Page 41 of Sage Haven
Watching her.
Sage.
She didn’t move through the field like she was passing through.
She moved like she belonged to it. Like the earth had claimed her long before she stepped foot on it. And I—I started to feel like I was the trespasser. Like I didn’t belong here.
I told myself to look away.
I told myself this was nothing, but it didn’t shake the pull of her, that was so damn magnetic and irresistible.
Every day it seemed to get worse.
And after meeting her, and getting so close, my desire for her was like a wildfire, spreading unchecked.
And I wasn’t sure how much longer I could contain it.
Fuck.
***
Castor returned late that night, but his usual confident demeanor was gone, like it had been stripped away.
He was grim when he walked through the door, dropping his laptop bag and a thick file onto the coffee table with a heavy thud.
I didn’t move and didn’t speak.
Just waited.
“I found something,” he said.
His voice was quieter than I liked. “You’re not going to like it,” he continued.
I exhaled slowly.
“I don’t like most things,” I muttered. “What is it?”
He didn’t answer. Just flipped open his laptop and started navigating.
His fingers were quick and precise, and when the screen loaded, I felt the weight of what was coming settle deep in my gut.
A dark web site.
One of the worst.
A twisted marketplace.
A place where people were bought, sold and hunted.
Bounties. Contracts. Blood for hire.
Castor clicked a listing.
The page loaded slowly.
And then—her.
Sage.
