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

no going

Not without a fight.

*******

to wait

that’s what Lucas

getting yourself killed in the dark," he said, not even looking up from his phone. "They hunt more at night. If she’s still alive, she’ll still be alive

words chilled me more than the night air leaking

If.

If she’s still alive.

I hated that word.

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

I wanted to storm out into the night, charge into that cursed old lecture hall, and scream her name until

I wasn’t strong.

I wasn’t fast.

even have

out now, I’d die. And then what? Another missing student. Another "anemic" body found by

needed to

I needed to live.

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

So I stayed.

light up with her name if I stared hard enough.

hall outside made my heart

wind against

convince myself that

place, time moved like it was

that somewhere out there in the dark... Sara might

my bed

going

I couldn’t.

when my best friend could

Or worse—enjoying it.

think like

She’s smart. She’s

as I sat there through the night, waiting for the

morning came, I

it killed

I didn’t sleep.

even for a

voicemails. Over and over again. Her name sat stubbornly at the top of my

Nothing.

No text.

Just silence.

Chewed at my

I hated it.

hated that I

that I was a

should’ve stayed. I

But... Blaze.

The way he moved—soundless, swift, almost like he didn’t obey the laws of this world. That first day

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

Yeah.