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.

the truth sinking

no going

Not without a fight.

*******

have to

least, that’s what Lucas thought was a

killed in the dark," he said, not even looking up from his phone. "They hunt

chilled me more than the night air leaking

If.

If she’s still alive.

I hated that word.

a verdict hanging over Sara’s head

out into the night, charge into that cursed

I wasn’t strong.

I wasn’t fast.

even

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

I needed to be

I needed to live.

her if I ended up a dried-up corpse stuffed behind some

So I stayed.

checking my phone like maybe the screen would light up with her name if I stared hard enough. The minutes dragged like lead weights. The silence in the room pressed

the hall outside made my heart

gust of wind against

to convince myself that

this place, time moved like

in the dark... Sara might be

on my bed and stared at

going

I couldn’t.

best friend could

Or worse—enjoying it.

Don’t think

smart. She’s probably

sat there through the night, waiting for the sun to rise—praying I’d still have someone to save when it

came, I was going

it

I didn’t sleep.

for a

like a lifeline, texting Sara, calling her, leaving voicemails. Over and over again. Her name sat stubbornly at the top of my screen, the little "delivered" checkmarks mocking me with

Nothing.

call back. No text. No

Just silence.

at my insides

I hated it.

I

hated that I was a coward—that I

should’ve stayed. I should’ve done something.

But... Blaze.

I should’ve known the moment I saw him. The too-pale skin, like snow under moonlight. The way he moved—soundless, swift, almost like he didn’t obey the laws of this world.

But he wasn’t weird.

He wasn’t human.

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

Yeah.