Page 7 of Eclipse Sector

What must that be like?I wondered, my gaze scanning the crowd.Terrifying? Freeing? Intimate?

I would never know, of course.

My loyalty was to Kieran. Always. But that didn’t stop me from being curious about the concept or what it might feel like.

Which naturally had me searching for the little ash-blonde nuisance that constantly made me question my sanity.

Nuisancemight be a bit harsh.Temptationwas a more appropriate term.

A temptation far out of my league, I mused, scanning the crowd for her.She needs an Alpha who…The rumination floated off as I caught sight of Ivana across the room, her shoulders oddly hunched.

I took an involuntary step forward, my instincts firing.

Ivana Michaelsneverhunched.

She resembled a fierce goddess despite her petite stature. The woman could set down any Alpha in her path with a few choice words, something I found both aggravating and alluring.

Ivana. The name in Lorcan’s mind almost had me looking at him, but I was too focused on the Omega and the slender arms encircling her torso. She appeared to be trying tobreathe.

Did an Alpha spook her?Lorcan wondered, the question similar to the one bouncing around in my thoughts.Who did you send her off to dance with?

No one in particular. I just told her to find someone else to ask, as I’m not here to celebrate. I’m working.

Do you think someone rejected her?he asked.

I frowned, not liking that concept at all.If they did, I’ll kill them.

Lorcan glanced sideways at me—something I caught in my peripheral vision—his expression mocking.Technically, you rejected her. You reject her all the time. Are you going to punish yourself?

I scoffed at the concept.That’s different and you know it.

But does she know it?he asked softly, his words causing me to clench my teeth.

Ivana knew I was mated to my position, that my loyalty was to Kieran first and foremost. I’d never lied to her, always voicing the truth in her presence.

Well, most of the truth.

I couldn’t take a mate, nor did I want to take a mate. And while she certainly tempted my wolf into a rutting mood every damn time she entered a room, I didn’t have any plans or intentions to actually knot her.

I couldn’t.

Iwouldn’t.

But Lorcan wasn’t wrong.

I did reject her often.

However, tonight hadn’t been different from any other night. And she never reacted to my rejection likethat.

No, someone else must have upset her.

And whoever it was would answer tome. Omegas were under the protection of Blood Sector and therefore part of my jurisdiction as an Elite.

Heaving a sigh, I engaged my shadowing ability to join her near the dance floor.I’ll be back,I told Lorcan as an afterthought.

Except Ivana was already gone when I materialized in the space she’d just been, her citrusy perfume a beacon on the wind. Frowning, I searched for her noteworthy hair—all those silky white-blonde strands.

Nothing.