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

Reed POV:

"I’m sorry, Reed. I truly am. But a human? There is no place for a human in our world. Especially not as Luna. Think what this means for the pack. For our bloodline. For the Elders. The council would never accept her."

"She’s my mate."

"And she’s a liability." He snarled now. "You think this is about love? About some bond you felt in your gut? You’re a future Alpha, Reed! Your choices affect hundreds. You do not get to throw all that away for a girl who is weak and will die before she’s thirty!"

"I’ll claim her," I said, hoarse.

His face darkened. "No, you won’t."

I stared at him—at the man who had raised me. Who taught me to fight. To lead. To never fear the truth.

"You’d rather kill her," I whispered, "than let your son be with the one the Goddess made for him."

He didn’t deny it.

He didn’t have to.

The silence was his answer.

I stepped back. My heart pounding. My wolf pacing beneath my skin, snarling and restless.

"I’m not letting her die," I said quietly. "Not by your hand. Not by anyone’s."

"She’s not one of us."

"She’s mine."

A pause.

A breath.

And then, with calm venom, he delivered the final blow:

"Then you are no longer fit to be Alpha."

My breath left me in a rush.

Something inside me cracked—clean and deep.

But I didn’t beg. I didn’t scream.

I just stood there, fists clenched, chest heaving.

And I made a silent vow.

If protecting her meant walking away from the only life I’ve ever known—then so be it.

Because the moment I found her, everything changed.

The bond wasn’t a gift.

It was a command.

And I would follow it.

Even if it meant becoming the enemy of my own kind.

"If you touch her," I said, voice low and shaking with fury, "I will burn this kingdom down to its bones. I don’t care if it costs me everything. I will protect her — from you, from the Council, from the gods themselves if I have to."

His face twisted with something between heartbreak and rage."You would betray your people for her?"

"No," I snarled. "I would betray you."

And in that moment, I knew:This wasn’t just a clash between Alpha and heir.This was the beginning of war.

"REED!"

My father’s voice rang out behind me—sharp, commanding. But I didn’t stop. I didn’t even glance back. I was already halfway to the door, heart thundering, lungs burning with every breath that tasted like betrayal.

"You can’t just walk away!" he barked.

I kept going.

"Reed—what about the prophecy?"

That halted me.

Like ice down my spine, those words rooted me to the floor.

The prophecy.

The one no one ever stopped whispering about behind closed doors. The one scrawled into blood-soaked scrolls during the darkest days of the war. The one that marked Blaze and me as different... as dangerous... as destined.

I clenched my fists.

That damned prophecy had already taken one life.

His life.

A boy we didn’t know, but were drawn to. A pull—strange and haunting—that connected the three of us in a way we didn’t understand. We were just kids. We didn’t even have the words for it. We thought maybe it was fate.

But he wasn’t my mate.

And Blaze never claimed him as his Beloved. Just... intrigued. Curious.

Still, that was enough for the Elders to fear it. Enough for them to declare him "the cursed one." Enough for them to strip the breath from his lungs and call it justice.

I remembered the way Blaze screamed that night.

I remembered the way I couldn’t look at myself for days after.

They killed him over a prophecy no one even understood. Over symbols and riddles and fear of the unknown. They murdered him because we felt something different. Something dangerous.

And now... now it was happening again.

But this time it was real.

This time, it wasn’t some strange connection or distant pull.

She was my mate.

My true, fated mate.

And Blaze—he said it aloud, even through gritted teeth and bloodlust: she was his Beloved.

The very girl we were warned about. The one the prophecy spoke of.

The catalyst.

The fire and the fracture.

But she was also mine.

And I wasn’t going to let them touch her.

Not again.

Not this time.

I turned my head just enough to glance at my father over my shoulder. His eyes were desperate, wide—not the eyes of a parent, but of a king watching his kingdom spiral.

He saw it in my face.

The decision.

The finality.

"Prophecy be damned," I said, my voice low, ragged with emotion. "She is mine."

And I walked out.

I knew this wasn’t the end.

I knew he wouldn’t let it go. He was the Alpha King first... and my father second.

That’s what stung the most.

