Chapter 2
Dan didn’t sleep.
Not because he was scared—though he absolutely should’ve been—but because sleep didn’t work anymore. His body lay still while his mind stayed sharp, alert, buzzing like a live wire.
At 4:12 a.m., he heard his neighbor’s dog sneeze.
At 4:13, he heard his mom’s heartbeat slow as she slept.
At 4:14, he realized something was deeply, horrifyingly wrong with him.
He stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Same messy brown hair. Same crooked smile. Same athletic build. But his eyes—
They weren’t his.
They were darker. Brighter. Alive in a way that made his stomach twist.
He leaned closer.
His fangs slid out effortlessly.
Dan recoiled and slapped a hand over his mouth.
“Okay,” he whispered to himself. “Okay. Okay. This is… manageable.”
It was not manageable.
School was a sensory nightmare.
The hallways pulsed with sound—lockers slamming, shoes squeaking, heartbeats thudding like bass drops in a club he did not ask to be in. He could smell everyone. Shampoo. Sweat. Fear. Excitement.
Blood.
His hands clenched at his sides.
“Dan!”
Colette jogged up beside him, ponytail bouncing. “You ready for the bio test? I made color-coded flashcards.”
He almost groaned.
Her heartbeat was fast. Bright. Distractingly close.
“I—I think I’m sick,” he said, stepping back.
She frowned. “You look… different.”
Ashley appeared like a summoned demon, fur-lined jacket brushing Dan’s arm.
“Different good,” she purred. “Like dangerous.”
Dan swallowed hard.
“Come sit with me at lunch,” Ashley said. “I wanna celebrate your birthday… properly.”
Colette stiffened. “We were going to study.”
Ashley smiled without warmth. “Aw. That’s cute.”
Dan felt like he was being torn in half.
Lunch ended with Dan hiding in the bathroom, gripping the sink as hunger slammed into him full force.
This wasn’t normal hunger. This was sharp. Violent. It wanted.
You don’t hunt humans, his dad’s voice echoed in his head. We only take from those who deserve it.
Dan splashed water on his face.
“I’m not a killer,” he muttered.
That’s when he smelled it.
Blood. Fresh. Wrong.
From the hallway.
He followed it without thinking.
Behind the gym, a senior cornered a freshman, fist raised.
“Give me your phone,” the senior snarled.
Dan moved.
One second he was across the courtyard. The next, his hand was wrapped around the guy’s wrist, crushing bone.
“What the—” the senior gasped.
Dan’s fangs slid out.
He froze.
The freshman ran.
Dan released the guy, horrified.
“Don’t touch him again,” Dan growled.
The senior bolted.
Dan stared at his shaking hands.
He had liked how it felt.
That night, Mark and Elias waited for him in the driveway.
“Put on a jacket,” Mark said. “We’re going hunting.”
Dan’s stomach dropped. “No.”
Elias smirked. “First hunt’s tradition.”
They led him into the woods. Masks on. Knives out.
A man stumbled into view, drunk, swearing into his phone.
“Human trafficker,” Mark said calmly. “We’ve been tracking him.”
The man looked up—and screamed.
“Please,” he sobbed. “I have a family—”
Dan stepped back. “Stop. We can’t just—”
Elias lunged.
Blood sprayed the leaves.
Dan gagged.
His brothers fed.
And then—
Dan felt it again.
That pull.
That need.
The man turned toward Dan, barely alive, blood soaking his shirt.
Their eyes met.
“Help me,” the man whispered.
Dan dropped to his knees.
He didn’t know what he was doing until his fangs were in the man’s neck.
Warmth. Power. Silence.
When it was over, Dan stumbled back, shaking.
Mark clapped him on the shoulder. “You did good.”
Dan looked down at his hands, slick with red.
“I didn’t want to,” he whispered.
But his body disagreed.
At school the next day, Dan avoided everyone.
Until Colette followed him into the library.
“You’re lying to me,” she said quietly. “You disappeared last night. Your pulse is weird. And I swear your eyes are glowing.”
Dan laughed weakly. “You’re imagining things.”
“Then explain this.”
She pulled down his collar.
Two puncture marks stared back at him.
The room went silent.
Dan’s chest caved in.
“I can explain.”
Colette stepped closer. “Dan… what are you?”
He opened his mouth—
And Ashley’s voice cut through the stacks.
“There you are,” she said cheerfully. “Your family’s been looking for you.”
Dan turned.
Ashley’s eyes were glowing red.
She smiled wider than humanly possible.
And showed her fangs.
