Chapter 1 The Scanner’s Lie

Elias POV

The scanner buzzed above my head, a low, electric buzz that crawled across my skin. The red light slides down my neck, halting over my throat. My skin itched where it touched, but I didn't dare move. I don't even dare to breathe.

Everywhere reeked of antiseptic. That was always how my mother’s clinic smelled. Although it was clean, the smell was sharp and suffocating. I could hear the air purifier hissing silently in the corner and the sound of the machine that’d kept me alive.

“Don't move, Elias,” My mother’s voice broke the silence.

I wouldn't dare. I just started counting in my head. One, two, three….. pretending that the number of breaths between each beep might somehow save me.

Then, suddenly, the light shifted. It started blinking, once, twice and turned yellow.

My stomach dropped. “Mom…..”

She snapped up her head. “Don’t move!!.” Her tone changed, the soft concern vanished, replaced by command. I froze.

Then, the machine buzzed louder, and I swear I could feel my pulse racing under my skin, begging to be discovered. The yellow light pulsed across my throat like it was  trying to taste what I really was— Omega.

I knew it was there, hiding under the suppressant chip embedded in my neck. My Omega was buried under layers of chemicals. But the machine was clever. It knew something was off.

“Come on,” my mother mumbled under her breath, while she moved her fingers across the control pad. Sweat beaded on her forehead. “Come on, come on…..”

Then, the yellow glinted again, it stuttered and then faded back to the normal red. Beep. Beep. The scanner shut down.

My chest deflated all at once, I released the breath that I didn't realize I’d been holding. “Still Alpha-clean,” I whispered, half laughing, half trembling.

My mom didn't laugh, she wiped her hands on her coat, her eyes darting between me and the monitor like she was waiting for it to change again.

“One day this thing won't fool them,” She muttered, her voice laced with concern.

I smiled weakly. “Then I’ll be extra careful.”

“You have to be.” She looked straight into my eyes with pity. “You can't hide forever, Elias.”

I remained silent. I just stared at the scanner. The metal gleamed under the fluorescent light. For a moment, if it was watching me too.

Suddenly, the morning news reverberated through the television in the lobby. The cheerful anchor’s voice cut through the silence.

“Alpha candidates continue to dominate national rankings. In other news, Omega registration becomes mandatory next season….”

I don't even need to hear the rest of the news. My blood already felt cold like Ice. Next season?! That's just a few months away!!

I could almost hear the words my mother had always whispered to me since my childhood. “An Omega’s scent is a death sentence here.”

And the registration wasn't about our safety, it's about ownership. They’ll tag us, track us, and cage us. The unregistered ones like me would disappear before anyone would even realize that they were gone.

I glanced at my Mom. She was pretending not to have heard the news, but I could see both her hands trembling as she disinfected the scanner again. The sound of the anchor’s joyful voice made me want to break the TV into pieces. I hurriedly grabbed the remote and turned it off. And silence erupted.

Suddenly, some sharp knocks on the door pulled us out of the silence. We both froze. My mother’s gaze landed on me. She nodded once, silently telling me to answer.

I stood up from the bed, and walked to the door with my heart pounding. I opened the door, and my state landed on a man in a gray courier uniform, he had a cap on that almost covered his face. He didn't look at me, he just held out a black envelope wrapped with a red ribbon.

“It’s for Elias Quinn,” he said with a low voice.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

He nodded and then walked away without uttering any other words. Immediately the door closed, I felt my mother behind me.

“What is it?”

I looked down and my stare landed on my name written across the envelope in silver ink. The ribbon was wrapped around a golden lion crest. My breath caught at that moment. No doubt the letter was from Aurelius Academy.

There were no mistakes about that seal, no one dared to use it apart from them. It belonged to the most prestigious Alpha institution in the nation. The academy was where the strongest Alphas were trained to lead, to fight, and to rule.  And don't be surprised I got a letter from them. I was an Omega pretending to be one of them.

My fingers were trembling as I broke the seal. Inside the envelope there was a paper that smelled of ink and let me say power.

“Congratulations, Candidate Elias Quinn.

You have been selected for the National Alpha Advancement Program at Aurelius Academy.”

I stared blankly at the words, my throat failed me at that point—I was unable to breathe.

“Alpha, they think I’m an alpha,” I said, my voice laced with happiness and confusion.

What we did worked out. The falsified records, the modified scanner readings. The years of hiding. It actually worked. But, instead of relief, cold fear blossomed in my chest.

“How will you navigate Aurelius Academy?” My mom spoke out.

But, what I knew was that I can't decline, if I did, they would look close, and if they investigated, they would find everything. And then…we’re dead.

My mom snatched the letter from my hand and read it, her lips trembling as she read. “No,” she uttered. “No, no, no.”

“Mom…..”

Her voice rose above mine. “You can't go there, Elias.” her tone wasn't an get, it was terrified and that made it worse for me.

“Mom, listen….”

“Do you know what happens if they find out?” she snapped with her voice breaking. “Fo you know what they’ll do to you?”

I swallowed hard. “But, if I refuse, they’ll come here.”

She paused, the words I uttered hung in the air like a sword between both of us. Then, she opened her mouth, but no sound came out. That was the first time, I saw the fear she had tried to hide all these years reflected back in her eyes.

I knew she wanted to say we’ll run again. But right now, there was nowhere left to run. We have changed names, cuties, identities. I have had more fake IDs than birthdays. The scanners are smarter now, the laws stricter, and the punishments crueler. If the system flagged me as “inconsistent,” they wouldn't ask questions. They would send soldiers.

And if they come…. They wouldn't stop at me, they would take my mom too.

My mom pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. “Elias…. please. You don't understand. Aurelius isn't a school, it's a fortress. Every entrance has pheromone detectors. You won't make it through the first day.”

“I have made it this far.”

Her gaze sharpened. “Not surrounded by Alphas.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. I knew she was right, I had only survived because I had stayed invisible, hidden in the crack of the system that wasn't built for people like me. But hiding wasn't safe anymore. Not when they had started tightening the walls around us.

I took a slow breath. I felt the pulse of the suppressant chip beneath my skin. It was buzzing faintly.

“Mom,” I said quietly, “If I go, I might die. But if I stay…..”

She closed her eyes. “You’ll die anyway.”

I didn't say it, but we both knew it was true. The clinic felt smaller suddenly, as if the walls themselves were listening. I heard the scanner cooling down, the steady rhythm of the machines that had been lying fir me since I was old enough to remember.

My mother looked at me one last time, her voice was barely heard. “You can't go.”

My gaze landed on her. My throat felt tight, but my voice came out steady. “If I don't,” I said, “they’ll come here.”