Warehouse Blood

It showed him how easily a leader could become a command signal. One growl at the right frequency and frightened people stepped back. One controlled burst of pheromone and an angry crowd softened. The abilities arrived like tools, and every tool contained an argument for being used. Eli survived those arguments by remembering Caleb, by remembering Mara's promise, and by keeping people close enough to tell him no. That closeness was dangerous too. Love created hostages. Friendship created leverage. Every human tie gave the Origin Mind a voice to imitate and Crow a target to threaten. Yet isolation was exactly what the infection wanted for him. A lone apex predator was just another part of the ecosystem.