Page 26 of Night Sector

The barrier was designed to keep intruders out, the spell clearly powerful. But my wolf remained uneasy. Or perhaps the better word wasdistrusting.

Something just… didn’t feel right.

Maybe it was the foreign energy that stirred the hairs along my neck. However, I hadn’t survived this long by simplyacceptingplausible explanations.

Until I felt confident in the perimeter spell, I wouldn’t be able to have faith in it.

I stared out at the icy beach, watching a few napping seals along the frigid shores.

Animals thrived in this new world, the lack of human interference allowing much of their habitats to slowly begin to turn back to normal. They still had a long way to go, the destruction to the global environment catastrophic, thanks to general carelessness.

Several of the Post-Infected Era sectors had programs in place to help it along.

Others were too poor to even try.

I supposed we truly did live in a dystopian world now. But the seals seemed quite pleased with it.

A scream echoed through my mind, making me wince and curse out loud.Kyra,I thought, my shadowing ability igniting in an instant.

Only for my rational senses to yank me right back to the beach.

Just another nightmare,I told myself with a grimace.Fuck.

My innate response to run to her was really starting to fuck with my head. I wasn’t used to this overwhelming drive to protect amate.

Guarding Kieran came naturally to me after over a thousand years of serving by his side. Helping to care for a sector full of wolves and humans also came naturally to me because it was my duty as a high-ranking Alpha.

But this… thisneedto ensure Kyra was safe…

“Fucking hell,” I muttered, running my hand over my face again and palming the back of my neck.

My wrist buzzed right then, indicating a new text. I grumbled another curse before looking at it, fully aware that it would be a response from Cillian.

Seems like she’s into delayed gratification. Might be your soul mate after all.

I grunted at his idiocy but decided two could play this game.Speaking of soul mates, how’s Ivana?I typed back.

His response returned to me in a handful of seconds.Fuck you, Lor.

My lips curled as I dismissed the message. Ivana was an Omega hell-bent on mating Cillian, but he rejected her at every turn. His loyalty, like mine, was to Kieran. Neither of us had the time or the desire to take a mate.

Something I really wished Kyra would fucking understand.

She seemed to think I intended to force my knot on her.

Like I would ever fuck an unwilling woman. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I could trust Kyra around my knot. She’d probably try to cut it off with one of her fancy blades.

An image of her dancing around me with knives populated my thoughts, giving me momentary pause. Mostly because I’d pictured her doing it while wearing nothing but a pair of sheaths on her thighs.

Yeah, that would be fun.

Too bad it was never going to happen.

Blowing out a breath, I started my trek back toward the palace. Cillian’s message had reminded me that it was nearly time to eat.

I typically indulged in midnight breakfast, then did another security check before popping over to Blood Sector to deliver my daily report. Cillian was acting as the Sector Alpha in Kieran’s absence, a role that actually suited him quite nicely.

Next time Cillian taunted me about Kyra, I’d be sure to mention his profound leadership skills. He’d hate that almost as much as me commenting on his compatibility with Ivana.