𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺.

Twenty eight.

Akira walked out of the bathroom and into the main dorm room, her eyes meeting the girls' as she smiled softly. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Both Rowan and Renetta returned the smile, their expressions bright with reassurance. "Everything's fine," Rowan said, her voice warm. "We got you a few things to help with the transition. Here are some blood bags for you. And these sheets will help keep you warm since you'll be extra cold during this change." She placed the items on the bed before continuing, "We'll also be pulling the blinds down. You'll need to stay out of the sun for now unless you get a piece of protection jewelry from a witch, like Renetta's friend. I'm sure she can help with that."

Renetta nodded, her eyes twinkling with understanding. "Yes, I'll talk to her soon. She'll know when I'm about to call. We'll get something set up for you." She paused, her gaze softening. "How are you feeling?"

Akira let out a deep sigh, looking down at her hands as if searching for the right words. "Much better than when I was human," she said slowly. "But I can't help but wonder... if I feed on real humans, would it feel different? Would I be stronger than just drinking from blood bags?"

Rowan's smile faded slightly, her tone turning serious. "It's natural to feel those urges, Akira, but you shouldn't ever feed on humans. We were told it's a dangerous path. Not just for you, but for them too. You can't let them know about us. It's too risky." She glanced at Renetta, seeking her confirmation. "The blood bags should be enough for now."

Renetta's eyes darkened a bit, her voice quiet but firm. "Her urges are getting stronger, Rowan."

"Yes I can see that.." Rowan said sighing.

Akira stared at them. " you said it was OK for me to feel this way and if it's OK for me to feel this way and express what I want to do why can't I actually do that?"

Rowan looked at Akira. " because humans shouldn't be food for vampires. The common rule is to never feed on any living humans. The right and appropriate way is to always drink out of blood bags. Otherwise people will start to find out about us if humans go missing. We can't have any of that happen. Okay Akira? We're just trying to let you know what's best for you and you should never give to your urges. This is going to happen for a little bit. You'll have to know that you just have to keep up with it.."

Akila couldn't understand why Rowan was so hesitant on her feeding on humans . She felt like it was something she needed to do as a vampire. She couldn't understand why it was so wrong if this was the way she was made to live.

Maybe she didn't want to listen to anyone's orders anymore. Ever since she became this way, she felt like people always boss her around or try to tell her what's best for her when she didn't care about all of that. This was a new part of her that she's been experiencing but she wanted to feel the full effect. She wanted to feel all of it.

" look I'm sorry, Rowan, but I don't need you to continue acting like you're my mother or something and I don't need your help either Renetta. I don't need the other guys either. I'm so sick and tired of everyone thinking that they can boss me around and tell me what to do all the time." Akira then stormed out whooshing away going far from them.

Rowan stood frozen for a moment, her hand still holding the blood bags, her eyes wide in shock at Akira's outburst. Renetta, too, was silent for a heartbeat, but then her gaze shifted to Rowan, her expression softening.

"I should've known this was coming," Renetta murmured, her voice almost regretful. "She's still struggling with the changes. She doesn't understand why we're doing this. I get it."

Rowan shook her head, a tightness in her chest. "She doesn't get it, Renetta. Not yet." She sighed, looking down at her hands. "I know we're trying to protect her, but... I can't help but feel like we're suffocating her. She's in pain, and we're just trying to hold her back."