Hey everyone, THANK YOU for the lovely reviews -hugs- thank you blackcat711, Nitrogen920, didem, Almathia, shippolove844, Leftalone, Le excited guest, starrat, vampireXgirl13X, Silvers Ashe, Darkangel Guard, Dontgotaclue88, animeninja48 and eve. I read all your reviews with a big smile on my face lol.

Thank you so much for adding my story onto your faves and alerts. As you may all know, the reason I write is for all of you so it makes me very happy to have received positive feedback. I hope this chapter makes everyone happy too. Thank you for showing interest in my story and writing. Many apologies however, to those who were looking forward in seeing a preggy Ruby because she is not. I thought long and hard and decided not to write a father!Alucard. I am really happy to have seen some familiar reviewers reading this fic though but many apologies that I have not been able to reply to everyone.

This story is still T-rated at the moment but there are things here that are quite typical/cliche for a Hellsing story and might make the rating go up. I'm also hoping everyone has read OMA by now so I will begin writing about the events of OMA and what-happened-next.

Monsters Among Us

It has been two months since the fall of Oracle and the disbandment of the Knights of the Black Flame. I have stayed in Hellsing since and have been assisting the infirmary and morgue, tending to the wounded or sickly and conducting embalmment's on behalf of the deceased whenever appropriate. Although Caelum, the leader of the Knights, had been a major threat to our operations, we had believed his demise would have caused at least a diminishing impact on vampiric activity. It seems this is not the case. Vampire-related incidents have continued to be on the rise and I am seeing more and more bloodshed as the days pass. I fear evil shall always lurk as long as vampires walk on this earth.

On the other hand, with regards to Alucard's mate and Fourth Bride, Ruby Ashcroft (for she has chosen to remain as such), I have issued an apology with concerns to misdiagnosis. It appears I had incorrectly and erroneously inspected her during one brief check-up whence Miss Ashcroft had complained of stomach cramps, and I had mistakenly informed her she was pregnant.

- Dr Jack Seward's Journal.

...

Ruby left the infirmary that day, utterly devastated.

She would never be able to have children.

Cheer up, it's not that bad, she had thought to herself, Technically, I'm dead anyway. Everything about me is dead. Of course I can't have children. In that case, I might end up like Caelum then, kidnapping babies and treating them as my own son or daughter and watching them grow up until they look fifty years older than me. Oh what joy.

It was the misdiagnosis that upsetted her. Dr Seward was a nice and polite gentleman, but to have made an assumption and then getting her hopes up, before telling her (and apologising to her) that he'd made a mistake...had really made her feel as though she'd lost yet another thing as well as her surrogate and real parents (as if those losses weren't enough; she was still in mourning). She trailed out of the infirmary and saw Alucard waiting patiently for her, seated upon a chair with his legs crossed and hands clasped, musing to himself in a clandestine manner, yet when Ruby approached he rose to stand upon her arrival.

"It's nothing," She said, trying to muster a thin smile, "The doctor said they were stomach cramps. They'll go away soon."

"I am concerned," stated the No-Life King, "I will have a word with Seward."

She placed her hand on his arm and shook her head thoroughly, "I'm fine, Alucard."

A slender raven eyebrow rose, but he did not question any further. Instead, he entwined Ruby's arm with his and together, they left the infirmary. "Shall we return to the basement?"

"Sure..." She mumbled.

He noticed how despondent she was but knew that should he question her, she would be evasive and refuse to answer him properly. Another time, perhaps. The two made their way to the basement they shared and Alucard manoeuvred the mirror out of its frame for her, exposing the entrance to the lair, which would also serve to house the draculina. He let her enter first then slipped inside after her. Once they'd arrived, Ruby stared at the long stretch of basement before her. No matter how many times she looked at it, she would tilt her head to the side and stare at the large, empty and dank expanse with a lopsided pout. Whilst Alucard would stride past her to claim his lonely throne, Ruby would always glance around, deep in thought.

"What is troubling you, my bride?" He asked, as he watched her waddle over to a cardboard box that had been dumped in a corner and pick out a multi-coloured feather duster. The cardboard box stuck out like a sore thumb in the basement, contrasting heavily with his archaic throne and the table. She'd packed various modern things in it including a small handheld vacuum cleaner and her music player.

She began dusting at one of the walls, smothering away cobwebs and whacking at spiders with the feathery stick. "I swear to god, this place gets dustier and dustier no matter how much I clean."

