Chapter 9

Germany 18th century

Hans stalked through the rain starved forest with Nakita following suit several yards away. The two wolves kept their eyes peeled for movement and their noses sniffed the scents on the ground as they walked. The smaller female seemed more interested in Hans and mimicking his every action than actually finding any signs of prey. He pretended not to notice this nuisance, already having written her off as a poor fighter and probably an even poorer hunter. Her presence was comforting despite her lack of usefulness. Having a companion was normal for Hans and it helped him to push down the turmoil of losing his pack.

'Hans, I think I've found something!'

He trotted towards Nakita at her exclamation, somewhat irked that she could not identify her own aromatic discovery. The slender female wagged her tail and pranced about as he approached, as if she had found an entire herd of prey. He simply ignored her excitement, not yet confident in her tracking ability. Sniffing the spot she had found, Hans detected an odor of sweat, mud, insects, and a slight hint of blood.

'Boar…'

'We should track it then!'

Nakita began trotting down the trail, her nose to the dirt. Hans merely growled and watched her, wondering if she were really that stupid or was just ignorant of what a boar was. She slowed as she realized he wasn't following, then flattened her ears and tucked her tail. For a wolf who had acted like an alpha female when they first met, she had almost no mind of her own. Hans was not used to be in a leadership role, but he hardly had to prove his ability to the submissive she-wolfkin.

'We should be careful. There are only two of us and boar can travel alone or in large herds. If there are too many of them, we could go hungry and spend the night licking our wounds.'

Nakita sighed at the explanation Hans offered, as if she were mentally berating herself for not thinking of it herself. He was starting to quickly realize just why she was nearly skin and bones; the female was obviously a terrible hunter. Even when she had been in a pack, Nakita had probably been on the bottom of the totem pole in her pack.

Hans began following the scent of the boar with Nakita following him very closely. The trail was fairly fresh, but they had yet to come across any tracks. The parched earth was probably too hard for the boar to leave any, but even the brush was oddly undisturbed. Boar would eat anything in their path, no matter what it was. They would root through the earth with their tusks, uproot brush, pick off any corpses they found, and possibly kill and eat any smaller creatures stupid enough to cross their path. They were highly aggressive herbivores and were also very intelligent.

'Hans, I think I see one over there!'

Instinctively coming to an abrupt halt, Hans scanned their surroundings. Following Nakita's excited gaze, he saw a flash of deep brown fur moving away from them into the brush. But, it was too quick for him to see if it was a boar or not.

Before he could think further, Nakita took off after the supposed boar. Hans barked a warning at her as he rushed to follow her, not knowing what they would find on the other side of the brush. The female was far too quick to act without thinking, especially since she was severely lacking in martial prowess. Still, she was small and too quick for Hans to catch her before she charged through the brush which the brown furred figure had disappeared through moments before.

For a brief moment, she was out of his line of sight and Hans slowed his pace to a trot. Different smells were hitting his nose and they were not the scent of a boar. It was a heavy, greasy smell that Hans could not quite place. Whatever it was, it make his fur stand up as he crouched to stalk through the brush. The dried stalks of saplings and dead bushes had been snapped and trampled by something large, but it could easily be Nakita charging through them.

He crept towards the end of the brush and peered through the leaves into a clearing. Nakita stood panting, looking around her as if she had already lost her prey. If it had been something they could overpower, then she had most likely sent it running for safety. Hans would have been better off hunting alone at this rate.

'Hans! I lost it. I think it's a big male boar, but I didn't get a good look. It moved to quickly for me.'

Hans slinked out of the safety of the foliage and into the clearing, growling angrily at Nakita. Whatever potential prey had been in the area would probably have been scared off by the commotion she had caused. And any prey animals that might have noticed her would have alerted their comrades in their retreat.

'If you had been patient, we might have been eating by now.'

Nakita whined and tucked her tail at his reprimand, backpedaling away from Hans as he bared his teeth. The amber colored female lowered her head as she backed away, eyes planted to the ground. His stomach was empty and he was fed up with having to babysit an overgrown pup. But, his retaliation at her misbehavior was cut short as a massive shadow loomed over them both.

Hans lifted his eyes from the cowering female and found himself staring at a greasy mass of long brown hair, which expanded and contracted as the beast breathed. Looking upwards, he found himself staring into two savage black eyes and gaping jaws. A huge male grizzly bear stood on its hind legs, opening its mouth to let out an ear piercing bellow. Nakita spun around at the sound, squealing as the behemoth came crashing down on its front legs and snapped its jaws just inches from her neck.

