Page 116 of Eclipse Sector

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CILLIAN

My wolf growled inside me,furious with my decision to leave our chosen mate. I’d originally planned to bite her the moment she became coherent enough to understand my intent, but then things had gone horribly wrong.

I hadn’t been able to hear every thought—her natural block seeming to be in place between us now that her heat had subsided. However, I’d overheard enough to know how she felt about being pregnant, that she blamed me for her current condition.

And rightfully so.

She hadn’t consented to becoming a mother. Of course, most Omegas desired pups as much as, if not more than, their Alphas did. But this was all so new between us. We’d barely even discussed what mating one another would mean.

And I’d been pretty clear about not wanting to continue my familial line.

However, now that Ivana was pregnant… I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

I’d meant what I’d told her—I wouldn’t have wanted to use birth control, even if I could have. I’d wanted to breed her. To make her mine in all ways. To start a future together.

Which apparently made me an asshole because Ivana hadn’t wanted any of that.

Oh, she’d claimed me. But after hearing her response to the pregnancy and all her thoughts about our mating not being permanent, I was starting to wonder if she’d been in the right frame of mind when she’d bitten me.

That was why I needed to talk to Kieran, to find out more about her forced heat and the mental state that had accompanied it.

If I bit her, our connection would be final. There would be no going back. I wasn’t sure I could do that to her, knowing that she might not really want this. Not yet, anyway.

I had a lot of work to do where Ivana was concerned, primarily with proving myself worthy of her. I knew that. I just hadn’t expected her to react this way to being pregnant.

But I’d never asked her how she felt about pups.

She’d told me she wouldn’t mind coming second to my responsibilities, had pointed out a few times that I had never really considered her feelings on the topic of us, that I’d just made decisions for us.

Was this another one of those decisions?

I growled, irritated not just with myself, but also with her. Because I didn’t understand her reactions. And then she’d said she didn’t want to talk about it anymore, basically dismissing me with her words.

Most Omegas wanted love and affection after a heat cycle, requiring the gentle side of their Alpha to help care for them as they healed.

But not Ivana.

No, never Ivana.

Why would she be normal?

Because she was never fucking normal. She was a goddess. A puzzle I’d never quite solved.

Running a hand over my face, I bit back another growl and focused on finding some clothes. I’d left my clothes from last week in Ivana’s room, leaving me stark naked as I’d shadowed back to my den.

It felt cold here. Isolating. And the smell was all wrong.

Maybe I should go back and bring Ivana here,I thought.Have her roll around in my sheets while I go talk to Kieran.

I would have smiled at the notion had my Omega not been so upset with me at the moment.

Gods, I would never have thought she’d react this way to being pregnant.Did I just not know her at all?I wondered.

How had we ended up on such opposite sides of the spectrum?

I’d never wanted a pup, the very idea of spreading my seed making my balls want to shrivel up inside.