Kimi's POV
"Why, Mom? How could you do this to me?"
The words tore from my throat — raw, jagged, and burning with betrayal. Sixteen years of trust crumbled beneath me like brittle glass. My jaw throbbed, a sharp pain blooming grotesquely against the serene smile on her face.
"Mom!" I screamed, but her laughter only poured salt into the wound.
"Please, help me! It hurts!" My voice cracked, trembling with pain and disbelief.
She tilted her head, voice syrupy-sweet. "Don't worry, darling. This is all perfectly normal."
Normal.
The word echoed in the hollow of my chest like a curse.
It hadn't started this way.
Just this morning, everything felt… normal.
The clock's ticking had dragged like molasses. Each class period stretched endlessly, every second taunting me with the promise of escape.
When the final bell shrieked, I bolted. I barely noticed the girl until I collided with her in the hallway — short brown hair, sunglasses inside, and a serpent tattoo coiled boldly around her neck.
"I'm... so sorry," I blurted, breath hitching.
"It's fine," she replied, her voice low and gravel-edged. Something about her made the air buzz in my lungs.
As she brushed past, our hands touched — and a jolt zipped through me. Electric. Strange.
I turned away quickly, my heartbeat already sprinting.
Home wasn't a refuge. Not that day.
The house pulsed with unfamiliar noise. Strangers in elegant clothes clustered in tight groups, laughter and whispers weaving around me like webs.
I slipped upstairs, my skin crawling.
Later, just past ten, a knock cracked the silence.
"Come in," I said, already on edge.
Audrey breezed in, glowing in a red silk dress. Her smile was almost too bright.
"What's got my little sis so grumpy on her big day?" she teased.
My birthday. Right.
She handed me a deep purple gown, shimmering like midnight. "Put it on. People are waiting."
Downstairs, the light felt too warm, the eyes too watchful. My mother appeared with a wine glass of crimson liquid.
"Just a little celebration toast," she said, eyes glinting.
I drank. Regret followed instantly. The liquid was thick and metallic, coating my tongue like syruped rust.
A dizziness followed — soft at first, then growing. The voices around me blurred, their faces suddenly too still. Their smiles too sharp.
Goosebumps erupted across my arms. The guests weren't… normal.
As midnight crept in, my mother's voice rose above the murmurs.
"Kimi, come here."
Something in her tone dragged my body toward her.
She held a necklace — gold, delicate, with a serpent clasp. It gleamed under the chandelier like it was alive.
She fastened it around my neck.
Then the serpent bit me.
Pain lanced through my skin. My mother smiled — wide and terrible.
"Tonight," she declared, her voice rich with pride, "Kimi becomes one of us… a Vampire!"
My heart fell out of me. The room spun.
I staggered, reaching for escape, for oxygen, for anything.
Then — strong arms caught me. The girl from school. The serpent tattooed girl. Her grip was solid, grounding.
And then — nothing.
I woke up in my bed, bathed in morning light. My jaw still throbbed.
And beside me — smiling — was my mother.
The woman who had made me into something else.
The pain in my body was nothing compared to the fire blooming in my chest.