30. Cillian
A s soon as the sun broke above the horizon, I was itching to see my mate again.
I haven’t slept, not really, merely paced around my bedchamber in the hopes Ivy might change her mind and ask us to come back to the nest. But I’ve failed her—made her doubt me. I only hope Sloan has managed to be successful where Oran and I were not.
In order for this pack to work, Ivy will need to accept all of us as her alphas. So at the very least, I’m glad she and Sloan are building their connection—a small silver lining amidst the storm clouds.
When I sent Oran to summon her, I wasn’t sure if I should wait for her to come to us. If I had done that, would she assume me to be uninterested in fixing things? Would she believe I was rejecting her?
Fuck.
Everything is a mess.
If she’ll give me just a few minutes this morning, I’m sure I can make her understand why I felt the need to lie. But what if the damage is too deep to undo?
When I’m convinced I might pull out my hair, Sloan knocks. Three quick raps before he enters without waiting to be invited in, like always. This is as much his chamber as it is mine for all I’m concerned. I’m prepared to share everything with him and Oran. They’ve been as close to me as my own brothers for most of my life.
“Good morning,” he says with bright-eyed exuberance.
Lucky fucker.
He doesn’t even need to say it. I know Ivy let him touch her last night because he looks exactly as I felt yesterday morning.
Being with her is incomparable to anything I’ve ever experienced. That she would share her body—her heart—with any of us is a wonder. I’m happy for Sloan, but so sad for me to have lost the privilege of her generosity, even briefly.
“Is it?” I ask, sighing.
Sloan comes to sit across from me, picking at my half-eaten breakfast. I can’t eat, like I can’t sleep, knowing my omega is distressed, especially when I had something to do with it.
“It will be. Have faith in our mate,” Sloan says, smiling at me like he’s seeing the world in an entirely new light, his voice suspiciously melodic.
“You seem…different. What happened last night?”
My packmate’s eyes go wide before he promptly shoves some tart into his mouth. He speaks, but it’s all nonsense around the food. That’s not fucking suspicious.
“Sloan,” I press. “ What did you do ?”
He regards me, guilty and grinning, as if he’s about to tell me he did something stupid like?—
“Good morning, Your Majesty…Mr. O’Malley.” My valet, Niall, calls out, startling me. I didn’t even hear him enter, though I’m not sure how.
Niall is about as broad as a barn and stands even taller than Sloan. He’s an alpha, young to hold such a prestigious position, but he’s a hard worker and as kind as they come. Plus, I’ve heard no complaints from the rest of the staff. Seems they quite like having a handsome, unbonded alpha like himself around.
He walks towards where Sloan and I are seated and collects dishes.
“Good morning, Niall. Are you well?”
“Indeed, I am, Your Majesty. Though probably not doing as well as you.” He winks.
He winks.
How fucking odd.
“Oh?” I chuckle. “Why’s that?”
Niall quirks a brow. “I served the queen breakfast not an hour ago, in Prince Aspen’s chambers.”
Wonderful . How supremely cryptic and unhelpful.
Sloan coughs, choking on whatever else he stuffed in his mouth in a panic. He appears as though he’s ready to jump out of his own skin.
I’ll get to the bottom of this now.
“And tell me, Niall, how was my wife this morning?”
A nervous laugh escapes him—he shifts his eyes between Sloan and me like he too is unsettled by whatever the hell is going on here. “Well, she was practically glowing, what with your bond mark on her neck.”
Oh, fuck’s sake almighty.
Irritation prickles between my eyes, the growing ache there due to the lack of sleep and the colossal idiocy of Sloan fucking O’Malley. If it weren’t for Niall in the room, I’d have my hands around his neck.
What on earth was he thinking?
“Yes, my bond mark.” I grit my teeth, trying to hide the fury dripping from every word. “I’m such a lucky alpha. The queen is the stuff of fables.”
Niall smiles, blowing out a relieved breath. “She is a rare beauty indeed, Your Majesty. I’ll be on my way, then, unless you require anything else?”
