Page 72 of Eclipse Sector
Because a small part of me was now whispering,Is she right? Am I coward?
Ivana seemed to think so, and that belief was changing everything. I could see it in her eyes, the way she seemed to look at me now. It’d all changed in a blink, the natural glow of intrigue disappearing from her gaze as a disappointed glimmer took its place.
My stomach twisted.
I didn’t appreciate this change. It bothered me almost as much as watching her date other Alphas.
What happens when that amorous glitter appears for one of them?I wondered, a growl building in my chest.
A base part of me understood that this had all been tolerable because despite everything, deep down, Ivana had still wanted me.
That had appealed to me on a level I hadn’t fully analyzed, which naturally made me an asshole. I couldn’t push her away while secretly being pleased that she never left.
Fuck.
Ivana sighed, her gaze leaving mine. I felt that departure deep in my soul, this moment profound in a way that had my wolf pacing inside me.
If I left her now, it would be the end.
She’d finally be free of her crush.
And I would be alone.
For good.
“I need to get ready for my date with Prince Cael,” Ivana said softly, her demeanor and tone confirming my fears.
She shifted sideways, attempting to free herself from my grasp. My hands automatically tightened around her in response, my body refusing to let her go.
This… this can’t be the end.
She’s mine.
She’s not.
Sheis.
The voices warred in my head, the thoughts swirling in a cacophony of insanity. This Omega… this woman…Ivana…
“Fuck,” I breathed. My grip in her hair forced her head back once more, causing her gaze to clash with mine. “I’m not afraid, Ivana. Not… not in the way you think. I… I made a vow to myself over a thousand years ago to never take a mate. To never be my father. To ensure his line ended… with me.”
It was more than I’d ever voiced aloud to anyone.
Oh, Kieran no doubt knew. Lorcan, too.
But I’d never vocalized my intentions to them.
However, Ivana… I wanted her to understand. To not see me as a coward. To realize that I was trying to protect her—from me.
“He was a tyrant,” I told her. “The former Alpha Prince of Eclipse Sector. Kieran took him down when I couldn’t.” Because I’d been too weak to finish the job. “That’s how Kieran became an Alpha Prince.” She might have heard about that in passing already. Or maybe she hadn’t. Most wolves in Blood Sector weren’t old enough to know the history of Eclipse Sector.
Because my father killed most of the Alphas and raped their Omegas.
And that had happened after exterminating every Beta in Eclipse Sector.
I winced at the graphic history unfolding in my mind. My bastard father had murdered many of my brothers and sisters, too. As well as all of their Omega mothers.
Including my own.