I had come here hoping he would understand. Hoping he’d see how rare this was—how blessed I was to have found her. He’d once told me that a fated mate was the greatest gift the Moon Goddess could give.

But I was wrong.

The king in him saw her as a threat.

And threats had to be silenced.

If my mother were alive, maybe... maybe she would’ve reminded him of what it meant to love. Maybe she would’ve reminded me that family should never be the ones holding the blade to your heart.

But she was gone.

And I was alone in this now.

Alone—but not weak.

Because I had something stronger than a title, stronger than bloodlines and prophecies and crowns.

I had her. A fated mate

And I would burn the world to keep her safe.

Even if it meant becoming the villain in their eyes.

Even if it meant becoming a traitor to my own blood.

All I had was a bloodstained legacy and a kingdom standing between me and the one person I was never supposed to have.

But I didn’t care anymore.Let them come.Let the Council rise.Let my father try to stop me.

I would burn down every last pillar of this world before I let them touch her.

Let the prophecy howl.This time, I would choose her.

*****

It took more than usual to calm my wolf.

More than the forest air, more than pacing beneath the moonlight, more than clenching my fists until blood ran from the crescent moons my nails carved into my palms.

Because nothing—nothing—could quiet the fury that boiled in my blood after my father said it.

"She has to die."

Those words echoed like a death sentence in my mind, and my wolf had gone ballistic. He’d howled, clawed, begged me to shift, to run, to fight — anything but sit still while our mate was in danger.

I messed up.

Gods, I really messed up.

I should’ve kept it to myself, waited, planned, found a way to protect her without drawing his attention. But I was stupid. Naive. I thought maybe—just maybe—a part of the man who raised me would understand the miracle I’d been given. The rarity. The blessing.

But I forgot.

He’s the Alpha King first. My father second.

And now I’ve painted a target on her back. With my own hands.

Fucking shit.

Telling him about her...

Telling him she was human...

I practically painted a target on her back.

Now he’ll be watching me. Every move. Every lie. Every breath. Waiting for a misstep that will lead him straight to her.

Fucking shit.

I left the palace the second I calmed my wolf enough to pass as civilized. Didn’t wait for a meeting, didn’t explain a damn thing to anyone. I ran.

I need to be there first.

I raced through the forest, breaking every law of speed, every boundary of control. The trees blurred around me as I headed for the neutral territory, where the school was. It was the only place I knew he’d risk bringing her back to.

And I would wait.

I pushed through the border until I was back in neutral territory, where the school stood like some fragile symbol of peace between our worlds.

It was the only place I could wait — wait for her. Or for Blaze.

Because I couldn’t enter the vampire lands. Not without provoking war. Not without risking both our lives.

And she didn’t need a war right now—she needed safety. She needed peace. And as much as my wolf hated it, I had to trust Blaze.

Trust the vampire.

God, those words tasted like ash.

But deep down, I knew Blaze wouldn’t hurt her. Not when she was his Beloved.

The pull was too strong. The bond too sacred. He’d keep her alive—if not for me, then for himself.

And Blaze... as much as I hated to admit it, I knew he wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep her in vampire territory for long.

A human girl in the heart of their palace?

That was suicide.

She wasn’t just an outsider — she was a walking feast.

Dangling a warm, bleeding, unmarked human in front of a court of ancient blood-drunk monsters?

It’d be like throwing meat into a pit of starving wolves.

No...

Blaze was many things — arrogant, reckless, infuriating — but he wasn’t suicidal.

Not when it came to her. He was strong. Dangerous. Feared. But even he couldn’t control the entire court. Not forever.

I had to believe that.

I had to believe he’d keep her safe.

Because if he didn’t...

No.

I won’t go there.

I’d tear apart the world before I let anything happen to her.

Father. Council. Prophecy. Fate.

I’d go rogue. I’d burn the line between packs and clans to ash.

But for now — all I could do was wait.

Wait in the one place neither my father nor Blaze could control.

Wait with the ghost of her scent in my lungs and my wolf pacing in my skin.

Wait with hope gnawing at my ribs like a curse.

And pray to the Moon Goddess...

that she stayed alive long enough for me to get to her.