The night felt heavier inside his Delhi mansion.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city lights. The world below moved normally.
Up here...
Nothing was normal.
Sage stood near the balcony, his coat still wrapped around her shoulders.
She hadn't left.
That was the first dangerous choice.
Behind her, S4RKU watched silently.
He didn't pressure her.
Didn't touch her.
That was worse.
"Say it," he finally said.
She turned slowly. "Say what?"
"That you're staying."
Her jaw tightened.
"I'm staying," she said carefully. "But not because I'm scared."
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"Oh?"
"I'm staying because I want answers. And because running would mean you control me."
A long silence.
Then he walked toward her.
Slow. Controlled. Dominant.
He stopped inches away.
"You think you're not already under my control?"
Her pulse quickened - but she held her ground.
"If I stay," she continued, voice steady, "it's on my terms."
His eyes darkened.
"And what are your terms, Sage?"
She swallowed.
"You don't lie to me. You don't cage me. And you don't treat me like property."
The word hung in the air.
Property.
His jaw flexed slightly.
"You're asking a wolf not to bite."
"And you're asking a human not to have free will," she shot back.
That did something to him.
He liked resistance.
He stepped closer, slowly backing her toward the glass railing again.
"You want honesty?" he murmured.
"Yes."
"I have killed. I will kill again. And if anyone touches you-"
"I know," she interrupted softly.
Silence.
Intense.
Electric.
Her voice dropped.
"But you don't get to own me."
His hand lifted - hovering near her waist - not touching yet.
"You don't understand something."
"And what's that?"
His fingers finally settled on her waist.
Firm.
Warm.
Possessive.
"I don't want to own you."
He leaned closer.
"I want you to choose me."
Her breath hitched.
That was more dangerous than force.
Because choice meant surrender.
And she felt it.
The pull.
The thrill.
The darkness calling her name.
"You're not safe with me," he whispered.
Her fingers curled into his shirt.
"And yet," she breathed back, "I don't feel safe without you."
That was it.
The shift.
Something primal ignited in his eyes.
He moved his hand from her waist to her neck - not choking - just holding.
Claiming.
His forehead touched hers.
"You have no idea what you're inviting into your life."
"Show me," she whispered.
And that whisper...
Was her real fall.
He didn't kiss her softly.
He kissed her like a warning.
Slow. Deep. Controlled.
Not romantic.
Intense.
Her back pressed against the glass. His hand tightened slightly at her waist.
She should stop this.
She knew she should.
But instead, she pulled him closer.
Because somewhere between fear and fire...
She had started craving the darkness.
But downstairs...
One of his guards rushed inside.
"Sir."
The interruption shattered the moment.
S4RKU didn't move away immediately.
His eyes still locked on hers.
"What?"
"There's been movement from the rival syndicate."
Pause.
"They've put a price on her."
The air went cold.
Sage felt it instantly.
A price?
On her?
S4RKU's expression didn't explode.
It froze.
Deadly calm.
"How much?" he asked.
The guard swallowed.
"Enough that every hunter in the country will start looking."
Silence.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
S4RKU finally stepped back from her.
Not to create distance.
But to prepare for war.
He looked at her one more time.
"You wanted my world."
His voice was darker now.
"You're about to see how ugly it gets."