Another sneak peek of another story that I've been working on for a while. Thought I would see what you think of the opening chapter :)

Premise - If Rose was the one turned in the caves but managed to keep her soul.

I really needed to stop dying.

It was painful. So much more painful than I thought it would be.

They always spoke about what it would be like to have a Strigoi feed off you. The high you get that makes you feel like you are floating and forget you are dying. I remembered someone calling my name, but once the endorphins hit, I didn't care about the ones yelling out for me.

No one warned me what it would feel like to die by Strigoi.

The endorphins did nothing to hide how cold I felt. How alone I was when I took my last breath on that cave floor.

I was so alone.

The pain came after. The moment your heart beats again despite being still for so long. I didn't need to breathe, but I gasped when my eyes opened.

Everything was too bright. Everything hurts. I was so oversensitive that even the soft breeze on my skin felt like being burned. The rocks under my hands might as well have been knives stabbing up at me, though my skin didn't tear.

It was too much.

Footsteps came closer, moving at a leisurely pace. My hands covered my ear from how loud it was, but doing that only made me more aware of the slow beat of my heart. It was too slow.

"You'll get used to it," a male voice told me. I turned towards the voice and squinted my eyes to focus on them. It was nearly blinding, but I didn't think it was daytime.

"What?" I asked, my voice was hoarse, raspy and low.

"Your senses. They improve, and since you were a dhampir, it's more shocking for you."

My breath caught.

Were a dhampir.

"You'll feel better after you've fed."

I squeezed my eyes closed, fingers curled around my ears, and my nails dug into my scalp. Slowly, so slowly, I ran the tip of my tongue across my teeth. A sound that was a combination of anguish and shock came from my throat.

I could feel the sharp tips where my canines were.

Fangs.

"Get up. We are going hunting."

A hand caught my wrist and tugged roughly. I fell forward on my hands and knees, staring down at the ground.

A sweet scent caught my attention, iron and sugar. There was a taint to it as if it was going bad, but it was still so enticing. Tentatively I brought my hand up to my face, it was covered in something crimson and wet.

There was a puddle of it. Each time I inhaled I felt my stomach clench in hunger and my fangs ached. I opened my mouth and felt them elongate. It felt wrong.

My eyes followed the puddle, looking for the source. I almost screamed.

It was a body. I couldn't tell who it was, their face slashed and mangled too much to recognise them, but they were a guardian. The liquid on my hand—the one that smelt so amazing—was blood.

I leapt to my feet and scurried back until my back hit the far wall, my hands grasping at the rocks. "What the fuck? No… no…" I shook my head, desperately trying to ignore the conclusion my mind was giving me.

I didn't want to believe it. This couldn't be real.

"Hey! Get your shit together. We are leaving!" the man yelled at me. When I looked at him again I could focus, and I saw the red rings in his eyes. "God, Nathan always chooses the weird ones," he grumbled. "Get the fuck out of the cave!"

His hand swiped out at me, trying to grab the collar of my shirt but I ducked. With a speed I never used to have, I ran around him and out the mouth of the cave. I was so close to it when they grabbed me. I remembered seeing the fading sunlight as my eyes closed.

If I thought it was overwhelming in the cave, nothing could have prepared me for outside. The sounds of animals and the wind moving through the foliage. I could hear other voices, the man from before cursing about fresh turns.

I didn't know where to go, but I didn't want to be around him, so I ran. I moved too fast, stumbling because I was unable to take in what was in front of me before I hit it. I wasn't sure how far I had run, but I couldn't hear them anymore, so I stopped and clutched at the tree before me.

I kept gasping for air, but it didn't feel like I was taking any in. It was like my body needed it, there was no constricting feeling that I was used to after running. My legs didn't even hurt. Taking a moment to think, I looked around the forest. It was so clear, and I could see far in the distance. When I looked up I didn't see a bright blue sky or the sun. There were stars.

I shouldn't be able to see like that during the night.

It had to be a mistake. Maybe it was another side effect of being bonded to Lissa. It had to be because of spirit.

I recognised the part of the forest I was in, not far from the academy walls. Surely, someone there would be able to help me. If it was due to the bond, Lissa might have felt the effects as well. It took a second to get my bearings before I took off in the right direction. My eyes adjusted, and my body became used to the new speed as I ran.

It took less time than I thought it would to reach the edge of the wards. I could squint and see the cabin through the trees, the flicker of a flame visible from the windows. There was someone in there. Maybe they could help me.

I took two steps forward, my hand stretched out. I felt the sparks of magic in the air before it shot right through me. Like a live wire was held to my hand, the pain made me cry out, and I was thrown from the force of it. I landed on my back, hand clutched against my chest as I shook from the pain.

The wards.

The wards that protected the school. There was only one thing they kept out.

I couldn't deny it to myself any longer.

Fangs, enhanced senses, the hunger—and now this.

My worst fear had come true.

I was a Strigoi.