Chapter 11

Scandinavia, 19th century

Hans and Nakita had traveled into Scandinavian territory after being turned away by pack after pack or chased away by humans for several years. The humans in the land were too busy with their wars to notice missing livestock and the packs of the region had no doubt retreated in the safest areas to avoid the human war. It was a beautiful land, but they rarely stayed in one place for even a season. It felt strange to Hans to live the life of a rogue, denied membership in a pack. It felt unnatural, but it had forced him to learn how to fend for himself without relying on others.

'I smell an elk.'

He sped up his pace to investigate Nakita's discovery as they came to a dried up creek bed in a densely wooded forest. This was a landscape Hans felt at home in, the forest was what he knew and understood. It felt safe.

Hans put his nose to the ground and sniffed, picking up the scent of a male elk. From the scent he could tell the male was in rut, which suggested smaller females would be nearby as well. If this bull elk had already gathered a harem of females they would have their pick for a meal. As if on queue a loud bugle from a bull elk echoed through the forest.

They both looked at each happily before loping towards the calls of the elk. The elk rut heralded fall and winter, but it was also an easy hunting season. The dangerous bull elk would be too busy fending off their rivals to pay attention to any predators stalking about. The females would be grouped together and feeling safe, no doubt with careless yearlings in tow.

Tracking wasn't even needed thanks to the amount of noise the bulls were making to attract females and ward off rivals. The two of them darted through the forest until they finally found the herd of elk grazing near a small stream. Hans crouched down in the tall grasses to survey the scene while Nakita took shelter in some bushes.

'I know you can't see from there, Nakita.'

'Well excuse me if I don't fancy being sprayed by rutting elk.'

'Is this fear from personal experience?'

'Nyet… But, I imagine it would be unpleasant.'

'More unpleasant than watching me eat my kill while you get nothing?'

'Der'mó! Fine! But, I get the rump meat.'

Hans hummed his approval as she crawled forward on her belly until she crouched next to him. They watched in mutual silence as the herd continued what they had been doing, completely absorbed in their mating rituals. The bull was circling his harem of nearly fifteen cows, insuring that none of them would be stolen from under his nose. There was another bull bugling somewhere in the forest, which had this male doting on the females in his harem. He bugled and shook his rack as he pranced around them impressively, sometimes chasing off some of young males which had no hopes of being accepted by any of the females. The adolescent males were doomed to take out their sexual frustrations by wrestling with each other and pestering the yearlings which had been all but forgotten.

'If we go for one of the young ones it will be an easy kill.'

Hans turned to look at Nakita, not the least bit surprised that she wanted to take the easy route. The female was an omega to the core, always satisfied with the bare minimum and never willingly taking a risk.

'Two of us can take down an older cow, a yearling won't feed us both.'

'Which one then?'

Hans looked back towards the harem of females, studying each one for signs of weakness. This bull had been fairly particular in his females as all seemed healthy and in their prime other than a few yearlings and immature young females and males too small to provide for both of them.

'Just wait until one separates from the herd, then I'll herd further away and you can jump her when you get the chance. If you get the neck and break it, then it shouldn't be a problem.'

'You want me to break its neck? Hans, have you learned nothing the past few decades we've spent together?'

'Aren't Caucasian Mountain wolfkin supposed to be bigger and better than us Germanic wolfkin? If we ever do find a pack you'll be the omega for sure.'

'There's nothing wrong with being an omega.'

'Really? So you enjoy eating the pack's scraps, being passed over for stronger females by potential mates, and getting your heels nipped every time someone else is in a bad mood?'

'Svóloch'…'

Hans felt a small bit of guilt as she angrily stalked away, but he sensed that she was still circling around the herd as he had planned. Nakita was difficult for him to comprehend. She was both lazy and cowardly, but typically was emotionally tough. Yet, at times like this she would suddenly take offense to his jibes which she normally took with a grain of salt. Perhaps he had been too personal this time?

Pushing their social issues aside, Hans turned his attention back to the elk and waited for an opportunity to present itself. After a long time of observing the herd, a brave young bull attempted to woo an older cow while the master of the harem was concerning himself with the others. The young bull scarcely had six points on his rack and was a good deal smaller than the female he was pestering. She barely paid him attention although she absentmindedly moved away from him and the herd. The perfect opportunity came when the young bull got to close to her rear and she kicked him, trotting in the other direction.

Instantly Hans dashed out from his hiding place, planting himself between the female and the rest of the herd. The animal instantly ran away from him and the herd, straight to where Hans knew Nakita was waiting. The rest of the elk cried and dashed away, snorting and stamping their feet in panic.

