Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man Chapter 73: LEFT

Blaze POV:

Okay... I ssed up.

Shouldn’t have said that. Shouldn’t have taunted him.

But fuck, I was angry — furious, even. Watching Reed circle around her like she was his, like he had any right to breathe the sa air as her, let alone claim her. I wanted to hurt him, to twist the knife, remind him who got to her first — in blood, in body.

I didn’t expect her to react like that.

Didn’t expect the fury in her eyes, or the way her voice trembled when she scread at . Didn’t expect her fists, her kicks, her tears.

Didn’t expect the sha that followed either — sharp and unfamiliar, clawing through my chest like it belonged to soone else.

But it was mine. It is mine.

Because no matter what she said, no matter how much I tried to deny it, she’s my Beloved.

And that changes everything.

When it happened — when I took her blood, when I tasted her skin — I didn’t know. She was just a fascination, a bright fla in a world that’s been dim for centuries. I wanted her because she stirred sothing in — sothing primal, dark, reckless. Sothing... hungry.

I didn’t know she’d beco the only thing that cald my demons, the only one who made the endless noise quiet.

And now she looked at like I was a monster.

Maybe I am.

But Reed — that mutt — he’s no better. Pretending like he’s above it all, like he’s just here out of duty or disdain. But I’ve seen the way he looks at her. The rage when she’s near . The possessiveness. The way his wolf fights him when she’s crying or hurt.

It’s not normal.

It’s not the usual wolf pride or alpha temper. No, this is deeper — mate-bond deep.

But that can’t be.

It’s impossible.

She is mine. My Beloved.

Wolves don’t bond with humans — especially not soone like Reed. He’s the Alpha King’s heir, practically royalty. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t tie him to a fragile, chaotic little human girl who burns toast and throws kitchen pans like they’re weapons of war.

It just doesn’t happen.

So whatever this is — whatever madness is gripping his beast — it’s not a true bond. It’s jealousy. Possessiveness. The sa kind of twisted desire that cos from wanting what soone else has.

That’s all it can be.

Because if I even entertained the thought that she could be his...

No.

No, I won’t.

She’s mine.

Mine in blood. Mine in fate. Mine in ways that Reed could never understand — not with his wolf instincts, not with his Alpha pride.

Still... I can’t deny what I saw.

He was shaking when he barged into the kitchen. Desperate. Eyes glowing with rage and panic. Like the thought of touching her had shattered sothing inside him.

And for a mont — just a flicker — I wondered.

What if I’m wrong?

What if fate is playing a cruel ga?

But then she hit him too — with a frying pan this ti — and called us both monsters. And I rembered the truth that cuts deeper than any blade:

She doesn’t belong to either of us.

Not really.

Not yet.

And maybe... maybe she never will.

"Now look what you’ve done — you made her cry!" Reed snapped, shoving hard in the chest.

Big mistake.

No fucking mutt lays a hand on and walks away intact.

My fist flew before I could think — cracked him straight in the jaw. He stumbled, snarled, and lunged. And just like that, we were on the floor, rolling like two rabid dogs fighting for the last bone in hell.

Punches flew.

Elbows, knees — whatever we could land.

The room blurred around us, her scent still lingering in the air like a taunt neither of us could ignore. And that just made everything worse. My demons howled, spurred on by the chaos, reveling in the violence like it was a feast.

"You self-righteous mutt!" I growled, slamming my forearm into his throat. "She doesn’t belong to you!"

"She’s not yours either, leech!" Reed spat, flipping us and landing a brutal hit to my ribs. "You broke her! You made her cry!"

The word cry rang in my ears.

It shouldn’t have mattered. Not to . Not to sothing like .

But it did.

Her face — twisted in pain, fury, betrayal — burned behind my eyes.

I grabbed Reed by the collar and slamd him into the floor, fangs bared inches from his throat. "You think you’re any better?! You were going to kill her, weren’t you? That’s why you ca back!"

His eyes flared golden, his wolf snarling behind them. "You don’t know shit, vampire."

*****

We were too busy landing blows, too caught up in our rage, in the need to win, to own, to prove sothing that didn’t need proving.

Fists collided with bone. Knuckles split. Blood hit the floor.

Neither of us noticed the shift in the air.

Not until the silence hit.

Not until the space she had occupied — the very gravity that had kept us circling each other like deranged planets — was empty.

I blinked, blood trailing from the corner of my mouth, and pushed myself off the floor.

"She’s quiet..." I muttered, wiping my jaw.

Reed was already scanning the room, nostrils flaring. His body tensed.

Her scent — that infuriating, addictive scent that made both our instincts coil and snap — was fading.

"Where the fuck is she?" Reed growled.

My heart stuttered.

She was gone.

Slipped right out from under us while we were too busy trying to kill each other over her.

I staggered to the kitchen, blood pounding in my ears, her absence hitting like a void I couldn’t breathe through.

"She was just here," I snarled. "She was just here."

Reed burst past , tearing through the hallway, checking doors like a madman. I followed, the weight of her absence growing heavier with every step.

Nothing.

No warmth left in the kitchen.

No plates. No crumbs. No heartbeat.

She was just... gone.

"Fuck," I hissed. "How the hell did she get away without either of us noticing?"

Reed’s eyes glowed like the edge of a blade.

Because we’d let it happen.

We were so wrapped in our territorial dick-asuring match, we didn’t see her slip out. The fragile little human we claid to own just reminded us we were fools. And she played us both.

Now she was out there. Alone.

And gods help whoever finds her before we do.

Panic hit like a freight train.

Her scent—faint but undeniable—trailed down the hall, curling around corners like a ghost taunting us. I could sll her fear too. It clung to the air, bitter and sharp like burnt sugar. She ran. That little human ran.

"She went out the fucking exit door," I hissed, already sprinting.

Reed was right behind , growling sothing under his breath that I didn’t catch.

The door was cracked open, her scent drifting out into the night like smoke. Cold air slapped in the face as I shoved through it, the outside world swallowing the last traces of her warmth.

"She’s out there," I said, teeth clenched. "Alone."

It hit all at once.

She was walking around outside at night. A human. My human. No, my beloved.

And she had no fucking idea how dangerous that was.

Not here.

Not in a city that crawled with monsters after dark — the ones that didn’t play by our twisted politics. The ones that didn’t care she belonged to , didn’t fear Reed’s title, didn’t even know what mate bonds or blood marks ant. Just creatures hungry for blood, flesh, fear.

I snarled and slamd my fist against the brick wall beside the exit. A crack split through it.

Stupid, stupid girl.

Did she think she was punishing us?

Did she think she could just... walk away and nothing would happen?

"You should’ve fucking watched her!" I turned on Reed, fury burning hot in my throat. "You were the one yelling about protecting her!"

Reed growled back, fists clenched. "You’re the one who made her cry."

"I didn’t think—"

"Exactly. You didn’t think," he snapped.

We stood there in the cold for one tense heartbeat, the street empty before us, but the danger bleeding from every shadow.

She was walking into a lion’s den.

And she didn’t even know it.

"I’m tracking her," I said, already moving again. "If sothing touches her before I find her, I swear to every ancient god, I will raze this entire city to the ground."

My demons were clawing at my insides now, furious, frantic. She was their anchor, their obsession — and they’d let her slip away. I let her out of my sight because of a stupid mutt. They needed her. And so did I.

Not because of the bond.

Not even because she was mine.

But because the thought of her body — warm and breakable — lying sowhere cold and bloodless, alone in the dark?

Was unacceptable.

gods help her.

gods help if I’m too late.