Chapter 1
I always thought I was just a regular girl with a knack for getting sunburned too easily and an odd craving for rare steak. You know, nothing too out of the ordinary—until one night, after a long, frustrating day at work, I accidentally bit my finger while slicing a tomato. Blood pooled on my fingertip, but instead of grabbing a band-aid, I felt... hungry. Really hungry. My teeth tingled in a way they never had before, and before I knew it, I was licking the blood clean, savoring every drop. That’s when it hit me: something was seriously wrong.I shrugged it off, convincing myself it was just a weird period craving—after all, I was on my period, and those cravings can get pretty intense. With that thought buried, I grabbed my bag and headed to class. Life as a college student was stressful enough without worrying about why my blood tasted like dessert.
Everything was going fine until lunchtime. That’s when the drama began. In the cafeteria, two girls from my psychology class started arguing, and before anyone could stop them, a full-blown fight broke out. Chairs were knocked over, food trays went flying, and in the chaos, one of the girls, Lydia—someone I never got along with—blamed me for instigating the whole thing. “This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for her!” she shouted, pointing right at me.
I was stunned. I hadn’t even spoken to her, let alone caused the fight. My best friends, Sarah and Chloe, immediately jumped to my defense, telling her she was out of line. But Lydia was relentless. From that moment on, we became enemies. Lydia started spreading rumors about me, and though my friends had my back, it didn’t take long for things to get ugly. Little did I know, this fight would trigger something deeper, something... not human, inside me.
Every time I saw my crush, Ethan, talking to Lydia, it felt like someone was twisting a knife in my chest. The way she laughed at his jokes, the way she’d casually touch his arm—it was unbearable. And she knew it. Every time she caught me watching them, she’d flash me that smug smile, the kind that said, I know what you want, and I’m enjoying this. It fueled the anger simmering beneath the surface, and no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the jealousy kept gnawing at me.
One day, things went too far. I saw them together after class, standing by the library, laughing like they had some inside joke. My vision blurred, my heart raced, and before I knew it, I was marching over, fists clenched, ready to confront her. But as I got closer, something inside me snapped. My throat tightened, my teeth ached, and an unfamiliar heat surged through my body.
“Hey!” I yelled, my voice sounding harsher than I intended. Both Ethan and Lydia turned to look at me, confusion on his face, but Lydia just smirked like she knew this moment was coming.
“What’s your problem?” she sneered, taking a step closer to me. I felt the tension building—my heart pounded in my ears, and my nails dug into my palms.
And then, out of nowhere, Lydia’s smirk faded. Her eyes widened in shock as I realized something was very, very wrong. My reflection in the library window showed it—my eyes were glowing red, and my teeth... my teeth had sharpened into fangs.
