as'

ath, no o

t he'd sensed. He just looked at me, sharp, measuring, patient

blew the signal

ed back

Alphas had stopped fighting before blood was drawn. The room's chatter slowly resumed, but it was

chase me. He

under my skin. The suppressant was slipping faster than usual. The fight spike

before the next inje

illing to gambl

the stares as I left the arena, making my way toward the hall th

door and exhaled once

le

to break the mask, just enough to let my lungs expand properly. The scent control collar at my

d the m

ranks and trainees with sponsor clearance. My forged status as "Eli Arden" gave me just enough a

rted

ic scanners, and security cams that tracked heat signatures. I kept

med wing, a voice echoe

old them the new patch was i

d only

ndheld terminal, the other holding a crate of diagnostic vials. Bot

le of a test, we'll get flagged for incomplete data reporting, and I'm not

ach tig

nning diagno

ory would be logged. That meant b

at would draw attention. I

traight to

chs loo

row eyes, blinked once before his posture shifted to p

and pu

nd clearance," I sa

inal-Eli Arden, Level-Two Combat Division, Elite Track. Suppressor mainte

y. Not m

fast enough t

on partial lockdown. Don't i

st, entering the corridor beyond

seamless walls, no windows. Every footstep echoed. I bypassed the main lab and sl

side, I shut the

let my breath

logs sealed behind code panels. I disabled the auto-report function on the console

ne of my hidden vials...my mother's formula, not the academy-issued blend.

examination bench an

eat, the room dis

luorescent lights. The smell of metal and ste

cking my hair behind my ear with the other. "If they take your DNA, it's over. If they scent you

nce between being prey and pretending to be a predator. Ten when I understood that th

"legalized protecti

ne. And belonging meant ownership, contra

l

y and swapped the needle

bloodstream. This one was stronger, purer, made for hidi

eadied almo

d. My pulse evened. The scent

cleaned the surfa

chirped ne

pened the out

e, lis

atter of med techs. Not the rushed str

d the firs

hey st

tside th

ed the light u

w cle

dn't

stretc

sumed, heading past,

ds before unlocking the

ridor w

hed the main

n the air. Barely there; controll

mo

na

him, but I di

been

ng, he already suspect

ay without

cling, I had

ching, I had

thread of the truth, he'd

t lettin