Chapter 5: Something Is Wrong With Me

Kavy collapsed onto the bathroom floor, her hands trembling violently.

Her claws were still there—sharp, black, unnatural.

The hunger still coiled in her gut, an aching, gnawing void. Not human. Not normal.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to steady her breath.

It didn't work.

Her pulse wasn't normal. It was too slow.

Too steady for someone who had just been attacked.

Or had she been the attacker?

Kavy gagged, scrambling toward the sink. She clutched the counter, gripping the cold porcelain like it could somehow anchor her.

She forced herself to look.

Her reflection stared back.

And her stomach dropped.

Her pupils were still blown wide, swallowing all the color from her eyes.

Her face—thinner, sharper. Like her bones had shifted beneath her skin.

Her lips were parted, her breath unsteady.

And then, the worst part.

Her teeth.

They were longer.

Her canines were too sharp. Too predatory.

She lifted a trembling hand and ran her fingers over them. They didn't feel like hers.

A choked sob clawed up her throat.

What is happening to me?

Her stomach clenched, a fresh wave of hunger twisting through her insides.

She pressed a hand to it, eyes squeezing shut.

No. She wouldn't think about it. Wouldn't let her mind go there.

She had almost killed someone.

And worse—she had wanted to.

Her body had moved on instinct. It had enjoyed it.

A violent shiver ran down her spine.

She forced herself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

The hunger didn't go away.

But something else did.

The guilt.

Because deep down, beneath the terror and the confusion, something darker stirred inside her.

A voice in the back of her mind.

You liked it.

Kavy shuddered, her fingers curling into fists.

No.

No, she wasn't like that. She wasn't a monster.

She wasn't.

…Right?

Her breath hitched. She didn't know anymore.

Then—

A knock.

Not on her door.

From inside her head.

Kavy gasped, stumbling back, her hands flying to her skull.

Another knock. Louder.

Like something was inside her mind.

Something trying to get out.

Then—

A voice.

"You're finally waking up."