He had grown adept at sensing the precise moment the hypodermic needle plunged in the hollow of her arm and began sucking out warm, sweet Hellsing blood. Alucard squirmed with gratification, telepathically observing his master's blood being drawn out of her veins. "Mmm. Won't you join me for dinner for once?"

"I'd rather not watch you guzzle down my blood while I eat, thank you," Integra thought to her servant. She shifted uncomfortably on her bed. She was careful not to disturb her IV. The practitioner sitting beside her had no idea that she was carrying on a conversation with a vampire who dozed three floors below them.

Alucard smiled at his absent master. "Actually, I was thinking more about doing it the old fashion way."

"You can take the old fashion way and shove it."

"But I like it." He sighed. "You'd be surprised how much more appreciative I'd be if you'd take in to consideration my...experience. Besides, it's a bond. Shouldn't we be a little closer?"

The nurse withdrew the needle. "Should I have this iced and stored with the rest?" he asked the knight.

"No!" Alucard roared inside his coffin, the feigned innocence vanished faster then a drop of water on a sizzling frying pan. "I want it while it's still hot! Have them bring it to me!"

Sir Integra muttered "Child." She sat up slowly and rolled her sleeve back down. The vampire's desperation irritated her. Alucard could be a true cold blooded monster, unknowable as he was evil, and then turn around and throw the most petty temper tantrums over the most preposterous bullshit.

Playing master was easy. Playing mommy was hard.

"Please give it to Walter on your way out the door, he'll take care of it."

--

A few minutes later, the vampire was standing at the top of the sub-level stairs, waiting impatiently for Walter.

Alucard waited for this moment all year. This would be the 11th time he would receive a medical bag full of warm, virginal, noble, female Hellsing blood.

He had never been able to formulate an intelligent plan of action to make this highly anticipated pleasure last. All he could do was ravenously gulp and suck. Always, it only lasted a second before it was gone. And even though he mentally reminded himself that this time he was going to drink slowly and savor every drop, he was trembling with expectancy. There would be no self-control this time or any other time. He was a slave.

Walter carried the blood bag neatly on a tray. "Sir Integra has already left with the driver, as you probably know, and she'll return promptly on Monday morning—when you're no longer likely to be a distraction."

"Who, me?" But even as Alucard said it, his voice sank into a resonant growl. Walter's chit-chat was getting in the way of his dinner.

Finally meeting Alucard, Walter presented the blood by extending the tray towards him, making a point to stay as far away from the ravenous vampire as possible without being self-conscious. No matter how many times this exchange occurred, this never stopped being awkward. Even though Alucard would be feeding on Sir Integra's blood without any harm to Integra, it made Walter's skin crawl. "Enjoy, sir."

Alucard wanted to snatch up the bag and quickly make his escape, but finally confronted with it, he handled it gingerly, as if it would burst if he handled it too roughly. Holding it with two hands, he turned and walked back down the stairs, shutting the heavily bolted door behind him for privacy.

--

A little distance outside London, the Rolls Royce cruised down the highway.

Light rain pelted on the windshield. Outside, the black tress rustled against the cloudy, gray sky. The street lamps generated halos. Even as the Rolls Royce was putting miles between herself and the Hellsing mansion, Sir Integra felt she was still trapped inside, felt Alucard's dead breath against the back of her neck.

Integra kept her hand clasped firmly over her bandaged arm. It tingled.

She tried to put it from her mind and focus on her vacation. The weekend would be spent at a private home where she could rest after giving so much blood. It was customary. If she stayed at home, she would be tempted to work and that would ultimately cause her to collapse.

It wasn't enough that Alucard had to be fed her blood year after year. In fact, she had discovered the best way to keep him sated was to mix a trace amount of her blood in with every pint that Alucard, and now Seres, drank. This meant that Alucard wasn't a mess by the end of each year, skulking about and causing mischief because he was slowly slipping from her control. Of course, he still became a little wild, a little more daring. And this year, especially, he'd been worse than usual. Because Integra had had a complete blood transfusion due to the vampire attack all those months ago, she had to put off giving her annual feed.

Alucard had been beside himself. But now, all of that would be over, or at least it would be by the time she went home.