Hans snarled at the bear to get its attention as Nakita lost her footing and fell backwards in her attempt to escape being bitten. The grizzly answered his challenge by swatting a massive paw towards him, catching him on the snout. The force of the blow snapped his head sideways and spun him around, sending him tumbling several feet on the ground.

Hans lay stunned for a moment, vision reeling from the blow to his head. Even full grown wolfkin would have difficulty taking down a grizzly bear without a pack to hunt with. He and Nakita were in over their heads.

Seras POV:

Sir Integra Hellsing's voice sounded tired through the cellphone Seras held to her ear. Her master's master was overloaded in the wake of the battle with Milleneum and Seras felt guilty for lying to the woman. She had been sent to kill Hans, but instead she was helping him. Integra was alone in that estate with only her soldiers and a few surviving Wild Geese to protect her. Seras knew she should return, but she knew that that would mean abandoning Hans.

The two of them had been traveling together for three days now and they had come a city with an airport. Hans intended to fly back to his homeland in Germany, but he also seemed to expect Seras to go with him. The werewolf seemed to have accepted her completely and even seemed attached to her. Seras also had to admit that she enjoyed his company as well. As much as she had always tried to hold on to being human, after drinking Pip's blood she knew what she really was. She was a vampire, a monster among humans. She would never truly belong among humans again and Hans was the last of his kind, he belonged neither to his own kind nor that of monsters and humans. It almost felt fitting to be near him.

"Seras, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, sir, I am. I am very sorry, but I haven't been able to catch up to the werewolf. He's too fast and he can move during the day."

"That's the least of our problems, police girl. I have received information that key members of Millennium may have survived and are regrouping. If that is true, then our werewolf will eventually sniff them out. So stop chasing the snake's tail and aim for the head. Without the Major they will be disorganized. We need to exterminate these pests before they can get their act together again."

"Yes, Sir Integra. Where are you sending me?"

"Latvia, specifically near the Gulf of Riga. There is a blank spot in our satellite feed of that portion of the Baltic Sea. It may just be a military base or Millenium may have hacked into the satellites to hide their location. Even if that is a false lead, there have still been sightings in the area of vampires matching those of chipped vampires. Also I have an image taken in a small town near the Latvian and Estonian border which appears to be of one of the Major's chief officers. They are hiding somewhere in that area and I need you to find them and destroy them."

"Yes, sir."

The line went dead.

Seras sighed and massaged her temples, feeling rather torn about what she should do. Hans seemed very intent on going to Germany, which only further made her belief that he was through with the Nazis. But, if she left for Latvia now, she would never be able to find him again.

Turning towards the second bed of their current hotel room, she stared at Hans as he lay on his stomach and studied the sign language book she had found for him. He looked good in the clothes she had bought for them the other day. It was just a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt, but the way it fit fairly tightly to his muscular torso was very attractive. Seras had traded in her tatter uniform for jeans, a t-shirt, and a fitted leather jacket.

As if he felt her gaze on his back, Hans looked up from his book. She could hear the odd rumbling sound which came from his chest when he was happy all the way from where she sat on her own bed. It was like a cat purring in Seras' opinion, but when she compared it to such he would become irritated. Although neither of them had learned enough of sign language for him to use it and her to understand it, Seras had gotten used to his mannerisms. Although when they had first met he had kept his face very stoic, now she understood that he actually had a very expressive face. He didn't make very many human facial expressions, but Seras had come to the conclusion that werewolves had their own set of facial expressions. Most of these expressions were wholly alien to her, but she was slowly beginning to understand them.

"That was Sir Integra," She quietly informed Hans, realizing that he was waiting for an explanation.

He growled and turned his attention back to his book, but Seras could tell he was still listening to her. She couldn't blame him for his distaste for the Hellsing Organization after their ill treatment of him, but she owed her life to Sir Integra in many ways.

"She has found evidence that there may be some survivors from Millennium regrouping in Latvia. I have orders to investigate."

Hans sighed and turned towards her, placing his right thumb against his chin and making a fist, his index finger sticking up and extending it and curling it several times. Seras smiled at his use of sign language, it was one of the few words they had gone over together. He wanted to know 'who' they suspected had survived.

"Well, you, obviously… Also several chipped vampires and…the Doctor."

Hans visibly stiffened at the mention of the nazi scientist. He growled quietly, but it sounded more like he was worried rather than angry. Perhaps Sir Integra had been correct in her original thoughts that the Nazis had attempted to replicate the werewolves and Hans had been their test subject.

"You don't like the Docter?"

