18. Cillian

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CILLIAN

I stood dumbfounded on the icy street for too long a second after Ivana vanished.

When I’d sensed Cael’s arrival, I’d shadowed out here to stand between him and Ivana. It wasn’t that I suspected him of drugging Sylvia; I just didn’t want him near Ivana. She was mine to protect. Mine to… Well, just mine .

I couldn’t seem to stop my wolf from trying to claim her, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

“Fuck,” I muttered, my palm running over my face. This day was not turning out how I’d expected at all.

“Mate her,” Lorcan said as he appeared beside me.

I glanced at him, my eyebrow arched. “What?”

“You heard me. Mate. Her. ”

I didn’t need to ask him whom he meant. “You sound like Kieran.”

He lifted one big shoulder in a shrug, his expression saying nothing at all. Lorcan rarely ever spoke, which made his commentary all the more important. Because he’d felt it necessary to voice it aloud, something he would never do unless he truly meant it.

“Speaking of,” I began, changing the subject. “What did Kieran decide?” He and Lorcan had been discussing how to handle Sylvia when I’d felt Cael’s arrival. I’d shadowed outside on instinct, leaving Kieran and Lorcan to debate next steps without me.

It’d been an unusual reaction for me, but my wolf had demanded that I shadow to Ivana. And I’d been too caught up in the sensation to fight it.

If it had bothered Lorcan, he hadn’t said anything.

Just as he didn’t comment on my shift in topics now.

“He wants me to shadow Sylvia to Blood Sector. I’ve made her as comfortable as I can; Kieran will need to do the rest.”

“Blood Sector and not Night Sector?” I asked, clarifying.

Lorcan dipped his chin. He doesn’t want to leave Quinnlynn unguarded , he informed me mentally.

I see , I replied, a frown tugging at my lips. He’s concerned this is just the beginning of something nefarious, isn’t he?

Lorcan shrugged again. If it is, we’ll handle it.

Indeed , I agreed.

“Mate her,” Lorcan said for the third time, causing me to narrow my eyes. You’re not the only one adept at abrupt topic changes, he thought at me, his expression and mental tone devoid of emotion.

“She deserves better than me,” I bit back at him.

“I know,” he agreed, voice still flat. “So do better.”

With that, he vanished. And a second later, the scent of an Omega in heat began to dissipate, telling me he’d taken Sylvia to Blood Sector.

“He’s right,” another voice said, preceding Cael’s arrival as he shadowed into Lorcan’s place. “She deserves better.”

My eyes narrowed once more for an entirely different reason. “Let me guess—you believe you’re better for her?”

“Oh, I know I am,” he drawled, making my hands curl into fists at my sides. “But I think you could be best for her, if you could manage to take your head out of your ass.”

My eyebrows flew upward, his words rendering me momentarily speechless. I was both flattered and insulted, and above all, shocked.

“Ivana is an ideal mate,” he went on. “She’s intelligent, confident, witty, fucking stunning, and she wants pups. She’d be perfect for me if it weren’t for one very serious flaw.”

My teeth ground together. She has no flaws. The words flowed from my mind to his, primarily because I couldn’t hold them back. She’s perfect.

“She’s in love with you,” Cael stated matter-of-factly. “And while I can handle a lot of flaws, that’s one my wolf can’t accept.”

My jaw tightened even more. It’s a crush, not love , I wanted to argue. And it’s not a flaw, asshole .

Although, truly, it was. Because I wouldn’t be able to mate an Omega who coveted another Alpha, either.

“So get your shit together, Cillian,” he continued, not giving me a chance to speak. “Otherwise, I’m going to be really fucking tempted to show your female how a real Alpha treats his chosen mate. And I can guaran-damn-tee you that that little flaw of hers will become a distant memory—one she’ll eventually forget, while it haunts you for eternity.”

I swore my jaw was going to break from clenching it so hard. “Why does that sound like a challenge?” I asked him, my inner beast pacing inside me, ready to teach this Alpha Prince a lesson in dominance.

Cael was powerful, and we’d be evenly matched.

But on this, I’d win.

“Because I’m threatening to take what’s yours,” Cael said, his blue-green eyes flashing with promise as he all but plucked the words from my mind.

I’d win this fight because it involves Ivana.

“Either treat her right,” he told me, “or fuck off.”

“It’s not your job to protect her,” I growled at him. “So if anyone should fuck off, it’s you.”

He snorted. “You’re right. It’s your job. So do better , Cillian.” His inflection on the word better brought us full circle to how this strange conversation had begun.

However, rather than shadow off like Lorcan had, Cael simply turned away from me, the action making my inner wolf claw at my insides in fury.

I’d just been dismissed .

And the Alpha who had done the dismissing wasn’t concerned at all about presenting me with his fucking back.

“If I didn’t know any better, Cael, I’d say you were trying to pick a fight with me, perhaps to distract me from the events of this evening?” I taunted, the theory popping into my head before I could properly think it through.

