Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man Chapter 112: What Is A Mate

BLAZE POV

It took everything in not to launch that mutt through the goddamn wall.

The way he sat there—like he had any right. Like he cared more. Like he knew her.

Fuck him.

The mont we stepped into her apartnt, my entire body tensed. I could sll him before I saw him—Reed. The wolf. The other mate. My every instinct scread to dominate, to crush, to tear. But Clare was fragile, still trembling, and I had promised her safety. Peace. Comfort.

So I stayed still. Barely.

He had the audacity to look calm. Legs stretched out, arms folded, back resting against the couch like this was his territory. He didn’t speak. Just watched with those calculating, simring wolf eyes. No doubt ready to rip apart if I made one wrong move.

He wasn’t there when she scread like the world was ending. He wasn’t the one who held her while she thrashed, covered in sweat and tears, begging for rcy from dreams that were far too real.

So why the hell was he here?

His scent clung to the apartnt walls, soaked into the furniture. He had been here for a while. Probably sniffing around like the obsessed dog he was. It made my jaw clench hard enough to hurt.

I didn’t say a word. Not yet. I kept my gaze on Clare, watching as she slowly ca back to herself. Her eyes still haunted, the ghost of her nightmare clinging to her expression.

I clenched my jaw, fangs pressing against my tongue. One word from him and I’d give in. One smug look, and I’d remind him exactly why vampires ruled the food chain.

But then she walked in from the kitchen.

Her mug shook in her hands just slightly, and the sll of burnt instant coffee hit my nose before she spoke. She looked smaller, like the nightmare had hollowed her out from the inside.

Her voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"What does the word mate an exactly?"

I turned to her slowly. So did the mutt.

Her eyes were dull. Like she wasn’t really asking. Like she already feared the answer.

Her voice was quiet, but it cut through the room like a blade.

I turned to her slowly, locking eyes with her as my heart thudded once. Once.

That was all it took to feel the bond tighten.

Behind , I heard Reed shift forward. Tension thickened like smoke.

I stood up.

I didn’t care if the wolf liked it or not.

She was asking .

I stood up—slow, careful, like I was trying not to spook a wounded creature. She looked at both of us, but not the way she used to. Not with fire. Not with annoyance.

Now she looked like we were strangers. Strangers with claws.

"Mates..." I started, my voice rough, low, "—are everything to us. It’s not a choice. It’s... instinct. Bond. Fate."

"Like... soulmates?" she asked, still holding the mug too tight.

I nodded. "More than that."

"They complete us," the wolf added, and I nearly growled at the interruption. "Tie our souls together. Our wolves—our instincts—they recognize them, even before our minds do."

She stared at the coffee like it might give her answers.

"So you’re both saying I’m... what? Claid by two creatures with fangs and fur who want to tear each other apart?"

I took a step forward. "You’re not claid. You’re ours because fate chose you. Not because we decided to play tug-of-war."

Reed scoffed. "Sure doesn’t feel like that from this side of things."

I ignored him.

My eyes were only on her. "The bond you felt... it’s real. It’s ancient. It’s sacred."

"And yet you let your people—your family—do that to ." Her voice cracked, quiet but shaking. "So sacred, huh?"

My stomach twisted. Guilt—a rare, bitter emotion for soone like —flared in my chest.

"I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have left you if I thought—"

"But you did leave."

Her words were soft.

But they cut deeper than any blade.

I looked at her—really looked. The shadows under her eyes. The subtle tremble in her fingers. Her heartbeat thrumming too fast.

"Clare..." I stepped closer again. "You want answers. I’ll give them. All of them. But don’t ever think that this bond is fake. Don’t ever think what I feel for you is anything less than real."

She didn’t answer.

She didn’t run either.

So I stayed still, waiting. Watching. Burning.

And from the corner of my eye, the wolf watched too, jaw tight, fists clenched.

Good.

Let him see.

She’s not just his. She’s mine too.

