Page 88 of Eclipse Sector

Or maybe I simply needed her.

Who the fuck knew? I just couldn’t release her. Not now. Not after she’d found me lurking in the shadows. She’d done this countless times before, but something was different now. Iwasn’t sure if it was our time in the shower or the forbidden kiss I’d stolen from her, or some combination of both.

All I knew was I couldn’t release her. Not physically or mentally.

Cillian?she asked, her mental voice tentative.

I need a minute,I told her, my thumb running along her hand.Just sixty more seconds.

Okay,she replied, not asking me to explain.

Instead, she stood quietly beside me while finishing her drink, her mind as peaceful as ever. She exuded a serenity unlike any other, her mere presence allowing me to breathe a little deeper.

I’d spent so many years fighting this pull between us, this urge to just sink into her embrace and allow her to care for me. So many tense moments. So much physical and mental strain.

It was like I’d been drowning for years and had refused to let her tug me up to the surface for air. But I’d been drowning for her. Protecting her from my turbulent undertow. Ensuring she could remain in the blissful sun without me anchoring her to the ocean floor.

Some might say I was selfless.

Others might call me selfish.

I supposed it was all about perspective, because right now, I felt more selfish than I’d ever been, holding her hand and keeping her away from all the Alpha suitors in the room. Staking a claim I shouldn’t be allowed to stake.

Yet it felt too good. Too right. Toonecessary.

I swallowed, my eyes scanning the area before us and noting the quiet murmurs occurring between the Omegas, as well as the guarded looks among the Alphas. They were all questioning each other’s intentions, wondering if one of the others had tried to hurt Sylvia.

The general undertone of fury suggested they were all innocent. None of them were pleased that Sylvia had been drugged.

It was an anger I shared with them all.

An anger the Omega beside me miraculously quieted.

Our minute stretched into two minutes. Then five. And on to ten. All the while, Ivana remained by my side without uttering a word, allowing me to focus my mind and continue scanning everyone around us, including the inhabitants of Glacier Sector not in this dining hall.

A myriad of emotion-filled thoughts swirled through my mind, allowing me to filter them out as I searched for useful information.

Concern. Rage. Fear. Some irritation.

But no guilt.

And the fear was coming from the Omegas, not from an Alpha afraid of being caught.

I clenched and unclenched my jaw. There were only three Alphas I couldn’t read at all—Cael and his Elites.

Kieran’s not going to be pleased, I told Ivana.We’re going to spend days questioning everyone.Which meant he would be away from his pregnant mate.

Everyone?she repeated.

I haven’t been able to find a single clue or hint in anyone’s thoughts, which means I’m missing something.A fact that had me questioning everything. Sylvia had been assaulted on my watch while I’d been distracted. And now, I had no proof.

Or no one here is guilty,she murmured.Maybe whoever hurt her shadowed in and out before anyone could sense them. Or perhaps this was done before we even arrived.

I startled at her thought.Before we arrived?I echoed, considering her words.

Suppressants take weeks to build up in an Omega’s system.She glanced at me.Couldn’t a heat inducer work similarly?

What do you know about suppressants?I asked, the concept causing the hairs along my arms to stand on end.You?—