Bleed her dry

ASHLEY

Jason wanted to see me.

That was the only thing I could think of as Rachel's face turned ghost white, panicked, pulling me up to a standing position, for I could barely stand on my own.

Without a word, she rushed to the corner, grabbed a new dress, and changed me out of the torn one. Well, not entirely new, but better than the one I was in. She even brushed my hair, which had last been brushed three months ago.

Grabbing a rag and a bowl filled with water, she rubbed at the dirt on my face. I looked at her, curious.

This was the first time she'd be nice to me. She had never treated me as if I were a living being before, and even made them punish me more than the enslaved people in the prison.

“Bandage, now!” she barked at Kelly, who jumped and scrambled to obey. Rachel wrapped my arms, hiding what she could. 

Then she turned to me with narrowed eyes. “One word about what happened here, and I’ll make her death slow,” she hissed, jerking her head toward Kelly.

Kelly swallowed, her eyes wide with fear.

 “Understood?”

I blinked through the fever haze, mouth dry and skin still burning, before stuttering, “U-understood.”

A guard came. My legs barely worked as I followed, burning with fever. The walk felt endless.

I stumbled the moment they let me go. The world spun, and I braced for the ground. But strong arms caught me.

Jason.

My Jason. He looked untouched by time—stronger, sharper, more composed than I remembered. I wanted to cry just seeing him. 

But he didn’t smile. Didn’t soften. He let me go like I disgusted him.

“Jason,” I croaked.

He scoffed. “Still playing weak? I always knew you were a drama queen. Stop trying to look pitiful.” 

I bit my lip. Was he blind that he couldn't see how horrible I looked? I could barely even see him!

He stepped closer, gripping my shoulders, right where it hurt most. I flinched. He noticed.

His hand moved to my neckline, about to pull it down, but I stopped him. “Don’t touch me!”

Rachel’s threat rang in my head. No one could know, not even Jason. Kelly’s life depended on it.

Jason glanced at my hand, then sneered. “Ungrateful witch.”

He turned and walked off. I forced my legs to follow, fear rising again.

“Where are we going?” I asked, barely audible.

He stopped, eyes cold. “You think I came to admire how pretty you’ve gotten?” His voice snapped. “You're going to pay for your freedom.”

We arrived at the main pack house in five minutes. The slave barracks weren't that far from it at all… and yet, not once did any of them come to visit me. It was almost laughable, if it weren’t so sad.

I stepped into what I had called a home for the past eighteen years, only for it to be taken away from me within the blink of an eye. My parents weren't here. They must have been somewhere around the pack house.

I wanted to ask Jason why he had brought me here, to my house, specifically until I arrived in my room.

It was now Maria’s.

My parents were in the room. But it wasn't they that had caught my attention and made me stop midstep. It was Maria.

She was lying on my bed. She looked frailed and almost lifeless. If it weren't for the rising and falling of her chest, I'd have assumed she was dead. My mother held onto her hand, bringing it to her face while her eyes were shut.

“You did this to her.” Jason snapped from behind me, his voice sharp with rage. “You poisoned her with wolfsbane. Her organs are failing because of you! And now, only compatible blood can save her.”

I froze.

It was as if I had become the villain in his story—the one who destroyed someone he would die to protect.

As soon as he spoke, my parents' attention snapped to me.

“Why are you telling me this?” I whispered.

“Because you're going to get tested and you don't get to say no.” He answered.

Just then, a rogue doctor stepped in, eyes gleaming with sick excitement.

“Test her blood,” Jason ordered.

“No…” I whispered, panic rising as the doctor approached.

“Please, don’t let him—” I clutched Jason’s hand.

“Do it,” he snapped, jerking away.

“No! Please!” I screamed, kicking as guards dragged me to the corner. They pinned me down as the doctor proceeded to draw out the blood.

He returned minutes later, holding a vial. “It’s a match, Alpha.”

“She’s eligible,” he confirmed.

“Then let her do so immediately. What are you waiting for?” My father demanded. “Take her and bleed her dry!”

My breath caught. And I swayed as the room tilted. Bleed me dry? All of my blood?

He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t even flinch.

My father—my own father—no longer saw me as his daughter. Just a tool. Just a vessel to save the one he now called his real child.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. I was too stunned. Too hollow. Was there anything left of me to cry with?

“No,” Jason murmured, halting him.

I turned to Jason, startled. Was he protecting me? 

“She’s too weak,” Jason added, eyes still on me. “If we rush this, the blood might be contaminated. Also, what if she collapsed in the middle? I reckon she fully recovers before the process can be done.”

My father looked at me and nodded in agreement with what Jason had said.

No. He wasn’t protecting me. He was preserving the donor.

I sat on the small bench in the attic, looking at the lone small window. My father decided to lock me here to recover after discussing with Jason.

I should be happy. The attic was my favorite place in the whole house and a far better place than the barracks, but there was nothing to be pleased about in this situation.

“Ashley,”

I looked up to see my mother. She climbed down the last step, walking towards me.

She stopped a few meters from where I was seated, wrapping her arms around herself. “How are you?” 

I didn't respond to her. She had about three months to ask me that. Yet she never did.

“You’ve lost so much weight. They shouldn’t have… let it go this far,” she said quietly, as if the words hurt to speak. “I, I wanted to check on you sooner.”

I stared ahead, silent.

She hesitated. “I know I failed you, Ashley. I can’t change what I did—or didn’t do. But I still care. You’re still my—”

“Then act like it,” I cut her off, my voice low.

She flinched but nodded, lips pressed tightly. For a moment, she just sat there, wringing her hands. Then came the pause—the shift.

“She’s not doing well, Ashley.”

Of course. There it was.

“Are you going to help Maria? She's your sister.”

“No, she's not.” She was a liar and a manipulator.

“She didn't ask for this, Ashley. It's only your blood that is compatible with hers.” My mother whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.

“We don’t know what else to do... we’ve tried everything. Please, Ashley. Help her. Do it for me. For this family.” She begged. That tugged at my heartstrings.

I could hear the tremble in her voice. It sounded just like the way I remembered it when I was younger, when she tucked me into bed and sang me lullabies.

She closed the distance between us, sitting on the bench, and she moved to touch my shoulder, right where the bruise throbbed beneath my dress. I flinched, pulling away without thinking.

She froze, looking hurt. “Ashley?”

My father stormed in at the same time. “I had never trained you to be this stubborn.”

He turned to my mother, “She clearly needs to be reminded of her place. I’ll deal with her myself.”

Those words shattered something inside me.

It was exactly what Rachel had said back in the barracks. “It’s the beta’s order to teach you a lesson.” Like I was nothing more than a disobedient pet.

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I rolled up my sleeve, showing them what the three months in the barracks had done to my skin.

Scars. Burn marks. Healing cuts.

“Then do it. Punish me again, tear what’s left of my skin. Beat me to death and let’s see who’ll save your precious Maria.”

My mother gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in surprise. My father took a step back, stunned into silence as he stared at the scar.

Good. Just the expression I needed from them.

If I die, she dies too.

Let them choose.