Sloane…11 The final chapter.

Sloane jerked awake.  And while the light in the room was quite dim, it hurt her eyes, so she closed them.

“I’m right here,” whispered Miles, patting her hand.  “You’re safe.”

Safe from what, she wondered.  “Where’s Devin?” she asked.

“You did extremely well,”  said Miles.  “Everything went smoothly.”

“Devin?”

“Here,” Devin said, moving next to her.

Her hand shot out, she grabbed his arm, bit into his wrist, and started drinking.  Devin moaned with pleasure, and went to his knees.

Miles screamed at Sloane to stop, as he wrestled Devin away from her.

“She could have killed you,” said Miles, glaring at Devin, as he lay sprawled on the floor, smiling.

“Is there anything to drink?” asked Sloane, sitting up.  “I can see the tiny lines around your eyes Miles, and look at my hands,” she said, turning them back and forth.

“Marie,” sighed Miles.  “Get him out of here, will you?”

“Of course, sir,” she said, dragging Devin out of the room by his arm.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good,” said Sloane.

“Listen to me,” said Miles.  “It’s only been a matter of hours.  You’ve done exceptionally well, other than attacking Devin, and…”

“I didn’t attack Devin, I just wanted to see what he tasted like.  I could have stopped anytime I wanted to.  By the way, he tastes rather delicious.”

Miles put his face into his hands.  “How do I get myself into these things,” he mumbled.

“I never realized how terrible human hearing was,” she said.  “But then how could I?  I never had anything to compare it to.”

“All of your senses will be much sharper.  You have to be careful, until you get used to your new strength. You’re stronger than you realize.”

“I wish you would have turned me sooner.  All that time I wasted being human.  It was like living with a heavy blanket thrown over me.  Is there anyone to drink.”

“You’re not drinking anyone, but you can have this,” he said, handing her a glass.  She downed it in one and ran her hand across her mouth.  “Thank you, Miles.  That was good.”

“You can’t bite people, Sloane.  You can’t bite Devin.  But you were right.  Devin’s much better, now that you’re no longer human. But, of course, now you’ve bitten him, so we begin again.”

“I feel as if I can do anything,” she said, standing up.  “I think I’m ready to go back to work.”

“You’re not ready to go back to work,” he said.  “You agreed to my terms, with regard to turning you.  You said you would do exactly what I told you to do.”

“Yes.  I did say that.”

“Your word is your bond.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” she asked, frowning.  “What is my bond?   And, is there more juice?”

“It’s not juice, it’s blood,” said Miles.  “Although Marie may have added a little juice, she does that sometimes.”

“May I have more, please.”

“Sloane,” he said, handing her another glass, “while it is no longer necessary for you to breath,  you need to pretend to breath.  Humans can tell when someone isn’t breathing and they might try to kill you.”

“Okay.  I’ll keep breathing.”

“You have to continue doing all the little things you did when you were human.  Do you understand?  You have to pretend to be human.  When you pretend long enough, it will become second nature.”

“I think I know how to expand your empire.  I can help you,” she said, smiling at him.  “And I was human a few hours ago, I know how to pass.”

“I appreciate you offer to expand my business, you won’t be helping anyone do anything for awhile.  You need to learn how to control your powers and desires.  It’s easy to forget to breath, when you don’t have to.”

“I desire more blood from Devin,” she said.  “But I know, even though he’d give it to me, I would never take it.  It wouldn’t be fair.”

“It wouldn’t be right.”

“Either way, you don’t have to worry about me doing that again.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you want to play a game of chess?”

“I’d love to,” he said, setting up the board.

“You do realize that now, I am stronger than most of the people you know.”

“Yes, Sloane.  I do realize that.”

“I would like to impress upon you once again, that even though I am stronger than you are, I would never harm you in anyway.  I am grateful for all you have given to me and I will always be here to protect you and your interests.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded, and moved her rook.

****

One week later they were sitting at the table, having dinner.

“This is the first time I don’t have a plate of food in front of me, when we’re at the table,” she said, smiling at Miles.

They clinked glasses.

“This is what I was always meant to be,” she said.  “You know that don’t you?”

“I do,” said Miles.  “I knew it from the start.”

“There is no gift I can give to someone who has everything, but you have my allegiance and gratitude.”

“There is no finer gift than that and I thank you.”

“I certainly put Devin through a lot,” she said, smiling.

“I think the duckling was a nice touch,” he laughed.  “I’m almost certain he actually likes it.”

“He does,” she agreed.

“I want you to know that in the far future, when I retire, or if anything happens to me, the papers have been signed that leaves everything to you.  All of my assets, everything, will be yours.  But I have also made sure that Devin and Marie would be taken care of for the rest of their lives.”

“As it should be.  We are a family, after all.”

“I trust you, Sloane.  Don’t ever let me down,” he said, seriously.

“You have my word,” she said.

 

And they all lived happily ever after.   Sort of.

 

AI generated art from:  Pixabay