The hospital corridor smelled like disinfectant and broken dreams. Daniel's footsteps echoed against the polished floors as he approached Emma's room, Selene walking silently beside him. Through the small window in the door, he could see his sister lying in the bed, her once vibrant brown hair now thin and brittle from chemotherapy.
"Big brother!" Emma's voice was weak but filled with joy as Daniel pushed open the door. Her face lit up despite the pale complexion and dark circles under her eyes.
"Hey, Em." Daniel's voice cracked as he rushed to her bedside, taking her fragile hand in his. She felt so small, so breakable.
Dr. Harrison, a middle-aged man with kind eyes and tired shoulders, looked up from Emma's chart. "Daniel, I'm glad you're here. I was just explaining to Emma about the new treatment options we've been discussing."
Selene stepped into the room, and Daniel noticed how she seemed to blend into the background, unremarkable until you really looked at her.
"Excuse me, Doctor," Selene said quietly, "would it be possible to have a few minutes alone with Emma? Family time, you understand."
Dr. Harrison looked between them, then nodded. "Of course. I'll be at the nurses' station if you need anything."
As the door closed behind him, Emma's curious gaze fixed on Selene. "Danny, who is she?"
"I'm a friend," Selene said simply, moving closer to the bed. "Someone who wants to help."
"Help how?" Emma asked, though her eyelids were already growing heavy.
"Just rest for now," Selene said softly, placing her hand gently on Emma's forehead. "When you wake up, things will be different."
Emma's eyes fluttered closed, her breathing deepening into natural sleep.
Daniel watched in amazement. "How did you do that?"
"There are many things you don't understand yet." Selene reached into her purse and pulled out the same ornate knife from before. "This might be hard to watch, but it's necessary."
Before Daniel could react, she made a small cut on Emma's palm. A few drops of blood welled up, and Daniel's world exploded into chaos.
The scent hit him like a physical blow. Sweet, metallic, overwhelming. His vision sharpened to an impossible degree, and something was happening in his mouth. Something sharp was pushing through his gums.
"What the hell..." Daniel lunged forward, but what came out of his mouth wasn't words. It was a hiss, revealing two gleaming fangs.
The hunger was immediate and consuming. His sister's blood called to him like nothing he'd ever experienced. He could hear her heartbeat, slow and steady, could smell the life flowing through her veins.
"No." Selene caught his wrist, her grip surprisingly strong. "Not her. Never her."
"I can't... I can't control it," Daniel gasped, fighting against the urge. "What did you do to me?"
"What I promised. You're stronger now. But you need to learn control." Her voice was calm, steady. "Focus on my voice. This is Emma. Your sister. The one you're trying to save."
Daniel's breathing slowly returned to normal, though the fangs remained. "You made me into a monster."
"I made you into something that can protect the people you love." Selene moved back to Emma's bedside. "And now I'm going to save her."
"Wait," Daniel said, panic creeping into his voice. "What exactly are you going to do to her?"
"I'm going to heal her." Selene made a small cut on her own palm, letting the blood well up. "My blood will destroy the cancer completely."
"But will she become like me? Will she become a vampire?"
"No." Selene's voice was firm. "She won't change. My blood only transforms when it's part of a binding ritual, like what we did. For Emma, it will simply cure her."
Daniel watched, torn between hope and terror, as Selene let her blood drip into Emma's small cut. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Emma's body began to change.
The transformation was slow but unmistakable. The sickly pallor that had haunted her for months began to fade, replaced by a healthy pink flush. Her breathing, which had been shallow and labored, deepened and strengthened. Even her hair seemed to gain some of its lost luster.
"My God," Daniel whispered, tears streaming down his face. "She's actually getting better."
"The cancer cells are dying as we speak," Selene said, wiping her hand clean. "By morning, there won't be a trace of the disease left in her body."
"But she won't remember this? She won't know what you did?"
"She'll remember feeling tired and going to sleep. When she wakes up, the doctors will run tests and discover that somehow, miraculously, she's been cured." Selene smiled slightly. "They'll call it spontaneous remission. A medical miracle."
Daniel stared at his sister's peaceful face, hardly daring to believe it was real. "And you're sure she won't become like us?"
"I'm sure. The blood binding we performed was different. It required your consent, your willingness to transform. Emma is simply being healed, nothing more."
Daniel stared at his sister's peaceful face. "What happens now?"
"Now we settle some unfinished business." Selene's expression hardened. "Marcus needs to understand that actions have consequences."
"You want me to kill him."
"I want you to be what you are. What you chose to become." She moved to the window, looking out at the city lights. "He had the power to save Emma and chose cruelty instead. Now you have the power to make sure he never does that to anyone else."
Daniel felt the truth of her words settle in his bones. "How do we find him?"
"Men like Marcus are creatures of habit. Same restaurants, same bars, same parking garage." Selene turned back to him with a slight smile. "Besides, I've been watching him for longer than you think."
***
The parking garage was dimly lit, filled with shadows that seemed to welcome them. Marcus Chen stumbled slightly as he made his way to his BMW, the effects of too many drinks with his executive friends still clouding his judgment.
Daniel could hear Marcus's heartbeat from fifty feet away. Slow, steady, completely unaware of the danger approaching. The sound was hypnotic.
"He looks so small now," Selene observed quietly. "Funny how that works."
They emerged from the shadows. Marcus looked up, his alcohol-addled brain taking a moment to process what he was seeing.
"Daniel? What are you doing here?" Marcus's voice was slurred, confused. "And why are your teeth..."
The realization hit him like a physical blow. The fangs, the predatory stance, the way Daniel moved with inhuman grace. Marcus sobered instantly, terror flooding his system.
"Please," Marcus whispered, backing against his car. "Please, I'm sorry. I'll give you the money. I'll give you anything."
"Now you're begging," Daniel said, his voice completely different from the broken man who'd sat in Marcus's office hours earlier. "Interesting how quickly things change."
"I have a family," Marcus pleaded. "Kids. Please."
"So did I." Daniel's voice was ice cold. "And you called her a sob story."
What followed was brutal and efficient. Marcus's screams echoed through the garage until they were suddenly cut short. When it was over, Daniel stood over the body, blood staining his shirt, feeling more alive than he had in years.
"Better?" Selene asked, appearing beside him.
"Much." Daniel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Is this what it's always like?"
"The hunger gets easier to manage. But the satisfaction? That never goes away."
Daniel looked down at Marcus's lifeless form, feeling no remorse. Only justice.
"Anyone you want to say goodbye to before we leave?" Selene asked.
Daniel thought of Jake, his friend who'd tried so hard to help him. "My friend Jake. He deserves to know I'm okay."
"Then we'll find him," Selene said, taking his hand. "But after that, we leave this world behind."
As they walked away from the garage, Daniel felt the weight of his old life lifting from his shoulders. Emma would live, Marcus would never hurt anyone again, and he had found something he'd never expected.
A partner who understood what it meant to have power and use it.