Author's Note: Ehhh I know. I suck for waiting this long, but I don't care. I worked really hard on this chapter, which will hopefully propel the story into an entirely different tone.

Happy writing.

-snowglobesareawesome


Chapter Twelve:

The Thirst

Seras continued to stare at the pages, forcing the words into her mind, determined not to let Alucard win this one. She read each word, not really understanding the meaning but reading nonetheless. The withered old pages were soft in her hands. The sound of pages scraping together was the only one to be heard. Her brow knit in concentration as he stepped closer, his shadow falling over her.

"Seras, put the book down," grumbled Alucard. He reached out and tipped the book with his index finger, revealing the cover and title to his mocking eyes. He chuckled softly and sat across from Seras.

"The Lord of the Rings? I find it hard to believe that you are really reading Return of the King with that much interest."

Seras focused harder, processing each word like a cow chewing cud. Frodo and Sam were, of course, climbing a mountain, a hill, something. They had been at it for the last ten pages.

"Seras," Alucard sighed impatiently, his foot tapping against the ground. "We have to work on your training."

Training was just code for "I beat the hell out of you, drink from you until you see white in ecstasy/bloodloss, then feed you my rich, noble blood until you're bloated and sleepy." Seras was sick of the cycle and she was determined to break it. Those little "training" sessions left Seras confused and uncertain and she hated it.

Alucard placed his gloved hand over the pages and then jerked the book away, tossing it somewhere behind him. Seras pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. Alucard watched her with amused eyes and her confidence faltered as she wondered about what he could be thinking.

"Are you ready to move on, Police Girl?" His tone was challenging, his eyes alight. Seras growled and decided to take things into her own hands. She slammed her fists onto the surface of the table. It shook, but Alucard was unfazed. She lunged at him with open eyes, colliding with his chest and propelling them both back onto the ground. She tore at him, only to have him restrain her arms and lock her flush against him, limbs immobile.

With adrenalin flooding her veins, she utilized her only remaining weapon: her teeth.

Seras' bared fangs snapped shut on Alucard's shoulder, tearing through the clothes and crunching down on flesh and bone. He hissed as blood poured into her mouth and she made the hard decision to spit it out, to avoid the heady drunkenness his blood caused. He observed her with rage-filled eyes as her jaw opened wider and she clamped down harder, purposefully not swallowing the hot red fluid. A flicker of confusion flitted across his face before he laughed in understanding.

"You fear my blood's power, Police Girl. That means I have already won."

She felt fury rise at his arrogance and she bit down with more malice. He growled and Seras felt the waves of pain lapping at her mind through their mental link. She realized, with a gasp, that she discovered how Alucard decided if a vampire's bite caused pleasure or pain.

She channeled all the malice in her heart into that bite, and felt the white-hot pain it caused through their link. He immediately threw her off of him, tossing her onto the table. It exploded into hunks of wood and splinters and Seras couldn't help but think Not again. She looked up from her place on the ground to find Alucard standing. She watched his skin creep and crawl, the muscles fusing back together, the skin melting into one continuous stretch of pale flesh.

He stepped toward her. The blood-soaked, tattered fabric over his shoulder reminded her of the insanity of her actions. She cowered, adrenalin rushing out of her system, expecting his blow. He knelt to her level, tipped her chin to fully face him. A wide, wicked grin split his face.

"Very good, Police Girl. The darkness in you is growing. I like it."

He evaporated into a cloud of mist, his resounding laugh still present in her mind. With a despondent sigh she realized…

He was right.

"Be still. Look straight at the target - at its center. Now focus. Do you see the center?" Alaric was hovering so close by that Seras felt giddy and very unfocused. She aimed the weapon, snickering at how he thought he could help her improve her aim. The very thought was outrageous.

Still yet, she reveled in the closeness and the warmth that he emanated. "Now, fire," he commanded and Seras pulled the trigger. Even distracted, the target split in half and floated to the ground. He clapped once, smacked her on the shoulder, and grinned.

"You're a quick learner," he commended and Seras held back a laugh.

"You're a great teacher, I suppose." Seras smiled, aimed at a new target, and fired. "Look, I can do it without you now." The expression on his face was one of priceless frustration – in their time together, Seras fought hard not to emasculate him. It was difficult when she was 50 times stronger and more athletic than he was. It was especially difficult to have a normal date with him, since she didn't eat "people" food and didn't want to try.

But Seras loved to watch him flounder around for a way to impress her.

As she trained and spoke with the men that day (mainly Alaric), Seras became aware of something strange. There was something planted at the back of her mind, like a dark seed she had never noticed before. She tried to wrap her mind around it, to identify it. Seras gasped as she realized what had taken root in her mind.

Thirst.

She was satiated, physically… but somewhere, deep inside, Seras needed more. She glanced around with new eyes, the newfangled feeling growing and taking over.

She looked at the officers that chatted and trained around her. They all seemed so…weak. Disgusting, really… until Alaric stepped closer to her. His breath washed over her face as he said something, and she could hear the blood rushing through his veins. It was hot and full of vitality. Even though she wasn't physically thirsting for blood… the beast inside her needed it.

Warm and fresh out of an artery.

In a blur of motion, she felt her hand snatch at Alaric and connect with his arm. She jerked him toward her so quickly that the man didn't have time to react or even cry out. Seras yanked his head back, exposing the flesh of his neck. Her mouth literally watered and all rational thought slipped into the background. Her head dove down toward his throat, but in the next instant she was knocked to the ground and restrained there.

Her instinct was to fight, to get closer to that sweet-smelling lifeblood, but the male on top of her was too strong. She recognized the stern touch of her master's mind and ceased her fighting. He probed her thoughts, reliving the last few moments through her memories.

Seras Victoria… that was not a very good idea. However, I would be lying if I said that I was not pleased.

"What's happening to me?" she choked out, her master's steel grip sending pain through her arms. She could smell it – the blood – and feel the savage thirst that occupied her mind like an entity of its own.

You've finally seen the world for what it is. You finally understand what you are. This thing inside you… it is the darkness you feared. Embrace it now, Police Girl. It is the only way that you will learn to control it, so that the humans do not see. You will grow stronger because of it.

"Because of what?" she ground out, teeth gritted.

The Thirst.


I've always felt like AxS fanfics were a little too…I don't know. Why would someone as powerful as Alucard give a flying fart about someone as weak-willed as Seras? I want Seras to become a wicked goddess – someone Alucard might actually go for, eventually. Until then, much sexual tension to hold us over. ^.^