--

There was no door to Alucard's resting chamber--it had been bricked up. In this way, only Alucard could reach it, and thus avoid the possibility of someone discovering his coffin as he slept. He had few fears, and none that he would ever admit. But in his coffin, he was vulnerable.

It was a tiny room, much smaller then Seres's room, without any light source and with no furniture except his coffin. The coffin itself was actually inside an elevated stone vault, which contained the necessary soil from his homeland.

This was his home. No one could ever disturb him here, not his enemies and not even his master. It wasn't exactly a secret place, however.

He had brought Integra here once, against her will. She was still very small then and she hadn't been his master for very long. He couldn't exactly remember the circumstances, but he had needed to hide her somewhere during battle, and he needed to put her where she couldn't run into trouble. And he trusted she would look for trouble, proud master that she was.

He smiled a bit, caressing the bag. She was furious when he left her.

The most rewarding part, though, was going back for her after the fighting was done and seeing how frazzled she was. She thought he would leave her in the stone prison with no way out, as her father had left him imprisoned. The mix of emotions on her face when he returned—relief mostly, but also a little fear at realizing she was still trapped with him, and then happiness because she at least wasn't alone anymore—he still carried that image in his mind.

She'd fumbled around in the pitch black for a while as he watched and enjoyed his own ability to see and her ability to trip and fall down and look appropriately embarrassed. "Can you see me?" she asked sheepishly.

"Yes," he replied, leaning against the wall and making no move to make his exact position known.

She heaved a frustrated sigh, holding her hands out and taking little swipes at the air until her fingers touched cold rock. She pressed her body against the wall, facing him without knowing, and closed her useless eyes. "If you're here, I suppose it's all over up there."

"I had enough. There wasn't anything left that amused me. So, how do you like my little home?"

"Get me out of here already, Alucard." Integra spun around, aiming her voice in every direction. She flopped back against the stone wall, titled her chin up and looked despairingly at the ceiling and waited impatiently for Alucard to reply. He didn't, to spite her. She stomped her foot.

Alucard's head cocked slightly, like a curious dog. Oh, now she sounded like she was on the verge of breaking down. Should be fun. Just to see how she'd react, he hesitated.

She snapped. "ALUCARD!? What are you waiting for? I need to get out of here! I need to be out there! I need to fix this mess!"

As usual, Alucard didn't have to do anything to cause his master's tantrum, but of course in her mind he was cause of the whole catastrophe. Hmph, some catastrophe. A dozen or less dead guards. That was nothing. If only Alucard could begin to give his new master an idea of the armies of undead he'd mowed down for sport, the countless humans and ghouls crushed under his boot. Alucard smiled affectionately at the little girl running in circles before him. Over a couple humans. He couldn't suppress his laughter.

The laughter finally gave away his position some and Integra whirled to face the direction of his voice. "What the hell is so funny?!"

"You're just…" Alucard pinched his sinuses to keep the glee-tears at bay.

Integra was frazzled. "How dare you patronize me at a time like this?"

"Again!" Alucard wiped away an escaping, bloody tear. "You'll see in time this is nothing. Just a fraction of a night's work." He sighed, recomposing himself. "You'll get used to it."

Apparently, Integra decided to give up on controlling Alucard for a moment. "Did anyone die?" she asked, surrendering.

"A lot of people," he told her proudly. So many of those deaths had been due to his masterful touch.

"I see." Poor thing sounded so tired. She stepped away from the wall, her arms wrapped around her body. Alucard paid close attention to how her hair spilled over her shoulders and hid her shamed face. As Integra crossed the room, she met the vault at the other side. She placed her hands on the lid. "I was wondering what this was before. It's you're coffin, isn't it?"

Alucard stood up straight. His mood plummeted, his smile vanished. "It's inside." He didn't like anyone poking around inside his coffin.

"Can I see?" she asked, curiously lifting the vault lid to expose the coffin inside.

"Well, you can't see much of anything, can you?" He went to her and put his hands around her wrists. The sudden and unexpected contact made Integra jump. Alucard lifted her hands off the vault. "I don't like anyone touching it."

She had found his glowing red eyes and stared at them. "What's wrong?"

