CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: SOMETHING NEW

DANTE'S POV

I was halfway through dropping my jacket when Cade walked into my office without knocking.

He was already talking before I even fully looked up, like he had been carrying whatever news he had for too long and just wanted it out of his mouth

“No leads,” he said, voice flat in a way that immediately told me this was not one of his usual moods, “nothing useful on the guy from Sage’s house, nothing at all, it is like he does not exist in any system we have access to.”

I paused with my hand still on my sleeve, watching him properly now as he moved past my desk and went straight to my fridge.

That alone made my attention sharpen because Cade always had a tone, always had a joke, always had something to soften whatever he was saying, but today there was nothing like that, just weight

“You are drinking straight whiskey now,” I said, watching him take a sip like it was normal

He let out a short breath through his nose, not quite a laugh, not quite anything warm

“You have beer in your office, Dante, so I think we both already accepted questionable decisions today”

I was about to respond when my phone rang.

I picked up immediately, already feeling the shift in the room before I even spoke

“Talk” There was a pause on the other end, then pack security

“Alpha, it is Sage” My body went still in a way I did not like, not slow, not gradual, just immediate focus locking in “What happened”

“She is injured”

For a second I did not say anything because my mind refused to accept the simplicity of the words, injured did not belong in the same sentence as her without context

“Injured how”

“No attack,” the voice rushed quickly, “she was near the training and racing grounds, there was an accident during movement, she tried to avoid getting hit and twisted her ankle badly”

My grip tightened around the phone without me noticing it, my jaw locking as something sharp pulled through my chest, not panic exactly, something more instinctive than that

“Where is she,” I asked, voice lower now

“Pack house, with Crystal”

The call ended And I was already moving before Cade even spoke “What now,” he asked immediately, watching me grab my jacket

“Sage is injured”

That was all I said

Cade stopped drinking mid-motion

“How bad”

“Ankle”

I did not slow down for his reaction, just pulled my jacket on properly, and headed for the door

“You are leaving your meeting,” he said, already following me

“I am done with it” He exhaled sharply like he knew arguing was pointless, but still tried anyway

“You are going to lose your entire schedule over an ankle injury”

I stopped just long enough to look at him

“She is injured, Cade”

That shut him up

The drive back felt too long even though it was not, because I kept replaying the same thing without permission.

By the time I reached the house, my jaw was already tight from holding everything in

The hallway was too quiet when I stepped inside, like the entire place had adjusted itself around the fact that something had gone wrong, and I did not slow down as I moved toward her room

The door was open, Crystal was inside, sitting near the bed, but the second she saw me she stood up quickly as she had already decided she was not going to be part of whatever energy was about to enter the room

“I will give you two spaces,” she said quickly, slipping past me without hesitation even though Sage’s eyes followed her like she did not want her to leave

The door closed behind Crystal and the room shifted completely. Sage was sitting on the bed with her leg slightly elevated, ice wrapped around her ankle, her posture tense in that way that tried to pretend she was fine even when she was clearly not.

And her eyes met mine immediately like she had been waiting for this exact moment

“How bad is it,” I asked

“I am fine,” she answered instantly

I looked at her ankle once, then back at her face, not because I needed to check, but because I already knew she was downplaying it

“You are not fine”

“It is just a twist”

“That is an injury” She shifted slightly, trying not to show discomfort, but I saw it anyway in the way her fingers tightened slightly against the bedsheet

“I was just walking,” she said, voice sharper now, “I was not doing anything wrong”

“I did not know it was restricted”

My jaw tightened slightly

“You do not know this territory yet,” I said, slower now, controlled, “you cannot walk wherever you want without understanding the boundaries”

Her head lifted slightly at that

“Oh so now I need permission to move around”

“No,” I said immediately, stepping closer without meaning to, “you need awareness”

That did not land well at all

Her expression changed instantly, frustration building in her eyes as she sat up slightly more despite the pain

“I am not a child, Dante”

“I did not say you were”

“You are acting like I am not capable of deciding where I walk”

“That is not what this is about”

“It is exactly what this is about” The air between us tightened immediately

I exhaled once through my nose, trying to hold control over the frustration building in my chest

“This is about you getting hurt when it was avoidable,” I said, voice lower but sharper now, “you almost got seriously injured for something as simple as a walk”

Her eyes flashed slightly “And you are acting like I need to be managed”

“That is not what I said”

“That is what you are doing”

Silence dropped heavily between us then, thick enough that neither of us moved for a second, and I could feel my patience slipping in a way I did not like

“I do not care about arguing,” I said finally, voice tighter now, “I care that you are safe”

Her breathing changed slightly, no longer calm

“Then stop controlling where I go”

“I am not controlling you”

The room went still again after that

And something in her snapped slightly as she pulled the ice away from her ankle, wincing as she moved but forcing herself up anyway like she had decided staying here was worse than the pain.

“I am done with this,” she said, voice tight and shaking slightly, “I am not sitting here being spoken to like I cannot think for myself”

“Sage,” I said sharply, stepping forward again without thinking

But she was already moving past me

“Do not follow me,” she said without turning back