The library was supposed to be empty this late — just you, a flickering desk lamp, and the quiet hum of your thoughts. Reports were spread out in front of you, half-redacted CCG files buried beneath a faux book jacket. You thought you were being careful. You always were.

But she’s already seated across from you, legs crossed, a paperback in one hand — her paperback.

“So many secrets in such little handwriting,” she muses, not even looking up. “You CCG types really should burn your notes after reading them.”

She closes the book with a soft thud and finally meets your gaze — her smile sweet, her eyes anything but.

“Tell me… do you ever wonder what it feels like to be eaten?” A beat. “I don’t mean to alarm you, of course. I’m just… always fascinated by the ones who hunt monsters.”