Hans simply shook his head and closed his book, rolling over onto his back to stare at the ceiling. Seras wanted to ask more, but she knew he probably would get irritated at the questions. Even though they both understood some very simple signs which he could use to communicate, he was very quiet. He could now ask 'who', 'what', 'when', 'where', and 'why' among other simple words in sign language. Seras could tell he was pleased to be able to communicate those words, but he seemed to have so much else to say.

Seras watched as his silver eyebrows furrowed in thought as if trying to figure out what he should do. After a while he sat up and stared at her, then lifted his hand towards his head and flattened his palm and extended it away from his face. Pointing at her, then making two signs she recognized along with indicating himself. He wanted to know if she would still be going to Germany with him.

"I have to go to Latvia."

Germany 18th century

Nakita's terrified squeals and yelps brought Hans back to his feet, his head slowly clearing from the stunning blow he had received. The bear turned and left the battered she-wolf in a heap of fur and broken bones as it began to charge toward Hans. He knew Nakita was alive, but even with their kind's accelerated healing abilities it could take her hours to mend the broken bones he knew she had.

Hans crouched and darted to the side as the bear barreled towards him, using his speed to escape its attack. The bear lumbered to a halt as Hans dashed after it, attempting to get onto the grizzly's back. His planned bad quickly as the beast wheeled around stood up on its hind legs, towering over the wolf and roaring savagely. Hans backpedaled and managed to avoid being swatted by the giant paws with their two inch long claws.

This was no newly weaned cub, it was an older female bear. She was huge in size and knew exactly how to fight. Hans dodged again as the grizzly charged, trying to read her movements. Her neck was thick and covered in thick fur, he wouldn't be able to tear into it alone. There was such a layer of fat under the bear's skin that Hans doubt he would even be able to draw blood by himself.

Hans finally saw an opening and leapt upwards as the bear lunged at him, managing to get up onto it's back. He reached over the bear's neck and sank his teeth into its furry ear and shook his head in an attempt to tear it. However, the bear was smarter than Hans had initially given her credit. She stood on her hind legs and Hans dangled behind her as her ear began to rip and he tasted her greasy blood.

Then he felt the bear lurch and stumble, falling sideways. Hans let go of the grizzly's ear in order to avoid having it fall on him, but was quick to jump onto it again before it could stand. The bear wrapped it's front legs around him, but he latched onto her neck and bit down with all the force he had in his jaws. His rib cage felt like it might implode from the force of the bear's grasp, but he violently shook his head and ripped out fur. If he could get past the fur and layer of fat, he might actually be able to hurt the behemoth before it crushed him.

Hans felt the bear loosen its crushing grip for a moment, then bellowed angrily. He opened his eyes as he felt another snout near his own. Nakita had clamped her on jaws onto the bear's throat and tore at it with all her force. The grizzly released Hans in order to swat the female wolf away, rolling so that Hans was forced to release it as well.

He backed up until he was between Nakita and the grizzly. The female whimpered, but otherwise stayed still. The grizzly bear backed away, stamping it's feet and glaring as if to dare them to try attacking it again. But, Hans knew the fight was over. The bear was retreating, although it was clearly the victor. But, it had decided that they were too much trouble to continue the fight and felt that it had gotten the point across. They needed to stay out of this she-bear's territory at all costs.

'It's over, Nakita. We need to get away from the bear's territory. Get up.'

The female whined and slowly stood on wobbling legs, one of her hind legs horribly broken. They would not be hunting again anytime soon, but they still needed to put distance between themselves and where they were.

Present

Hans POV:

Hans awoke to the sunlight hitting his eyes through the window and he squinted as he realized that the curtains had been blown slightly open by the air conditioner beneath the window. Turning over, he was glad to see it had not hit Seras, who was cocooned in a mass of tangled sheets and blankets. At first he had found it strange that she practically mummified herself in blankets while sleeping, but now he suspected it was her attempt at replicating a coffin.

He stretched and rolled off his bed which was closest to the window. It had been almost a week since he had been out and about during the day, but he preferred the night. His kind worshipped the moon and so were mostly nocturnal, but he did enjoy the sun's warmth. Still, he drew the curtain completely closed and bathed the cheap motel room in darkness again. Vampires burnt up in sunlight and he had grown somewhat attached to the little draculina.

But, their destinations had now changed. He was returning to Germany in the hope that he could find his old pack's hunting grounds, the place where he was born. Seras had received orders to go to Latvia and investigate nazi activity.