"It's mine!" he shouted at her, causing her to recoil. He arched over her, glaring down at his little master. "Don't touch it! Don't ever touch it!" His hands were curled into claws, and his teeth were clamped tightly together and it was he could do to keep himself from snarling. He turned around and placed his gloved hands protectively against the polished wooden lid of his coffin, smoothing his finger tips against the smooth surface to remove Integra's dirty finger prints.

A whole minute passed without either of them moving or saying anything.

Then Integra stepped forward and slammed her fist down on the coffin lid with a resounding "crack!"

Alucard jumped.

Then he looked at his master's face.

Integra was staring defiantly at the coffin, and the hairline crack that had formed on the surface.

"I want to hit you," she said in a low, boiling voice, "but I thought you deserved this more." Her eyes met his. "You can spin me in circles all you want. You can make fun of me for having compassion for the fallen soldiers who looked to me for direction when I wasn't there." There were tears in her eyes, but they were frozen in her icy glare and would not fall. "But I'll get you back for everything. Don't ever yell at me like that again."

Another minute passed and neither vampire nor little girl moved or glanced in another direction.

Alucard's blood was on fire, his skin was crawling with hellhounds eager to rip a certain child's throat. But then…this was good. Standing before him was the true master he served; angry, dominating, without a trace of fear. This was the master he served, not that sniveling child she had been a moment ago. And by her expression, and by the smug smile growing on her face, she knew exactly what she had done.

From that day forward, there was no question who was the stronger person between them. Alucard grudgingly accepted his place, and although he frequently tested his bindings, Integra was always quick to shorten the leash. It was the first time Alucard had ever felt enslaved. He had served Hellsing for two generations before her, but no master until Integra made him feel so trapped.

That had been so long ago. Had Alucard been wiser, and he secretly admitted to himself he was not half as clever or self-disciplined as humans gave him credit for, he might have seized the opportunity at that moment to make his fiery little master his servant and concubine. It was only later Alucard realized how stupidly he had acted in the basement, to have tormented her rather than seduce her. He could have kept her there a little while. She was still a little frightened enough and a little too excited to see him…he could have convinced her to drink his blood then. But he had been oblivious to the opportunity and it slipped by. Better that it did, or she wouldn't have grown up. She would make a much better vampire now, anyways. However, after all the years, she had grown cold and bitter. She'd never allow herself to be so vulnerable around him again, not like the way she did when she was a child.

Now the closest he might ever be to that sweet taste again was a warm, not even hot, medical bag full of Integra's blood.

Alucard pressed the little blood bag against his chest. He had relaxed into nostalgia, remembering how cute and foolish his master had once been. It shamelessly excited him.

Touching the bag, he could feel the heat sapping, but it was still warm. Heat leeched through his clothing, making the rest of the room that much colder. He dipped his face and pressed his mouth against the plastic. He couldn't smell the blood through the plastic the way he could smell blood through flesh, but he could pretend.

Here, and only here, in his doorless resting chamber, he could pretend he had a live victim subdued in his embrace, and with no one watching, who would know?

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I first published this story to back in 2005/2006. I uploaded 7 chapters, and then it remained unfinished after writing myself into a corner. Actually, I didn't really write myself into a corner as much as I wrote an outrageously smutastic ending, but at the time I believe adult content wasn't allowed on . So rather than dumb it down with an unsatisfying ending, just to make it pg, I just left it unfinished.

Honestly, I don't know if that rule has changed, but since then an "M" rating had been added, so I can only assume mature content is kosher now. If not, I'll post all that I can and post the last chapter on adultfanfiction, if need be. There simply isn't enough hot Hellsing smutfics out there to let this one slide.

I've kept this ficlit saved on my hard drive all these years and occasionally find it and re-read it, and think, "I really need to post this sometime." And so, I've corrected a lot of grammatical errors (tell me again, what's the difference between "than" and "then"? I only have a masters degree, is it really that important?) and made some small changes based on the reviews I received and I am going to now re-post it in its entirety, complete with ending, which I will do over the course of the next week or so.

I also lengthened the chapters to make the story more compact. I thought before the chapters were too short and it was distracting to click on a new chapter every scene. So this will probably be 4 to 5 chapters when completed.