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.

was he?! Some kind of twisted LARPing

No, that was

"You’re not saying... like... an

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

His grin widened.

his nose

I went rigid.

me, don’t bite

smiled—teeth a

"You don’t believe me?"

I didn’t answer.

I

Because I physically couldn’t.

And for a heartbeat, the hallway around us faded into nothing but cold, walls, and a deathly still presence

in again, lips grazing my ear. "Humans," he whispered,

whispered. "But not just fear. Something else. Something..." He closed his eyes. "...so

want

eyes opened.

was mapping 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 busy

head, and for a

crazy," I said, almost too

he said lightly. "But at least I know what

tapped a finger to my chest. "You... you’re still

forward again. "You

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

back a few paces, eyes still trained on me like he

on, then. Be a hero. It suits your

the old lecture wing, the one that had been

place students were told

just before I could open my mouth to

Like gone gone.

second he was

And the next?

Poof.

opening, no footsteps, no lingering

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?

you to a wall. Couldn’t sniff you like a bloodhound trying to decide if you

what was with that whole

No. Nope. No way.

was just a messed-up

Right?

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

be it. That, or

his touch still linger on my

I feel like I’d just stared into the abyss and it had winked

toward the old wing slowly, against every cell in my body screaming do not go in there. My feet moved anyway. Because Sara

of the overhead lights dimming into flickers. The doors here were sealed with tape and signs reading "UNDER RENOVATION – NO ENTRY" but someone

And the door?

It was ajar.

"Sara?" I whispered.