Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince: Masquerading as a Man-Chapter 165: Dressing To Be Devoured

Lucas POV:

Just as I thought I might suffocate under the weight of their gaze, one of the students bumped into me, snapping me out of the trance. I stumbled back, heart hammering, blood rushing to my face in a rush of cold shame.

I looked up again—just in time to see them turn and disappear into the crowd, vanishing as if they were never there.

I didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified.

I had almost been caught. Again.

The crowd continued to bustle around me—laughing, chatting, moving in their own little worlds. The world seemed to keep turning, as if nothing had just happened, as if I hadn’t nearly been dragged into the very pit of my worst nightmare.

I swallowed hard, my mouth dry, feeling the weight of it all pressing down on me. The feeling of being exposed, vulnerable. The way they’d looked at me like I was nothing more than a piece of meat to them.

I blinked quickly, trying to clear the cloud of dizziness threatening to take over. I should’ve moved. I should’ve run the second they saw me, but no—I stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights, too scared to even flinch.

I looked up again—just in time to see them turn and disappear into the crowd, vanishing like shadows under a streetlight, swallowed up by the flow of students moving between buildings, laughing, texting, talking about normal things that seemed so far out of my reach now.

This time, it was different.

They hadn’t grabbed me. They hadn’t dragged me off like before. Instead, they’d walked away—as if they’d allowed me to breathe. As if they were letting me go for now.

My legs felt weak. I leaned against a nearby pillar, trying to steady myself, trying to control my breathing. Don’t collapse. Don’t lose it. Not now.

The moment passed, and the normal rhythm of the campus resumed, but I couldn’t shake the sick feeling in my gut. I was surrounded by people, yes, but it was no better than being alone. No, it was worse. In the back of my mind, I could feel it—that gnawing, relentless terror that followed me everywhere.

I glanced down at my hands, palms pressed against the cool stone pillar, my fingers trembling ever so slightly. I had to keep it together. I had to.

I exhaled shakily, pushing myself off the pillar and forcing my feet to move. I didn’t know where I was going, but staying here wasn’t an option.

As I walked through the sea of students, each of their faces blurred by my own paranoia, I felt like I was losing my grip. What’s happening to me?

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, trying to fight off the overwhelming sense of dread.

I tried to blend in, forced myself to walk with the crowd as they made their way back to the dorms. Safety in numbers, right? It was the only thing that made sense anymore—sticking with them, pretending like everything was normal, like I wasn’t about to lose my mind.

I focused on the rhythm of their steps, the chatter surrounding me, trying to drown out the gnawing fear clawing at my insides. The laughter. The excited voices. It felt... normal. Too normal. As if the monsters didn’t exist, as if the nightmare I had been living was nothing but a bad dream.

But it wasn’t. And I wasn’t fool enough to think it was.

I was right there, a heartbeat away from my room, from locking myself away where I could pretend for just a moment longer that none of this was happening.

Then I heard it.

Somewhere to my left, a group of students was talking about the Fresher’s Bash. The student council was throwing a party for the new kids, they said. A tradition, they said. Their voices bubbled with excitement as they planned their outfits—laughing, joking, oblivious to what they were actually signing up for.

They were chatting excitedly, their voices too high-pitched, too eager, and I could hear their joy in every word.

"We should go all out for the fresher bash!" one of them said, her voice practically a squeal. "I mean, we’re the new guys! It’s gonna be amazing, right?"

"Yeah, I heard it’s gonna be crazy! We’re gonna party with the upperclassmen and everything," another added, almost breathless with excitement.

They were so naive. So stupid.

I stopped in my tracks, the air around me suddenly thick with dread. My stomach churned. My hands clenched into fists. They had no idea. None of them had any idea.

The party. It was just another trap.

The monsters, the creatures that prowled the campus in plain sight, weren’t throwing a party for the freshers to celebrate. No, they were setting a stage for a slaughter. For us. For them to feast on the new, the unaware, the ones too eager to think they were finally free—dressing themselves up like a sacrifice. Their excitement was maddening.

And the worst part? They were practically lining themselves up for it.

They were planning their outfits—discussing which clothes would look best, which accessories to wear, how to impress the older students. They were dressing up, not for fun, but for them. For the vampires. For the werewolves. For the very monsters that ran this place like their own personal playground.

"You know, I heard there’ll be drinks, a lot of them. We’ll be the center of attention," one of the girls said, completely unaware of how utterly wrong her words sounded.

"It’s gonna be perfect," another chimed in, her eyes wide with glee. "Everyone’s been talking about it. They say it’s the event of the year for freshmen!"

The words punched into my chest like a hammer.

The freshers’ bash—an event so innocently named, so harmless on the surface. I could barely hold back the sick feeling that churned in my stomach. They were already preparing themselves to be devoured. Like cattle to the slaughter. Only they didn’t even know it.

They were excited. They were giddy, looking forward to their fate.

