Page 141 of Eclipse Sector

“How to defend herself,” he clarified.

Kyra shrugged. “Same thing.”

Her mate grunted. “Only to you, little killer.”

He talks a lot more now,I thought, blinking at Lorcan.

Yes, it’s unnerving,Cillian replied into my mind, a hint of amusement underlining his words.

“But my point is, we knew from the beginning that Ashlyn joined this program for a purpose that had nothing to do with taking a mate,” Quinn said. “And now I’m thinking it was to protect the other Omegas.”

“Only, they were still dosed with the estrus party serum,” Kieran replied, his gaze intent as he studied his Queen.

“Yes, but Sylvia was dosed first.” Quinn’s expression turned thoughtful with the words. “What if that was unintentional? And meant as a sign? A way to get the others out of Glacier Sector before everyone went into heat?”

“You think Ashlyn drugged her?” Kyra asked, incredulous.

“No… I don’t know. I just…” Quinn paused to blow out a breath. “Look, everything Ashlyn does has a hidden purpose. It has always been that way. And she asked to room with Sylvia.”

“So maybe she saw what happened to her, and whoever is behind this took Ashlyn to silence her,” Kyra offered.

“Or maybe she already knew what was going to happen and wanted to make sure Sylvia was found,” Quinn countered.

The pair of them studied each other for a long moment, their conversation seeming to continue with just their eyes.

They were best friends, and moments like this just drove that history home.

I let them continue their silent discussion and went back to look at the journals again. Specifically, the symbols.

“Do you think these relate to some sort of language?” I asked, talking to Cillian more than to the group. “Like maybe something Z-Clan wolves use to communicate?”

Because the letters looked a bit rune-like. Except they weren’t a script I’d ever seen before, and given what little Lorcan and Cillian found in their archives, it wasn’t anything they recognized either.

Which said a lot, considering their ages.

But maybe we needed an outside opinion.

“We should ask Alpha Grey,” I commented out loud, my eyes widening. “She told you their paths were destined to cross, right? Maybe that was a clue. Maybe she meant they were supposed to cross now. Like,today.”

“Or she was hinting at Grey being the threat,” Lorcan interjected.

“No, she very specifically said he didn’t mean her any harm,” Cillian replied. “And I don’t think she was solely talking about the ice pond incident.”

“That sounds like the Ashlyn we know,” Kyra mused. “Every comment is always a layered riddle.”

“You usually like those riddles,” Quinn commented dryly.

“Not when Ashlyn puts herself in danger,” Kyra growled, her expression darkening. “I’m going to wring her neck whenever we find her.”

“That sounds about right,” Lorcan drawled.

Kyra narrowed her gaze up at her dark-haired, dark-eyed mate. “Do you want me to kill you?”

His lips curled. “I love it when you flirt with me, little killer.”

“Stop distracting me.”

“Stop propositioning me,” he countered.