Eclipse Sector (V-Clan #3)

39. Cillian

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CILLIAN

Kieran’s mind whirred with the need to kill .

He was livid. More livid than I’d ever heard him.

But he was practical, even in his anger.

Destroy his mind, he told me. Find every fucking detail about this shadow organization that ? —

A scream cut through his mental command, the source of it suddenly writhing on the ground.

Feminine. Pained. Furious .

Quinn jolted forward, ready to intervene when the Omega’s body on the ground twisted in agony, the shriek having come from her parted lips.

Tadhg winced, then started convulsing right along with her.

Ivana gasped beside me, her mind instantly working as she tried to undo what she’d just realized was happening.

No! Ivana screamed, reaching forward with her own mental gifts.

But it was too late.

The damage was done in an instant, this fail-safe one I could never have seen coming.

A suicide sequence. One meant to destroy the mind.

Sylvia instantly stopped screaming, her body going eerily still as Tadhg collapsed beside her, the two of them… brain dead.

Kieran cursed, kneeling down to heal them. But even he couldn’t bring them back from death.

Whatever trigger that Omega had just flipped was one that had been programmed long ago to take both her and Tadhg out.

Cael growled, as did Kieran.

Quinn and Ivana just looked shocked.

And Granger… Granger had gone white, his thoughts chaotic. Because he just realized they’d left him as the only one alive with information we desperately needed.

But he didn’t know enough to be of any use.

I could hear it deep down that he’d already given me everything he knew about what had happened. The shadow contacts were all Tadhg’s. He’d been the one at the table, taking the calls, attending hunts , never once allowing Granger into his inner sanctum.

He was effectively useless to us now.

And as good as dead.

“Fucking craven,” Cael muttered, stepping forward to spit on Tadhg’s corpse. “At least Grey had one win before that bastard offed himself.”

“But his sister…?” Quinn whispered, glancing up at Cael from where she hovered over Sylvia. She’d tried to heal her while Kieran had gone to Tadhg, but neither of them had been able to make a difference. Whatever mind trick Sylvia had pulled had been permanent.

“He used Tadhg’s expectations against him,” Cael told her, his voice softening a little. “Tadhg knew Grey’s been hunting for Nikiski for decades. He assumed Grey would ask about his sister, not Ashlyn. So Grey played the game, knowing full well that if he did, Tadhg would give him the opposite information.”

“Ashlyn’s location, not Nikiski’s,” I translated, understanding what had happened.

“Exactly. He made it sound like he was still holding Ashlyn, which we all know isn’t true. Granger made it look like he dropped her in Eclipse Sector, but our noses confirmed the lie. I’m betting Granger never even had her.” He turned to look at his former Elite. “Am I right?”

Granger simply clenched his jaw in response, saying nothing.

However, his mind confirmed it for me.

That memory had been Sylvia’s doing, the powerful Omega having had far too much manipulation power of the mind. Although, I could see everything clearly now that she was gone.

Sylvia had been one of Tadhg’s acquisitions through the slave trade, an Omega of extraordinary genetics. Mostly V-Clan, but with a touch of vampire. Similar to Kyra in that way, yet so incredibly different, too.

Tadhg had acquired her when she was a child and groomed her as a weapon, just like I’d told Quinn and Ivana.

She was innocent to an extent, having been basically brainwashed by her owner.

But that didn’t make anything she’d done any less evil.

“What did Ashlyn do to foil your plans?” I asked Granger.

He glared mutinously back at me.

That was fine.

I didn’t need him to speak. I could just break his mind with a little help from my mate.

Vana, I murmured. Can you help me get around his barriers? Because those were very much him. I had no doubt that gift for being able to mask his identity was exactly why Tadhg had recruited him.

Ivana squeezed my hand and leaned into my side, then closed her eyes and went to work.

Granger fought back at first, trying to shove her from his mind. But she sidestepped him with ease, her confidence growing with each step.

