Page 96 of Sage Haven
Nothing left.
No strength.
No fight.
Klay’sexpression darkened.
Something primal and vicious lit behind his eyes.
Two steps.
That’s all it took for him to close the distance.
And then—he shoved me.
Hard.
The impact was brutal.
I hit the ground with a crack, gravel tearing into my palms, slicing my skin open. Pain flared sharp and hot along my shoulder as it slammed into the dirt. But I barely had time to react before—his knee came down on my throat.
The weight was immediate. Crushing.
A brutal press against my windpipe.
I gasped and choked.
My hands scrambled against his arms, trying to push him off, but it was useless.
I was too weak.
Too broken.
And he was too strong.
He leaned in closer with his face inches from mine.
I could see the dilation in his pupils, the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. But it was his smile that gutted me.
“You’re nothing but a little whore,” he hissed, voice low and vibrating with fury. “You hear me? Nothing.”
I clawed at his wrist, nails biting into flesh, but he didn’t even flinch.
“Mark my words,” he growled. “You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
His eyes burned—not just with a threat.
A promise.
Then—release.
His knee lifted and the pressure disappeared.And air came rushing back, ragged and violent. I gasped, coughing so hard it felt like my lungs would tear apart.
I rolled onto my side, hacking, shaking. Tears poured from my eyes, hot and blinding. I didn’t even feel the gravel cutting into my cheek anymore.
The pain was everywhere.
And still—I looked up.
