Mika did not sleep again.
Even after the howl faded into the distance, even after the pale morning returned to its ordinary stillness, something inside him remained awake.
A tension.
A thread pulled too tight.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his own hands as if they might explain him.
The scar on his lip still tingled faintly, like a phantom touch.
That voice…
"I smell you…"
His breath trembled.
Was it real?
Or was it a dream born from fever and fear?
Mika swallowed hard.
He didn't know what frightened him more—
The idea that someone had spoken inside his mind…
Or the way his body had reacted, instinctively, as if it recognized the voice.
A knock came again.
This time, softer.
"Mika?"
His mother's voice.
Elara.
He rose slowly, crossing the room. His bare feet made no sound against the wooden floor.
He opened the door.
Elara stood holding a tray.
Soup. Bread. A cup of warm tea steeped with herbs.
Her eyes swept over him immediately, sharp and worried.
"You didn't rest."
It wasn't a question.
Mika's lips parted.
"I tried."
Elara's gaze softened for half a heartbeat before she stepped inside.
"Eat," she said gently, placing the tray down. "Your body is still recovering."
Mika sat, staring at the food.
He should have been hungry.
But the emptiness in his mind swallowed even that.
Elara hesitated, then sat beside him.
Her hands twisted together in her lap.
"Mika…"
He looked up.
Elara's voice lowered.
"Do you remember anything else?"
Mika's fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket.
"No."
Elara closed her eyes briefly, as if praying.
Mika watched her.
The woman looked exhausted, like she hadn't slept in days.
"How long… have I lived here?" he asked quietly.
Elara blinked.
"In Lunevale City?"
Mika nodded.
Elara forced a small smile.
"All your life."
Lunevale.
The name echoed strangely in his head.
Moon city.
Of course.
Everything here seemed tied to the Moon.
Mika swallowed.
"And… my father?"
Elara froze.
The air changed instantly.
Mika felt it.
Her fingers stopped moving.
Her breath caught.
"…Your father," she repeated softly.
Mika's chest tightened.
"I have one, don't I?"
Elara looked away.
"Yes."
The word was thin.
"Where is he?"
Silence.
Then Elara whispered—
"Gone."
Mika stared.
"Gone?"
Elara's voice trembled.
"He left… when you were small."
A lie.
Not the same lie as the scar.
But still…
Something incomplete.
Mika did not press further.
Not yet.
Instead, he looked down at the soup.
He lifted the spoon.
A faint scent rose—
Herbs.
Warmth.
And beneath it…
Something else.
Something sharp.
Something sweet.
His stomach twisted.
Elara noticed instantly.
Her hand shot out.
"Mika—don't—"
Too late.
The spoon clattered.
Mika pressed a hand to his mouth.
His scar burned.
His vision blurred.
And suddenly—
His senses expanded.
The room filled with scent.
Not just herbs.
Not just wood.
Not just his mother.
But something deeper.
Something animal.
The world sharpened painfully.
He could smell—
Fear.
Elara's fear.
Old cloth.
Fresh bread.
And…
Himself.
A sweetness.
A strange, impossible sweetness.
Elara went pale.
"No…"
Her whisper cracked.
Mika stared at her, panicked.
"What's happening to me?"
Elara's hands trembled violently as she grabbed his shoulders.
"You must calm down."
"I don't understand!"
Elara's eyes filled with tears.
"It's your scent."
Mika froze.
"My… scent?"
Elara nodded shakily.
"Omegas have… a scent."
The word omega made his skin prickle.
"But I—"
Elara leaned closer.
"Your scent is waking up."
Mika's breath hitched.
"That's bad?"
Elara's voice broke.
"It's dangerous."
Because they will find you.
She didn't say it.
But it hung between them.
Mika swallowed hard.
"Who?"
Elara stood abruptly.
"No one. No one will."
She moved quickly to the window, shutting it tighter, as if scent could escape through cracks.
"Elara," Mika whispered.
His mother flinched at her name, then turned back.
Her expression was raw.
"Mika… listen carefully."
She knelt before him.
Her hands cupped his face, thumbs brushing his cheeks.
"You are an omega."
Mika's lips parted.
"And not just any omega."
Elara's voice dropped into something sacred.
"You are Lunaris."
The word sent a shiver through him.
"Lunaris…"
Elara's eyes glistened.
"The Moon's chosen."
Mika's scar pulsed faintly.
His breath shook.
"That's impossible."
Elara laughed bitterly.
"It shouldn't be possible. Sacred omegas are legends."
Legends.
Prophecies.
And yet…
He was here.
Elara's fingers brushed his scar.
"This mark…"
Mika flinched.
Elara whispered—
"It is proof."
Mika's throat tightened.
"Proof of what?"
Elara's lips trembled.
"That the Moon has not abandoned us."
Mika stared.
Then—
A sudden commotion outside.
