Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man Chapter 12: Giving Up

As I looked around, still trying to steady my breathing, Sara suddenly bumped into . She was in a hurry—probably rushing to class.

"Clause, what are you doing here? I thought you were already in class," she asked, bewildered.

I forced a sheepish smile. "Got lost," I lied. No way in hell was I going to tell her I had just been nearly dragged away by the sa guy she had warned about.

She giggled, completely unaware of the horror I had just escaped. "Co on, then. We’re already late," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling along.

More stairs. More corridors. More stairs.

As she dragged through the maze of the building, my gaze flickered to her neck—and there they were. More fresh, mosquito-like bites, this ti on the other side. She noticed my stare and quickly tucked her hair over them, pretending as if nothing was wrong.

I didn’t say a word.

I had already faced my own horrors today.

And sothing told I wasn’t done yet.

Yeah, we were late.

Blaze and Reed were already seated—Reed with his gang in the back, taking up the entire left side of the classroom like they owned the place. Blaze, as if staking his own claim, sat on the right side, alone but no less imposing.

Great.

Where the hell was I supposed to sit?

The front seats were a hard no—too close to the professor, too exposed. The back? Yeah, no thanks. Not with them sitting there, watching, waiting.

That left the middle.

Not ideal, but better than the alternatives.

I slid into a seat, trying to ignore the weight of unseen eyes on . Trying to pretend I wasn’t hyper-aware of the fact that I had just barely escaped Reed’s grasp. That Blaze had seen. That they were both here now, silent, but very much present.

I didn’t dare turn around.

I had a feeling if I did, I wouldn’t like what I saw.

I had left them fighting.

Brutal, violent, deadly.

And yet, now, as I risked a glance—just a quick flicker of my eyes, nothing more—neither of them looked like so much as a single punch had landed on their stupid, infuriatingly perfect faces.

No bruises. No blood.

Nothing.

Like the fight had never even happened.

Like I hadn’t just run for my life while they tore into each other like rabid animals.

A chill slithered down my spine.

What the hell were they?

I gripped my pen so tight it might snap, forcing myself to focus on the professor’s voice droning in the background. But it was impossible to ignore the weight of their presence. Reed’s gang, lounging like kings, their gazes burning into my back. Blaze, motionless but sharp, like a predator waiting for the right mont to strike.

I wasn’t safe.

Not in this classroom. Not on this campus.

Not in this entire damn town.

And the worst part?

They knew it.

They knew.

I didn’t know what exactly they knew, but they knew.

That I had seen too much. That I had walked away from sothing I was never supposed to witness.

Like hell—sothing was wrong with this place. Sothing dark, twisted, horrific. And I wasn’t a fan of horror. Not the kind in movies, and sure as hell not the kind that breathed down my neck in real life.

But that’s what this was.

A living, waking nightmare.

And the worst part?

I was trapped in it.

I sat frozen in my seat, every muscle in my body coiled tight, waiting—dreading—for the class to be over.

The weight of their stares burned into the back of my head.

Reed. His gang.

Blaze.

I didn’t have to turn around to know they were watching . Their presence was palpable, curling around like an invisible noose, suffocating, relentless.

I kept my gaze glued to the front, forcing myself to focus on the professor’s droning voice, but the words slipped past my ears like water. I wasn’t hearing any of it. My heart was pounding too loudly. The blood in my veins felt thick, sluggish, like I was wading through sothing wrong.

Every few minutes, the feeling of being watched intensified.

I gripped my pen so tightly my knuckles turned white.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Don’t turn around.

I would not look.

I didn’t need to see Reed’s stormy, predatory gaze. I didn’t need to see Blaze’s cold, unblinking stare. I could feel them. I could sense them, both waiting, waiting, like two wolves circling an injured deer.

The classroom felt like a trap, like the walls were closing in.

And then—

The bell rang.

The spell shattered.

I bolted.

Didn’t wait for Sara. Didn’t breathe. I shot out of my seat before the professor had even finished dismissing us, pushing past confused students, running.

I didn’t need to look to know Reed would be following.

And Blaze?

I had no idea what that guy wanted.

But he had his seat back, didn’t he?

Good.

Let him stay there, far away from .

I wasn’t sticking around to figure out his fucking problem with .

I had one priority—getting the hell out of here.

I didn’t care about my stuff. Didn’t care if my fake boy clothes got thrown out into the street. If they wanted to pack my things and ship them back to my country, good. If not? I didn’t give a fuck.

My life was worth more than a suitcase of disguises.

I stord down the hallway, weaving through the crowd of students. I tried to rember which paths the others had taken yesterday. If I followed the sa routes, I’d make it to the campus front door, then from there—

Straight to the airport.

The plan was solid.

It was simple.

It should have worked.

But of course—

It didn’t.

I didn’t hear him coming.

Didn’t sense him until it was too late.

One second, I was walking. The next—

SLAM.

Pain exploded through my spine as my back hit the wall.

My breath punched out of my lungs.

Before I could even process what was happening, a hand curled around my collar, yanking forward before slamming back again, harder this ti.

I gasped, vision blurring for a second.

And then I saw him.

Blaze.

His face was inches from mine, his grip like steel.

And the hall?

Deserted.

What the fuck?

There had been dozens of students here just seconds ago. I knew I wasn’t alone.

But now?

It was empty.

Not a single witness.

Not a single soul left to see whether I walked out of this hallway or if I left it in a body bag.

Because the mont they saw him grab , they ran.

Like cockroaches scurrying into the dark the second you flick on the light.

Smart move.

Guess they knew watching drama wasn’t worth incurring Blaze’s wrath.

I swallowed hard, pulse roaring in my ears.

His grip tightened.

His eyes—black, endless—locked onto mine, unreadable, but dangerous.

I opened my mouth to say sothing—anything—but no words ca out.

Because right then, I realized sothing.

Sothing that sent ice plunging through my veins.

He wasn’t angry.

No.

He was amused.

A slow, eerie smile curled his lips, but there was nothing warm about it.

Nothing human.

He tilted his head slightly, as if studying , eyes glinting with sothing I didn’t understand—sothing I didn’t want to understand.

I struggled against his grip, but it was useless.

It was like fighting against a statue.

Like struggling in the grip of sothing that wasn’t made of flesh and bone, but sothing else.

Sothing wrong.

And then, he spoke.

Soft.

Cold.

Like a whisper from the grave.

"You really think you can just leave?"

My stomach dropped.

Panic clawed up my throat.

But before I could answer—before I could even think—

The world tilted.

Blaze yanked forward, and suddenly—

We were moving.

Fast.

Too fast.

The hallway blurred.

The world blurred.

And the last thing I saw before everything vanished—

Was the smirk on his lips.

A promise.

A warning.

A death sentence.