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.

the wind howled in my ears, and I swear my lungs were still trying to catch up to my body. It wasn’t running. It

And just like that—

front of

doll counts as gentle. My knees buckled, and I had

looked up

Really looked.

moonlight over ice. His eyes weren’t just dark—they had depth. Like there was something

I stepped back.

asked, my voice barely

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t even blink.

the way a lion might look at an

And then—

He vanished.

VANISHED.

standing there, and the next—poof. Gone. Like the shadows swallowed

I screamed.

Like... really screamed.

to grab me. I scrambled at my door like a raccoon in a panic,

Safe.

Maybe.

onto

disappear

don’t carry others like

freaking fly down hallways at the speed of

some weird school with an

was very, very

smack in the middle

Lucas lying on his bed, scrolling through his phone like he wasn’t a roommate in a freaking horror movie. His eyes flicked up, and the moment he saw my face—pale, sweaty, wide-eyed like I’d seen death

he said, voice hollow. "I

speak. My throat was dry, my heart thundering in

"Did... did they also suck your blood?" he asked

to life. "Wait. They—what?

even. Then she said I smelled sweet. I thought it was a joke. Next thing I know, I her fangs are on my neck pain

redhead. That’s what she had been trying to do to me. She wasn’t just being flirtatious or high on whatever drug they spiked the punch

didn’t say anything else. I just crossed the room, nearly tripping over my own feet, and grabbed

and

Nope. All fiction.

threads full of

trembled as I opened

legends of

Superstitions. Tales told by old women sitting by the fire. Creatures of the night. Spirits that

marked "folklore," "urban legend," or worse: "tourism

No mention of vampires.

official record

I tried something

of death

The first result?

Anemia.

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

teacher mentioned a "pattern" no one wanted to talk about. Young students going pale, getting sick, complaining of

illness." "Transferred