Blood

Derrick

My muscles contract as another electric shock is sent through my ribcage. I growl. This mutt is asking for it.

I have no idea how many days have passed since my capture. The lack of windows in this place makes tracking time almost impossible. However, my eyes have gotten so used to the darkness that I can track body heat.

“How are things coming?” Dr. Fine asks my ~buddies~, as they like to call themselves.

“He’s still not succumbing to the serum, Doc,” one of the men replies. “We’re at the maximum dosage, too.”

“His resolve is stronger than we anticipated.” The doctor looks at her clipboard, which I assume has my chart on it. “How old was the blood in this batch?”

“The oldest we’ve had so far.”

“Maybe he’ll respond more favorably to younger blood. Someone closer to his age.”

Dr. Fine snaps her fingers. A small, frail-looking young woman is wheeled in on a metal table. Her purple hair is drenched with sweat, her mouth bound by a tight-looking muzzle. She struggles against her restraints, whimpering.

“247, meet our most promising donor.” Dr. Fine smiles and puts her hand on the woman’s head. She flinches at the doctor’s touch.

“Please. Not again,” she cries. “Any more, and you’ll—”

“Kill you?” Dr. Fine laughs. “You’ll die when we allow you to, 34. If I wanted to kill you, your blood would be inside a storage tank instead of inside of your body.”

“Now, Clayton—start the transfusion from 34 to 247, please.”

“Sure thing, Doc!”

I wince as a large needle is stuck into my arm. The attached tube is connected to the woman in front of me, and she wheezes as her blood flows into the tube. A burning sensation fills me when her blood enters my system.

“What the hell?” I growl, letting out a torrent of curse words.

“Since your body won’t allow the diluted version of our serum to run its course, the only option left is to go straight to the source,” Dr. Fine tells me.

Her face twists into an obsessive, crazed look. Her light green eyes seem to glow even brighter than her body heat.

I fight against my restraints—heavy silver chains soaked in wolfsbane—but to no avail. My veins expand with this woman’s blood, making me yell out in agony. Strings of my nerves go into overdrive as they burn and contract.

“There’s the response we’ve been waiting for!” Dr. Fine cackles. “Alpha will be so pleased with me. Boys, let’s leave these two for another hour. Thirty-four has more blood to give than I expected.”

The heavy door closes with a loud ~bang~. I try my best to stay conscious. The pain is getting so bad, I can barely see straight.

“You know, I’ve met that mate of yours,” a rugged voice brags. “She’s got those creepy eyes, right?”

My eyes snap up to the male, Clayton, who just hooked me to the female vampyre. His blonde hair and blue eyes stand out in the dimly lit room.

“Watch your tongue,” I snarl.

“She was traveling with a male vampire, I believe,” Clayton says with a smirk. “In exchange for information about her location, Evin welcomed me and my mate into the pack with open arms.”

“I’ll kill you,” I vow. “Mark my words.”

“We’ll see about that.” Clayton snickers before leaving me alone with the female vampire.

My mind flips to my mate. Her smile and beautiful black-and-red eyes. I imagine the future we could have had together; the pup she might have someday held in her arms.

Our pup would have her fiery spirit and stubborn nature.

“She’s beautiful,” a voice whispers.

I open my eyes to find the woman known as 34 smiling sadly at me. Just my luck—this one can read my damn mind.

Her body heat is almost nonexistent. I can only see her glowing red eyes and a hint of blonde hair. Her skin is as delicate as porcelain, her body skeletal.

She’s wearing only a thin, tattered nightgown. Thanks to the dim lightbulb hanging above us, I can make out small puncture wounds that litter her body.

“I can’t read your mind, if that’s what you’re wondering,” 34 says. “If you haven’t noticed, your regular blood is flowing through a tube to me, too. They hooked it up while you were first taking my blood in.”

Her smile disappears. “It’s cruel, really. You’re drained of your own blood to feed me, and I’m drained of mine to make you into one of their Ferals.”

“How are you seeing my thoughts, then?” I ask, my breath catching.

“It’s my gift, I guess you could say.” 34 lets out a dry laugh. “I can see the thoughts of those whose blood I take in. Who’s the woman?”

“My mate,” I say. “She and I were separated when I was captured. With any luck, she’s far from here. Knowing her stubbornness, though, she’s finding a way back to me as we speak.”

“Her eyes are a strange color,” 34 says. “Is she—"

“She’s one of my kind and yours,” I answer. My body is growing heavy, my senses dull. The pain is just a faint throbbing now.

“Ah. In all my years as a new blood, I’ve never seen one.” 34 looks to the ceiling. “I hope, for both your sakes, that she doesn’t come here.”

“Why?”

“This pack’s alpha has been using vampire blood to create an army, and my kind can only give so much blood to someone before we become useless meat bags.”

Thirty-four’s voice trails off. “A hybrid’s blood, though...it’s a...treasure. To the alpha...and...the hybrid...herself...”

I can’t find the strength to keep my eyes open any longer. I drift slowly into unconsciousness, the darkness consuming me once more.