"Ruby, cease this behaviour and join me." He said; the next thing he knew she might start hoovering, and after a few seconds of menial dusting, she finally put away the wretched stick into the box where it rightfully belonged and plodded over to him, stopping by one of the armrests. Since there were no other places to sit, he had her sit in his lap. She sunk into his embrace for she had always been a fraction smaller than him and had always felt insignificant and tiny compared to him and he smirked as he moved her accordingly so she was straddling him, before lifting her arms and getting her to plant her hands on both shoulders. "What did Dr Seward say to you?"

"Nothing." She replied, before she glanced around and up and down the basement then settled her gaze on him again, "You look tired." She commented.

"Oh?"

She nodded as she gently placed her hands on both sides of his face, brushing away hair from his eyes before she made little circles over his hollow cheeks with her thumbs; she didn't want to tell him but she'd seen a few lines under his eyes, although she didn't think he'd be capable of aging. "Is it because of the fight with Caelum? Are you still recovering?"

"Not at all..." came his husky reply.

After a few more moments of silence following that, she let out a sigh. "...I don't think I can stay here, Alucard. I don't belong here. I don't belong in Hellsing. I don't belong with all the soldiers, the weapons, the expensive furniture, tapestries and suits of armours and all those other fancy things upstairs...I'm just not used to seeing it and being in an environment like this one."

"You will become accustomed in due time." He replied, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb over the back of her palm. Besides, wasn't his master's mansion what humans called a luxury?

She sighed gently yet again. "Alucard..." She began, smoothing down the shoulders of his duster for him, "I'm not like you. You've always been a...well, you were a Prince, a ruler of kingdoms and legions of many, many men...you had land and you commanded all these mighty troops and...Well, you're used to these things because it's you. It's what you've always known, you know: Fighting. War. Killing. I'm not saying that's not a good thing, but it's what you're used to. And you're good at it. You're so good at...uh...killing and destroying things." She said, cringing slightly at her own words as she moved away from his shoulders to focus on his cravat, running her hand up and down the flimsy ribbon ends, "But it's not what I'm used to or good at, so..."

Alucard shifted in his seat, leaning backwards to rest comfortably in his chair. "Ruby, I will not be able to protect you should you decide to leave. There are plenty of those who wish to harm you. What use will it be if my Queen is not by my side?"

She pursed her lips tightly in response, pouting, and he wanted to kiss those plump pink lips of hers, "I'll be okay, Alucard. I can take care of myself. You know that."

"As my bride wishes," He found himself unable to resist; she wasn't even trying hard to convince him at all; he realised he was beginning to spoil her and if this kept up she might start thinking she could get away with anything. Thus, he added, "I shall grant you permission to take up lodging in that pitiful excuse you call 'accommodation'. However, should anything occur then I will come to retrieve you and you will have no say whatsoever."

"Fair enough," She replied, and she manoeuvred herself so she was now sitting in his lap with her back to his chest; Alucard's arms slinked around her waist respectively with her new seating arrangement, "So, what now? Is there anything else to do here? Drink wine? Daydream? Sleep?"

Her answer came when Alucard suddenly began to kiss the side of her neck sensually and she shuddered inwardly. One hand had left her waist, his long fingers crawling up one side of her throat to tilt her head backwards so she could enjoy the feel of his lips claiming her skin. She closed her eyes as he swept her hair over one shoulder and tugged at the collar of her shirt to expose more of her neck for his eyes, and when he hungrily licked at her nape, she knew what to expect: without much warning, his fangs had sunk into her skin, the sharp tips settling deeply into her flesh. She gasped, eyebrows furrowing tightly as blood began to trickle forth from the wound, threatening to stain her clothes but Alucard was quick to lap at the spilled blood with his slick tongue.

He'd bitten her before but the ecstasy that would accompany the intimate act had her panting as she lay helpless in his grasp. Her hand found its way into his hair, weaving into his dark tresses, her breaths becoming shallow as she stroked the sharp outline of his jaw. It was as though she was goading him to drink more from her and lustful moans were beginning to emit from the back of her throat which only served to spurn him on; she threw her head back to rest on his shoulder although as Alucard drank from her, her mind fogged all over, a haze claiming her and she stared up at the dark ceiling, her eyes were also no longer their normal blue shade but a deep, fathomless red hue whilst her lips threatened to curl into a smirk. However, just before the darkness could completely take over, she blinked and immediately wrenched herself free from his grip and slid out of the chair, dropping to the cold ground.

She meekly gathered herself up, clutching at her bleeding neck. "Um, what just happened?"

"You are now a creature of the darkness, my bride, but you are succumbing quicker than I had anticipated. You should embrace the pleasure it brings to you." Alucard said as he gestured with his hands, his lips stained with her blood.

