Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man Chapter 41: Lucky Escape

Reed’s POV:

And then—just as I was about to give in—

My father chose that exact fucking mont to mind-link .

His’s voice slamd into my head.

Reed. Co. Now.

Fucking hell.

The Alpha King’s command wrapped around my mind like a noose, yanking back from the brink. He had to force to obey, because he fucking knew this was the only way to make go to him. I usually avoided him every ti even when he called for , I got away by claiming to be busy.

Guess fucking will have to wait.

I exhaled sharply, glaring at the pretty little human trapped between my arms.

Mine.

Blaze could burn in hell before I let him sink his filthy leech fangs into him again.

I leaned in, my lips grazing the shell of his ear as I whispered, low and dark, "I don’t want to see you with Blaze. Got that, pretty boy?"

A frantic nod.

Not enough.

I wanted to hear him say it. I wanted his voice—soft, shaken, surrendering.

"Words," I murmured against his skin, voice like a slow drag of a knife. "I want words."

A shudder. A pause. Then, barely above a whisper—

"Y-Yes."

Good.

I smirked, loosening my grip but not before stealing one last kiss—deep, possessive, lingering.

Mine.

Then I was gone, leaving him dazed, breathless, and right where I wanted him.

Clare’s POV

Is he... gone?

Did he actually leave?

I stayed pressed against the cold wall for a few seconds longer, heart pounding so hard it echoed in my ears. My breath ca in short, uneven gasps. My legs felt weak—like if I moved too soon, they might give out beneath .

Sowhere, soone up there must have finally heard my prayers.

Good Lord, I thought I was done for.

Reed was gone, but his warning lingered like a ghostly whisper in my head. Stay away from Blaze.

How the hell am I supposed to do that?

Both of them act like I have a choice in this, as if I’m the one chasing after them. They’re the ones hunting down, dragging from place to place like I’m so kind of toy they keep snatching from each other.

Stay away from Blaze? Utterly useless.

Ridiculous.

It’s not like I haven’t tried to stay away. I did. Yesterday, I hid. I didn’t even co to school. And how did that turn out?

We all saw how wrong it went.

My neck throbbed where he had gripped .

It ached with a deep, bruising pain that pulsed beneath my skin, each throb a reminder of how easily he could have snapped it. Yeah, that’s definitely going to leave fingerprints.

Why don’t these monsters understand that I’m just human? That I can’t heal in seconds like they do? That when they grab, shove, and twist, I don’t bounce back—I break.

And breaking hurts.

I can only hope—pray—that this will be the last ti today I find myself cornered by Reed. But the day isn’t over yet. And now, I have to deal with the undead.

I swallow hard. Blaze.

I just need to get through this. Survive.

This ti.

I stayed in the cold, deserted classroom longer than I should have. But can you bla ?

After a near-death encounter and a secret dangling on the edge of exposure, my nerves were shot—frayed, twitching, ready to snap. I needed to calm the fuck down.

Because the next step? Walking back into that classroom.

Where both Reed and Blaze would be waiting.

And I wasn’t ready. Not yet.

After a while, I forced myself to gather enough courage. Sitting here, trapped in this empty room with my thoughts spiraling, wasn’t doing any favors.

I had to move—find my class—face whatever ca next.

Because what was I supposed to do? Stay here and wait for Dracula’s fucking offspring to co sniffing out?

Hell no.

Better to get it over with than to wait for it to co to .

I took a deep breath, pushing off the wall, my legs still shaky from everything that had happened. Every hallway felt longer, darker—like the school itself was shifting, warping around , trapping . The fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting eerie shadows that seed to move just a little too much when I wasn’t looking directly at them.

I could feel the stares. Hungry. Curious. Intrigued. Students whispering behind cupped hands. So smirking. So looking at like I was already dead.

And then, I saw him.

Blaze.

Leaning casually against the doorway of my classroom, arms crossed, one foot lazily pressed against the wall. His silver eyes glead, catching the dim light, almost glowing. He didn’t look like a student—he looked like sothing that had crawled out of a nightmare, wearing a human suit.

And he was waiting for .

My stomach twisted. Fuck.

I couldn’t turn around, couldn’t run. There was no avoiding him. I forced my legs to keep moving, even as my instincts scread at to bolt in the opposite direction.

As soon as I got close enough, he reached out—so fast I barely saw it—fingers curling around my wrist. A cold, inescapable grip.

"Did you miss , pet?" His voice was low, smooth—like silk over a blade.

I swallowed hard. Oh, I was so fucked.

The mont I stepped into the classroom, all eyes were on . I could feel the weight of their stares, their curiosity, their disgust, even their fascination. The air was thick, suffocating, and I felt every heartbeat pound against my chest. Blaze’s grip on my wrist was still burning in the back of my mind as he pulled toward the back of the room, like he owned . Like he owned everything.

When we reached his desk, he casually sat down, pulling with him, before releasing my wrist. His eyes were locked on mine, that sa predatory gleam never leaving his gaze. The other students, well, they didn’t even pretend to look away. Their eyes followed every move, so whispering behind their hands, so openly staring like they were watching a live horror show unfold.

"Sit," Blaze commanded, his voice low, but it carried across the room, making my skin prickle. There was no way to refuse. I didn’t dare refuse. I was too terrified.

I hesitated for a mont, feeling the eyes of the entire class on , but eventually, I lowered myself into the chair next to him. The seat felt too small, too close to him. Too dangerous.

Blaze didn’t say anything imdiately. He just leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, watching intently as if I were so intricate puzzle he was trying to solve. His gaze never left , that dark intensity hanging in the air between us, suffocating. It felt like the very space around us was closing in, tightening with every second. I felt it, all of it, like a noose slowly pulling tighter around my throat.

The other students, clearly aware of the tension, quickly turned away, pretending to be busy with their own work. Their eyes darted around nervously, but none of them dared to make a sound, their discomfort palpable.

Blaze’s eyes flicked back to , colder now. The silence in the room was suffocating, thick with unspoken words. Then, he spoke, his voice low, controlled, but the words were sharp. "You were with that stupid mutt," he said, letting each word hang in the air like a threat.

It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t even a statent. He knew. He knew.

His gaze dropped to my neck, and I felt a shiver crawl down my spine. I knew what he was looking at. The finger-shaped bruises from Reed’s grip were still visible, faint but undeniable. Blaze’s jaw tightened, and the temperature in the room seed to drop, the air suddenly colder. The anger radiating off him was suffocating. I could feel it pressing against , making my heart race faster, my breath catch in my chest.

I should’ve stayed in that deserted classroom. I should’ve never co out.

Just then, the professor walked in, but even he couldn’t ignore the shift in the atmosphere. He paused at the door, his eyes flicking between the students, lingering a little longer on and Blaze. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. But, to his credit, he didn’t comnt on it. He cleared his throat and proceeded like nothing was wrong, pretending as though the heavy air wasn’t pressing in on all of us.

I just hoped Reed, wherever he was, stayed the hell away today. The last thing I needed was for him to show up now. With Blaze already fuming, the situation was already teetering on the edge of disaster.

The thought of Reed walking through that door, those two together in the sa room, was a ticking ti bomb. Things would get really awkward... or, God forbid, worse. How much worse could this day get?