Hans galloped after the elk, expertly herding it towards Nakita. Just as the elk bound over a log, Nakita jumped from her hiding place and clamped her jaws onto the back of their prey's neck. The creature landed on its side from the force of the blow while it was mid jump, but it immediately began thrashing and caught Nakita in the jaw and released itself from her grip.

Quickly, he broke into a dead sprint and caught the elk before it could regain its footing. His fangs dug into the muscular neck of the elk as his weight forced it back to the ground. Hans savagely shook his head and tore at the creature's neck until he finally heard a loud cracking sound and the elk went limp.


Hans POV:

They had barely arrived in Latvia before Seras had them scrambling for a motel before the sun rose. Hans was not too happy about being expected to sleep all day after being cooped up inside that airplane for hours on end. But, at least he would have something to do after she woke up. Hans wasn't too thrilled about going after his old comrades, even if he had no personal attachment to them. Throughout his entire military career with the Major, Hans had maintained a mostly neutral relationship with them all. He had never bothered to get to know them or make friends with them, merely did what the Major commanded in order to achieve their goals. It was that simple…

At least that was what he kept telling himself.

Now that the fog of his desire to die in battle had cleared, he had slowly been realizing that he had felt some genuine loyalty towards the Major. The little man had, after all, had an entire battalion at his beck and call. At the very least, the Major had been the closest thing Hans had had to an Alpha in nearly a century. That was why Hans had followed him, done every wicked deed he ordered, and sought to please the Major like a lapdog. It was almost pathetic, in Hans' opinion, that he missed the Major and perhaps somewhat the others in Millennium.

He had convinced himself for decades that he only did the things the Major ordered to achieve the end his race deserved. But, he had just been fooling himself. That natural instinct to follow the command of an Alpha personality had played a small part, but he knew there was a small part of him that had just purely wanted to please the Major. That had been too many times when an enemy could have killed the man, even long before the promise of a glorious death, that Hans had protected the man.

There was just the faintest feeling that he was betraying his adopted Alpha by working with Seras to track down the Dokter. But, if there was any one person in Millennium that Hans had felt any negativity towards it was that scientist. At first he had felt pure neutrality towards the mad man, but after he had attempted to replicate the werewolf race similar to the way they had with vampires… Well, Hans had held a slight grudge against the wicked human for the painful procedures. The human had a sick love for causing pain, which only escalated when that pain was followed by successful research. Hans had never particularly hated the man, but he was uncomfortable with what sort of madness the man would unleash without the Major to control him.

He didn't want to be caught by any of the anti-werewolf weaponry he knew the Dokter had invented, much less subjected to experiments without the Major to step in when he was at his limit. But, the thought of Seras going after the scientist alone and with little or no knowledge of what he was capable of outweighed that.


Seras POV:

After sleeping through the day, Seras was ready to get to work as soon as the sun faded in the sky. The two of them had to get to a rather remote village bordering the Baltic Sea which was the last location which had shown any evidence of surviving Nazi activity. The village had no motels, but Seras had been able to locate a bed and breakfast type of place which had a room available. She was actually thankful for Hans being there as a couple visiting a bed and breakfast was far less suspicious than if she had been alone.

It was late in the night by the time they reached their destination, so they decided to scout out the area. Hans had taken to his wolf form and was moving about with his nose to the ground. Although Seras knew it was mostly her job to find any clues, she had a feeling Hans would find it quicker with his nose than she could with her eyes. Plus she wasn't even positive what it was they were looking for. An underground bunker perhaps? Another giant blimp?

While Hans searched for a scent, Seras kept her eyes on their surroundings. According to Sir Integra there was evidence of ghouls and FREAK chipped vampires in the area, which means they needed to be careful not to be seen. Although she wasn't too sure how well they blended in since Hans was gigantic white wolf whose shoulders easily were several inches taller than her head.

"Find anything, Hans?"

He stopped midstride and lifted his head from the ground to look at her for a moment as if considering her question. She couldn't help but admire him, even in wolf form he was incredibly handsome. The moon was full and bright in the cloudless sky and it reminded her of how he had explained that he worshipped the moon. She slumped down into the soft grasses, smiling as he cocked his head at her questioningly.

She simply patted the grass next to her. Hans shook himself then lay down next to her, his tail sweeping back and forth against the grass. With a soft giggle Seras rested her hand on the back of his shoulders, enjoying the feel of his soft fur. Hans started making that rumbling sound in his chest as if to tell her he was comfortable like this.