Her cheeks went bright red and when he reached for her, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to sit in his lap again. "Will I be able to control it?"

"It will take time." He murmured, and his smirk vanished after he realised how distressed she appeared, "Ruby, there is no need to be afraid. I will teach you. Come here. Come to me."

She meekly returned to the chair where he pulled her into his lap once more, his arms wrapping around her waist. She remained limp in his hold as he licked the blood away, kissing the wound he'd inflicted on her which was beginning to heal, ready for his taking once again whenever he desired it. This wasn't the first time he'd drawn blood from her yet Ruby dazedly slumped against him, exhausted and weary. She fell asleep with Alucard's lips ghosting over her neck passionately, as though hungering to take another bite.

...

Present

"Well, Seward, how does it look?"

"The victim is a man this time."

"Yes, I can see that."

The doctor stood up and moved away from the corpse just as the forensic photographer came and began snapping away at the dead body on the ground. Seward rejoined Integra's side and pulled off his gloves and mask, and both glanced around the crime scene. "There are two distinct puncture wounds on his neck but they were manmade," explained Seward, "He's been drained entirely of blood, straight from the jugular. But I can tell for certain that it's not the murderer we're looking for. The one we're looking for has a penchant for killing young women in the middle of the night and dumping their bodies in the Brampton Woods."

"Now we have two murderers on the loose." Integra replied and Seward nodded before he handed her a clear Ziploc bag that contained a wallet-sized card covered in blood which had been found on the body. "What's this?" She asked as she scrutinised the card within the bag. It was shocking red in colour and in the top left corner was the dark silhouette of a woman sitting in a provocative pose, obviously designed to stir excitement between the male loins. Along with the image was a phone number and other details. On the card, in exotic curly handwriting, were the words 'Cirque Le Soir'. "A call card?"

"Escort club." said Seward, before Integra turned to him in acute surprise. He instantly realised his own words and coughed into his fist in slight embarrassment. "I-It says so right there..."

As he gestured to the fine print, Integra merely raised a slender eyebrow. "I see, our victim must be a regular patron."

"Indeed." Seward said flatly, "I recall that some of our victims from the other murder case were also employed at this club."

"Good work, Dr Seward," Integra said, "Let's return to the manor for the meeting."

...

In Integra's office in Hellsing manor, Ruby waited anxiously beside Alucard. His hand was brushing the side of her leg gently before it crept closer towards her inner thigh. She shoved his hand away, cheeks reddening. His hand crawled back and she shot him a warning glare. A smirk was playing on his lips and she wondered what he may be thinking about, but she remembered that whenever she asked him he would not necessarily provide her with an answer she had really wanted to hear (nor was she really wanting to find out what he was really thinking about). Beside her was Seras, who seemed equally as nervous as Ruby was as she sat in her seat. The Police Girl was fidgeting somewhat and Ruby was still battling with Alucard's wandering hand until the door opened and all heads turned to face the direction of the sound; Integra stormed in with Walter behind her. Almost at once, Alucard retreated his hand away.

"Good evening, Alucard, Seras, Miss Ashcroft." Integra made her way to her mahogany desk and sat down on the leather swivel chair opposite the trio whilst Walter took his spot in the corner, standing tall with his hands held behind his back, "Dr Seward will be joining us shortly; Luther is also on his way here."

Ruby glanced around; if Integra had asked Luther to come, whatever was happening must be rather serious business...

"I'll make it brief. There are two murder cases. Case one: six young women have been found murdered. Case two: a young man has been killed. Both cases are intricately tied by this vital clue." Integra said, before she took out the 'Cirque Le Soir' card and placed it on the surface of the table.

At first, no-one went to pick up but then Ruby nervously reached a hand out and plucked the flimsy card and lifted it up. "It's a club." She said aloud, eyeing the text and the raunchy picture in the corner, "...An escort club."

Whilst this only served for Alucard to widen his smirk, Seras was blinking numbly. So this was what Alucard was working on for the past six days. For some reason, Ruby wasn't surprised at all.

"And the reason I've invited you to this meeting, Miss Ashcroft, is because-" Integra paused in mid-sentence and glanced up; a foreboding shadow had suddenly appeared in a corner of the room and a white-haired man dressed entirely in black emerged from the dark, swirling portal. The newcomer wore a mask strapped over his nose and mouth, obscuring most of his features aside from his startling pale pink eyes. Once his boots made contact with the tiled floor, he said not a word but gave them all nods of acknowledgement. "Impeccable timing, Mr Lestat, please have a seat." Integra added, gesturing to the spare chair beside Seras; Luther nodded again and sat down beside the Police Girl, who greeted him with a smile. He said nothing and crossed his arms.

