Page 38 of Sage Haven
I laughed softly. “Thank you, Sam. I appreciate that.”
Moments later, Castor appeared. The effortless charm radiated from him, like sunlight pouring through cracks. Tousled blonde hair, an easy smile, a kind of magnetism that made people instinctively lean closer.
His gaze flickered between us, amusement flashing behind his eyes. “Trouble in paradise?” he teased.
Sam smiled as I fumbled over my words, suddenly aware of how tangled I was in this Davidian web. “I—I’m sorry if I ruined the evening for everyone.”, turning to Castor, “Please tell Reich I’m sorry, too.”
Castor chuckled, waving it off. “No need. Reich is...private. Don’t take it personally.”
Private.
No kidding.
But how could I not take it personally?
How could I not feel the pull of him, even now, like a current under the surface?
As the conversation shifted to other things, I couldn’t stop the weight of Reich’s presence from settling back into me.
He was a puzzle I wasn’t sure I should solve.
But despite myself—I wanted to try.
10
REICH
Istood in thekitchen, braced against the counter with one hand while the other lifted the glass I was holding to my lips. I drank greedily, desperate gulps of cold water sliding down my throat as I tried to force the raw ache in my body to fade.
It didn’t work.
My chest still burned from the punishing pace I’d set on my run, but the exhaustion wasn’t just physical.
It never was.
No amount of distance on the trail could outrun the storm in my head.
I had tried.
Harder today than most.
Each pounding footfall on the cracked pavement had been an act of defiance, an attempt to drown it out—the chaos, the noise, the relentless pull of things I didn’t want to feel, but it didn’t work.
Nothing did.
Because no matter how far or fast I pushed myself, I couldn’t escape her.
Sage.
Her name was an echo, soft and sharp all at once, whispering through the back of my mind even when I told myself I didn’t want it there. She was a slow, creeping presence in the edges of my thoughts.
Always there and waiting.
The more I tried to shake her, the more she stayed.
A sharp pang of frustration tore through me, hot and fast. I clenched my jaw, draining the glass before slamming it down on the counter harder than I meant to. The sound cracked through the stillness of the house like a small gunshot.
I forced myself to breathe.