Voices.
Louder than before.
Elara stiffened.
Mika rose instinctively, moving toward the window.
Elara grabbed him.
"No."
"Mama, what is it?"
Elara's eyes were wide.
"…They're talking."
Mika's breath caught.
Talking about what?
Elara hesitated.
Then—
"They're talking about the Moon."
Mika froze.
Outside, a woman's voice rang clearly through the street.
"I saw it! Half-blue, half-white!"
Another voice, male:
"That only happens when—"
"Don't say it!"
Mika's blood turned cold.
Elara's face drained.
"No…"
Mika swallowed.
"What does it mean?"
Elara's whisper was broken.
"It means someone sacred has awakened."
Mika's scar burned.
Elara grabbed his hands.
"It cannot be known it's you."
Mika stared, panic rising.
"But I didn't do anything!"
Elara's eyes filled with terror.
"Sacred omegas don't choose, Mika. The world chooses for them."
A knock slammed against the front door.
Both of them froze.
Not gentle.
Not kind.
Hard.
Demanding.
Elara's breath stopped.
"Mika," she whispered urgently, "go back to your room. Now."
Mika's heart pounded.
"Who is that?"
Elara didn't answer.
The knock came again.
Then a voice—
Female.
Smooth.
Elegant.
Dangerous.
"Elara Elowen."
Mika's blood ran cold.
Elara's hands shook.
"…Countess Evelyne Virelle."
Mika blinked.
Virelle?
Elara whispered—
"Stay silent."
Mika backed away slowly.
Elara moved to the door.
She opened it only a crack.
A woman stood outside dressed in velvet and pearls, her hair pinned perfectly, eyes sharp as blades.
Behind her, servants and guards.
And at her side—
A young girl.
Beautiful.
Noble.
Her smile was soft.
But her eyes…
Her eyes were hungry.
Elara forced politeness.
"Countess… what brings you here?"
Countess Evelyne's gaze swept over the house like inspecting filth.
"The Moon was restless last night."
Elara's pulse thundered.
"I heard."
Evelyne's smile sharpened.
"And the scent…"
Elara stiffened.
"A scent?"
Evelyne leaned closer, inhaling delicately.
"A sweetness."
Elara's breath shook.
The girl beside Evelyne tilted her head.
Her voice was gentle.
"Mother…"
Evelyne's eyes softened slightly.
"Ah, yes."
She turned to Elara.
"You know my daughter."
Elara swallowed.
"…Lady Seraphina."
Seraphina Virelle stepped forward.
She was the kind of beauty the city worshipped.
Golden hair.
Perfect lips.
Grace like a swan.
An omega.
But not like Mika.
Her scent was controlled, practiced.
Her smile was too calm.
Seraphina's gaze flickered past Elara—
Into the house.
Searching.
Elara shifted to block the doorway.
Seraphina spoke softly.
"Elara… I heard you have a son."
Elara's throat tightened.
"He is ill."
Seraphina's eyes glimmered.
"Is he?"
Evelyne's voice cut sharp.
"The Moon does not shine half-blue for illness."
Elara's blood went cold.
Seraphina smiled sweetly.
"May I see him?"
Elara's hands trembled.
"No."
The word came too fast.
Seraphina's smile didn't change.
But something dark moved behind her eyes.
Evelyne's voice hardened.
"You forget your place, commoner."
Elara's breath shook.
"My son is resting."
Seraphina stepped closer.
Her scent pressed like silk.
"Then perhaps…"
Her voice lowered.
"…he is the one the Moon chose."
Elara's face went white.
Mika, hidden behind the hallway wall, covered his mouth.
His heart pounded so loudly he thought they must hear.
Seraphina's eyes flickered.
For the briefest moment—
She looked directly toward where he stood.
And Mika felt it.
An omega recognizing another omega.
But not with sisterhood.
With rivalry.
With hatred.
Seraphina's lips curved.
"I will find out," she whispered.
Then she turned gracefully.
Evelyne gave Elara one last sharp look.
"This city belongs to nobles, Elara. Remember that."
They left.
But the air they carried remained.
Poison.
Elara shut the door with shaking hands.
She leaned against it, trembling.
Mika stepped forward slowly.
"Mama…"
Elara turned, tears streaming down her face.
"They've noticed."
Mika's breath shook.
"Seraphina…"
Elara whispered—
"She wanted to be sacred."
Mika swallowed.
"And now…"
Elara's voice cracked.
"Now she will do anything to destroy you."
Outside, far beyond the city…
In the forbidden forest…
Something stirred.
A shadow beneath ancient trees.
A seal weakening.
A voice like velvet hunger whispered into the Moonlight.
> "Yes…"
> "Awaken, Lunaris Omega…"
> "So I may finally return."
Mika's scar burned.
His breath caught.
And the Moon above, though faint in daylight…
Gleamed blue.