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.

to catch up to my body. It wasn’t running. It was freaking

And just like that—

front

set me down gently—if dumping someone onto their feet like a dropped rag doll counts as gentle. My knees buckled, and I had to

up

Really looked.

depth. Like there was something swimming behind them.

I stepped back.

asked, my voice

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t even blink.

way a lion might look at an ant—unbothered, uninterested,

And then—

He vanished.

VANISHED.

shadows swallowed him whole. Like

I screamed.

Like... really screamed.

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 key into the lock

Safe.

Maybe.

and slid down onto the floor, my chest

don’t disappear like

others like

freaking fly down hallways at the speed of

some weird school with an old

was very, very

smack in the

on his bed, scrolling through his phone like he wasn’t a roommate in a freaking horror movie. His eyes flicked up, and the

hollow. "I told you. Now you believe

dry, my heart

serious now. "Did... did they also suck your blood?" he asked quietly. "Did you feel

back to life. "Wait. They—what? You

was a joke. Next thing I know, I her fangs are on my neck pain and life being drawn

wasn’t just being flirtatious or

the room, nearly tripping over my own feet, and grabbed my laptop from the desk. If the world was

and werewolves

Nope. All fiction.

of wannabe vampire

trembled as I

legends of

told by old women sitting by the fire. Creatures of the night. Spirits that walk beneath a full moon. Giant wolves glimpsed at the edge

solid. Nothing credible. All marked "folklore," "urban legend," or worse:

No mention of vampires.

official record of

I tried

death in

The first result?

Anemia.

weirdly high number of deaths in people aged 17–24. Labeled as "sudden severe anemia" or "unexplained

scrolling. Some reports were quietly buried. Some obituaries mentioned students dying in their sleep. One particular blog post from a former teacher mentioned a "pattern" no one wanted to talk about. Young students going pale,

illness."