ANMELDENEli collapsed before he reached the couch.
His legs gave out. His vision blurred. His body hit the floor with a heavy thud.
"Eli!"
Cove was beside him in an instant. He pulled him into his arms. He checked his pulse. His breathing. His eyes.
"What's wrong? Talk to me."
Eli's voice was barely a whisper. "Tired."
"Tired? You just collapsed."
"The abi
Eli collapsed before he reached the couch.His legs gave out. His vision blurred. His body hit the floor with a heavy thud."Eli!"Cove was beside him in an instant. He pulled him into his arms. He checked his pulse. His breathing. His eyes."What's wrong? Talk to me."Eli's voice was barely a whisper. "Tired.""Tired? You just collapsed.""The ability. It drains me. Every time I use it. Every time I push. It takes something from me.""What does it take?""Energy. Strength. Life."Cove's face went pale. "Life?""Not like that. Not permanently. But it leaves me weak. Vulnerable.""How long?""Hours. Maybe days. Depends on how much I use.""You can't keep doing this.""I have
"I'm going to kill everyone you love."Adrian's voice was calm. Cold. Final. Eli stood in the warehouse, his heart pounding, his mind racing."You won't.""I will. I have the frequency. I have the trigger. I have everything I need.""You don't have me.""I don't need you. I have the recording. I can play it from anywhere. From any device. From any distance.""You're bluffing.""Am I?"Adrian pulled out his phone. He pressed a button. A sound filled the warehouse. A hum. A pulse. A frequency.Eli felt it in his bones. In his blood. In his mind. The old fear. The old panic. The old darkness.But he didn't break. He didn't fall. He didn't panic.He was stronger now."You see?" Adrian said. "I can trigger you. I can control you. I can make
"I can control people's minds."Eli stood in the middle of the training room, his hands shaking, his heart pounding. Cove stood across from him, his face pale, his eyes wide."What did you just say?""I can control people's minds. With sound. With frequencies. I can make them feel things. Do things. I can trigger their emotions. Their memories. Their fears.""That's not possible.""It is possible. I just did it.""What do you mean?""I was practicing. With the guards. I was trying to focus. To control my abilities. And then I heard it. A frequency. A hum. And I followed it. And I found that I could... push. And they responded.""Responded how?""One of them started crying. Another one started laughing. Another one just stood there. Frozen. Like he was waiting for a command."C
"I can hear everything."Eli sat up in the hospital bed. His eyes were wide. His hands were shaking. But not from fear. From something else. Something new."What do you mean, everything?" Cove asked."Everything. The machines. The lights. The heartbeat of the nurse down the hall. The footsteps of the guard on the roof. Everything."Dr. Vasquez stepped closer. She shined a light in his eyes. She checked his pulse. She frowned."Your senses are heightened. All of them. Sight. Hearing. Smell. Touch. Taste.""Why?""The marrow. It's not just curing the disorder. It's enhancing your natural abilities. Making you stronger. Faster. More aware.""Am I still human?""Yes. But you're not the same human you were before."Eli looked at Cove. His eyes were wet."I'm sc
"You might die on this table."Eli looked at Dr. Vasquez. Her face was pale. Her hands were steady. Her eyes were honest."I know.""Your body is weak. The procedure is risky. Your heart might not survive the strain.""I know.""You could bleed out. You could have a stroke. You could slip into a coma and never wake up.""I know.""And you still want to do this?"Eli looked at Cove. Cove was standing by the door. His face was pale. His eyes were red. He looked like he hadn't slept in days."I want to live," Eli said.Dr. Vasquez nodded. She looked at Cove."And you? Do you consent to this?"Cove's voice was barely a whisper. "I don't have a choice.""You always have a choice.""Not this time."
"Kill him."Eli stared at the man tied to the chair. He was young. Maybe twenty five. Maybe younger. His face was bruised. His eyes were wide with fear."Who is he?""Does it matter?""Yes.""He's a rival. A Bratva operative. He's been feeding information to the five families. He's a traitor.""So you want me to kill him?""I want you to prove your loyalty."Eli's heart was pounding. His hands were shaking. He looked at the man. The man looked back at him. His eyes were pleading."Please," the man whispered. "I have a family. A daughter. She's only three. Please."Eli's stomach turned. He looked at Adrian."I can't.""You can.""I won't.""Then you're not loyal.""I'm not a
Cove leaned back in his chair, watching Eli with those sharp gray eyes. The breakfast tray sat between them like some twisted peace offering. Eli picked up the fork but didn’t eat. He wasn’t about to play along that easily.“These rules,”
Eli woke to sunlight.For one disorienting moment, he thought the entire nightmare had been just that a nightmare. But the ache in his wrists, the soreness in his shoulders, and the faint bruises blooming across his skin told a different story. He bolted upright in the massive bed, heart hammering,
Eli’s world had vanished.The darkness was absolute no faint glow from the city skyline through the windows, no sliver of light beneath a door, nothing. It pressed against his eyes like a living thing, thick and suffocating. His chest heaved as panic clawed its way up his throat, raw and primal. Th
Eli couldn’t look away.Cove Voss stood barely three feet in front of him, larger than life and twice as terrifying in person. The penthouse lights cast sharp shadows across his face, highlighting the ruthless cut of his jaw and the storm-gray eyes that seemed to strip Eli bare without mercy. Up cl







