Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter 153: Horror

CLARK – POV

"Curious little lamb, aren’t you?"

The voice was so close, so soft and low, that it slithered straight into my spine like ice. My body jerked like a live wire had touched it—my feet nearly left the ground. I spun around with a strangled yelp only for a hand—cold as death—to clap over my mouth, muffling my scream.

In a blink, I was slammed up against the wall.

Hard.

His body pressed into mine, and we were too close—way too close—his breath grazing my cheek, his icy presence bleeding into my skin like frostbite. To anyone stumbling in on us, it would’ve looked like a moment straight out of a romantic BL anime.

But this wasn’t romantic. This was a goddamn horror scene.

Because I knew that face.

The pale, ghostly guy. The senior I’d asked for directions on my first day—the one who had appeared out of nowhere, just like now.

Where had he come from? Why hadn’t I heard a single step? No shadow. No sound. Just one second I was alone, and the next—this.

"You shouldn’t disturb wolves while they’re having fun," he whispered, his lips brushing my ear.

Wolves? What the actual hell was he talking about?

I stared at him, heart battering my ribs like it wanted out. His eyes were pitch-black, unreadable. His face was smooth, elegant even—but there was a wrongness about it. Not wrong in a way you could point out, but wrong in the way a mask of a human might look after too long. Almost too perfect. Too still.

I tried to push him off, but he didn’t budge.

His body was like stone—unmoving, unyielding, cold.

"I-I wasn’t trying to disturb anyone," I managed to squeak once he eased the hand from my mouth. My throat was tight, dry. "I was just looking for my friend."

He smiled.

God.

It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was the kind of grin a predator gave before taking its sweet time.

"Funny little thing," he murmured, almost affectionately. "Always wandering into places you shouldn’t."

His breath smelled faintly metallic.

Like rust.

Or—blood.

My stomach turned. My knees felt weak.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I said, stammering.

"Wolves can’t just enter the school vicinity like that," I blurted. I didn’t even know what I was saying at that point. Maybe if I kept talking, he wouldn’t eat me. That felt like a valid fear now.

He let out a soft, amused laugh.

"Oh, little lamb, I meant Man wolf" he breathed, nostrils flaring as he sniffed my neck.

I froze. Fully, entirely frozen. My brain screamed He’s going to bite you, and for a horrifying second, I was almost too scared to care.

Some kind of twisted

that was

quickly. "You’re not saying... like... an actual werewolf,

talking, I told myself. Distract him. Maybe someone would come down

His grin widened.

his nose

I went rigid.

me, don’t bite

smiled—teeth a little

"You don’t believe me?"

I didn’t answer.

because I

Because I physically couldn’t.

for a heartbeat, the hallway around us faded into nothing but cold, walls, and a

in again, lips grazing my ear. "Humans," he whispered, "are such silly, amusing

fear. Something else. Something..." He closed his eyes.

do you want

eyes opened.

where my artery ran. "That this place... it’s not for humans. Not really. You’re just decoration. Distractions. Food. Most of you never realize it. You’re so

his head, and for a brief second, his pupils elongated—like

I said, almost too fast. "You’re

"But at least

my chest. "You... you’re still figuring it out. But I’ll

forward again. "You smell like

I nearly collapsed. My body had gone completely numb, legs trembling, heart clawing at

eyes still trained on me

on, then. Be a hero. It suits

far end of the hallway—toward the old lecture wing, the one that had been under renovation since I’d arrived.

place students were told

could open my mouth to ask what

Like gone gone.

second he

And the next?

Poof.

sound, no door opening, no

it was trying to escape my chest. "What the fu—" I yelped, louder than I meant to, and stumbled backward into

What just happened?

Was he a... ghost?

touch you. Couldn’t pin you to a wall. Couldn’t sniff you like a bloodhound trying to decide if you were medium-rare or well

with that

No. Nope. No way.

just a messed-up hazing

Right?

senior with an overactive imagination and a flair for drama. Maybe they’d drugged the punch at the party and

it. That, or I was losing

touch still linger on

like I’d just stared into the abyss and it

there. My feet moved anyway. Because Sara might be in there. Because if she was, and something

buzz of the overhead lights dimming into flickers. The doors here were sealed with

And the door?

It was ajar.

"Sara?" I whispered.