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
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