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

<h4>Chapter 12: Giving Up</h4>

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

 "use, what are you doing here? I thought you were already in ss," 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 same guy she had warned me about.

 She giggled,pletely unaware of the horror I had just escaped. "Come on, then. We’re alreadyte," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me along.

 More stairs. More corridors. More stairs.

 As she dragged me through the maze of the building, my gaze flickered to her neck—and there they were. More fresh, mosquito-like bites, this time 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 something told me I wasn’t done yet.

 Yeah, we werete.

 ze and Reed were already seated—Reed with his gang in the back, taking up the entire left side of the ssroom like they owned the ce. ze, as if staking his own im, 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 me. Trying to pretend I wasn’t hyper-aware of the fact that I had just barely escaped Reed’s grasp. That ze 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 nce—just a quick flicker of my eyes, nothing more—neither of them looked like so much as a single punch hadnded 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?

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 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. ze, motionless but sharp, like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.

 I wasn’t safe.

 Not in this ssroom. 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 something I was never supposed to witness.

 Like hell—something was wrong with this ce. Something 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 ss to be over.

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

 Reed. His gang.

 ze.

 I didn’t have to turn around to know they were watching me. Their presence was palpable, curling around me 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 something 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 ze’s cold, unblinking stare. I could feel them. I could sense them, both waiting, waiting, like two wolves circling an injured deer.

 The ssroom 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 ze?

 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 me.

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

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

 Straight to the airport.

 The n was solid.

 It was simple.

 It should have worked.

 But of course—

 It didn’t.

 I didn’t hear himing.

 Didn’t sense him until it was toote.

 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 cor, yanking me forward before mming me back again, harder this time.

 I gasped, vision blurring for a second.

 And then I saw him.

 ze.

 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 moment they saw him grab me, 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 ze’s wrath.

 I swallowed hard, pulse roaring in my ears.

 His grip tightened.

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

 I opened my mouth to say something—anything—but no words came out.

 Because right then, I realized something.

 Something 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 me, eyes glinting with something I didn’t understand—something 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 something that wasn’t made of flesh and bone, but something else.

 Something wrong.

 And then, he spoke.

 Soft.

 Cold.

 Like a whisper from the grave.

 "You really think you can just leave?"

 My stomach dropped.

 Panic wed up my throat.

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

 The world tilted.

 ze yanked me forward, and suddenly—

 We were moving.

 Fast.

 Too fast.

 The hallway blurred.

 The world blurred.

 And thest thing I saw before everything vanished—

 Was the smirk on his lips.

 A promise.

 A warning.

 A death sentence.

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Chapter 12: Giving Up