Page 163 of Eclipse Sector

“Indeed,” he agreed.

I frowned. “Hold on, so you did get Prince Cael to join to try to make Cillian jealous?” I demanded. They’d been talking about it while I’d been scouring Ashlyn’s journals earlier, but Kieran had feigned innocence.

Now he looked smug as well.

Meanwhile, Quinn just appeared to be pleased. “It’s about time he claimed you.”

I shook my head. “You two really are meddlers. What if I’d fallen for Prince Cael?”

“Then you would have made a fine couple,” Kieran reiterated. “And Cillian would have regretted losing you for the rest of his long, lonely life.”

I winced at the thought, not liking that notion at all. “He carries a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.”

Kieran sobered a little. “I know. A lot of it is undue, too.”

I swallowed and nodded, not wanting to talk about this anymore. It felt wrong to discuss my mate with his best friend.

Mate, I repeated to myself.My mate.

Because Cillian had bitten me.Twice.

I shivered at the heated promise he’d left behind, the very wicked intentions underlining his words.

Gods, I wanted him.

I wanted him so badly that I could barely think straight.

My thighs clenched, causing my cheeks to warm in response. I needed a distraction. Stat. Something to help cool the inferno building inside me.

Cillian’s claim still hummed through my blood, causing my body to react in kind.

We needed to finish our vows. Tie ourselves together in literal knots.Pleasure one another for days.

It was like my estrus all over again.

Except I wasn’t in heat at all, just very,veryturned on.

Clearing my throat, I glanced around the office again, searching for something else to focus on.

Granger instantly caught my attention, his lifeless body taking up residence on the floor. “Do you think he gave us the estrus serum?” I blurted out, grasping for anything I could possibly think of that would turn my hormones off.

My change in topic also seemed to work on Kieran and Quinn because they both instantly scowled. Only the latter finally looked at the male in question, her nose curling in disgust. “He’s definitely the one who visited Bariloche Sector, so he would know all about the serum.”

“And not Dixon, then?” Kieran asked her, falling into work mode.

“There was only one V-Clan wolf I ever scented, and it was this Alpha.” She glared at him. “But what I don’t get is, why didn’t I recognize him the other times I’ve met him? Why does his scent suddenly register as familiar now?”

“Because Ivana did something to unmask him,” Kieran explained.

Quinn gaped at me. “What did you do?”

“I…” I trailed off, my lips twisting to the side as I considered how to phrase what I’d done. “Cillians says I have anatural understanding of psychic processes, so I… I just sort of maneuvered through Granger’s mental barricades to look for the truth beneath all his layers.”

Which gave me an idea now. Cillian had shown me how to access Granger’s memories. Maybe I could find one associated with the estrus serum.

Rather than voice my intentions aloud, I simply prodded Granger’s mind again, curious as to what kind of state it was in after whatever Cillian had done to him. It’d felt like a psychic blast, one I never wanted to be on the receiving end of. It probably felt like being shot in the head. Or perhaps having one’s head blown off entirely.

Shivering, I ignored the underlying sensation that thought stirred inside me and focused on Granger.