Seconds later, the door to the office swung open and a blue-eyed, brown-haired man adorned in a white labcoat entered the room. He was carrying papers in his hand and with an exhausted murmur of "Excuse me," he shuffled to the empty chair beside Alucard and seated himself down, wiping at his brow with a matching white handkerchief before flashing a thin, albeit tired smile to the crowd. "As you were saying, Integra..."

"Good of you to finally join us, Seward." Integra said in response to his arrival.

Although it had only been two months, a lot seemed to have changed. When Ruby was first introduced to the organisation, she had believed it was...sparse. Alucard was the most powerful in their ranks with Seras being their newest addition. However, to Ruby she had always been fraught with the feeling that they were always outnumbered, or at least, alone, in their battle against vampires and other evil that plagued the earth. Now, she was rather glad to see that Hellsing had new tenants, namely Jack Seward and the telepathic vampire, Luther. Dr Seward, descendant of John Seward, was in charge of the mansion's infirmary and mortuary , taking care of injured or deceased soldiers and carrying out other duties that would require his medical and forensic expertise and knowledge. The doctor indisputably held and carried out a variety of roles in Hellsing, in which one was to substitute for the hunter Frankie Morris who'd returned to America. When he entered the room, however, Ruby had believed he was very overworked since she'd seen many doctors who had worked ninety hour shifts, prowling around the wards of her hospital with that same lethargic manner.

On the other hand, Luther was one whose past was still shrouded in mystery. No-one was sure where he had come from or how he came to be what he was today; they were only aware that he had been experimented on by Oracle resulting in his disfigured mouth, condemning the vampire to mutism for eternity (and also limiting his blood-sucking abilities), and they were aware that his background was also rather questionable since he'd once assisted the enemy. However, the elusive vampire had proposed unofficial servitude to Hellsing and Integra had accepted the vampire amongst their ranks and Luther had become another pair of eyes and ears for the organisation; no doubt, an invaluable asset.

"Very good, everyone is present. Let us formally begin," Integra said, disrupting Ruby in her thoughts as she glanced at Luther from the corner of her eye, "The reason I've invited Miss Ashcroft to the meeting today is because the victims of Case one have been discovered in Brampton Woods."

Ruby averted her gaze to Integra. "Brampton Woods?"

"Yes. I am aware that Brampton Woods is not far from your apartment at all, Miss Ashcroft. Seward, may I please see your report?" Integra asked, and Seward handed her the bundle of papers he'd taken with him. She thanked him and scanned the first page briefly, then began to read the contents aloud. "Very good. Our first case is the Brampton Woods Killer. Firstly, about tonight's victims...Victim one: female, twenty five years old. Victim two: female, sixteen to eighteen years old. The bodies were discovered by a jogger who was taking a shortcut through the woods at roughly twelve am; time of death is listed at potentially five or six hours earlier due to rigor mortis. The victims had been killed roughly the same time although both bodies were found a distance apart. Investigation at the crime scene indicated there'd been signs of a struggle, however no murder weapon was found in the vicinity."

As Integra continued, she had copies of a photo containing the dead body that said 'Victim one' passed around the table. Victim one appeared to be a scantily clad female although her features were beyond identification (as Integra had said so) due to the horrific wounds on her body. 'Victim Two's' crime scene photo had Ruby and Seras wincing the most whilst Seward and Luther merely stared indifferently as though they were used in being witnesses to such violent carnage...and as usual, Alucard was smirking visibly as he studied the glossy picture which he was sharing with Ruby. The photo of victim two was monochrome but the macabre picture was enough to make both draculinas want to gag. They could tell it was a high school girl judging from the pleated skirt and blazer. Aside from that, the face was barely recognisable, but from what they could make out amongst the black and white print, the pulpy globe of flesh that should have been the girl's head had been completely twisted painfully to the right and there were deep gashes slashed across the side of her head and neck; in fact, the gashes had been caused by such power and force that her face had been dragged downwards, sagging.

Integra leaned forwards in her seat with her hands clasped together inches in front of her chin, "Now, what is strange is that one of our victims do not fit in with our murderer's modus operandi."

"It's a high school student." Seras croaked out.

"Yes, that's right."

Since Ruby had no knowledge about the murder case, she decided to remain quiet for the time being. However, she inwardly sighed. Being involved in Hellsing meant she was occasionally subjected to learning about brutal murders every now and then. It was disheartening.

