Chapter 1 | Happy Birthday

Raya

Anxiety fills my body, each minute brings me closer to the time I turn 18 and it terrifies me. My life… my pure existence it isn’t normal. I’m not like others. I’m half vampire and half human, I live with my human mother and she has hidden who I am from the rest of the world.

But when you’re a vampire certain ages bring about certain qualities. By the time you’re five you’ll sprout your fangs, by thirteen you’ll notice that you’re stronger and faster than humans are, and when you turn 18 you’re supposed to come into the full powers of whatever gifting your blood line has.

I’ll officially turn 18 in one hour. I have no idea what powers I may come into and I’m in the worst place I could possibly be in. My stepfather, Trevor and my stepsister, Blair hate vampires with a burning passion, once a month they go on hunting trips to try to kill them. They claim that they are ridding this world of evil. I think that Trevor brainwashed Blair over the years into the deep hatred she has. Don’t get me wrong, nobody likes vampires, but the hatred she holds at such a young age for no particular reason is abnormal.

I can hear the hurried steps on the stairs as someone walks up to my room. The door creaks loudly and I turn to see that my mother has pushed it open. My mother is a pretty woman, but I look nothing like her. She has fair features, straight blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes, I think the only thing I inherited from her was the shape of her button nose.

She smiles brightly at me and says, “You’re about to be 18! We’re getting the cake ready for you. Are you ready to celebrate?”

I ignore her question, knowing that this is the only chance she’d get to ask her today, “Mom, who is my dad?”

The anxiety of the unknown is eating me alive. I need to know what I should be prepared for an hour from now. My mom immediately groans in annoyance, I’ve asked the same question every year, longing to know about my lineage and every year she reacts the same way.

She glances behind her and closes the door as she hisses, “Be quiet! Trevor and Blair are right down stairs. It’s been eight years since we all became a family, I would think by this point that you would know not to talk about such things with them nearby.”

I huff, “It’s not like I have any other option, mom. You avoid answering me anytime that I ask! I officially turn 18 in  thirty minutes. I have a right to know what might happen to me. Who is he? Tell me my father’s name?”

She shoots me an icy glare and says, “I will not speak that man’s name in my house. We will talk later.”

With that, she turns and leaves me alone. I close my eyes as I breathe out, trying to regain control over my rapid heartbeat. If I listen closely, I can hear my family in the floor below talking as they do whatever the finishing touches are on my cake.

I’m going to stay up here as long as I can, hell, I’d like to stay up here until after the clock strikes, just in case I have some unknown power that will emerge.

So far, I’ve gotten every ability that comes with being a vampire. It’s obvious that those genes are much stronger than my human genes. I think my mom refuses to tell me about my biological father because she thinks that by ignoring his existence means that she can ignore that side of me. Secretly, I’ve always wondered if she hates me because of the monster within me.

She doesn’t hate me enough to kill me, but… she doesn’t love me enough to let me know everything I should know.

I sigh as I brush my hair for the umpteenth time and then I hear my mom yell my name. I glance at the clock, only three minutes left. I press my lips together and walk to my door and force myself to open it and descend the stairs.

I plaster on my best fake smile as I see the double decker cake that my mom and Trevor either spent a fortune on or my mom worked her ass off to bake. Trevor finishes lighting the candles and Blair rushes toward me, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me closer as they all begin to sing.

By the time they stop singing, the clock strikes the minute I was born, and I take a deep breath ready to blow out all 18 candles. But the front door crashes open, loud enough to make all of us jump, wind rushes into the room extinguishing my lit candles. My jaw drops as I see a man in front of me with piercing red eyes and when he opens his mouth, his fangs are undeniable. Vampire.

There’s a vampire in our home.

The fear in the room is so thick you could almost taste it. My ears feel like they’re ringing and I can faintly hear Trevor yell to Blair, “Blair, move it!”

They’re going to get their hunting gear. They worded it to make it seem like they’re running away to hide, but I know they’re better than that. They won’t back down from a vampire fight.

They rush from the room, the vampire’s eyes are glued onto my mother. I turn to face her and see she’s shaking in fear. The vampire states, “You never should’ve taken her from me.”

I open my mouth to speak, trying to understand what is happening here. But before my mother or I have a chance to respond, I’ve been pulled into his arms and in a blink of an eye, I’ve disappeared from the only home I’ve ever known.