A part of Hans wished to continue traveling with her, but he had no desire to be anywhere near the Docter again. That wicked human was unnatural and cruel. 'Evil' had never been a term the wolfkin used, considering that their culture was literally the strong survive and the weak do not. Hans had grown up believing that survival was what governed actions and personality merely effected behavior. But, the Doctor defied all of Nature's simple laws. The man despised the natural order of things and strived to distort everything. Hans had never understood why the man wished to play the part of a god, but he truly hated that human with every fiber of his being.

When the Major was alive, Hans and the Docter had been at his right and left hands. The Docter was the brains, the Major was the will, and Hans had been the brute force. At one point, the Docter had wished to create artificial wolfkin or 'werewolves' as humans had decided to name his kind. But, unlike the vampire race he had had no 'missing link' from which to base his research.

Hans could still remember the terribly twisted figure of her. Had he not been so useful to the Major, Hans was certain that he would have been petrified and experimented on just as she had been. The Doctor had taken blood samples from Hans, but little else. It had all come up to dead ends and the Major had not wished to risk turning Hans against them.

But, there was no Major to control the madman now. Hans was all too aware that the wicked human had created weapons of many different calibers. Weapons that would put even Hellsing's explosive silver bullets to shame. The Doctor enjoyed inflicting pain on others, almost as much as he enjoyed creating unnatural beings.

He looked down at Seras as she slept, feeling a conflict of interests within him. Self-preservation told him to stay as far away from the Doctor as possible, but his attachment to the draculina told him to make sure she stayed safe. He reached down and pulled the blankets back so that he could stare at her face. Her blond hair was messy and she slept with her mouth open, breathing quietly.

Even if she had stolen his chance at ending his race in a glorious death, he couldn't make himself angry at her again. She had saved him not once, but twice from a slow and agonizing death from silver being lodged within his body. Was he really willing to let her go to Latvia all alone? If she was captured and petrified like the girl he remembered from World War II, he would never see her again and it would be his own fault.

Hans reached down to touch her hair, finding it soft and silky against his rough hands. This little vampire had defeated him in battle, saved his life, licked his wounds, and helped him escape from her own alpha. She was a complete mystery to Hans. But, he could not deny that he had grown very attached to her over the past week. Decades in Millennium and he had never felt any sort of fondness for the Nazis. In fact, his feelings towards her were as close to that of a pack member as he had had in over a century. It felt nice not to feel so isolated and alone when he was born to be surrounded by a family. Being alone was against his nature, it was unnatural for him. But, without any of his own kind left to form a pack with, he had been forced to be alone. Seras was the first outside of his species to make him feel like he belonged.

Seras POV:

Seras was roused from her slumber by something touched her head gently. At first, she thought she might be dreaming, but as the sensation continued she came to full consciousness. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she found Hans patting her head as he seemed to be deep in thought. Although he was looking at her, she could tell that he was far away in thought. Seras reached up and gently grasped his hand, which brought his attention back from his thoughts.

"Hans, is everything alright?"

Instead of answering, he leaned down and crawled into her bed. Seras blushed, but stayed quiet as he joined her under the covers. It was strange for him to do anything like that, which only made her more worried about what might be bothering him. She was even more surprised as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hans?"

Seras squeaked his name nervously, uncertain as to what exactly he was doing in her bed. The large werewolf merely began that strange rumbling sound in his throat, which reminded her of a purr. If he had a voice like a human, it might have sounded like a hum. But, instead it came from his throat and vibrated his chest, coming out like a cat's purring.

"Does this mean you'll miss me?"

Hans squeezed her slightly and made a whining sound, which she had learned meant he was worried. Perhaps it was more than just that he would miss her company. Seras smiled to herself at the thought that Hans was worried about her. No matter how distant and stoic he acted, he had started to care about her over the past few days. Seras felt the same toward the werewolf, who she felt was a sort of kindred spirit. He was the last werewolf and she was a vampire who, in some ways, denied her true nature. She didn't want to drink the blood of other humans and she still felt guilt even when killing ghouls.

"Why are you so afraid of the Doctor?"

Hans stiffened at the mention of the man and she realized that neither of them knew enough sign language for him to fully answer her question. But she soon felt him shift and he pulled her over so that she was laying on top of him, her head against his chest. Seras blushed shyly at him, but found herself mesmerized as he stared at her.

Then Hans did something Seras had not expected at all. He craned his head so that artery in the side of his neck was exposed to her. She sucked in her breath as she realized that she could all but smell the blood through his skin. Her stomach growled, reminding her of how many days it had been since she had fed. Would it be just like when she drank from Pip, absorbing his memories and hearing his voice in her head? But, Hans wouldn't die like Pip had. He wouldn't stay in her head as a familiar. But, would she be able to hear his voice? Was that why he wanted her to drink from him?

