A/N: And here it is, the last chapter.

With the light came the return of sensation and reality. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized she didn't know how to extricate her hand safely. Though locked away, she must have somehow accessed her powers to allow her fingers to wrap around her heart without ripping arteries. But now that she was lucid she no longer could control them.

"I...I had to help it," she said faintly. "It was crawling out of the hole and I needed to pull it out."

Suflețel appeared beside her as a black cat and swiftly stood on her hind legs, resting her forepaws on Maria's breast to better inspect the buried hand. You foolish child, she chided. If we had been but a moment later…

Alucard crouched down beside her, and in his cupped hands was an amorphous black shadow. Soundlessly he pressed it above the hole and she felt it sink through flesh and bone and to her deepest core, like an icicle sinking to the bottom of a lake. The bleeding and raw maw that the beast was trapped in was filled with its coldness and Maria let out a cry of anguish at the loss even as she was made whole again. They had been so close to freedom, to ascension.

We're going home, Alucard informed her, and she realized numbly that their connection had been restored. Don't move that hand.

She said nothing as he picked her up and his shadows carried them back to her chambers where he laid her carefully on the bed. His powers flowing anew through her thanks to their bond must have dissolved whatever fetters the Turks had put on her third eye and shadows because she could feel them come back to life.

Suflețel sat on her stomach, staring down at her with sharp crimson eyes. Now remove your hand slowly.

But I wanted to set it free, she protested weakly, her eyes fluttering open and shut from the blood loss.

That is something that is best left sleeping, Suflețel said plainly.

It was faint, but if Maria concentrated very hard she could still hear the beast's betrayed howls from beneath the lake of Alucard's presence. It had been so very close to freedom only to have it cruelly ripped away.

A part of her wanted nothing more than to pull it up and out once and for all, but she knew that Suflețel would never give her bad advice. Her familiar had been around for longer than either she or Alucard had and she knew of the world in ways Maria could never hope to.

Gingerly she loosened her fingers and pulled them out centimeter by centimeter from her chest. Her army of souls poured forth from their confines and smoothed over the wound like fresh water, washing away the pain and blood until she was whole once more.

The very moment the injury had sealed and Maria breathed a long and relieved sigh Alucard was upon her like a tidal wave, covering every inch of her with his body and shadows as he seized her mouth covetously. It was all she could do to wrap her arms around him, overwhelmed not only by this physical presence but also by the connection that brought her back to life, enriching everything around her. She could feel his joy and his rage, his lust and his ambition as though they were her own and the world was as it should be once more.

Never break this bond again, she begged him.

Never, he swore, and his gloved hands traced her curves as if to commit every last cell to his memory while his shadows entwined with hers. I refuse to let you remain in this vulnerable state a moment longer. Allow me to complete the ritual.

She was conflicted. Still shaken from the whole ordeal and newly reunited with him, she felt that she needed time to make such a permanent decision.

He growled against her lips as her dissent filtered through their connection and nipped her lip so he could suck away the beads of blood that blossomed. You decided years ago. You've begged me countless times. Why hesitate now?

Even as her mind wavered her body yearned for him in the worst way possible. She thrust her need against his and was rewarded when he hissed in delight before grinding himself further against her.

I thought I had two more years. This will change my plans with the humans.

To Hell with them, the vampire dismissed. You have curried enough favor that they will see reason regardless.

When she remained silent Alucard further deepened the kiss, as if by laying siege to her mouth he could conquer her indecision. His unfiltered desire flooded her mind and served to only fuel her own and the heat pooling beneath her belly button was alarming.

Join me in the Night, he cajoled, and he broke their kiss to stare down at her with a sinfully promising smile as he pressed his length against her core. His gloved hands ghosted over her breasts reverently and Maria found herself arching her back desperately as she wished their bothersome clothes would vanish. Cast aside the fetters of your humanity and finally ascend to the throne with me.

He never took his eyes from hers as he began loosening his cravat and undoing the top few buttons of his white shirt to reveal the tantalizing flesh beneath. Maria was enthralled.

Never again will you know cold or hunger, he continued. Never again will you be separated from me.

"Alucard," she whispered, "why now? You seemed content to wait until I was fifty."

His gentle touch to her cheek was at odds with the harsh quality of his voice. "Had I arrived too late tonight, not even God Himself could have stopped me from destroying this world. I will not risk your safety another moment."

In the past thirty years Maria had had more close calls than she could count, whether it was by the hands of the vampires she ruled, by monsters, or by the Ottomans. She had always managed to pull through, though, but ever since Alucard's return the stakes had risen drastically. They had both let their guards down tonight and the result had nearly been catastrophic. As troublesome as this weak human body was, as much as it had held her back, she would be sad to be rid of it.

