Page 85 of Eclipse Sector

The air chilled around us, our wolves staring each other down. “There you go challenging me again.”

“I only challenge worthy opponents.” His pupils flared as he looked me up and down. “And I certainly don’t see one standing in front of me.”

I took a step forward, my animal raging inside. “You see your better standing before you.”

“No,” he bit back. “I see a fucking coward. So fix your shit, Cillian. Fight for your Omega. Treat her right. Or I’ll show you what a real challenge looks like.”

The bastard shadowed before I could respond, leaving me growling at the empty space in front of me.And you call me a coward,I snarled into his mind.

A snort was his only reply, his mental thoughts instantly turning to the Omegas standing nearby.

Or one Omega in particular.

MyOmega.

For just a second, he let me hear his appreciation as he met Ivana’s gaze. Then he shut me out with a mental shove that nearly knocked me on my ass.

My gaze narrowed. Either this was all meant to be some sort of distraction from the issue at hand or…

Or he really meant everything he said.

My hands fisted at my sides. First Kieran, then Lorcan, and now Cael. Kieran and Lorcan’s concern with my personal life made sense—they were my best mates. But Cael? Cael and I… we weren’t exactly friends. But we’d never been enemies to one another either. Actually, he tended to serve as an ally when I needed him to.

He also had a fondness for games. Typically, political ones, which I also excelled in. Hence our undefined relationship. One that was about to be severely tested if he tried to take Ivana from me.

Except she wasn’t really mine.

Not yet, I thought.

No. Not ever.I shook my head, a growl vibrating my chest as my inner wolf adamantly disagreed with the direction of my thoughts. Or maybe my animal was reacting to the knowledge that Prince fucking Cael was near our Omega right now.

Because I could hear the thoughts of those observing Ivana and Cael as they started distributing meals to everyone in the room.

They look good together, Ashlyn was thinking, her voice abnormally loud and grating on my nerves.I wonder what their pups will look like.

My jaw clenched as I shut her off, only to be sucked into Ransom’s mind as he internally groused about unfair competition, how he couldn’t compare to an Alpha Prince.

I snorted.With thoughts like that, no, you’ll never be able to compete,I nearly said to him. But I swallowed the mental words and instead shadowed to the dining area that Ivana had escorted all of the Omegas to.

I leaned against a wall shrouded in darkness, the shadows seeming to gravitate toward me as I took in the room.

Almost everyone was seated, most of the Omegas quiet and huddled together while Alphas sat at other tables, their postures guarded as they watched the exits.

No one noticed my arrival, primarily because I hadn’t allowed my presence to be felt. I always preferred to linger and to listen without being seen. Situations such as this were why I’d perfected my stealth-like abilities.

I tuned in to the surrounding mental voices, sifting through them and listening for any hints of what might have happened to Sylvia.

All the while, my gaze remained on one focal point in particular—Ivana.

She stood by a table of Omegas, her blonde head bent as she calmly said, “Sylvia will be okay. King Kieran is a healer. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

“But she’s in heat,” a dark-haired Omega named Glory whispered. “And there are unmated Alphas in Blood Sector.”

Ivana nodded. “Yes, true. But Blood Sector has a system in place that guarantees consent.”

“What system?” Glory asked, her thick brows furrowing.

“Blood Sector Omegas make a list of Alpha candidates for our estrous cycles,” Ivana explained softly, causing my heart to squeeze.