"No," Jax shook his head. "Different. Hungry. Just... watch your backs at the Registry tomorrow."
He turned away to serve the next customer. Stone grunted, adjusted his belt, and stomped out. Rook blew Ivy a kiss and floated back out the window.
"Three of them," Ivy muttered, clutching the bag. "I'm going to need more coffee."
"Good," I said, watching the door where Stone had exited. "Because after tomorrow... I have a feeling we're going to need it."
Walking back to the penthouse, the weight of Jax's warning—and theMororevelation—hung heavy on my shoulders.
Hungry shadows.
A Dean who eats magic.
A Registry demanding our blood.
It was all connected.
"You okay?" Ivy asked, bumping my shoulder.
"Just thinking," I said. "About Stone. He's working for Marrow."
"He's doing his job," Ivy defended surprisingly quickly. "He's an Enforcer. He follows rules. It’s his kink."
"He warned us," I pointed out. "In his own way. 'Marrow is thorough.' He was telling us to be careful."
"And Rook?" Ivy asked, looking at the sky where the Fae had disappeared. "What's his play?"
"Rook plays his own game," I said.
We reached the dorms, but the feeling of dread didn't lift. The campus felt different. Colder. The students we passed kepttheir heads down, hurrying to class. The joy, the chaos, the magic of Northcrest... it was being suffocated.
And tomorrow, we were walking right into the belly of the beast.
5
The Medical Wing smelled of antiseptic and lies.
It was a pristine, white-walled facility located in the basement of the Administration building. Usually, it was used for treating potion burns or broomstick crash injuries. Today, it had been transformed into a processing center.
A long line of bonded pairs snaked down the hallway. Shifters, Witches, Fae, all looking anxious, clutching clipboards.
"This is dehumanizing," Rhett growled.
He was vibrating with tension. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack. He stood behind me, his chest pressed against my back, creating a physical barrier between me and the rest of the world.
"It's just a form, Rhett," Kai said soothingly, though his own smile was brittle. He was filling out his paperwork against the wall. "Name. Species. Bond Date. Musical Preference."
"It asks forBlood Type," Rhett snapped. "And 'Magical Frequency'. That's private medical data, Kai."
"We know," Lucien said quietly. He was standing slightly apart from us, his eyes scanning the room. He looked calm, butthe shadows at his feet were writhing like agitated snakes. "The goal is compliance. We give them the data. We survive the day."
"We tampered with the blood, right?" I whispered, leaning back into Rhett's warmth.
"Ivy brewed a masking agent," Lucien confirmed, his voice barely audible. "We all took a dose this morning. It blurs the specific frequency of your magic. It won't hide your power level—you're too strong for that—but it will obscure the 'Null' compatibility markers and the Triad connection. To Marrow, you'll look like a high-powered anomaly, but he shouldn't seeusin your blood."
"And the Triad bond?"
"It will scan as a 'High-Level Pack Bond'," Lucien said. "Rare, but not... singular. We hide the depth of the connection."