She’d spent her entire life hiding behind shields without ever realizing that was a special talent, not just a normal skill. It didn’t surprise me at all how easily she’d embraced this extension of her power. She was a natural. Intelligent. Beautiful .

Power hummed between us as she worked, her mind so focused on Granger that she didn’t seem to notice anything else. Not the grunts or groans of the Alphas as Kieran began walking around and killing them one by one—with his hands.

Not the shudders of the observing crowd.

Not the rumble of Kieran’s growl as he exuded his strength and reminded every V-Clan wolf present of just what he could do.

Not the fire that ignited to start burning their bodies.

Nothing.

Just Granger.

Yet Granger was very aware of the death surrounding him, his future lurking on the wind.

He was going to die. But Kieran wouldn’t be the one killing him. That pleasure would be mine, just as soon as I dug every piece of information from his mind that I could.

There, Ivana thought at me, her head against my shoulder. He’s ready.

Thank you, macushla. I rolled my neck, then met Granger’s gaze. Time to get to work.

Granger gritted his teeth, his mind instantly trying to battle my intrusion. But Ivana kept his power at bay while I delved deep into the recesses of his mind, searching for anything useful.

I found the day he first met Tadhg. Their friendship had formed over their mutual agreement that Omegas should be property, not mates. At first, Tadhg didn’t use Granger. It wasn’t until much later when Granger went to him one night to share what Cael and Grey were up to, how they suspected Tadhg of taking Grey’s sister.

Tadhg had denied it at first.

But Granger hadn’t believed him.

Rather than report back to Cael—where his loyalty should have fucking lain—he’d kept feeding updates to Tadhg. He’d wanted Tadhg to take him on as an Elite because he’d stupidly believed that Tadhg would give him more power.

No, not just power.

Omegas .

There weren’t many in Lunar Sector, and those who were there were very much under Cael’s protection. Granger knew he’d never be given one to play with. Because Cael believed in mate bonds and giving Omegas a choice.

Granger was disgusted by the concept.

And jealous that Dixon received favoritism, too. Favoritism as Cael’s brother, even though he was clearly the weaker Elite.

I snorted at that last discovery. Granger didn’t understand the meaning of weak ; otherwise, he would have known just how wrong his assumption was. Granger considered himself to be superior because of his mental abilities. While yes, his talent was impressive, how he chose to use that talent marked him as the weakest of men.

Alphas shouldn’t take from those they saw as weaker than them; Alphas should protect those who needed it.

And Omegas weren’t weak or meant to be owned. They were powerful, something Ivana proved time and again.

But I didn’t comment on any of that in Granger’s mind, just continued processing his thoughts and experiences.

As I’d already discerned, he didn’t know anything useful about the shadow organization, just that it existed. He’d been waiting for Tadhg to invite him to the table, hoping for a reward for all his insider information sharing.

Pathetic , I muttered, then continued digging.

Hours seem to pass as I went through every aspect of his mind, searching for whatever he knew about Ashlyn. About how she’d interfered.

When I finally found it, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

The little psychic had been waiting in Sylvia’s room when he and Tadhg had shadowed in to begin their attack.

She’d given them a little wave and murmured, “I hope you weren’t relying on Sylvia to wake up anytime soon. I may have used some of those drinks from Glacier Sector—you know, the ones meant for me and the others—to keep Sylvia hydrated during her heat. As you can see, she’s still, well, in the throes of it, as it were.”

Tadhg had lost his shit, snarling right in Ashlyn’s face, telling her she was a fucking menace.

To which she’d just shrugged and replied, “I’ve been called worse.”

Furious, he’d grabbed her by the arm and disappeared.

Granger had waited over an hour for him to return, but when he never did, he slunk back to Lunar Sector in a huff.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Tadhg had reached out with a revised plan.

“That psychic cunt will play a part in this after all,” he’d said, pleased with himself for his new idea. “We’ll send them on a hunt through Eclipse Sector—fitting, given recent events there—while we take down Quinnlynn MacNamara and that damn shield around the island. Then I’ll notify my contact that the fun can begin.”

