Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man Chapter 174: The Beginning Of Life As A Traitor

Clark POV:

If I had known that day was the beginning of my hell on earth, I would have followed Lucas. I would have caught up to him before things spiraled even further, before his mind ran away with those ridiculous ideas. I would’ve made him understand—I didn’t bring him along just to offer him up to Blaze. That wasn’t my plan. But now... now I had left him with that misunderstanding. I would have stayed close to him, tried to explain that I never intended for him to be Blaze’s snack, never ant for him to be caught up in whatever twisted ss I had accidentally found myself in. I should’ve told him everything—told him that Blaze was an enigma to too, that I had no idea what kind of monster I had just gotten involved with. But I let him walk away. I figured, after he cooled down, he’d co around and understand. He’d hear out. But he didn’t calm down. And I wasn’t sure if he ever would.

That was the first of many mistakes.

The day dragged on, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. The entire campus felt like so sort of prison now, but instead of the comfort of bars or locks, it was more subtle—a quiet pressure, like a heavy fog you couldn’t see, but could only feel.

I searched for Sara the whole damn day. I asked around, poked into places I shouldn’t have, hoping to find so trace of her, but nothing. It was like she had vanished. It felt like I was chasing shadows, never able to get close enough to grasp the truth. All those corridors, all those rooms, and yet I couldn’t find her. Not a single sign. Not a trace. She wasn’t in the dorm. She wasn’t at the library. I even checked the student center, but nothing.

People had started erging from their rooms by noon. Slowly at first—like they were testing the air, unsure if it was safe to breathe again. It was like so kind of sick ritual, like the world had resud after a brief pause. The terror was still there, hanging thick in the air, but they had the courage to move now. But still, no Sara.

And then the announcent ca.

The loudspeaker crackled to life with a voice I couldn’t place, and everyone seed to freeze in place. It wasn’t an announcent about a new class, or so event. It was a warning. A cold, dead warning.

"Students," the voice said, its tone flat and emotionless. "Now that we know the situation, we will be instituting new rules and regulations. No one is allowed to leave the premises. No phone calls, no letters. Do not attempt to contact ho. If you do, there will be... consequences. For your safety, you are expected to continue your studies as usual, and you will try to survive until the end of the sester. We trust you will all adhere to these rules."

That last line hung in the air like a threat, one that didn’t need to be spoken out loud. I didn’t have to guess what kind of consequences they were talking about.

And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Board of Directors—whoever they were—were the monsters pulling all the strings. I had no idea who they were, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Why else would they put us in this hellhole, forcing us to live in constant fear, to abide by their rules? Like lab rats, with only the lucky few making it out alive. And maybe they liked it that way.

It felt like a twisted lottery. Every student here was just a number in the system. The only difference was that the lucky ones might actually survive until the end of the sester. The rest? Well, we were just food.

I went back to my room, hoping that maybe—just maybe—Lucas would be there. But when I stepped inside, the room was empty.

I tried calling Sara again, my heart hamring in my chest. I needed to hear her voice, needed to know that she was okay.

It rang twice before she picked up, but it was obvious that sothing was wrong. She was crying, and her sobs hit like a punch in the chest.

"Sara?" I asked, my voice tight. "Are you okay?"

She didn’t answer at first, and the silence was unbearable.

"Sara, hey, it’s , are you okay?" I said again quickly, trying to steady my own voice.

I could hear her trying to calm herself down, but it didn’t work. It only made her cries louder.

"Clark..." she managed between sobs. "Are you safe? Are you... are you okay?"

I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to explain how the whole night had gone to hell in a handbasket, how we had been thrown into a situation that none of us had been prepared for. But instead, I just reassured her, "I’m fine. I’m okay."

Then she asked sothing that made my chest tighten.

"How did you know it was going to happen, Clark? How did you know it was going to be like that?" she whispered, almost accusingly.

I froze. "What do you an?"

"I... I rember you telling not to go to the party," she continued, her voice shaking. "But how did you know? How did you know that it wasn’t safe?"

I froze. What?

I didn’t know what how to explain it to her. I didn’t know anything for sure. Was it when Lucas had warn not to go and in turn tried to warn her too? But before I could get a word in, she hit with another question that caught off guard.

"How did you escape the party, Clark?" she asked, her tone accusatory. "I saw you there, later on. You don’t sound ssed up. You don’t sound... like all the others. So how did you get out of it?"

My stomach twisted. I didn’t even know what to say. How was I supposed to explain? Yeah, I was saved by a vampire who only uses as a source of entertainnt, and the rest of the ti, I’m just lucky to be breathing?

And then she dropped the bombshell.

"So the rumors were true." Her voice was hollow, a sickening edge to it.

"Rumors? What rumors?" I asked quickly, but she didn’t answer.

"I can’t talk to you anymore," she said, sounding distant now, like she was slipping further away from . "I don’t want anything to do with you, Clark."

And with that, she hung up.

I stared at the phone in my hand, the buzzing dial tone mocking in the silence. What the hell was going on? What rumors was she talking about? And why the hell didn’t she want to talk to anymore?

I tried calling her back, but it went straight to voicemail. I called again and again, each ti hoping she’d pick up, but she never did. My mind raced, panic clawing at my chest. I didn’t know what was happening, but it felt like the walls were closing in, like everyone was turning against .

I stood there, frozen, when the door creaked open.

Lucas hobbled into the room.

The sight of him made my heart skip a beat. He looked like he had just crawled out of so nightmare. There were bruises all over his arms, deep, dark marks, and hickeys littered his neck, marks of possession.

But what struck the most was how... unbothered he seed.

It wasn’t the shock I expected. It wasn’t even anger or fear.

It was a smile. A grin that sent a shiver down my spine, one that didn’t belong in the situation at all.

Like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Like he hadn’t just been assaulted by sothing, or soone, like he wasn’t covered in marks that scread "victim." Instead, he looked almost... satisfied. His grin was twisted, too, almost mocking , as if he was trying to make so joke out of it.

I couldn’t understand it.

He gave a quick, sharp look, one that made my blood run cold. "Don’t act like you didn’t know," he said, his voice dripping with sothing that made my stomach churn.

I opened my mouth to say sothing—anything—but he turned on his heel and went straight for the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

I stood there, unable to move. The room felt like it was spinning.

What the hell was going on?

What had happened to Lucas?

And why was he smiling?

The door closed behind him, and I was left standing in the middle of the room, my heart pounding and my mind racing. What the hell was going on here? What had I missed?

Was this the beginning of sothing worse? Or was this just the calm before the storm?