I was paralyzed, staring at the back of their heads as they passed, each of them discussing what they’d wear, how they’d act, what they’d say to the older students. Their faces were all lit up with youthful hope, completely ignorant of the nightmare waiting for them.

In the distance, I could hear the sound of laughter. It was distant, but sharp, like the sound of fangs grazing the air, waiting for the right moment to sink in. I wanted to scream. I wanted to grab them, shake them, warn them. But I couldn’t. They wouldn’t believe me. Nobody would.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I wanted to scream. To stop them. To pull them away from that oblivious bliss they were in. But I knew it was pointless.

They won’t believe me.

They wouldn’t see it until it was too late. Just like I hadn’t seen it until I was already a part of their twisted game.

Their voices, filled with joy and eagerness, felt like nails on a chalkboard. The party—their party—wasn’t going to be a celebration. It was going to be their feast. The blood would flow freely that night. And the monsters would smile as they picked apart the "fresh" meat. I almost laughed at how fitting it was.

I was one of them.

But I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t going to be their prey again.

I had to keep my cool. I had to stay calm. I couldn’t let the dread consume me—not yet.

I fought to regain my composure, walking briskly toward my room. I wouldn’t stay. I couldn’t stay.

I didn’t know what to do. Where to go. But I knew one thing: I couldn’t stay here, acting like everything was fine. I couldn’t be a part of whatever the hell they were planning. I had to get out. But this time, I wasn’t going to be like those freshers—running headfirst into a trap.

I had to outsmart them.

I had to survive.

And survive I would.

I couldn’t shake the weight in my chest as I lay back on the bed, staring at the cracked ceiling. The room felt like a tomb, suffocating, but at least it was mine—my space, my last shred of control in this nightmare.

The air was thick with tension, and I found myself replaying the events over and over, each moment more horrific than the last. I couldn’t escape the feeling that something big was about to go down, that whatever twisted game they were playing, the monsters weren’t hiding anymore. And tomorrow? Tomorrow, I knew, they’d make their move. They had to.

I was just starting to drift into that haze of exhaustion when the door clicked open.

Clark stepped in, looking as clueless as ever. He glanced around, half-surprised to see me there, still alive, still sane—or at least pretending to be. He stood in the doorway for a second, like he was debating whether to ask the questions I knew were eating at him. He had to be wondering what the hell had happened between last night and now.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" He asked, voice low, still full of curiosity. "I thought you were gone."

I pushed myself up, letting the tension in my body settle like a vice around my ribcage. "There aren’t any outgoing flights or buses," I said, letting my tone carry the weight of the truth I knew he wasn’t ready for. "I’m stuck here, same as everyone else."

I didn’t want to get into the details—about the monsters, the ’party’, or how we were all just cattle to them. There was no point, not yet. He wouldn’t understand anyway.

But Clark wasn’t done. He looked me up and down like he was expecting me to give him some kind of answer, some reason why I was still hanging around this hellhole. He was about to open his mouth again when I cut him off.

"Don’t go to the party," I warned him, more urgently than I meant to. "It’s a setup. Trust me. Just don’t go."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking me seriously. How could he? He was still playing in the realm of normal, where all of this was a bad dream.

But then his phone buzzed. He looked down, his face lighting up when he saw a message. "Oh," he said, voice trailing off. "My buddy’s going... You know how it is." His tone was light, too light, like he wasn’t hearing what I was saying.

A knot twisted in my gut.

I couldn’t help the bitterness that came flooding up. I tried. I fucking tried to warn him.

I let out a sharp exhale, my fists clenching at my sides. "Well, I tried," I muttered under my breath.

He didn’t hear me. He was already too far gone, his mind stuck on whatever ’normal’ was left for him. He didn’t get it. And he never would until it was too late. I could already see the stupid excitement in his eyes, the way his lips were curling into a grin, planning how to be the life of the party. How fucking adorable of him.

The worst part? I knew he wasn’t alone. He wasn’t the only one. By tomorrow, the whole university would be in the same fucking boat. Their excitement would turn to horror, just like mine did. But by then, it would be too late.

Maybe they’ll see it then, I thought grimly. Maybe they’ll realize we’re the last thing on the food chain here. And maybe they’ll finally get the memo that we’re nothing more than lambs for slaughter.

I wasn’t going to wait around to see it unfold, though. Not anymore. I had to think ahead. I had to survive.

But there was something else in the back of my mind, something that clawed at me, whispering the worst possible truth.

When the monsters came, they weren’t just going after the freshers. No. The whole damn university was a buffet waiting to be devoured. By the time classes started, or whatever hellish version of ’classes’ we were going to have, everyone would know. There wouldn’t be any pretending.

If we survived the night, we’d have to live with the knowledge that every step we took was a step closer to becoming food.

And that thought? It made my skin crawl. Because the monsters weren’t just hiding in the shadows anymore. They were coming out to play. And when the sun set tonight? I wasn’t going to be here to find out how long I could last before I became their next meal.

That much, I knew for sure.