Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter 161: "Run, Fool, Run"

Lucas POV

I woke up early.

Not like I’d really slept.

Even in my dreams, they were there—laughing, watching, touching. I couldn’t breathe right even when unconscious.

Who would’ve thought the monsters wore such beautiful faces?

Hot people. Models. Walking gods. That’s what they looked like. But behind those glowing eyes and sharp smiles, something rotted. Something old. Inhuman.

They didn’t even have to hide it well. We—humans—are too stupid, too desperate to be seen, to be touched, to matter, to even notice the danger.

I looked like a goddamn zombie by the time morning came up. Hollow-eyed. Grey. Shaky. My face was pale, eyes sunken, limbs heavy.

But I didn’t care.

I knew one thing: I would only be able to breathe again the moment I got out of this godforsaken hellhole of a place.

I’d made up my mind.

I was leaving.

No matter what.

I was halfway through stuffing the last of my things into my bag—zipper straining from how fast I was packing—when my roommate stirred.

Clark sat up, blinking through the sleep, his hair sticking up in every direction.

"Hey," he croaked. "What’re you doing?"

"Leaving," I muttered without looking at him.

He rubbed his face. "What? Why?"

"I’m going home."

Clark blinked a few times, then sat all the way up.

"You didn’t just pass the entrance exams and get accepted into Memoville to run off before orientation, man," he said. "Come on."

His tone was casual—like I’d just been through a bad breakup or lost a wallet.

He thought I was bullied.

Bullied.

What happened to me... that wasn’t bullying.

That was something else.

Something no human should ever experience.

Something no one would believe even if I tried to explain it.

And that’s exactly why they get away with it. Why there’s always fresh meat.

I crouched to grab my hoodie and stuffed it into my duffel, trying not to scream.

"You won’t believe me anyway," I said. "Nobody ever does. That’s why they always get fresh meat. That’s what we are to them."

Clark was more awake now. More alert. He watched me closely.

"...What are you talking about?" he asked.

I looked at him, finally.

"You saw it, didn’t you?" I asked. "The ones that walk like they’ve never tripped in their lives? The ones that talk like they’re in a Shakespeare play and never blink at the right time?"

silence wasn’t just

eyes? The paleness? The way the damn wind moves when

Clark stared at me.

scared with me. Maybe of

But he didn’t laugh.

enough to

on, Lucas..." he said, his

cut

I said, swallowing the bitterness rising in my throat. "I knew something was off the moment that woman at registration smelled

He froze.

that to me too,"

us—shared unease, maybe. Or the

sat on the

Still hesitated.

you still here?" I asked

He didn’t answer.

that silence told me

I’d tried.

I really had.

until one of them lured him away

him find out

anyone," I said as I hoisted my bag

That’s the thing, right?

Their smiles.

Wide. Bright. Charming.

Hiding teeth.

Hiding cruelty.

into the trap thinking: Hey, a hot guy

Fucking pathetic.

No more.

I was done.

and last stop:

burn before

*********

in sight. Just long, dark halls and an oppressive stillness that made every step echo like

I didn’t want to

campus felt abandoned. Deserted. And yet, not

probably should have—my duffel bouncing against my back with every step. I kept

in this place one second

But the halls...

God, the halls.

The kind of silence that presses against

atmosphere felt like it had been pulled straight from a Gothic horror movie. High arched ceilings. Cold stone walls. The occasional flickering light bulb that seemed to sputter only when I walked under it. Thick air, flickering lights, and shadows that seemed to stretch longer than they should. Just walking through those halls made the hairs on the back

went. Heavy. Thick. Like the building itself knew I was trying to leave—and didn’t like

stopped making

seemed

wanted to escape. Like it had a mind of its own and wasn’t ready to let me go. I kept turning corner after corner, passing hallways I swore I’d seen before. The exits didn’t exist—just endless corridors, like I was

of identical corridors, all without windows, without signs. Just doors. Hallways. A repeating maze. I swear I

Was the building shifting?

My breathing was

myself. "No. You’re

map from my pocket, unfolded it, and focused. Just follow the map. Don’t look up.

my finger. I walked blindly, one foot in front of the other, following the lines and arrows without meeting the shadows around

did glance up—and the hallway I stood

was pulling me

the university. Deeper into the belly

turn around. I didn’t let myself think about it. I kept following the lines on the map like they were lifelines—my

And then—

Exit.

faintly above a pair of

I froze.

but from a flicker of

then, something was off. I didn’t see anyone, but