Chapter 2 The Academy’s Gate

Elias POV—-

The train hissed as it came to a stop, and a voice came over the intercom reverberated through the glass cabin:

“Aurelius Academy— Main Gate Terminal.”

My chest tightened. Even the name itself sounded heavy. When I stepped out, the first thing that caught me wasn't the sight, it was the atmosphere. The atmosphere was sharp and clean. I couldn't breathe properly, the entire place was filled with the Alpha pheromones.

The campus had a vast land, the buildings were carved out of marble and iron. The gates themselves were monstrous, made with silver and gold, and engraved with the lion crest of Aurelius.

I tightened my grip on my bag until my knuckles turned white. This was it. This was the fortress my mother said I’d never survive. And yet, here I was,  an Omega pretending to be an Alpha.

My suppressant chip buzzed  under my skin, the same way it did whenever my pulse spiked. If the pheromone detectors at the gate sensed even a flicker of Omega signature, I was done. Dead.

The line moved slowly. Dozens of Alpha candidates ahead of me walked through the scanning gates, shoulders straight, eyes hard. Each time one passed, the detector emitted a low, approving chime.

When one failed, a rare beep echoed, the guards in black armor stepped forward, their gloved hands ready to restrain. The candidate would be pulled aside, scanned again, questioned, and recorded. No one dared look them in the eye.

I adjusted my collar higher, making sure it covered the faint scar where the chip was implanted. The air smelled like dominance and expensive cologne. Each breath made me dizzy.

“Next,” a guard barked.

My turn.

I forced my feet to move. Every step toward that scanner felt heavier than the last. I kept my eyes on the ground, the cold marble reflecting my face back at me.

The guard scanned my ID chip. His eyes moving  up briefly, assessing me.

“Elias Quinn. Alpha division candidate. Nineteen.”

My throat felt like sandpaper. “Yes, sir.”

He gave a small nod, then gestured toward the archway. “Step through.”

The pheromone detector glowed faint blue, whizzing like it could sense fear. I stepped forward. One foot. Then the other.

The buzz heightened, vibrating against my ribs. Don’t breathe. Don’t move. Just…

Then, I heard a single beep. My heart stopped. The guard’s head snapped toward the display. I could feel the sweat forming between my shoulder blades. Then…..the light steadied. Blue turned to green.

“Cleared,” the guard said flatly.

I almost fell forward in relief, barely holding it together as I stepped past the gates. My chest felt hollow, like I’d left part of my soul back there. But I was in. I had crossed the line that no Omega had ever crossed before.

The courtyard was made of pristine marble paths, black iron benches, fountains shaped like lions mid-roar. Groups of students stood together, laughing or arguing. I felt like a ghost drifting through their world. No one looked at me twice, and that was good. Invisibility was survival.

“Move, rookie,” a voice barked behind me.

I spun just as someone brushed past, the edge of his shoulder slamming into mine. I stumbled back a step. He didn’t even glance at me.

He was tall, no, massive,  in his black Aurelius uniform. He had broad shoulders, straight back, and a dark hair. Every part of him screamed Alpha.

But it was his presence that hit hardest. The air around him felt heavier, charged. Even from a few feet away, my body reacted, a quiet, traitorous tremor under my skin that made the suppressant chip buzz again. My instincts screamed danger.

The student beside me whispered under his breath, awed. “That’s Ronan Vale.”

Ronan Vale. The top Alpha of Aurelius. The one who held every combat record. The one even instructors feared. I had heard of him, everyone had. Son of General Darius Vale, heir to the National Command.

Ronan walked ahead of me, his steps were something else. His uniform collar was open just enough to show the  line of a scar across his collarbone.

He stopped suddenly, turning his head slightly as if sensing something. His gaze swept across the crowd then stopped on me.

His eyes were glacial blue, cold and sharp, but there was something else beneath, something restrained, coiled. Like if he blinked, the world might shatter.

For a second, I forgot to breathe. The chip under my skin pulsed again, too fast, too hot. No. Not now.

I dropped my gaze immediately and walked faster, pretending to check my ID. My hands were trembling. When I finally reached the main hall, I leaned against one of the marble pillars, trying to catch my breath.

The Academy was bigger than I’d imagined. Everything glowed, the floor, the walls, even the banners that hung from the ceiling, each marked with that same golden lion crest. It wasn’t a school; it was a monument to power. And I was a mistake standing in its shadow.

Students were filing into the grand hall, where the Headmaster was about to give his welcome speech. I followed the crowd, keeping to the edges. The scent of so many Alphas gathered in one space made my lungs tighten.

A faint ache spread in my throat, it was  the early warning sign of suppressant fatigue. Not now. Please. Not now.

I reached into my pocket, finding the small capsule my mother had slipped into my bag that morning. I swallowed it dry. It burned all the way down, leaving a metallic taste in my mouth. The suppressant would last a few hours, maybe less.

Then I felt a chill, like a draft at my back. I turned. Ronan Vale was standing across the hall, flanked by two other elite cadets. He wasn’t laughing or talking like the others. He was still watching me.  I froze. His gaze didn’t shift, not once.

Why was he?

The Headmaster’s voice boomed through the speakers, breaking the silence. “Welcome, candidates, to Aurelius Academy, where strength defines worth.”

The students roared in response, a wave of energy that filled the air. I clapped weakly, blending in, but I could still feel Ronan’s gaze like a weight pressing against my chest.

The look wasn't a curiosity. It was something sharper. Like Recognition? Suspicion?

The Headmaster continued, but his words blurred into static. All I could hear was my heartbeat and the faint buzz of the suppressor chip.

I turned away, trying to focus on the floor tiles, on the sound of footsteps, on anything that wasn’t that suffocating stare.

When the crowd finally began to disperse, I let out a shaky breath and started toward the dorm assignments. I needed to get out of that hall, fast. But before I reached the door, a shadow fell across my path.

The first thing I saw was a black polished boots, stopping inches away from my own.  I looked up, and there he was.

Ronan Vale, up close. He was even taller than I’d thought. The scent of cold cedar and musk surrounded him, but underneath it… there was something wild. His eyes met mine, it was unreadable.

For a second, none of us moved.

Then he tilted his head slightly, nostrils flaring almost imperceptibly, as if he were testing the air between us. The air thickened. My stomach dropped.

He frowned, his voice low but clear. “What’s that scent?”