Granger had asked about the contact and what fun he meant, but Tadhg hadn’t elaborated beyond replying, “Let’s just say, it’ll be the most impressive estrus party yet.”

Granger, the idiot, hadn’t asked any additional questions.

A follower through and through.

“Why this asshole was your Elite, I will never understand,” I said to Cael, aware that he’d come to stand beside me a while ago. He hadn’t interfered with my work, just waited quietly while Ivana and I ripped through his Elite’s mind.

Rather than reply, he simply asked, “Learn anything useful?”

Kieran joined us, his gaze and thoughts telling me to answer Cael’s question.

So I did, elaborating on everything I’d just discovered, including how Ashlyn had thwarted their plans.

“Was he ever faithful to me?” Cael asked, sounding tired.

“Yes,” I admitted. “He just doesn’t share your morals. Tadhg’s appealed to him more.”

Cael nodded. “Dixon has never cared for Granger. I’ll have to inform my brother that he was right and I was wrong.” His tone deepened with that last part, suggesting he wasn’t used to admitting to making errors. But the fact that he could state it so plainly out loud spoke volumes about his own personal character.

“Kill him,” Kieran demanded, the words seeming to be directed at Cael.

The Alpha Prince glanced at me. “I smell Ivana’s blood on him.”

“He attacked her.”

He nodded, as if he’d already gathered as much. “The bastard betrayed me in the worst way. But I wouldn’t have known about it had you and your mate not discovered the truth. So how about we… work together?”

I arched a brow. “What are you suggesting?”

“You remove his head. I’ll burn the body.” He uttered the words so casually, like he wasn’t announcing Granger’s future death right in front of him.

“I want to use my hands.”

“That’s fine.” Cael smiled, and a hint of the predator beneath glimmered up at me. “I’m all for making it hurt.”

Ivana made a sound, causing me to glance down at her. She wasn’t disgusted by the notion, as it hadn’t been a gag or even a note of disapproval. It’d been a yawn .

One glance at her face told me why.

It’d been a fucking long day, made even longer by however much time had passed while I’d been inside Granger’s head. Given that all the other Alphas were already burned to ash in the street, and the sun was high in the sky, it’d definitely been hours, just like I’d suspected earlier.

My Omega—my beautiful, pregnant Omega—was exhausted.

I’m fine, she whispered into my mind.

You’re tired.

She shrugged. We’ll go back to our nest after this .

Our nest? I echoed, loving the sound of that.

Yes. You owe me a good knotting session.

I arched a brow. I’m covered in blood, macushla.

I’m very aware. Her gaze ran over me with interest. My deadly, sexy, violent Alpha.

Hmm, I hummed, enjoying the look in her eyes.

I wanted to darken it.

Which gave me an idea.

One I acted on by releasing her hand, walking over to Granger, and twisting his head clean off without even blinking. I will kill anyone who ever thinks to hurt you, I told her. Remember that and believe that.

Her pupils dilated even more. I’ve always trusted you, Cillian.

I’m sorry it took me so long to trust myself, too, I replied, walking back to her and grabbing her by the nape to kiss her soundly on the mouth.

Cael grunted. “I get it, Elite. She’s yours.”

“Prince,” Kieran corrected, causing me to freeze against Ivana. “Assuming he wants Alpha Sector, anyway.”

I slowly pulled back to look at him. “Fuck. You.”

Kieran threw his head back and laughed.

I did not join in.

“I am not fucking taking over Alpha Sector. Give it to Hawk. Or, hell, give it to Grey.” I assumed he’d be back with Ashlyn soon.

He seemed to know exactly where to go, which was good because Kodiak Sector was no-man’s-land for V-Clan wolves.

It was filled with Z-Clan Alphas that none of us wanted to fuck with.

But that wasn’t the point of this current conversation.

“I am not interested in leading, Kieran. I know I could do it. I’m powerful. But I don’t fucking want to be an Alpha Prince. It has nothing to do with my lack of qualifications or my lineage. It’s because I like being your Second. So stop fucking pushing this.”

