Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man Chapter 38: Surviving

Clare POV:

A dull ache throbbed in my body, dragging out of unconsciousness. My limbs felt heavy, my throat dry, my skin too sensitive. My head pulsed like I’d been wrung out and left to dry.

The first thing I noticed was the faint scent of iron—blood.

My blood.

The second was warmth.

I wasn’t in the cold, sterile campus showers anymore. I was in my bed.

My heart lurched. How did I get here?

My last mory was of Blaze—his touch, his teeth, the way my body betrayed under him. The way I lost myself in a haze I didn’t even understand. I had been awake, then bliss, then darkness.

Now I was here.

I shifted slightly, and that’s when I felt it—an unfamiliar weight.

My breath hitched.

There, at the edge of my bed, sitting like he fucking belonged, was Blaze.

Watching .

His red eyes glead in the dim room, unreadable.

"You’re awake," he murmured, his voice silk over steel.

I swallowed hard, my throat closing up. Why was he still here?

Had he been watching sleep this whole ti?

It was still dark outside. I had no idea how long I had been out.

mories of what happened—what I did—with Reed and Blaze crashed over like a relentless tide. My jaw throbbed, a dull ache pulsing through my face—evidence of what Reed had done. And between my thighs... Fuck. There was no denying what had happened. Blaze had taken it. My virginity.

A shudder raked through .

And he was still here.

Sitting in my apartnt. In my bed. Like he belonged.

I wanted to lash out. Scream. Curse him. Throw him out. But the words stuck in my throat, swallowed by exhaustion and sothing colder, sharper—fear.

Because I knew what Blaze was capable of.

And because no matter how much I wanted to deny it, he knew my secret.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my body trembling. If I pretended hard enough, maybe I could disappear. Maybe I could sink back into unconsciousness, let the darkness take again.

Maybe I could pretend this was all just a nightmare.

A horrible, inescapable nightmare.

A hand gripped my chin, firm yet oddly careful, forcing to turn toward him. My breath caught in my throat. This was real. Closing my eyes wouldn’t change a damn thing.

"Open your eyes, pet."

Blaze’s voice ca low and commanding, but sothing was missing—the usual coldness, the nace.

I swallowed hard and obeyed, blinking up at him. His face was too close, sharp angles and piercing eyes studying like I was his to inspect.

"I didn’t like the fact that you hid your femininity from ," he murmured, his grip tightening just slightly before loosening again. "But you will continue with your disguise. Nobody—and I repeat, nobody—especially that mutt Reed, is to know. Got that, pet?"

I barely found my voice. "Y-yes."

His lips curled—not quite a smile, more like satisfaction. "Good." He released my chin, reaching for sothing on the nightstand. "Eat up. Next ti, I want you at full energy."

Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

One second he was beside , the next—the curtains fluttered violently, the window left slightly ajar. The only proof he had even been here was the lingering scent of him and the strange, electric charge in the air.

I exhaled shakily.

Why?

Why did Blaze care if my secret was kept?

Before, I had to hide because of who I resembled. Now, it wasn’t just my own past demanding secrecy.

Blaze had demanded it too.

God forbid Reed finds out!

God forbid if Reed finds out.

The thought alone made my stomach churn. If he knew—if he even suspected—there would be hell to pay.

And the way Blaze had said "next ti"... I knew exactly what he ant. Dread curled in my gut like a living thing.

Sothing had happened to , sothing I couldn’t explain. I knew I hadn’t been a willing participant at first. But after his bite—everything changed.

I shuddered.

How?

How had he made want him? How had he twisted my body, my mind, into craving sothing I never should have? I wasn’t drugged... was I? I didn’t rember taking anything, yet the mont his fangs pierced my skin, sothing in had shifted.

And the worst part? I had wanted him to fuck .

The realization made sick.

Was it so vampire ability? So sick, twisted power that made his victims submit?

I forced myself to move, dragging my aching body to the bathroom. The mont I sat down, I winced. Yeah. We had definitely fucked.

I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the edge of the sink. If you had told a week ago that a vampire—not a human, not even a ghost, but a blood-sucking, undead monster—would be the one to take my virginity, I would have laughed in your face and called you crazy.

To think... I mistook him for a ghost on my first day.

I let out a shaky breath and turned on the sink, splashing cold water on my face. My reflection in the mirror was a ss—hair tangled, lips swollen, skin marked with faint bruises and bite marks.

I looked like soone’s plaything.

A wave of sha burned through . What the hell was happening to ?

I had barely processed what Reed did to , and now Blaze—**Blaze, of all people—**had claid sothing that should have been mine to give.

My stomach twisted.

I touched my lips. I had wanted him.

No. I had craved him.

And that scared more than anything.

My eyes drifted to my neck. The bite was still fresh, red and swollen. Did he do sothing to ? Was it just a bite, or had he put sothing in —so kind of venom, so vampire trick?

I rubbed my neck, shivering.

Blaze wanted to keep pretending to be a boy. Why?

I had to believe it was for my own safety. If Reed found out... I didn’t even want to think about what he’d do. What would happen if he knew the truth?

Would he still want good lord I hope not?

Or worse... would he see as sothing to own?

My knees buckled, and I sank onto the toilet seat.

I had to be smart. I had to play along.

Blaze wasn’t giving a choice, and Reed... Reed was unpredictable. For now, the best thing I could do was survive.

But as I sat there, body aching, mind spinning, one terrifying thought refused to leave :