Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter 157: A Long Night

CLARK POV

"We need to get out of this fucking place," I said, every syllable trembling with urgency.

Lucas just rolled his eyes like I’d finally said something so obvious it wasn’t even worth reacting to.

"Now you talk."

"I’m serious," I said, pacing the room. My hands were shaking again. "I don’t care if I have to walk out of here barefoot. I’ll hitchhike. Swim. Dig a fucking tunnel."

He sat up straighter, brows raised slightly as if amused. But his eyes? His eyes had none of that humor.

"Well... gotta break it to you," he said, voice low and dry. "Can’t go. All outgoing flights have been cancelled this month."

I stopped.

"What?"

"Yup." He leaned back, popping a piece of candy into his mouth like we weren’t talking about our lives being held hostage. "Flight board says weather issues. But there’s been no rain. No storms. No nothing."

My throat dried. "The buses—"

"Gone. Not running. Road maintenance or some bullshit. Taxis? Not allowed beyond the city border." He looked at me grimly. "We’re caged in."

"No." I backed up until I hit the wall. "That’s... that’s illegal. That’s insane. You can’t trap people—"

"They don’t care." Lucas stood now too. "You think this school is just an elite academy in the middle of nowhere? It’s a hunting ground. A buffet. A perfectly curated farm of warm, gullible humans delivered like lambs to the slaughter."

My blood went cold.

"They knew," he continued. "They knew some of us would notice. Would panic. So they took care of that too. No way out. Not unless... well. Unless you belong to them."

I sank to the bed, mind reeling.

Sara.

What if she—

No. No, no, no.

"I need to find her," I muttered. "If there’s no leaving, then I need to make sure she’s not—" I couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Lucas nodded. "She’s probably still alive. They like to play with their food."

The words hit like a slap.

"Lucas," I whispered. "Why are you still here?"

He gave me a half-smile. "Because I know the rules now. I don’t go out after sunset. I don’t speak to anyone who smells like flowers and ashes. I don’t drink. I don’t dance. I don’t follow."

That last word rang through my head like a warning.

"But," he added, "that doesn’t mean I’m safe. It just means I haven’t been picked again. Yet."

The room felt colder. Like the shadows in the corners had started listening. Breathing. Stretching.

I stared out the window. Somewhere out there, beneath the glow of Ziprey’s artificial lights, something monstrous was prowling. Smiling. Waiting.

And we were stuck.

"They’ll come for us," I said softly.

Lucas didn’t argue.

sat there in silence, the truth sinking in deeper than fangs

no

Not without a fight.

*******

would have to wait until

what Lucas thought was

phone. "They hunt more at night. If

more than the night air leaking through the

If.

If she’s still alive.

I hated that word.

just a word—it was a verdict hanging over Sara’s head

storm out into the night, charge into that cursed old lecture hall, and

I wasn’t strong.

I wasn’t fast.

didn’t even

die. And then what? Another missing student. Another "anemic" body found by a janitor or

I needed

I needed to live.

I to her if I ended up

So I stayed.

screen would light up with her name if I stared hard enough. The minutes dragged like lead weights. The silence

hall outside made

of wind against the glass

to convince myself that morning

this place, time moved like

the worst part was knowing that somewhere out there in the dark... Sara might be

on my bed and stared

wasn’t going

I couldn’t.

when my best friend could

Or worse—enjoying it.

Don’t think

smart. She’s probably

myself as I sat there through the night, waiting for the sun to rise—praying

I was going to find

it killed

I didn’t sleep.

for a

again. Her name sat stubbornly at the top of

Nothing.

back. No text. No

Just silence.

Chewed at my insides like guilt-shaped termites, hollowing

I hated it.

hated that I

hated that I was a coward—that

stayed. I should’ve

But... Blaze.

moved—soundless, swift, almost like he didn’t obey the laws of this world. That first day I asked for directions,

But he wasn’t weird.

He wasn’t human.

night, when he picked me up like I weighed nothing, when he zoomed through the halls faster than any person should be able to move—and

Yeah.