Page 15 of Eclipse Sector

And how incredibly frustrating, too.

Because now he was very much on my mind. On an evening when I’d vowed to move on. To step into my future. To stop fretting over an Alpha who didn’t want me.

My fingers curled into fists, my jaw clenching as irritation sizzled along each of my nerve endings.

“Prince Cael,” Benz greeted suddenly, his tone taking on a regal quality that he complemented with a bow.

“Hello,” a cultured voice said in response, his accent holding a touch of English to it. “Am I interrupting?”

“Of course not,” Benz replied, his head still lowered. “I’m simply Omega Ivana’s escort for the evening.”

“A friend, then?”

“A friend,” Benz echoed.

“Abestfriend,” I corrected him.

Benz’s lips curled just slightly. “Yes, a best friend.”

“That is a very important distinction,” Prince Cael murmured. “Beta…?”

“Benz,” my best friend replied, finally lifting his head.

“Cael,” the Alpha said in return, the two of them shaking hands. “It seems I need to impress you almost as much as Omega Ivana.”

I blinked at that, my focus shifting to the Alpha Prince.

Prince Cael and I had never met, but I knew of him. He’d attended the coronation a few weeks ago. As had Prince Tadhg, Prince Lykos, and a handful of other high-ranking V-Clan wolves.

Of course, I knew of Prince Cael before that evening, too.

He was an Alpha Prince.

Everyoneknew of him.

His blue-green eyes captured and held mine as I openly evaluated him. I should probably bow or curtsy, but my wolf seemed too intrigued by this male’s nearness to cower or submit.

Which was precisely the wrong way to react to an Alpha Prince.

However, he didn’t admonish me for it. He merely smiled, the action making his handsome features that much more alluring.

“Why would you need to impress either of us?” I asked him. It was typically the other way around where Alpha Princes were concerned.

“Because I’ll be joining the mating pool,” he replied softly.

My eyebrows lifted. “But you can’t relocate to Night Sector.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Indeed, I cannot. However, Kieran has given me special permission, as I require a mate for Lunar Sector.”

“Oh.” My brow furrowed as I considered what he was saying. “You don’t have any eligible Omegas?”

“There are a few in Lunar Sector, but none that are suitable,” he replied. “I’m either related to them, or they’re too young.”

“Hmm, I suppose that would pose a bit of a problem,” I agreed, cocking my head. “Good thing King Kieran discovered more, then.”

Benz cleared his throat beside me, causing me to glance at him. His turquoise eyes seemed to be trying to convey some sort of warning, one I didn’t quite understand.

Had Prince Cael not been standing beside us, I’d have been tempted to demand,What the hell is that look for?