Page 44 of Bound By Fate
"He doesn't list a bond type," Rook noted, peering at the file from the corner where he was nursing a cup of tea.
"Because there isn't one," Stone said, though his jaw tightened. "We aren't a pack. We're just... circumstantial allies."
"Circumstantial allies who trade hexes for donuts," Ivy corrected, winking at him.
"Keep reading," Lina said softly.
Stone flipped the page. And the next. And the next.
"Target Three: The Twins (Higgins). Consumed."
"Target Four: Project Alpha (Thorne). Pending."
"Target Five: The Archives (Penhaligon/Vance). Bond Type: None. Note: Disruption. Remove the human."
I looked up sharply. "Arthur?"
"He wants to remove Arthur," Stone confirmed. "He's the only human in a position of power. He's a variable Marrow can't control."
"And Amelia?" I asked.
"Status: Nullified," Stone read. "Threat level: Zero."
I felt a flash of anger on her behalf.Zero.Marrow didn't think she mattered anymore. He thought taking her money and her status made her harmless.
He was wrong.
"How many?" Kai asked quietly. He was tracing the wood grain of the table, his eyes distant.
Stone looked at the thickness of the file. "Hundreds. Every bonded pair. Every friendship circle. Every study group. If there's a connection, he's tracking it."
"Why?" Lina asked. "Why is he doing this?"
"Because connection is power," Lucien said. He walked over to the table and placed his hand over Lina's. "Magic isn't just a resource, Lina. It's a language. It flows between people. When we bond, we amplify it."
"And Marrow is a Null," Rook added. "He can't connect. He can only consume. To him, our bonds are... offensive. They're a reminder of what he lacks."
"It's envy," Ivy realized. "He's not just hungry. He'sjealous."
The room fell silent. It was a terrifying thought—that a man with that much power was driven by something as petty and human as jealousy.
"So what do we do?" Jax asked, stopping his pacing. "We can't fight him head-on. Lina proved that. He shielded against us effortlessly until she pulled her little stunt."
"We give him what he wants," Lina said slowly.
We all looked at her.
"He wants isolation," she explained. "He wants us to break apart. To mistrust each other. To sever our own bonds so he can pick us off one by one."
"So we do the opposite," Rhett realized. "We bond harder."
"We weaponize the connection," Lina nodded. "We don't just protect our own circles. We expand them. We make the web so tight, so complex, that he can't pull a single string without the whole thing snapping back in his face."
"A Union," Arthur's voice came from the doorway.
We all jumped. Arthur was standing there, looking rumpled but determined. Amelia was behind him, looking... surprisingly fierce in her gray jumpsuit.
"How did you get in here?" Stone demanded, hand going to his weapon.
