Monsters and Angels

Chapter Fourteen

The sun sank behind the buildings in London, beginning it's descent into the sea. Integra slowly came awake. It was dark. She must have woken earlier than usual she supposed. She tried to sit up but found she couldn't move.

Something heavy was on her. She reached down to her waist to find what it was. Her fingers came in contact with flesh. Cool flesh. An arm. She felt him shift beside her. She rolled over to glare at him, surprised to find that she could clearly see him. "What is the meaning of this Alucard?" she demanded.

He reached up and lightly pressed against his mark. She winced. What the bloody hell? She lifted her hand to cover the mark and knew at once what it was. Alucard smiled at her from the pillow, "It was your choice Integra" he reminded her.

It all came back to her in a blinding flash. The ball, Montgomery, dying. The Pain. Her eyes locked with his, a scant inch from her own on the fluff of the pillow. She licked suddenly dry lips and he watched the action entranced.

"I'm like you now aren't I?" she asked softly.

He nodded, "Not as strong but yes like me".

She closed her eyes absorbing his words. All that those words meant to her now. Her eyes opened again and fixed on him with a sad unease.

"I have no control over you now do I?" she asked. He heard the pained inflection in her voice.

"No" he said simply. It was perhaps better to be honest and let her handle things as she wished to.

"They are dead?" she asked. Beside her he made a noise to confirm it.

Integra was silent for a long time. Finally, she spoke and Alucard smiled into the darkness.

"I am not like Seras". It was not a question, but a statement.

He agreed, "You are different from her, yes".

She grunted beside him.

"I am not your servant Alucard," she said then, almost frostily, "You will never be my master".

His deep chuckle filled the space around them, "Not my servant Integra, no" he assured her, "You are far more than that".

She flinched slightly when his arms around her tightened and pulled her against his chest. Her eyes narrowed, "And just what is that you think I am?" she demanded.

He smiled softly then, brushed his nose against hers. "I KNOW that you are mine. My mate, from the moment we met" he told her simply.

She gasped in outrage as his lips closed over hers. She shoved against him, but he did not relent, his lips brushing over hers, his tongue sliding to tease against hers and despite her best efforts she moaned for him.

He broke the kiss with a nip to her lip. "Impressive set of fangs you've grown Sir Hellsing" he mocked. Thrilled to his very core that she was no longer human, oh the things he would teach her. The things she would give him. The things he would do with her, to her!

Integra ran her tongue over her teeth. They were quite sharp, "All the better to bite off your tongue if you do that again" she snapped.

She tried to sit up but he pulled her down, "You will only crack that hard head of yours. Just a moment" he said, exasperated by her outburst.

When the top began to lift she stiffened, "Alucard, where are we?" she demanded.

He smiled at her lazily, "Well I do believe that we are cozily ensconced in my bed. You slept for a quite a long time. You must be starving". She hadn't thought about it, but she was.

She grimaced, "I will not eat people!" she told him firmly.

His laughter was rich and dark like sweetened coffee, "Oh no love, you will devour them, there is a huge difference" he assured her.

The bed was fully open now and Integra leapt from it with new speed. She spun to face him.

"I am not like you Alucard, I will not kill human beings". She sounded so certain of that.

He shrugged, "In time Integra the hunger overpowers us all. You can resist it if that will make you feel better, but don't blame me when you eat half the staff in a bloodlust one night" he told her plainly.

"I am not your mate. I should have died, why did you listen? Why didn't you walk away!?" she shouted at him. He turned to face her, anger bubbling just below the surface. In two steps he'd crossed the room to grasp her arms.

"This was your choice and you were free to make it. Don't try and lay the pressures of unlife that you fear on me. I don't give a damn. Eat willingly or be force fed like a pitiful brat, but you will eat. Do not presume to tell me who you belong to little one!"

Integra could not recall when he'd spoken to her like this. She scowled at him, shrugged him from her person.

"Know your place!" she commanded. He threw his head back and laughed out loud, a second before he pinned her to the bed beneath his body.

"I know my place Integra, although you seem to be a little confused about things. I am the one who made you, I AM your master, and I AM your MATE. Eternity is a long and lonely road Integra, one that you don't want to walk alone. Do not think that things are the same, I still serve this house but I have no master anymore" he snarled his reply against her jaw.

Integra was tense in his arms. Suddenly she laughed at him and he lifted himself to stare at her. Her red eyes locked on him, her bright fangs gleaming in the lamp light.

