Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter 156: Monsters are Real

CLARK POV

"I said now," he snapped, and the music seemed to dip for just a second—like even the bass itself feared him.

I wanted to run. God knows I did. But...

"I... I don’t know the way," I mumbled, barely audible under the pulse of music, laughter, and murmured sins around me.

But he heard me.

Of course he did.

He closed his eyes and let out the kind of sigh that said I’m-this-close-to-snapping-your-neck. His fingers pressed to his temple, like just existing near me was giving him a migraine.

"Okay... let’s go," he muttered finally, rubbing his head like I was some slow, lost child who’d wet himself at a shopping mall.

"But—my friend—Sara," I tried again, voice shaking. I wasn’t trying to be brave. I was just trying to survive. Trying not to let her disappear into this twisted, glossy hell like a breath in the cold.

That’s when he stopped walking and turned.

And if looks could kill, I’d be a chalk outline on the tiled floor right now.

"Listen here, little lamb," he said, voice low, dangerous, like something ancient had stirred behind his eyes. "I am not your friend. Not your hero. You’re just lucky my demons find your scent interesting, or you’d already be drained, buried, and forgotten."

And just like that—

He threw me over his shoulder.

Like a sack of potatoes.

I didn’t even have time to yelp.

He strode through the party, past the strobe lights and perfume haze, as if none of this madness touched him. No one batted an eye. Not even when he walked straight toward the exit with a whole ass human flailing on his shoulder.

Then, somewhere between the hallway and the front door, another voice piped up.

"Ohhh, Prince Blaze, I see you’ve already found yourself a new blood bag."

Prince?

Did he say prince?

Wait—BLAZE?!

His name was Blaze?!

Since when was Ziprey ruled by a monarchy? Was that on the brochures? Because I swear when I applied here, no one mentioned vampire nobility, blood cults, or psycho speed demons.

Blaze didn’t reply.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t even slow down.

He just carried me like I weighed nothing—which, by the way, rude—and marched through the exit like he had somewhere much more important to be than babysitting a twitchy, half-hysterical freshman.

Then I heard it.

"Fuck it," he muttered under his breath.

And suddenly—

We moved.

Fast.

Like... not normal fast.

catch up to my body. It wasn’t running. It was freaking teleportation with style. Walls zoomed by,

And just like that—

front of the male

gently—if dumping someone onto their feet like a dropped rag doll counts as gentle. My knees buckled, and I had to lean against the wall to stop myself from

up at

Really looked.

dark—they had depth. Like there was something swimming behind them.

I stepped back.

are you?" I asked, my voice barely above

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t even blink.

looked at me the way a lion might

And then—

He vanished.

VANISHED.

Gone. Like the shadows swallowed him

I screamed.

Like... really screamed.

ran. I bolted to my room like the floor was lava and the shadows were hands reaching out to grab me. I scrambled at my door like a raccoon in a panic, finally getting the damn

Safe.

Maybe.

door shut and slid down onto the floor, my

disappear

don’t carry others

fly down hallways at the speed

just some weird school with an

was very,

I was smack in the middle of

horror movie. His eyes flicked up, and

he said, voice hollow. "I told you. Now you believe

dry, my heart thundering in

also suck your blood?" he asked quietly. "Did you feel the

life. "Wait. They—what?

it was a joke. Next thing I know, I her fangs are on my neck pain

just being flirtatious or high on

grabbed my laptop from the desk. If the world was burning, then Google had

and

Nope. All fiction.

full of wannabe vampire roleplayers. Zero actual

I

and legends of Ziprey

fire. Creatures of the night. Spirits that walk beneath a full moon. Giant wolves glimpsed at the edge of

All marked "folklore,"

No mention of vampires.

record

I tried something

of death in

The first result?

Anemia.

people aged 17–24. Labeled as "sudden

were quietly buried. Some obituaries mentioned students dying in their sleep. One particular blog post from a former teacher mentioned a "pattern"

"Sudden illness."