I saw it. She was beginning to understand. What it ant to be a mate in a world that didn’t care for her permission.

She wrapped her arms around herself, mug still cradled in one hand, and for the first ti, I felt sothing shift in her.

Not acceptance.

But recognition.

REED POV

"What does the word mate an exactly?" she asked.

Both and that leech scrambled to answer like damn teenagers trying to impress a girl in class. Gods, we were pathetic. Fighting like pups when she was sitting there barely holding herself together, wrapped in trauma she hadn’t even begun to process.

We were really acting like immature, hormone-wracked teenagers instead of two powerful supernatural beings. This girl—this human—had us wrapped around her finger without even trying. Or maybe it wasn’t her. Maybe it was the damn bond. That ancient, soul-twisting tether that neither of us fully understood.

Blaze opened his mouth, but I was already speaking. "It’s... more than love. Deeper than that. It’s a bond the soul makes before we even understand it."

"We feel it here." I touched my chest. "And here." I tapped my temple. "It’s instinct. Nature. Divine design—whatever word you want."

Blaze gave a side glance, like he didn’t appreciate the poetry. Tough shit.

"Has anyone of your kind been mated to a human before?" she asked again, quiet, eyes flicking between us.

We both hesitated.

Because that question carried weight.

"Rare," Blaze muttered. "Almost never."

"Sa for wolves," I said. "Most of us mate with our own kind. The bond tends to stay within species. Humans aren’t built to withstand it."

Her brow creased. "Then why ?"

Silence again.

Why her?

I’d asked the Moon the sa question a hundred tis since the bond hit like a sledgehamr.

Why a human girl with a smart mouth, anger issues, and more secrets than any creature should carry?

I couldn’t answer her. Because maybe there wasn’t a why. Maybe the bond didn’t care about logic or history or species.

It just was.

"I don’t know," I said finally. "But I don’t question it. Not after what I feel every ti I look at you."

Blaze gave a low hum, like he didn’t like speaking first. Tough.

Blaze finally spoke, his voice cool and firm. "You’re not like most humans."

I shot him a glare. Not because he was wrong—but because it was his voice she responded to first. Always him. The damn vampire.

She scoffed. "Right. Because I’ve got what? So kind of special blood? Soul magic? Is that what you two are sniffing around for?"

I stood then, pacing once, hands clenched at my sides. "No. Clause, it’s not like that. The bond—it’s not sothing we chose. It chose us. And trust , I’d rather it hadn’t."

Blaze’s eyes flicked toward , sharp.

"I didn’t an it like that," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "I just... You think I want to be tied to soone I can’t even protect properly? You think I’m proud that last night, I could feel your fear and do nothing about it except tear apart a room like a madman?"

She flinched at that.

"I’m sorry," I said quietly.

Both of them looked at .

"I’m sorry you’re in the middle of this. That this isn’t sothing you chose. I can’t change what we are—but I can promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that again."

Blaze didn’t scoff.

He didn’t interrupt.

Because he knew, just like I did—this wasn’t a ga.

This wasn’t so rivalry over a pretty face.

This was war.

And she was the battlefield.

Clare looked down into her coffee, like it held all the answers neither of us could give.

"You guys keep saying I’m yours," she said. "But no one asked if I want this. If I want either of you."

My heart sank a little. I didn’t bla her.

Hell, she was right.

We were pulling her into a world of blood and shadows, of curses and wars, fangs and claws—and acting like she should be grateful.

She wasn’t a damn prize to be fought over.

She was a person.

"I know this is too much," I said. "But if you give ti, I’ll prove I’m not just so beast looking to win a girl like a trophy."

Blaze snorted at that. Asshole.

Clare stood up, sighing, and walked toward the kitchen again.

She needed space.

And for once, I didn’t chase her.

I just watched her go... wondering if maybe fate was cruel for ever dragging her into this.

But one thing was certain.

No matter what, I wasn’t going to let her face it alone.