"As we all know, the Brampton Woods Killer enjoys murdering young women who are employed within the sex industry. Now, as Seras has pointed out, one of the victims is a high school student." Integra added, "It's thrown all our theories and investigations off-track. Street workers have always been easy prey for vampires due to the unsociable working hours and the overall underhandedness of the industry. However, we can still determine that this is the work of the same killer since the cause of death is identical, in which the victim has been clearly mutilated beyond recognition..."

Integra had been kind, using the word 'street workers' when speaking with regards to the occupation of the victims. Ruby withheld swallowing down the growing lump in her throat; one did not even have to think twice to realise prostitutes would be easy prey for vampires considering their line of work.

"She was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time." Seward said, as he handed his photo back to Integra.

"Yes, that is what I believe too, but the question is why." Integra muttered next, gathering Ruby out of her thoughts, "Furthermore, victim two was a student at Parkhill Grammar School. Seras, I'd like you to investigate and find out what you can."

"Yes, sir." Seras said, glancing away from the photograph. If she hadn't properly scrutinised the coat of arms that was stitched on the blazer's pocket which the victim was found in, she wouldn't have known how Integra knew which high school the victim attended. "Um...will master be coming with me?"

"No." Integra had replied in response to Seras' question.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Alucard is not permitted to enter schools, Victoria, or any establishment containing children or vulnerable people. For example, orphanages or nunneries."

Immediately, Ruby turned to Alucard in mild shock, "Really? I'm sure you went to the hospital I worked in." She said, but then she remembered that Alucard hadn't exactly entered the children's ward or the elderly ward, and she quickly added, "How come you're not allowed near nunneries?"

A grin had now made its way to her face as she pictured Alucard wreaking havoc and causing chaos and engaging in combat with enemies whilst ladies in black and white garb scurried around helplessly and she tried not to laugh. Integra cleared her throat loudly and everyone turned to her; Ruby immediately dampened her expression and muttered her apologies, understanding all too well that making light of the situation or even attempting to crack a joke would not be tolerable at this time. With Ruby's silence, Integra added, "Luther, I'd like you to patrol the exterior of the woods every night. Clearly our murderer favours the woodlands when it comes to his heinous crimes."

Luther said nothing, but nodded.

"What about me?" Ruby asked, "What can I do, sir?"

"Miss Ashcroft, since you live close to Brampton Woods, I would like you to keep an eye and should you witness any strange activity, you must report to Hellsing immediately."

"Yes, sir." Ruby said, and finally, Integra turned to Alucard to address him.

"I await your orders, my master."

Integra's lips curled into a thin smile, "Search and destroy, my servant. That is all."

"And what about the other murder case?" Alucard crooned, "...If I recall, you said there were two..."

"That's correct." Integra said, and she retrieved the club card out of Ruby's hand, "This card was found on the victim of Case two. You'll find the rest of the details from Seward's report. The victims of our Brampton Woods Killer are escort girls who worked at that club. It's up to you to connect the dots, Alucard."

Cirque Le Soir? Escort club? Prostitutes? Ruby immediately stiffened all over in her seat and one hand clamped down on Alucard's knee. He threw his glance down to her hand, then to Ruby herself. "My bride, what seems to be the matter?" He said, a grin stretching on his face.

It was not that she didn't trust Alucard, but the more she thought about it, the more she did not entirely enjoy or agree to the notion of Alucard heading into an escort club to investigate. "I'm coming with you," She said hurriedly, before she glanced at Integra, "Permission to accompany Alucard, sir."

Integra watched the two in steely silence; at first, her gaze lingered on Alucard then she concentrated on Ruby, before she ultimately took a deep drag from her cigar and shook her head. "I understand your concern, Miss Ashcroft, and I know you mean well... but I fear you will only hinder the investigation."

Ruby's jaw fell open slightly whilst Alucard let out an amused chuckle under his breath. "B-But I..." She spluttered, although she knew deep inside there was simply no use in attempting to sway Integra's decision as the Director would definitely not change her mind just to agree in Ruby's favour.

"Perhaps you should not have chosen to remain external to Hellsing after all, my bride." Alucard said, and Ruby threw him a cold glare. His words stung, like a kick in the teeth.

Now she truly felt like an outsider. Maybe Alucard was right; maybe she shouldn't have opted to live outside of Hellsing, to have no relation whatsoever. With that thought in mind, Ruby sat silently in her seat as the rest of the meeting went by.

Notes:

There goes the second chapter! This sequel is happening, folks :) Once again, thanks for reviewing. It is an honour that you find my story interesting and worthy to be added to your faves and alerts -bows-