"I think understand why you worship the Moon. It must be nice to have a deity you can see. I know I work for Hellsing and they serve the Queen and the Protestant Church, but sometimes I wonder what will happen when I die? Will I be damned or will I still go to heaven?"

She started rambling as she grew nervous knowing that he could not answer her. Hans was staring at her, his ears swiveling at each word. Seras began to fidget as an awkward silence fell between them. Had she gotten to personal? Or was he just not interested? Why did she have to ruin the moment with philosophical worries?

She jumped slightly as Hans lifted himself up into a sitting position, then threw back his head and let out a loud howl. His voice was the same as she had heard it back in the Hellsing estate, but it was not so sorrowful this time. It was the same deep baritone, but it sounded joyful as it rose in pitch and held on a higher note then fell back down to quiet. The sound of his voice echoed in the distance and the crickets and frogs in the area had been hushed into silence.

Hans kept his snout pointed towards the moon with a look in his eyes that Seras could only describe as reverence. She had never thought that he would be religious in any way, especially not before she had actually gotten to know him. He fought like a demon, but he was more than just brute strength. She could almost imagine him in the snowy mountains of 18th century Germany, along with a pack of other werewolves.

Seras suddenly remembered the intense loneliness she had felt while drinking his blood, it had overpowered all his other emotions. She had tasted anger, resentment, sorrow, and a deep sense of loss in his life essence, but they had all been suppressed by the overwhelming since of solitude. How long had he been alone?

With a soft sigh, Seras reach out and wrapped her arms around Hans' neck and buried her face into his pale fur. He smelled like the earth and she could feel his chest rise and fall as he breathed. She just wanted to stay like this for a while, although she suspected it was more her benefit than his. But, she was surprised when she felt his warm breath on her cheek as he craned his head around to look at her. Looking up, Seras gave him an apologetic smile and let go.

"I'm sorry… Let's keep searching, okay?"


Scandinavia 19th century

Hans and Nakita ate in silence, both mutually irritated with the other. The amber pelted female had her rear towards him so that she was looking away from him as she daintily chewed on the elk's meaty rump. He pretended not to notice her blatant snubbing and focused on his own meal.

Hans was startled by a low growl from behind him and whirled around mid-chew to find himself facing a pack of five wolfkin. How had he missed the signs that this was a pack's territory? Neither he nor Nakita had picked up the scents of claimed territory and this pack had managed to sneak up on them while they ate. Taking another pack's prey on their claimed territory was a major offense, sometimes punished by death. He immediately tucked his tail and backed away, bumping into Nakita as he did so. The female turned to see what he was doing and yelped loudly when she saw the pack. None of them were as big as any of the Alphas Hans had seen in his lifetime, but they were all full-grown adults. The most aggressive of them was female with gray fur who was advancing towards him with a wicked snarl.

'You are trespassing on our hunting grounds and killed our elk.'

The lead female accused them with a bitter snarl and her followers echoed the sentiment. Hans forced himself to appear submissive as he carefully kept a few feet between himself and the others. Nakita was whimpering behind pitifully, which was probably the best way to appease the wolves they had wronged.

'We didn't know this was your land. We'll leave immediately.'

Hans carefully started to turn as if to leave but was cut off by the gray female skirting around him and blocking his path. They were surrounded.

'No, we will bring you to our Alpha. Only the Alpha can decide your punishment and if you may leave alive.'

He knew that they were overpowered and neither had any chance of fleeing from the other wolves who knew the land better than they did. But, risking the wrath of their Alpha could result in their swift execution. But, they had little choice as they were herded away from their kill.

The landscape grew denser with trees and had begun to slope uphill, but Hans had little chance to look around. If he or Nakita attempted to look around or hold their head up they were quickly reprimanded. Compared to the five native wolves, Nakita was a great deal smaller. Hans was nearly their size, but he was not yet full grown. Their youth could aid them in gaining the Alpha's forgiveness as neither of them would be seen as a threat to his position. But, they were not so young that they were guaranteed absolution.

The forest came to a clearing as their path began obstructed by boulders which littered a riverbed, forcing them to jump from one stone to another to avoid falling into the water below. Moss only grew on the sides of the rocks, suggesting that the natives used these rocks to cross the river frequently.

A new chorus of growls and barks heralded their arrival at the pack's den. Hans and Nakita were now surrounded by nearly twelve wolves as the gray female he assumed was the Beta darted into the den. A few moments later she reemerged with an Alpha female. Hans had never seen a female so large, she had to be at least nine hundred years old. Her pelt was a deep reddish-brown with ebony accents on her legs and face. She had golden eyes and a small battle scar on her nose.