Think of how much you will gain, he willed her.

Maria was no fool; she knew that Alucard always did what was in his best interest above all. He wanted her to change because he was frightened of what he would become if she died. He only cared about her desires and happiness when they directly affected him. Having turned previous brides against their will and discovered the pitfalls of that approach, he was doing everything in his power to convince her. Though if he had his way, he would simply steal her humanity from her before she could cry out.

As she considered, she ran her fingers down the silk of his shirt. He watched her every moment hawkishly.

"Tell me what happened to the Turks," she said.

A deviant grin grew on his lips. "I smote them," he hissed. "Though not all. We will conquer them together as King and Queen."

Maria was taken aback by this. He had stayed his hand against his oldest and bitterest enemy so they could destroy them together. Her heart fluttered in her chest at this kind and totally unexpected gesture.

He wanted her to rule with him. He wanted her to be his for now and ever, just as he wanted to be hers.

Her heart was decided, and Alucard must have felt the shift in her thoughts because he chuckled gladly and knelt down to give her a deep kiss.

"Finally," he breathed against her lips, his cool breath fanning across her feverish flesh, "you will be mine, body and soul."

She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him again hungrily before reminding him as she nipped his ear, "And you will be mine."

He laughed and with a wave of his hand their clothes melted into the shadows. His cool and firm body settled atop hers and he gave a kiss full of eagerness as his hands caressed her cheeks and hair with a level of reverence she never thought possible of him. As though she were a rare flower and he the wind his touch was soft and yearning. Maria found herself desperate to feel him as well—she wanted to commit to memory every last second of her humanity as it dripped away, from how his cool touch sent tingling shivers to her core and how his inky black hair twisted around her fingers of its own accord.

I will miss this heart and this warmth that threatens to melt me. But most of all I will miss these eyes, the azure green of a sun-kissed meadow I can never look upon.

Had it been a perfect world, Alucard would never have turned her. He cherished her for her human side more than for her monstrous side. He had always loved those who were stronger than him, those who could overcome any fear or obstacle with the might of their human will alone. It was his downfall. But he had reached a level of investment in her that surpassed all previous ones. No longer could he be content to watch the human he cared for succumb to battle and old age. He had to have her as his own until the end of time.

I'll make sure to change them back to green every once in awhile, she promised him.

He broke their kiss and sat up between her legs to survey her once more as the King with a wild black mane and neatly trimmed beard and moustache. His red eyes meticulously roved from her flushed cheeks and mussed curls to her heaving bosom and finally down to her core that was moist and ready for him.

"Eşti gata?" he asked.

Could anyone ever be truly ready for such a massive event? But Maria had been mostly ready for the past three decades. Now was not the time for cold feet. She nodded and licked her lips before answering, "Da."

"Acesta va fi de peste în momente," he assured her, and Maria's warm hand reached for his at her waist as she bared her neck to him. As he knelt down and ran his tongue over her jugular he wore the same mad and delighted smile he always did, but tonight Maria thought there was a hint of sadness in it. Tonight was, after all, the beginning and end of something he craved above all else.

"Pe curând," Maria whispered, her voice trembling.

He gave a squeeze to her hand as she wrapped her other arm around his back and he sank his fangs deep into her. She felt no pain as he began to drink every last drop of her life away; she only felt a deep sense of contentment. She had made the right decision, this was the correct thing to do.

The world around her began to grow faint and his chill was sinking into her own body. Her eyes were becoming heavy, but Alucard would squeeze her hand and she would resurface briefly. Soon even his touch couldn't rouse her and Maria allowed herself to slip into the darkness, knowing that she would rise once more to him beside her. The only sound in the room was that of her gradually slowing heart and shallow breaths, until those too faded and all she was left with was the dark.

The first thing Maria was met with when she opened her eyes was a familiar set of red eyes staring straight into hers. She lay on her side and her king was beside her, still as a statue as he waited.

"I…" She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. They seemed to be whizzing by at the speed of light as she took in everything around her. As a human her third eye had allowed her to detect many things she should've have been able to sense, but there had been limits to how much her human brain could process. Now she was overwhelmed by the stimuli, from the sounds of the kitchen cooks readying breakfast floors above to the odd whirring sound of the clouds in the sky rolling steadily eastward. Even though her chambers were pitch black she could see everything as though it were day, down to individual dust motes drifting through the air. Alucard was before her looking even more breathtakingly flawless than ever. He watched in silence as she adjusted, carefully gauging her every motion and change of expression.

