Annis POV:
I didn't make it to the state line.
The Enforcers blew the tires out three miles from the border. I was dragged back to the Pack Hospital, not as a Luna, but as a prisoner.
The hospital smelled of antiseptic and fear. They threw me onto a gurney and strapped my wrists down.
Dominick stormed in. He looked frantic, but not for me.
"Chastity is hemorrhaging," he said, voice tight. "Her body is rejecting the pregnancy."
"And that concerns me why?" I asked, voice hoarse.
"She needs a transfusion," Dominick said. "O-Negative. Rare. Like you."
I laughed. A hysterical, broken sound. "You want my blood? To save your mistress and her bastard?"
"Watch your mouth," he hissed, leaning over me. His amber eyes swirled with black. "You poisoned her with that bracelet. This is your mess to fix."
"I didn't poison her! She threw it!"
"The doctors found traces of Wolfsbane on her skin!"
"She put it there herself!"
He grabbed my chin. "I don't care. You are going to give her your blood. As much as she needs."
I looked at the IV lines. I was anemic from the suppressants. My heart was already struggling. A massive draw could be fatal.
"It will kill me, Dom," I whispered. "My wolf is too weak to regenerate that fast."
He hesitated. For a split second, I saw doubt.
But a nurse ran in. "Alpha! Her heart rate is dropping!"
The hesitation vanished. "Do it," he ordered the doctor. "Hook her up."
"Wait!" I shouted. "I have a condition!"
Dominick paused. "You are in no position to bargain."
"I want a rejection," I said clearly. "I will give you my blood. I will save her. But in exchange, you accept my rejection. Tonight. Officially."
He stared at me, a cruel smirk curling his lips. "You want to be a Rogue? A wolfless cripple alone in the world? You won't last a day."
"That is my choice. Deal or no deal?"
"Fine," he scoffed. "If you survive, you can have your freedom. You're useless to me anyway."
The doctor inserted the needle.
It hurt more than it should have. I watched the dark red liquid flow through the tube.
Coldness spread through my limbs. My vision blurred.
Be strong, a tiny voice whispered. My wolf. We are the White Wolf. Our blood is life. But this is too much.
The machine beeped. One pint. Two.
"Alpha, her levels are critical," the doctor warned, looking at my monitor. "Her pressure is bottoming out. We have to stop."
From the next room, Chastity moaned. "Dom... save the baby..."
"Keep going," Dominick's voice came through the open door. "Take what you need. Don't stop until Chastity is stable."
He was killing me. He knew it, and he didn't care.
I closed my eyes. I focused on the moon outside the window.
Moon Goddess, I prayed. If I die tonight, curse him. Let him feel every ounce of my pain.
I felt my heart stutter. The room spun.
I didn't fight it. I let go.
The monitor flatlined.
"She's crashing! Code Blue!"
I heard boots running. Shouting. But it sounded like I was underwater.
Then, nothing.
