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

"The cold? The eyes? The paleness? The way the damn

Clark stared at me.

scared with me. Maybe

But he didn’t laugh.

enough to give me

on, Lucas..." he said, his

I cut him

knew something was off the moment that woman

He froze.

did that to me too," he

unease, maybe.

still sat on

Still hesitated.

here?" I asked him, sharper than

He didn’t answer.

silence told me

I’d tried.

I really had.

lured him away

him find out

hoisted my bag onto my shoulder. "Especially the ones who smile too

That’s the thing, right?

Their smiles.

Wide. Bright. Charming.

Hiding teeth.

Hiding cruelty.

me—a stupid, wide-eyed fool—fell into the trap thinking: Hey, a hot guy noticed me. A pretty girl wants to

Fucking pathetic.

No more.

I was done.

last stop: the

place burn before I ever

*********

whole place was dead silent. Not a soul in sight. Just long, dark

could. I didn’t want to be here one second longer

entire campus felt abandoned. Deserted. And

than I probably should have—my duffel bouncing against my back with every step. I kept my head down, heart pounding, eyes locked on the

want to stay in this

But the halls...

God, the halls.

were too long. Too still. Too quiet. The kind of silence that presses against

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 of my neck rise. I didn’t know

went. Heavy. Thick. Like the building

layout stopped making

itself seemed to fight

kept turning corner after corner, passing hallways I swore I’d seen before. The exits didn’t exist—just endless corridors, like I was stuck in

of identical corridors, all without windows, without signs. Just doors. Hallways. A repeating maze. I swear I passed the same painting twice—a portrait of a pale man

Was the building shifting?

My breathing was

whispered to myself. "No.

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

blindly, one foot in front of the other, following the lines and arrows without meeting the

stood in didn’t

it was pulling

the university. Deeper into the belly

I didn’t let myself think about it. I kept following the lines on the map like

And then—

Exit.

faintly above

I froze.

fear this time, but

something was off. I didn’t see