She looked down at her hands, which were splayed across his broad chest. The faint wrinkles that had formed over the years were gone and her flesh was firm and supple once more. Her long chocolatey curls were even more lustrous than before and each lock fell in a perfect ringlet. With a start she realized that she hadn't once taken in a breath since waking, and that she could no longer hear her heart.

"Did it work?" she whispered.

He frowned. "I'm not sure."

At her bewildered expression the No-Life King took her hand in his and held it to his cheek. Maria was startled by the coldness of his touch. They should have been the same temperature. But if anything, he felt even icier than before.

"Instead of growing cold you grew even hotter," he accused her, "like there is a fire burning where your heart should be."

"But...why?"

"I can't say. What dark arts did you dabble in while I was away?"

"Just the soul splitting and making a contract with one more familiar," Maria said quickly. "I wanted to rely on myself as much as possible."

I have the answer.

Suflețel had appeared in the space between the two of them on the bed as a kitten, looking from one to the other.

The two of them sat up to listen to what the hellbeast had to say.

My master is not a mere human, she explained.

Alucard rolled his eyes. He never had patience with riddles and circular talk. "We've long been aware of that. Be direct."

Giving up on him, Suflețel turned her attention to Maria instead. The night this vampire found you, you were surrounded by three other vampires. They had completed a very old and complex ritual, and you were their fruit.

"What...what kind of ritual?" Trepidation had suddenly seized her at her familiar's words. Was she some freak? What manner of ritual could it have been?

It has only been successfully completed four times since the dawn of man. The vampires managed to fuse a familiar to the soul of a human infant. The beast you nearly ripped out earlier tonight was none other than the familiar itself. It remained dormant within the depths of your soul thanks to the vampire's dark presence which served as a balance between the good and evil you inherently possess, though you inadvertently used some of its powers.

"This is why you were so quick to learn how to use the powers I gave you," Alucard muttered.

Of course, Suflețel sneered. This pompous oaf thought it was solely thanks to his influence that you were able to blossom in the Night as you have.

"And this is how I always understood what your familiar was saying," she added numbly. "Is this why I can read souls a little?"

The shadowy cat inclined its head in a nod. Your eyes will never be as perceptive as mine, but you use the beast's sight to catch glimpses of souls as we do. While you cannot see every facet as we do, your experiences as a human allow you to connect their causes and effects in ways we cannot.

"I'm warm because you are warm," Maria surmised. "But then does this mean that I am not a vampire?"

Most importantly, would this impure existence keep her from staying with Alucard until the end as planned?

You are the first to have walked this path so I cannot say with certainty, Suflețel answered, but only the human half of your soul has been turned. The other half remains unaffected. One would assume that since both vampires and familiars are non-living so are you, and as both are creatures of night and shadow so are you.

"Is there no way to release the familiar within me?" Maria asked. She could still remember its anguished howls as if they had been her own. "A way to let it surface?"

Now that your body of flesh no longer hinders you, perhaps. Time will tell.

"We can discuss this later." Alucard waved the cat away and Suflețel hissed at him reproachfully. "Human, vampire, familiar—you could be the Devil Himself and it would matter not. I've waited centuries for this. Your prattle can come later."

Maria stroked her familiar's back and pressed her nose to her moist one. "Thank you," she whispered sincerely. "I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me. I want to talk with you more about this later."

Half a millennia younger than the vampire and yet a thousand times wiser, Suflețel muttered in one final jab at the No-Life King. She faded before Alucard could swipe her off the bed and back to Hell.

"I hate cats," he spat, face twisting into a snarl.

"What if what's inside me is a cat familiar?" Maria teased, and she ran her nails down his chest playfully.

"I'll skin you like one," he growled as he grabbed her by the waist to pull her flush against him. A groan escaped his lips at the contact as Maria hissed. Their temperature difference was even starker than before, and it was as torturous as it was pleasant to their overly-sensitive touch.

She kissed him, exploratory and curious. He was the same as he had always been, but now she could taste every nuance of his existence, could feel the grooves of each rough thumbpad as they rubbed against her nipples covetously and it was all she could do moan softly as he returned the kiss, adding in his greed and impatience.

Our game of foreplay has carried on for far too long, he decided.

Oh, I don't know, Maria said nonchalantly as she ran her tongue up his neck and nibbling on his ear. I could wait another couple decades. This is all so brand new to me.

Alucard squeezed her to him so his raging erection could press against her thighs. "I ran out of patience long ago," he said dangerously.

She just chuckled as she took his length into her hot hand to give it a few pumps. The Nosferatu groaned and shivered against her, eyes sliding shut.

