hard enough to break the surface. Then I laved away the hurt and claimed her with my mouth.

Kissing her to my heart’s content.

Owning her with each swipe of my tongue.

All while she writhed and moaned in my arms.

It took significant effort to pull away, to press my forehead to hers, but I needed to confirm that she was truly okay. Truly healed. Truly alive .

Because those few short seconds without her had felt like an eternity of loss.

Part of me recognized the insanity of that need— of course she’s fucking alive —but I had to make sure this wasn’t a dream. It felt too fantastic to be real life. To be my life.

However, as I stared down into her lust-filled gaze, all I found was my future. My renewed existence. My world .

“I love you,” I told her. “I love you so fucking much.”

Her palm caressed my cheek, her thumb drawing a line beneath my eye. “Good, Alpha. Now tell me you’ll love me forever.”

Her cheeky reply had me laughing outright, her penchant for telling me what to do in full form. “Who am I to deny such a beautiful Omega?” I mused. “One I will absolutely love forever .”

Ivana’s gaze sparkled. “Finally,” she said with a sigh as I slowly lowered her to her feet with my hands holding her hips. “You’re finally listening to me.”

I chuckled, pulling her against me in a hug. “I’ve always listened to you, Vana.” That had never been the problem. “I just had to learn to hear you.”

She tilted her head back to reveal a flirtatious grin. “It helped that you took your head out of your ass.”

I laughed again and shook my head. “You’re lucky I love you, Omega, or I would be tempted to spank your ass for talking to me like that.”

She shivered. “That sounds like a reward more than a?—”

Someone cleared their throat, causing my wolf to growl at the unexpected—and very fucking unwelcome —interruption.

“While this has been entertaining and all, I’d like someone to explain to me what the fuck just happened to my Elite,” Cael said, a hint of waning patience in his tone.

“He attacked my mate,” I returned without looking at him. “So Ivana and I attacked him.”

“Yes, with impressive power,” Cael drawled. “But I would like to understand what led to that bout of insanity. I assume it has something to do with your lackluster fighting skills?”

I grunted, finally looking at him. “There was nothing wrong with my fighting skills.”

“Please don’t treat me like I’m an idiot, Cillian. Eventually, I will become offended and we’ll engage in a real fight. Outside. As wolves. With our teeth and claws.” His eyes seemed to narrow more with every word he spoke. “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Granger’s been playing us,” Grey growled as he dropped a stack of journals on the ground beside Granger’s prone form. “And I’ve confirmed Ashlyn’s location.”

“Where is she?” Cael demanded.

Grey’s glacial eyes met mine as he replied, “Eclipse Sector.”