"Hans…. Are you sure?"

As he nodded, she felt herself leaning in towards his neck. All she could really think about was biting into his tanned skin, but she tried to hold herself back. Slowly she licked his neck, her tongue tasting the saltiness of his skin. She could feel his slightly elevated pulse through her tongue. Her fangs elongated and grazed his skin, but he remained perfectly still.

Her teeth pierced his skin and sank into the vein as she began to suck gently. His blood filled her mouth quickly, tasting sweet and strong. She had never drank from a living being, even Pip had been dying when she drank from him. But, she felt exhilarated as she swallowed Hans' blood. To her amazement, their heartbeats began to synchronize and his emotions flooded through her. It was as if they were one being. She could feel his worry and sorrow, that he was lonely.

'Seras.'

She froze as the deep voice echoed inside her head. It was masculine and powerful, but it almost reminded her of that smooth, musical sound of a wolf's howl. It was Hans' voice.

'Don't go to Latvia, sanft madchen. That Doktor hates all natural things. If he catches you, he will take away all that is good in you. Like a cat playing with its food. He is a wicked, unnatural human.'

Seras slowly continued to drink, feeling almost overwhelmed with Hans' emotion. She was somewhat surprised at just how strongly he felt about the Doctor, herself, and them having to go their separate ways that night. She was aware that he thought of her as a pack member, in a strange way he loved her. But, he was afraid of the Doctor.

"I have to obey Sir Integra. I have to go, Hans."

She felt his slightly angry disposition toward her master's master, but as her own feelings toward Sir Integra mixed with his own, he calmed somewhat.

'She is your Alpha?'

"Yes, my Master's master."

'I understand following the orders of your Alpha, but the Doktor is not natural. You cannot understand if you have not seen his… work.'

"Hans, I am a vampire and you're a werewolf. We shouldn't be complaining about other people being unnatural."

'Werewolf? That is human term, a fairytale. I am wolfkin.'

"Wolfkin? Alright, sorry, you're a wolfkin then. But, my point still stands."

'Nein, vampir and wolfkin are natural beings. I was born, just as you were. You may have been reborn as a vampirin, but you were born just the same. That Doktor has the soul of a teufel. He thinks himself a gott! He takes what is natural and makes unnatural abominations.'

"You didn't seem to have a problem while serving in Millennium."

Seras felt him stiffen and his mood darken, which made her regret her stinging remark. She could feel his conflicting emotions as they swirled into her own. But, she could sense that he held no loyalty to Millennium, but rather that he been offered something which he greatly desired. A bribe of sorts.

'Wolfkin only owe loyalty to their pack and the Moon Mother. I am the last. I am alone. I cannot die quietly, leaving my species forgotten. Herr Major promised me a death on the battlefield, that my kind would be forever remembered.'

"But, I saved you…"

'Ja, sanft madchen. But, that is your nature. I was angry at first, because you took away my purpose. I cannot fault a creature for obeying her nature and so I do not hold a grudge. But, that Doktor... He mocks nature, distorts it, and takes pleasure in causing pain. There are worse things than death, sanft madchen.'

Seras felt a deep sadness from Hans, which made her realize that he had truly intended to die in their battle. That was why he had smiled at her when she had defeated him, supposedly killing him? It made her heart ache for Hans, that he was so lonely he wanted to die. But, some sense of pride for his race made him feel like he had to die in some glorious display.

Seras pulled back from his neck, licking the spot she had just bitten as it quickly healed. She could still feel his presence in his head, but it was as if she was feeling his emotions through a fog. His voice was gone from her mind as she opened her eyes and looked at Hans. His eyes were somewhat glazed as if he had been drinking alcohol, but she was certain that her own eyes probably had a similar sheen.

Seras cupped his cheeks in her hands and looked at him for a moment. His silver hair seemed to almost shine in the darkness of the motel room and his tanned skin contrasted her own pale complexion. The aftermath of their linked minds left her feeling as if she had been alone for a long period of time.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Seras leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his own.

Alright, I plan to have some plot progression next chapter. Also, after reading one Review which mentioned the flashbacks (not negatively, it only made me think about it) I thought that I should explain them somewhat. Although they do essentially provide some backstory for Hans, they will eventually catch up to the 'present' plot, so they are multipurpose :).

Sanft Madchen means 'gentle girl' in German.

Let me know if you guys enjoyed Seras being able to hear Hans' thoughts while drinking his blood. :D