She felt cold. Not the kind of cold that came from wind or rain, but something else—a cold curled inside her veins, numbing her from within. Everything felt wrong. Her body felt wrong; too heavy, too weak, too empty.

She was barely aware of the chains digging into her wrists, the way they bit into her skin with every twitch. A dull ache pulsed in her skull, spreading through her limbs. She didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. She was tired of screaming; her eyelids barely stayed open. She’d used all her strength to fight, to scream, but it was futile. They chained her to the chair and attached the pipes.

Then came a shaky voice, “What’s wrong with the machine?”

“The blood… it’s not stabilizing,” someone said nervously. “It’s evaporating before we can extract it. Every vial melts as soon as it’s filled.”

A chair scraped against the floor. A hurried shuffle of feet. “That’s impossible.”

“And yet it’s happening.”

Avery swallowed hard, her throat aching. She tried to move, but her limbs were too heavy, too drained.

“She’s rejecting the extraction,” another voice cut in, breathless. “Her body isn’t allowing it. Every time we get close, the blood reacts violently.”

Good. She didn’t know why or how, but if it meant they couldn’t take what they wanted, if it meant Alaric couldn’t win, then let her blood burn itself to dust.

A hand gripped her jaw, forcing her face upward. “She’s cold,” the person murmured. “Whatever we injected her with should’ve suppressed everything. She should be weak…”

“She is weak,” Alaric’s voice cut through the murmurs. “Look at her. Barely breathing. Barely alive. The drug worked.”

Avery’s eyelids flickered. She could feel him watching her.

“Then why won’t it work?”

Someone yanked her arm, tightening the chains. A second later, she felt the pain, the blade against her skin, slicing a thin line down her forearm. The blood that welled up hissed.

The doctor stumbled back, yelling as the blade sizzled and warped in his grip. He cursed, shaking his burnt hand. The blade fell to the floor, melted and useless.

“What the hell was that?”

“I—I don’t know. The blood just—”

They all surrounded her, their voices making waves in her head. “Her body temperature is spiking—”

“No, it’s not just that—”

“This doesn’t make any sense!”

Her head lolled to the side, strands of damp hair clinging to her cheek. She felt feverish, her skin burning hot, but the inner cold remained.

“I don’t care. Do it again.” Alaric ordered.

They cut her again, and it failed again.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” The doctor cursed. The blade he’d used was melted and useless.

“It’s her,” someone whispered, frantic. “Her body… her blood. It won’t let us take it.”

“I don’t care what you do. I want her blood flowing through those wires. Drain her completely.” Alaric snarled, and the doctors jumped back to work.

They fumbled for minutes, unable to touch her. Not with her body so hot. Not with her blood melting the blades. The doctor turned to Alaric, eyes wide with fear, shaking his head. “W—we can’t. We can’t do anything until she’s stable.”

“Then fix it.” Alaric’s voice hardened. “Knock her out if you have to. But I want that power.”

He paced impatiently. This girl was ruining everything. All he needed was her blood; with it, he was unstoppable.

He turned towards her manically. “Do you know what I could do with power like this?” He laughed, low and greedy. “Imagine it: rulers from every region, every land, on their knees, begging for a single drop. And they’ll pay anything.”

“Y—you’ll never have me,” Avery said weakly.

Alaric chuckled, low and mocking. “Oh, but I do. I have you here. I own you. ‘I’ll never have you?’” He burst out laughing. “She doesn’t even realize it,” he murmured, stepping closer.

“She doesn’t understand what she is. What she holds inside her.” His voice dripped with greed. He turned to his doctors, his guards, his men. “Do you?”

Alaric turned back to Avery, crouching beside her. His fingers tapped the armrest of the chair. “Do you know how many men would kill for even a drop of you?” His voice was quiet now, tender even.

Her fingers twitched weakly against the chair, and he grinned, leaning closer.

“They would beg me,” he whispered. “Kings. Rulers. Those who think themselves untouchable. I will bring them to their knees with nothing but a vial of your blood. The wealth I will amass… it will be incredible. I will be the most powerful man alive.”

“Do you know what that means, little wolf?”

His hand gripped her jaw, forcing her head up. She barely had the strength to keep her eyes open.

Alaric smiled. “It means I will own this world.”

He stood up, his gaze settling on the doctor. “Do whatever you must to extract it. I don’t care if you rip her apart, but I want every single drop. Everything that—”

The doors burst open, cutting him off. A warrior stumbled inside, soaked in blood, his armor torn, his face cut. He barely made it two steps before collapsing to his knees, a gurgling sound ripping from his throat.

“What the hell is this?”

The warrior tried to speak, but all that came out was a wet cough, blood spilling over his lips.

Alaric stepped forward, gripping the man’s hair, yanking his head up. “Spit it out.”

The warrior’s eyes were wild, his mouth trembled.

“He’s here,” he gasped.

Alaric’s grip tightened. “Who?”

The warrior shook, his body barely holding together.

“Alpha… Cain,” he choked out. He collapsed, dead.