Page 183 of Eclipse Sector

She’d been talking aboutmynew 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. Asus.

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.

CHAPTER FORTY

IVANA

Dropletsof red water streamed down Cillian’s chest, exciting my inner beast.

It was wrong.

Depraved.

Yet it made me burn all over.

My Alpha had shown his strength today. He’d fought. He’d killed. He’dwon.

And something about that stirred a primal need inside me, one that had me wanting to bite him all over again. To ensure he knew he was mine. That everyoneknewhe belonged to me.

That same possessive urge was reflected in his gaze, his mind mirroring my own. I could hear his yearnings, his intentions, his dark desires.

He wanted to knot me like this, to claim me while the water washed away the remnants of death. To come inside me in a joyous union of new life. To show me that he’d chosen me—us—over everything else.

“My Omega,” he whispered against my mouth.

“My Alpha,” I whispered back, then moaned as he kissed me.

It felt like we’d been apart for years, not hours. Like we’d claimed one another a decade ago, not within the last day or so.

Kissing him felt like coming home.

Being alive once more.