Threats

Lake

My eyes slowly open to a new room—another unfamiliar surrounding.

A bright light is overhead.

To my left are multiple empty bags and a large I.V. needle.

I struggle against my new restraints. A couple of leather cuffs and silver chains are around my wrists and ankles.

Instantly, I am flooded with thoughts of Derrick and Sylas.

~Where are they?~

~How are they doing?~

I yearn to see them both again.

"Lynne..." I whisper, hoping to hear the voice of my wolf to help me quell my loneliness "...are you there?"

Her presence is dull but enough to lend me strength in order to rip my left hand out of its restraints, and then my right.

I'm still unable to shift but this is all I need to be able to stand on the ground.

I can sense Derrick is near through our bond. But I also swear that I can almost catch a whiff of him.

I start moving around the room frantically. I need a weapon. Something—anything—to give me an upper hand.

But to my dismay, there’s no time.

Suddenly, the door slams open and before I can fight back, guards have pinned me back down the table, refastening my restraints.

Any hope of escape flees my heart as Evin comes into view.

"Tsk tsk, Lake." He sighs dramatically, "And here I thought—"

"Screw what you think," I growl.

"Such an attitude." Evin growls with a frown on his face, "Fae truly failed you at that."

"Don't you fucking talk about my mother."

The sound of her name on his lips makes my blood boil.

Evin storms over to me, grips my hair, and growls deeply. The guards surrounding us bow instinctively, but I couldn't care less.

"I can say anything I want about that woman,” he whispers, "Now, about what you're here for..."

Evin snaps his fingers and the woman from earlier enters almost too eagerly.

"I need your blood,” she says.

I scoff, "My blood?"

"Fine, explain."

"Yes, Alpha." The doctor walks swiftly over to me, "001, you're familiar with our serum and how it works, correct?"

I look her up and down without answering.

"Of course you do. Sylas should have filled you in by now." Dr. Fine holds a clipboard in my face, "Our supply of purely Vampyre's blood is abundant. Our Ferals are strong, but at a cost."

Dr. Fine continues, “The average lifespan of one Feral male is barely 12 months due to the incompatibility of their DNA with the Vampyre.”

“What does this have to do with me?” I ask, trying my best not to pass out from all the horrifying things that she’s saying.

“It has everything to do with you!” Dr. Fine smiles widely, “With you being half and half, your DNA would be more compatible and make our Ferals more powerful.”

“Like I’d ever help you.” I spit.

Evin laughs loudly, “Need I remind you that I have both Sylas and your mate in my custody. If I order it, their heads would be off their shoulders within an instant.”

I growl, Lynne becoming all the more present at the threats against her mate.

I can’t let anything happen to them, no matter what I have to endure.

“We can do this willingly. I will approve to let them go and you give my doctor your blood.” Evin smirks, “If not, I’ll kill your mates and take it by force. And promise me you, the extraction process will make you wish I would kill you.”

I’m taken back a bit by the threat.

Not the one towards me, but the one towards Sylas and Derrick. I’d go through thousands of years of torture before seeing any harm come to either of them.

Lynne stirs in my mind and it causes me to feel a glint of happiness swell in my chest.

Finally, my wolf has come back to me. Her presence means I can finally fight back at full strength.

That being said, my wolf is distrustful of this man and the situation. Her main priority is clear; get Derrick out of here before any more harm can come to her mate.

“I wouldn’t waste any time if I were you,” Evin says. “You’re mate’s already gone so mad that we handed him one of our Omegas, and he thinks it’s you!”

He cackles maliciously.

“His condition is only going to get worse from here,” Evin says.

~Can that be true?~

~But what about our mating bond?~

~What about my smell?~

He must be in serious distress. I know what I have to do.

I take in a deep breath.

The direness of the circumstances we’re in has made me second guess everything to this point. But one thing I will not second guess is the need to protect my mates.

“Fine…” I hang my head, “Take what you need from me.”

“Amazing!” Evin claps his hands together, “Doctor, do what you need to. As I said before, don’t kill her. She’s of my blood after all.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“This is how you treat your own blood?” I sneered at him. “Like a juicebox?”

He’s about to spit back a response when a very loud alarm and red lights start going off. The guards are taken aback, as is Evin.

“Watch over these two,” Evin instructs one of his guards while the rest surround their alpha. “I have a feeling someone isn’t playing nice.”

I relish the sight of him squirming with discomfort.

As the needle enters my arm, I see Evin turn his back and leave.

“001, if you feel queasy at all, let me know and we will take a break,” Dr. Fine says softly.

I raise an eyebrow. “You don’t seem to be the kind to show mercy.”

“Only in this case,” the woman smirks and pushes her glasses back up her nose. “Seeing as you’re 247’s real mate, I can’t let you die so easily.”

I hiss in pain as blood flows from my vein and begins to fill the empty bags from earlier.

“Oh, I know…” Dr. Fine cringes. “I’m not only taking your blood, but the vital nutrients from your last hunt. But don’t worry, our new shipment of prey comes in tomorrow. I’ll even let you pick from them if you behave.”

But I don’t care about her false promises. The only thing I care about is making sure my mates get out of here alive.

“When this is over,” I growl, leaning in close so she can hear every word loud and clear... “your head will be the first to go out on a pike, right after your impudent Alpha…”