I wave him off, thanking him for his time as he leaves with the tray of dishes.
When the door closes and it’s only me and my packmate, I shift my gaze back to him. The venom I want to spit must be shooting from my eyes because, for all that my packmate is massive, he looks positively frightened.
“Now, Cillian,” he says with great caution—like I’m some wild animal who may strike if he makes the wrong move.
“You must be out of your fucking mind!” I roar.
“Of course I was! You don’t understand?—”
I scoff, cutting him off. I understand very fucking well how tempting she is. “I do, actually. You’re not the only one who touched her, Sloan. You think I didn’t want to sink my teeth into her perfect throat? We agreed to wait .”
I can’t believe this. My level-headed friend. Our prime alpha—the one who’s supposed to keep us grounded—is acting like a fool in love.
Fuck’s sake.
All right, so perhaps he is—and so am I. But what are we meant to do with this?
“This is all to do with you anyway,” he huffs.
“ Me? ” Surely I’m mishearing him, and he didn’t try to blame me for his inability to keep his fucking teeth to himself.
“You’re the one who made us wait. I told you this would end badly. Now our omega is on the edge of her heat, smelling good enough to send me into a rut. And she begged me to bite her. If you think you would’ve denied her—think again.”
I groan, tearing at my hair. My head is so full of mush. I’m exhausted and angry, but at the same time, I know he’s right. She wouldn’t have been able to finish asking before I’d have claimed her. If she had indicated her readiness on our wedding night, I would have done the same.
But if she asked Sloan… Gods .
Some of the panic eases as I come to a realization.
If she asked Sloan to bond with her, that’s… grand . It means she could really want this. Want all of us.
“You’re a fucking eejit,” I grumble.
I’m confused, if I’m honest. I’m happy for him—this is what we wanted. But without the court knowing of our pack, things have gotten decidedly harder now. We’ll have to lie, and lying about something so wonderful doesn’t sit right with me.
“Aye. But a lucky eejit.”
I chuckle, reaching across the table to grip Sloan’s hand in congratulations. “What was it like?”
Sloan sighs with so much damn whimsy. “Magical, brother. Indescribable. You’re going to love it.”
Yearning claws at me, wrapping itself around my heart and squeezing until it feels as though my chest might cave in. I want to feel our omega nestled right in my soul, where I can keep her safe and nurtured. She’s the most precious thing in the world to me—her and this pack.
“I’m happy for you, Sloan,” I say, seriously.
His brows shoot high as he bellows out a booming laugh. “ Goddess wept , Cillian, if that’s what you call happy, I sure as fuck don’t want to see you angry.”
I swat at him, smiling. Always one for the jokes, my packmate. Always bringing lightness to the heaviness of our world.
Gods love him.
“You made our lives complicated, is all.”
He shrugs. “Uncomplicate them. You’re the gods-damn king. You could decree we all walk around on our hands and knees and those simpering fools at court would drop to the ground to stay in your good graces.”
I groan, reminded of my authority. “Sounds like something my father would do. Make demands without thinking of others.”
“What you’re doing is good, Cillian. It’s going to save people—save omegas. Like Ivy. Stop comparing yourself to that dickhead.” Sloan grips my shoulder, steadying us both.
“Thank you,” I breathe. With his confidence in me, my heart rests a bit easier.
Sloan clears his throat, a smile on his lips. “Ivy’s almost here. I can feel her anxious little heart beating down the bond. Are you ready?”
Fuck, that’s magical—just as he said. To sense her even when she’s not near, to know her mood, and have the power to soothe her? I can’t wait to love her at any given moment.
Fate has truly been good to us.
“I’ll have to be,” I reply. “I want to be back in her heart.”
“You will be,” he says with surety.
The next moment, the chamber doors open. Fucking Oran. Never knocks, that one.
But he’s got my omega in tow—my beautiful Fate-blessed mate with the silvery new bond mark adorning her neck.
She’s a vision, and I’m thoroughly entranced.