The regal female glided towards them and Hans realized she was easily three times his size. The Alpha female sniffed at them both, circling them thoughtfully. Her attitude was neither aggressive nor friendly, but her presence alone demanded obedience.

'What brings you pups to my hunting grounds?'

Hans felt a small pang of embarrassment at the patronizing tone the Alpha had taken by calling them pups, although compared to the age he assumed she was they were little more than juveniles at best. This female could easily swat them like flies with her massive paws, which Hans suspected was the culprit in her total lack of aggression towards them.

'We are very sorry. We did not know these lands were claimed or that the elk belonged to you.'

The Alpha lifted her lip in a low growl, warning him to stay quiet. She leaned in towards him and with her lips lifted so that her fangs were visible in a foreboding display of dominance. Hans wasn't stupid, although he had gotten rather used to being the dominant personality with Nakita as his only companion. Swallowing his pride he tucked his tail and rolled on his back as the Alpha growled with her teeth right above his wind pipe. She could kill him now if she wished, but he suspected she only wanted his submission.

'Do you follow Sol or Mani, young ones?'

The Alpha female sat upon her haunches and had taken on a motherly tone. Hans carefully rolled onto his belly, but was uncertain if he should stand or not. Nakita was still cowering and shivering silently next to him, half way showing her belly and half ready to run.

'I'm sorry, Alpha. I don't understand your question.'

The Alpha female sighed deeply as she looked at him directly, causing Hans to instantly avert his gaze down to avoid upsetting her.

'Your sire and dam failed to educate you on the masters of our species?'

'My dam taught me of the Moon Mother, but I have never heard those titles before.'

'Then you are a child of Mani, although the Moon Mother, as you call her, has many names. The ancients called the Moon Mani, while others called the Moon Nott to reference the Moon, Stars, and Night as one. Sol, or Sunna, is the sun, worshipped by some of our kind as their ancestors taught them… Since you are a juvenile and a fellow worshipper of Nott, I will allow you a chance to redeem yourself in my eyes.'

'Thank you, Alpha'

The graceful Alpha looked between Nakita and Hans carefully and then sniffed them both in turn to learn their scent.

'I am Snotra, Alpha Female.'

'I am Hans and this is Nakita.'

'You are not from the same pack? Hans is Scandinavian and Nakita is Slavic. An interesting pair you make, Gracious and Unconquerable.'

'We have been companions for some time, but are not of the same pack.'

The Alpha female stood as if she felt somewhat troubled about their comradery. The other wolves gathered around them and proceeded to sniff, nip, and bark. Hans felt somewhat relieved that they had a chance at joining a pack, but they would both be on the bottom of the totem pole.


Hans POV:

Seras was hugging him. As little as he knew about human interactions, he did know what a hug was. It was a display of affection or an attempt to console or comfort; at times it could be a greeting or farewell. So which type of hug was this? Hans craned his neck around and sniffed gently at her, trying to pick up some clues about her emotions through his nose. There was a slightly salty scent in the air, was she crying? Yes, she was crying. He could smell the strange mixture of salty tears and blood that was vampire tears. Why was she crying?

Hans whined softly, beginning to feel concerned for her. After a moment she sniffed and looked up, her eyes showing blood mist around their rims. Then she smiled at him as if she were sorry about something, further confusing him. Seras was difficult for him to read, her body language and words didn't match up with each other.

"I'm sorry… Let's keep searching, okay?"

She stood and began walking away again, leaving Hans alone on the hill. Instead of following her right away, Hans looked up at the Moon Mother again. Why had he lost his faith after the war? It was comforting to see the moon in the night sky, knowing he could sing to her about his sorrows.

As Seras moved out of his line of sight, he lifted his snout up again and raised his voice to the Moon Mother. His pitch was deep and his tone uncertain, wishing for guidance. His life had taken such an unexpected turn and now the same person who had nearly ended him, was a person he was beginning to care for. But, Seras was so sweet and innocent. His tone turned mournful as he hit the high note of his howl.


Well here's chapter 11. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll have another out by Sunday. But, first I'd like to explain a few of the Russian terms Nakita uses in conversation. :)

Der'mó is a Russian slang term. In this case it's similar to 'Oh shit'

Svóloch is another Russian slang term meaning 'Asshole'

Snotra is a very important OC I brought in. :) I named her after a Norse goddess, although I want to be clear that she is not meant to actually 'be' said goddess, merely reference her due to similar character traits(I know I lack originality in naming my OC's XD). Anyway, let me know in the Reviews what you think of the new OC!