Chapter 5 Instructor’s Interest
Noir’s POV
The hall was almost empty when I looked up again. The atmosphere still carried the sharp tang of pheromone residue, Alpha dominance, faint traces of adrenaline, and something else. Something I couldn’t name.
Elias Quinn.
I replayed the footage from the combat test on my screen. The boy didn’t move like an Alpha . His body language was too controlled, too careful. Not weak, just… deliberate. The kind of control you only learn when you’re hiding something.
“Candidate 212,” I muttered, scrolling through his data logs. The biometric scanner projected blue light across the room, highlighting the holographic feed. Heart rate steady. Respiration normal. Everything looked fine, until I saw the pheromone chart.
A red trace. Barely half a second long, but there it was again.
I froze the screen.
“Now, what are you?” I whispered.
I tapped the sequence, magnifying the pattern. The suppressant readings were messy like someone had tampered with the system. Layers upon layers of chemical signatures. But underneath… there it was. A pulse. Warm. Distinct. Familiar in a way that shouldn’t exist inside an Alpha academy.
Omega.
My beating kicked once, sharp and quick.
For a moment, I said nothing. The buzz of the equipment filled the silence. Then a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
“Well,” I murmured, leaning closer to the screen, “this just got interesting.”
I didn’t rush. I liked moments like this, the quiet before the noise. The thrill of discovery. Everyone else at Aurelius saw themselves as guardians of order. But me? I preferred the cracks that showed what order really hid.
I opened a private channel on my wrist comm, the one that bypassed academy security. It took a few seconds to encrypt the signal. The hologram flickered, then stabilized into a static-filled interface.
A voice came through, distorted and low.
“Report.”
“It’s Noir,” I said. “I found something unique.”
“Define unique.”
“Anomalous pheromone pattern in one of the Alpha candidates. Suppressants failing.”
The voice paused. “Name?”
“Elias Quinn.”
“Quinn…” There was a rustle on the other end. “That name isn’t on the registry.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s what makes it worth your attention.”
Another pause. Then, “Send the data.”
I transferred the scan with one tap. A small tone confirmed delivery.
“What do you want us to do?” the voice asked.
“Nothing yet,” I replied. “I’ll handle observation on-site. But if I’m right, this student could be the one you’ve been waiting for.”
A faint, sharp sound came through, like someone exhaling in amusement.
“Careful, Noir. Curiosity got you burned once.”
“Curiosity,” I said, smiling faintly, “is what makes me useful to you.”
The line went dead. The screen dimmed to black.
For a while, I just stood there, listening to the buzz of the machines. The idea of it, a hidden Omega, living undetected among Alphas was almost poetic. Dangerous, but poetic.
And Ronan Vale of all people seemed drawn to him. I’d seen the way his eyes followed Elias during the match. That small lapse of control. Even perfect soldiers have limits.
I rubbed my chin and sighed softly. “Looks like we have a storm coming.”
The night air was colder outside the control room. The courtyard lamps threw soft pools of light across the path. Most students had already gone back to their dorms, but one figure still lingered by the fountain leaning against the stone edge, arms crossed, smirking in place.
Kael Draven.
Of course.
“Evening, Instructor,” he called when he spotted me. “You always look like you’re about to ruin someone’s peace.”
“I might,” I said, walking closer. “Do you have a moment?”
“For you? Always.” He straightened, that lazy confidence radiating off him like heat. “What’s the job this time? Another combat drill?”
“No,” I said. “Surveillance.”
He frowned. “Surveillance?”
“Yes. I need you to keep an eye on someone for me.”
Kael’s smirk returned immediately. “Finally, something interesting. Who’s the target?”
“Elias Quinn.”
His brows rose. “That quiet Alpha kid?”
“Don’t be so sure what he is,” I said quietly.
Kael’s grin faltered. “Meaning?”
“Meaning,” I continued, “he’s not as harmless as he looks. You’ll watch him closely, every class, every interaction. If he does anything unusual, you report directly to me. No one else.”
Kael stared at me, searching for a hint of a joke. “You’re serious.”
“I’m always serious.”
He folded his arms again. “And if Ronan Vale gets in my way? He’s practically glued to that kid lately.”
“Then be smarter than Ronan Vale,” I said. “You can manage that, can’t you?”
Kael scoffed, clearly insulted but too proud to argue. “Yeah, sure. I’ll handle it.”
“Good.” I started to turn away, but his voice stopped me.
“What’s the real reason, Instructor?” Kael asked. “You never waste time on ordinary students.”
I looked at him over my shoulder. “Let’s just say Elias Quinn interests me.”
Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Interests you… how?”
“Watch him,” I said simply. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
He stared for a second, then huffed a laugh. “Fine. But if this turns out to be a wild goose chase…..”
“It won’t,” I cut in, already walking off. “I don’t chase anything I can’t catch.”
Later that night, I returned to my office, but sleep didn’t come easily. The academy was quiet, the kind of quiet that makes you feel like the walls are listening.
I opened the file again. Elias’s photo stared back at me. Silver hair. Calm eyes. The kind of face that didn’t belong to chaos… yet somehow promised it.
“What are you hiding, Quinn?” I whispered.
The suppressant data blinked faintly on the screen, almost like it was breathing. Whatever was inside him wasn’t dormant anymore. Something had triggered it. Maybe the match. Maybe Ronan Vale himself.
Either way, it was spreading.
And if I was right, it wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
