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

I stayed frozen for a moment, listening—really listening.

Nothing.

No distant footsteps. No doors creaking. Not even the subtle hum of electricity from the flickering hallway lights. Just an unnatural, suffocating stillness. It was as if the entire building had been abandoned, as if I was the only one left... but that wasn’t possible.

I stepped cautiously into the hallway, my bare feet barely making a sound against the cold floor. The air felt stale, untouched, like no one had walked through here in hours—maybe even days. Where was everyone?

My eyes flicked toward the receptionist’s desk downstairs, expecting to see the old woman hunched over her usual paperwork. Empty.

A chill crawled up my spine.

Maybe they all left for campus? That had to be it, right? But still... the emptiness didn’t feel right. It felt wrong.

Then, from somewhere in the building, something shifted.

A faint rustling sound, almost imperceptible, but in the dead silence, it was deafening. Someone else was here.

I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice barely above a whisper.

No answer.

The air around me felt heavier now, thicker—like something unseen was pressing down on me. Watching.

And then, a door creaked open down the hall.

The actual fuck? Was I supposed to believe that everyone went to school? That not a single person skipped class?

As much as I was curious about who—or what—had opened the door down the hall, I had already witnessed enough horror to last a lifetime. I hadn’t signed up to star in a real-life horror film, so I did the only logical thing: I went back to my apartment, locked the door, and looked out the window.

Yeah, there were a few people outside, but I couldn’t tell if they were actually human or just creatures of the night masquerading as one of us. Either way, better out there in the sun than in here with whatever was lurking in the boarding house.

That’s when I heard it.

Faint footsteps. Slow. Deliberate. Climbing the stairs.

My room was on the first floor.

Yeah, hell no. I wasn’t about to stick around and see if whoever—or whatever—it was would knock, or worse, break the door down because it somehow knew I was here.

I moved quickly. Stuffed some garlic in my pocket. Pulled on my hoodie. Grabbed my silver rosary. Yeah, I had faith, but even if it didn’t work as divine protection, at least it was silver, right?

I made my decision. I was going out the window.

Easy enough—I’d been sneaking out since I was little. A little bribery to keep my twin quiet, a well-practiced cover story for my parents, and I was golden. Climbing out a window? Nothing new.

Funny how my rebellious, cheeky side had finally come in handy.

Because right now? I’d rather risk a broken arm than face whatever was creeping inside the boarding house.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking—why didn’t I grab a silver fork or knife? Wouldn’t that have made more sense?

Well, joke’s on me. They weren’t silver. Just plain old steel.

Useless.

So yeah, my brilliant plan for self-defense was now down to garlic, a rosary, and sheer dumb luck. Great.

I didn’t waste another second.

Whoever—or whatever—was making its way up the stairs could have the whole damn boarding house for all I cared. My survival instinct was screaming at me to get out.

The moment my feet hit the window ledge, I could hear it... the slow, deliberate steps just outside my door.

I didn’t dare turn back.

The air behind me felt charged, like something was waiting. Watching. Hungry.

I took a deep breath and swung myself over the edge, gripping the side of the building as I carefully lowered myself down. The rough concrete scraped my palms, but I didn’t care. I’d take a few cuts and bruises over whatever the hell was behind that door.

Then—a knock.

Not a loud, forceful one. No, that would have been less terrifying. This was slow, patient, almost... polite.

Like it knew I was in there. Like it was toying with me.

I held my breath as I dropped the last few feet, landing in a crouch behind the bushes. My hoodie caught on a branch, yanking me back for a second, and my heart nearly exploded out of my chest. I wrestled free just as the door upstairs creaked open.

I didn’t look up. I didn’t want to see what had been knocking.

Keeping my head down, I moved quickly through the shadows, adjusting my hoodie and gripping the silver rosary around my neck. Did it actually work against vampires? I had no idea. But right now, I needed all the protection I could get.

Blending into the thin crowd outside, I forced myself to act normal, to breathe—but I couldn’t shake the feeling.

I had escaped... but something knew I was here now.

And it wasn’t going to stop watching.

I made my way to the relative safety of Walmart, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead like an artificial sun. There were a few shoppers milling about, their carts squeaking against the linoleum floors—normal people doing normal things.

And then, I saw him.

The cashier from the other night. The one who had been here when I last came in. Did he remember me? Did he know what lurked in this town?

I swallowed hard, gripping the garlic in my pocket like it was some kind of lifeline. At least here, I wasn’t alone.

He looked at me, puzzled—like he had expected me to already be six feet under. But he didn’t say anything, just watched as I found a place to sit.

After a while, he came over, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Why do you smell like you just bathed in garlic?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement.

I shrugged, not bothering to explain. Instead, I grabbed a can of milk, popped it open, and started gulping it down.

He chuckled. "You do know that nothing keeps them away, right? Especially not garlic."

I froze mid-sip. My stomach turned.

Then what the hell am I supposed to do?