Chapter 3

The doctor hurried over. "Alpha Arthur's organs are shutting down. The silver poison has reached his heart. We need to start advanced blood dialysis immediately."

The doctor then turned to me with desperation in his eyes. "Lady Norman, your blood is the only one pure enough in the whole pack to save the Alpha's life."

Arthur locked his eyes on me and spoke like he was giving an order, "Get over here and let them draw your blood. If I die, do you think you can run this pack?"

I straightened my sleeves. "Sorry, I've got my period, so I'm anemic. If you need blood so badly, ask the sweet, innocent Annabelle you're holding in your arms."

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, Arthur let out an angry roar. "Grab her. Tie her up and drag her to the operating room."

Four strong werewolf guards stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

They were Arthur's most trusted men, the ones who usually bowed to me, but now, they were showing their fangs.

"Sorry about this, Lady Norman," one of them said.

I didn't put up a fight as they dragged me into the operating room.

There was no point in resisting. This was Arthur's territory, and the whole building was packed with his enforcers.

They shoved me into the blood draw chair and jammed a thick needle into my vein.

My blood ran through the clear tube and into Arthur, who was lying on the bed next to mine.

Annabelle stood in the corner, wiping her tears and filming everything on her phone.

"Don't blame Arthur, Evelyn. He's just trying to stay alive," she said. "If you really love him, losing a little blood for him wouldn't matter, would it? Once he's better, I'll tell him to go easier on you."

I closed my eyes, done with looking at her fake, disgusting face.

They kept drawing my blood until two pints had been taken.

The blood loss made my temperature drop fast, and my vision started to blur.

The doctor, sweating hard, spoke up. "Alpha, Lady Norman has reached her limit. Any more and it'll damage her life force."

Arthur's face was already looking healthy again, the dark veins of poison fading from his skin.

He rolled his neck and said in a cold voice, "Keep going. She's a high-level mutant. It's not going to kill her.

"Think of it as teaching her a lesson. Maybe she'll remember how to talk to Annabelle properly next time."

The doctor didn't dare to refuse, so he kept on with the blood draw.

After losing three pints of blood, a sharp pain tore through my chest, and my bones felt like they were splitting apart from the inside.

This was what happened when a high-level mutant lost too much of her essence blood.

I forced my eyes open and stared straight at the surgical light above me.

Arthur was something else.

I had spent three years standing by his side while he clawed his way up from a rogue to a pack Alpha.

I had taken hits from other werewolves for him and torn down his enemies for him.

And now he was draining the blood that kept me alive for some fake innocent girl he had barely known for two weeks.

Finally, the blood draw stopped.

They tossed me onto the bed like I was a piece of trash.

Arthur ripped the tubes out of his own arm and walked over to me.

He looked down, grabbed my chin, and said, "You wouldn't have suffered so much if you'd listened from the start.

"Evelyn, drop the attitude. Annabelle saved my life. If she hadn't pulled me out of the snow back then, I'd be dead.

"You owe me just as much as you owe her."

I weakly pushed his hand away. "I don't owe you anything. From today on, we're even."

Arthur let out a cold laugh. "Even? Don't kid yourself.

"You're going to be at the pack meeting tomorrow night.

"I'm going to announce, in front of everyone, that Annabelle will be the new second-in-command.

"And you're going to hand your power over to her yourself."

I shot up in bed, the room spinning around me.

"Are you out of your mind? She's never been in a real fight, and you want her to be the second-in-command?" I snapped.

Arthur pulled Annabelle into his arms. "She doesn't need to be in a real fight because I'll always protect her," he shot back. "You're too aggressive, Evelyn. Guys don't like women who are so controlling. Annabelle is the one who belongs next to me."

Annabelle leaned into Arthur's chest, shooting me a smug, provocative grin.

"Relax, Evelyn. I'll take good care of running the pack for you," she said. "From now on, you can stay in logistics and do something easy."

I stared at them, and my stomach turned. "What if I refuse?"

Arthur's jaw tightened, a cruel smirk spreading across his face.

"You don't get to say no," he said coldly. "That box your mother left you? I've already had it locked up in my safe.

"If you dare make a scene at the meeting tomorrow, I'll throw that box into the incinerator."

My fingers clenched the sheets, my nails pressed deep into my palms.

That box held the only thing I had left of my mother, her ashes in a pendant.

I couldn't believe he was using that to threaten me.

"Arthur, you'll regret this," I said, emphasizing every word.

Arthur laughed dismissively. "Regret isn't a word I know."

Then he wrapped his arm around Annabelle and walked out of the hospital room with her.