Cael froze.

Then slowly faced me once more.

“If you think I had anything to do with Sylvia’s condition, then you’ve not been paying attention, Elite .”

His reference to my position was intentional. A reminder. One that had me meeting his gaze without flinching.

“Then why are you suddenly so concerned with my personal affairs, Cael?” I asked, purposely leaving off his princely title.

“I couldn’t give two shits about your ‘personal affairs,’ Cillian,” he returned, his wolf dancing in his eyes and turning the blue-green irises to a darker shade of blue. “Ivana, however, has piqued my interest. She deserves better. So if you don’t figure your shit out—and soon—then you’re going to lose your Omega to a real Alpha Prince.”

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.

My Omega.

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.

Because I knew all about Ivana’s list.

And the only name she had noted there.

Mine .

“Only those Alphas are allowed near our nests during our times of need,” she added.

“But Sylvia doesn’t have a list,” Omega Brie chimed in, her dark complexion appearing somewhat pale from the low lighting above. “And she can’t make one in this state. She wouldn’t even know who to choose.”

“Not all Omegas have a list,” Ivana told her. “There are places with, um, appropriate accommodations, for those who don’t have an Alpha to help them through their heat.”

Glory frowned even more. “What kind of accommodations?”

“The kind that provides relief,” Ivana said carefully.

“Toys,” Brie inserted.

Ivana’s cheeks pinkened a little as she said, “Yes.”

And my knot instantly pulsed to life.

“I have a toy,” she’d told me. “For my heat cycles. Because… you never…”

I winced, recalling where our conversation had been headed right before Benz had interrupted us. Fuck. I owe Ivana an apology. An explanation. Something. Anything, honestly.

My throat suddenly felt tight, my ears straining as I returned my focus to Ivana and her conversation with the Omegas.

“At the Sanct…?” Glory was saying, only to trail off on a cough, the action not at all masking her intended words. “I mean, in, um, Night Sector?”

“I… I don’t know what you use there,” Ivana hedged, “but I imagine they’re similar.”

Fuck, they’re still talking about toys. I really should shift my attention to the others in the room. But my throbbing knot held me captive, my gaze glued to Ivana and her alluring mouth. Her tongue slipped out to lick the plump lower lip, almost as though she could feel my eyes on her.

Knowing Ivana, she probably did.

The little vixen always seemed to sense me. It was a miracle she hadn’t glanced my way yet.

“Is that what you’ve done, then? Used toys?” Glory asked Ivana. “Do you not have a list?”

I swallowed as Ivana murmured, “No, I… I have a list. But only one…” She pinched her lips to the side. “Just because an Omega gives an Alpha consent doesn’t mean he’ll take advantage of the permission.”

Glory and Brie gaped at Ivana.

“Alphas say no to knotting an Omega in need?” Brie sounded shocked.

“Stubborn ones do,” Ashlyn chimed in from across the table, the Z-Clan Omega having remained quiet throughout the entire exchange until now. “Ones who don’t realize the gift that’s standing right in front of them can be quite blind sometimes.”

Cael stopped behind Ashlyn, his lips quirking upward. “How right you are, sweetheart,” he murmured before setting down a tray of beverages in the middle of the table. “But most Alphas of worth fully acknowledge that gift and accept it without hesitation.” His gaze fluttered up to Ivana as he spoke, causing my Omega to blush in response to his open appraisal.

My jaw tightened, my wolf raging once more. You must have a death wish, I told Cael. He might be able to keep me from reading his mind, but he couldn’t block my telepathic ability. I can’t see any other reason why you continue to provoke me.

Maybe I find it fun, he returned, the words loud and clear, almost as though I were reading his mind. But no, he’d just allowed the surface thought to pass through whatever magical barrier he possessed inside his head. Or maybe, I want you to find happiness. Depends on how altruistic you find me to be, hmm?

His gaze snapped up to me in the shadows just for a second before he returned to the long spread of food and beverages to grab a drink.

Kieran and I were going to have a lengthy chat about Prince Cael when he arrived. While I didn’t think the Alpha Prince was responsible for Sylvia’s condition, he’d very clearly grown in power over the last century. And that was something worth discussing.

Because Lorcan, Kieran, and I had always kept an eye on Cael and the other princes. However, we’d categorized Cael as an ally with reasonable abilities.

Now, I wondered if he was an ally with profound abilities.

Or an impressive enemy masquerading as a docile ally.

He lifted a glass my way in a false cheers motion, almost as though he could hear my calculative thoughts, then tipped the water into his mouth and downed it like one would a shot of liquor. Then he set it aside, picked up another tray, and took it to a table next to where Ivana had stood moments ago.

Only, she wasn’t there now.

I glanced around, then froze as she materialized beside me in the shadows, her body seeming to blend in with mine despite her fair features.