Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter 163: Worse Things Than Those Inside

LUCAS POV:

I went to the waiting room, trying to breathe. Trying to think. My thoughts were spiraling—panic scratching behind my eyes like rats in a box.

So much for my fucking escape.

But then it hit me—what if I didn’t fly out? What if I could cross the border by bus, and then take a flight from the next country over? Maybe there was a crack in their perfect little trap. Maybe the bastards hadn’t locked down the land routes yet. The hope burned in me like a lit match in a gas-filled room.

Hope flickered. Not a flame, but a spark. And in a place like this, even a spark was blinding.

I got up fast—too fast. My legs were still sore, my muscles tight and bruised. But I didn’t care. As long as I got out.

Out. Out. Out.

This time, I hailed a taxi. The city was waking up around me, a cold sun rising over buildings that felt too still, too quiet—like a stage set, waiting for the actors to return. It didn’t take long to find another cab. The cab that stopped was driven by a woman—slim, maybe in her mid-twenties, with dark circles under her eyes like bruises. Her skin was pale, but not unnaturally so. Still, there was something off. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she moved like her bones ached from something far deeper than fatigue.

"Where to, champ?" she asked, a tired smirk on her lips.

"Any bus traveler’s agency that runs cross-border," I said quickly, shoving myself into the back seat.

She snorted. "So the plane was canceled, huh?"

"Yeah. All outbound flights. Apparently." I didn’t like where this was going.

That earned a dry, mocking laugh. It wasn’t amusement—it was bitterness soaked in something darker. "And you still think you can get out of here, huh?"

There was something behind her words. Like she knew something I didn’t.

"Yeah..." I replied, wary.

"Well," she said, shifting into drive, "better start praying then."

Her voice was calm, almost amused—but bitter. Too bitter for someone just giving rides.

I looked at her again. Really looked. She was young, maybe twenty-five. But her eyes were older. Exhausted. Her body was thin, bones peeking where they shouldn’t. A dark patch peeked from under her shirt collar—something circular. A bite mark? A tattoo? Hard to tell. But she was definitely trying to hide it.

"Is this your home country?" I asked.

She sighed. "No."

Figures. She didn’t look like the locals. Not the impossibly perfect ones with porcelain skin and unnerving smiles. She looked real. Human.

"Have you ever gone back?" I asked.

knuckles went pale, and for a second I thought she’d snap—tell me to shut up and mind my

But then:

I did. Once. To say

trauma thick enough to choke on. But part of me still

she beat

on the

My throat tightened.

anyone, or they kill the person you tell. And

before they listened. And I... I couldn’t risk my mom and little sister. I was the one who applied. I chose this place. I couldn’t let them pay

paused. Her voice broke just

my mom and little sister. I was the one who wanted to come here. So I came back. Quietly.

wiped it

are," she said, pulling up to

normal. So mundane. But

she said, turning in her seat. Her eyes were red now. "If you don’t make it out... you’ll have to learn the rules. In this place, humans are the bottom of the chain. Pets for sex. Cattle for feeding. Entertainment. You don’t matter unless you bleed pretty or scream loud. If you want to live long enough

No.

No.

NO.

live like a reared animal. Like I was born to be

didn’t say that. I just nodded,

rolled the window down just before leaving

kid... make sure the sun doesn’t set with you still outside. There are worse things than what you saw at the university. The ones out here... they don’t play by rules. They don’t feed to survive. They feed for sport. There are worse things out here than

Then she drove off.

of the station, her words

things? Than the

faces? That used students like chew toys and

the

had to

She had to be.

...Right?

******

Memoville had become.

what

miracle—that some rickety old vehicle was warming up, ready to take passengers across the border. That some loophole, some

and almost empty, lit by flickering fluorescent lights that buzzed overhead like flies. A long, scratched-up bench sat against one

moment I saw the woman at the front

apology. Her eyes were soft, but hollow. Like she’d seen dozens just like me walk in here, full of hope, and leave with nothing but

need a ticket. Cross-border. Anywhere," I said. My voice cracked halfway through, but I didn’t care. "Please," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I’ll pay in cash. I’ll pay

anything. Didn’t even glance at

are closed. The highways