"You are so overbearing Alucard" she commented dryly, shoving away from him and rolling from the bed. "You are a complete fool to think that I can be dominated in such a way. Get dressed we have work to do".

He watched her with proud eyes, his princess of ice. Not much longer before he set her aflame. He smirked at her as he pinned her to the wall, staring down at her disgruntled expression.

"I do not have to dominate you like that no, true Integra, but admit it.... that's what you want" he purred into her ear, pressing a long licking kiss to the bite he'd left.

Integra shivered against him. How dare he presume such things? How dare he be correct. She decided two could play that game. Leaning up, she nipped his lower lip with her sharp fangs and slowly licked the blood away.

"Just remember, you are dealing with a Hellsing" she reminded him and then opened the door and stepped into the hall. He licked the taste of her from his mouth, "A deliciously undead Hellsing" he taunted.

Integra stormed up to her room, muttering colorful phrases about Alucard all the way. Walter was in her office, tapping away at the keyboard, when she arrived there, dressed as usual.

"Interesting reading Walter?" she asked. His eyes flew to her face.

She was the same, except for her eyes. No madness, no hunger, just swirling crimson eyes.

"How are you feeling Sir?" he asked.

She nodded and sat down beside him, "I had a hell of a night Walter. I'm sure you are aware." she replied, taking over the reading of reports.

He nodded, "Shall I get you something?" he asked. She pondered for a moment, "I want a huge cup of coffee and the fattest cigar in the house. Hmmm, wonder if I can still have those?"

"Yes you can still have those, solid foods will make you ill though. Walter make sure to bring a blood pack, maybe two." Alucard called from the doorway. She glared at him, but Walter was already seeing it done. Alucard loomed over her desk.

"You walked all the way to your rooms?" he asked.

"How else should I have gotten there?" she snapped.

"Sifted. Materialize, hell fog! Anything but walk!" he snapped right back.

She met his hot gaze with a cold one of her own, "DO you mind? I have been dead for less than twenty four hours".

He growled at her and sank into a chair across the desk from her.

He stared at her and she continued to pretend to work. Finally, she gave up and looked at him. "What is it?" she asked.

He glared at her, "No one knows what happened to you".

She nodded, "Yes I am aware of that, which is why I am working, so no one does. We have to pretend that everything is normal until I can figure something out".

"Walter and I have already been working on that" he informed her.

She nodded, "Good, excellent. Where are my glasses?" she asked absently.

He cocked his head at her and laughed, "Integra," he said softly and she peered up at him in question, "You don't need your glasses anymore."

She'd forgotten that but she'd be damned if she admitted it. "Of course not, but others don't know that. I need those glasses and I need a pair of contacts to cover the color of my eyes".

Alucard smirked, "Clever kitten".

Walter strode into the room, balancing a tray will the requested coffee and cigar and three blood packs. He turned a pointed gaze on Alucard, "If you want seconds you can get it yourself" he said coolly.

Integra pushed the blood away with her pencil. She attacked her coffee with enthusiasm however. Alucard idly bit into one pack, draining it as he watched her. Cold medical blood, she'd not like it. He knew. He barely tolerated it himself. Fresh was always better.

She watched him toss the bag into the wastebasket.

"Isn't that disgusting?" she asked.

He smiled, "Yes. It's better warm and fresh from the artery. Care to try?"

She frowned and sniffed in disdain, "I'll pass, thank you very much".

He propped his boots on the edge of her desk, "I am not going to have to spoon feed you as well am I? I have terrible luck getting female fledglings to eat. Except for Erzebet, hungarian noblewoman... she was an eater".


Integra groaned, "Spare me your trips down memory lane Alucard, we have work to do and since I am no longer human the duties have increased exponentially". He nodded, a smirk still gracing his face. She tossed a stack of reports to him and he read through them.

"These are unimportant," he announced setting them aside. She looked at him in question, lighting her cigar and puffing away.

"How so?" she asked.

He gave her a patient look, "Integra, we have to track who was behind Montgomery. It was obviously a very old vampire, for he was much stronger than most newborns".

She thought about that bit of information. The stronger the sire the stronger the childe, ah, she remembered now.

"And you are the strongest, which means I am not weak myself". She seemed quite pleased with that deduction. "There are few original vampires like you anymore, chances are you know his maker".

Alucard nodded. He had no qualms killing his own, that was clear but there were a few of the older ones that he did have fond memories of. Fond memories often kept one vampire from killing another. He wondered who it might be. Obviously not Helena, she was already dead, more was the pity. She might have known.