His eyes glittered with amusement. “My Second, hmm?”

I rolled my eyes. “Elite. You know what I meant.”

“Oh, I think I do, yes,” he replied. “And Second sounds right. Or temporary King when I need a break. Like, in, say, a few months when my mate gives birth?”

I narrowed my gaze at him. “Did you just trick me into agreeing to take on Blood Sector for you so you can go on holiday?”

“Paternity leave isn’t a holiday, from what I understand.”

Fucker, I thought at him.

Which, of course, resulted in him laughing again.

For just annihilating a horde of Alphas, he was sure in a good fucking mood.

“Oh, Night Sector is secure, by the way,” Kieran added conversationally, his change in topic giving me whiplash. “If you’re going to be my Second, you should check your watch more. Lorcan’s been messaging you for hours, and you know how much he doesn’t like to talk.”

He started walking away after that, all while thinking, “ King Cillian” does have a nice ring to it.

“Dead Kieran” does, too, I thought right back at him.

He chuckled again. I don’t die easily, King Cillian. I believe I just proved that.

We’ll see next time we spar, I told him.

I’ll add it to my calendar for sometime next week. You have an Omega to see to first. And I suspect you’re going to require some time off to tend to her needs.

I really wanted to tell him not to comment on my Omega’s needs but decided it wasn’t worth the response. He would just fire something witty back at me.

Besides, he was right.

Ivana did need me.

And I needed her.

“Do you think Grey will find Ashlyn?” she asked, her question seeming to be for Cael, as she was looking at him now.

He’d already begun burning Granger’s remains, ensuring the asshole fully embraced death. Typically, V-Clan wolves had to be beheaded and burned to die.

Apparently, frying the brain also worked, as Tadhg and Sylvia had proved.

She really was a weapon.

One that had been used wrongly, a fact that saddened me. Yet I couldn’t help but feel relieved that she couldn’t cause any more destruction.

“Yes,” Cael said, drawing my attention back to him. “It may take him some time, but I believe she’s left him enough clues to go off of.”

“From the note she wrote to Ivana?” I asked.

“Among other entries, yes,” he murmured. “There’s a lot more going on between him and Ashlyn than he’s telling anyone. Those two cryptic wolves deserve one another.”

“You’re not at all concerned?” Ivana pressed.

Cael smiled. “I’m always concerned, sweetheart. But there’s a reason I trust Grey with my life and my sector. He’s the most resilient bastard I’ve ever met. If anyone can get Ashlyn out, it’s him. You’ll see.”

Ivana swallowed but nodded. “I hope you’re right.”

“I usually am,” he replied, glancing at me. “Just ask your mate.”

I simply stared at him. “You play dangerous games, Prince .”

“Right back at you, Second .”

“That’ll be King to you soon,” I taunted him.

He grinned. “I’ll start working on my formal bow.”

“Do that,” I told him. “And let us know when you hear from Grey.”

Ashlyn’s disappearance would weigh on me until I heard from him. But I acknowledged that there was nothing I could do here.

She’d told Ivana to tell me that a new life was more important than an old one and that she would be fine.

I finally understood what that meant.

She’d been talking about my new life, the one Ivana had given me. All while promising she would survive.

“Choosing to suffer out of some misguided need to repent doesn’t just impact you, Cillian. That choice—the one where you put everyone else first—impacts her, too. If you remember anything I’ve said, please remember that.”

Ashlyn was right.

Choosing to try to go after her now would put myself at risk. Which would put Ivana at risk, too.

My choices were Ivana’s choices, just as hers were mine.

We were a team now.

A pair.

I had to put her first. Always.

But as Ivana had shown me, that didn’t mean I had to forgo my other priorities for her. We functioned best as a unit. As us .

And I looked forward to finding out what all that meant.

For the first time in my life, the future was bright.

Because of the Omega by my side.

My Ivana.

My love.

My mate.