The Master Psychic

chapter 10 - for now

Mason hesitated outside Sage's door, his knuckles hovering just above the wood. He drew in a breath, steeling himself before giving a soft knock.

A pause. Then Sage's voice, muffled but steady: "Come in."

He pushed the door open to find her perched on her bed, back against the headboard, her phone in hand. The blue glow lit her face, but her expression was unreadable—calm, almost too calm. She scrolled idly with her thumb, though Mason could tell she wasn't really paying attention to whatever was on the screen.

"Hey," he said softly, stepping inside. "Mind if I sit?"

Sage shrugged, eyes still on her phone. "It's your house."

Mason sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her carefully. For a moment, the only sound was the faint clicking of her nails against the phone screen. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Rough night, huh?"

"Guess you could say that." Her tone was flat, but Mason caught the way her fingers tightened slightly around her phone.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Sage... I know we dumped a lot on you all at once. Maybe too much. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you're okay."

Finally, she locked her phone and set it down beside her, lifting her gaze to meet his. Her eyes were sharp, questioning, but she didn't ask anything—not yet.

"I'm fine," she said, though her voice was too quick, too practiced. "Just... thinking."

Mason searched her face, then sighed. "Alright. I won't push. Just... remember, I'm here. No matter what."

For a moment, her expression softened. "I know," she murmured.

Mason reached over, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before standing. "Get some rest. Tomorrow'll be a little clearer."

As he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him, Sage sat perfectly still on the bed, her heart pounding. He doesn't know I heard everything.

She picked her phone back up, but her thoughts were far from the glowing screen. All she could see were silver eyes and the word echoing in her head like a curse—soul mate.

Mason shut Sage's door softly and lingered in the hallway for a moment, shoulders tense. He dragged a hand down his face, forcing the tightness in his chest to ease before heading downstairs. The house was quiet now, dim with the settling weight of night, and his footsteps felt heavier with each step.

When he pushed open the bedroom door, Harper was already there—curled up against the pillows, waiting for him. The lamp on her nightstand cast a soft golden glow over her hair, and she sat up the moment she saw him.

"Well?" she asked gently, searching his face.

Mason exhaled, shutting the door behind him. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, his shoulders slumping as if the weight he carried all day finally caught up with him. "She says she's fine. But..." He shook his head, jaw clenching. "She's not. I can see it in her eyes."

Harper reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his. "Of course she's not fine, Mason. She just had her whole world turned upside down in one night. She's trying to process it."

"I hate this," Mason muttered, staring down at the carpet. "I hate that I can't protect her from it. That all I can do is sit there while some Hyde tells me she's bound to him like it's fate." His voice cracked with quiet frustration. "She's my baby sister, Harper. She deserves a choice. A normal life."

Harper squeezed his hand tighter, drawing his gaze back to her. "And she still has a choice. Jared might be her tie, but that doesn't mean her life is over—it just means it's different. Maybe even... better, if she lets it be."

Mason's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. He wanted to argue, but the calm certainty in Harper's voice softened the edge of his anger.

She leaned closer, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. "You've done everything you can for her, Mason. You've kept her safe, you've given her a home, and now... now you have to trust her to make her own decisions."

He closed his eyes, letting out a long breath as Harper's words sank in. Slowly, he lay back beside her, pulling her into his arms as though she were the anchor holding him together.

"I don't know if I can ever trust him," Mason admitted quietly. "But I'll try—for her."

Harper nestled against his chest, her hand resting over his heart. "That's all she needs."

The guest room was quiet, lit only by the pale glow of the moon spilling through the window. Jared sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor as his thoughts churned. Sage's face, the way her presence made his chest tighten, the bond humming between them—it was all too loud inside his head to rest.

With a sigh, he reached for his phone on the nightstand. Maybe mindless scrolling would help distract him. But before he could even unlock the screen, the phone buzzed in his hand.

A new message. Unknown number.

He frowned, thumb swiping it open.

Unknown: Look who found their master. This is going to be fun.

The words glared back at him, and Jared's stomach twisted. His grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles whitened.

Master. The word wasn't supposed to apply to Sage. He'd made sure of that. He'd spent years forcing control into himself so that no one could ever hold that kind of power over him. No one—especially not her.

But whoever sent the message knew. Knew about the bond. Knew about Sage.

Jared's chest rose and fell with sharp, controlled breaths, his silver eyes catching the faint reflection of the screen. He typed back quickly, his fingers tense.

Jared: Who is this?

For a moment, there was silence. Then another buzz.

Unknown: Someone who knows how dangerous you really are. And how much fun it'll be when she realizes it too.

The phone nearly slipped from his hand as anger surged through him, but Jared forced himself to stay still. His first instinct was to storm down the hall, demand answers from Mason, maybe even warn Sage. But he stopped. Whoever this was wanted him rattled—and if Mason found out, the protective brother would drag Sage even further away from him.

His jaw clenched. He deleted the conversation, but the words still burned in his mind.

Look who found their master.

For the first time in years, Jared felt the chill of losing control brush dangerously close.

Jared tossed the phone back onto the nightstand and scrubbed a hand down his face. The glow of the screen still lingered behind his eyes, the words burned into his thoughts like a brand. Whoever sent that message wasn't some prankster—they knew too much.

He pulled off his hoodie and let it drop to the chair in the corner before sliding under the blankets. The sheets were cool against his skin, but no comfort settled in his chest. His body was tired, but his mind was alive with restless energy, playing the message over and over.

Master. Fun. Dangerous.

His jaw tightened. He had worked too hard to keep control of the Hyde within him, to prove—to himself, to anyone—that he didn't need a master to dictate his life. And now, some faceless threat was dangling Sage's name in front of him like bait.

He turned onto his side, staring at the wall. A pulse of the bond flared faintly inside him, Sage's presence brushing against his awareness like a whisper. He clenched his fists, forcing the connection to dull. She didn't need to feel the storm raging in him. Not tonight.

Tomorrow, he promised himself silently. Tomorrow I'll start digging. Whoever they are, wherever they're hiding, I'll find them. And when I do...

The thought trailed into silence as exhaustion finally began to drag at his eyelids. His breathing slowed, his muscles loosened, but even as sleep pulled him under, his determination burned steady beneath the surface.

This wasn't over.