"Oh? Cat got your tongue?" asked Maria innocently with the most devilish smile on her lips.

His eyes shot open and he fixed her with a glower that could wither an entire field. In the blink of an eye he was on top of her, his manhood settled in its proper place at her entrance as he held himself up over her with two strong arms. Maria smiled as she put a hand on either shoulder. The two of them simply stared into each other's matching crimson eyes, not moving. This was the final cliff to jump, the only thing left keeping them from becoming one. The momentousness of this occasion humbled them.

Maria reached up to tuck a stray black curl behind his ear and gave him a soft kiss. "Take me," she whispered. "I would be yours in every possible way."

Though he was poised at her entrance, he remained still. Never breaking his intense gaze he said quietly, "During my absence, I did nothing but fight the millions of souls I have killed. Countless times I thought I would be overwhelmed and countless times I was so tired I wished to be overwhelmed, for it all to finally end. But then I would look up at the sky above me to see the sea of stars and I would remember your smile and your sharp tongue. You were my sole inspiration to return."

She had never known that she had been so instrumental to his homecoming, assuming that he had come back firstly because it had been Sir Integra's final order to him before he faded. Knowing Alucard, this sort of confession would never fall from his lips again and so she said nothing, just listened intently.

"I am your king," he continued, "but you are my queen as well. I will not cease serving you until the final fiber of my being dissolves into the ether."

"Alucard—" she began, overcome with gladness.

"No," he cut in. "Use my real name."

"Vlad," she corrected, and then she kissed him again as passionately as she dared. He met her frenzy with his own, their bodies sliding together in a way that made her light-headed as his manhood rubbed longingly against her unbearably wet core. "I don't know what is beyond this realm, but when it is our time to leave it we will travel together. I will never relinquish my hold of you."

Hearing the words he had so often told her in her youth from her lips incensed him, and as he claimed her lips afresh in a kiss of heat and promise, he entered her in one fluid motion. Maria cried out from the suddenness and the pleasure of being filled so completely. His chill filled her to her very core and she knew for the first time what it meant to be whole.

Vlad didn't wait—couldn't wait—for her to adjust to this new thrill and immediately began pumping in and out of her at a languorous pace as the two of them learned how they fit together. Maria's hips itched to move in time with his, but his strong hands on either hip prevented her from doing anything other than basking in their perfection. She ran her fingers down his chest, pausing to tweak a nipple and eliciting another shudder from him.

"Stop," he ordered in a groan. "I'm going to melt."

But Maria had always had a devious streak in her. She returned her hands to his shoulders obediently, and then wrapped her legs around his hips without warning to draw him even deeper within her. His cock hit a magical place inside that had her seeing stars and crying out his name and a filthy oath fell from his lips in a hiss as what little restraint he had crumbled. He pistoned into her with abandon as he rested his full weight upon her so his hands could feel every inch of her flesh.

Maria was on fire, and the blaze was fed by ice. She said his name like a prayer as he finally allowed her to move in time with him so she could bring him some of the pleasure he so generously bestowed upon her. There was lava building up inside her just beneath her belly button; she was feverish and moments from eruption and the only thing that existed in this world was her king.

Vlad was just as close to the point of no return as she was, judging by the way each unnecessary breath he took trembled just the slightest bit. Maria extended her shadows to his, and they sparked like two live wires. Their connection was magnified instantly, and it was as though for that moment, their bodies were one and the same. Maria could feel his pleasure just as she could feel hers, could feel his adoration and relief as if they were her own.

"More," she panted. Or had he said it? The lines of their existence were so blurred that it no longer mattered.

Harder and deeper he thrust until Maria thought she would burst from the sheer intensity of the ecstasy. They were mere inches away from diving off the cliff, but something was missing.

Without thinking, she bit down into his right shoulder and with a groan of her name he followed suit. As his rich blood welled up to meet her tongue just as hers did to his, the final connection of mind and soul were made. It was the final bit of pressure needed for the volcano to erupt and cover the world with its fervor.

With a cry Maria's world turned into a place of stars and ecstasy the likes of which she had never known. She clung to Vlad as his rhythm collapsed into something rough and erratic yet flawless as he filled her with his seed.

In the aftermath the two of them remained still, unable and unwilling to move. Bodies and shadows still entwined, they drank from each other as they basked in the wholeness of their union. Maria's breasts heaved even though she knew breath was no longer necessary.

With this, we are one, the Nosferatu told her. This bite will be the only scar you will gain as a vampire and it will serve as a reminder to any and all that you are mine and I am yours.

She liked the sound of that. She made a mental note to make sure to buy more dresses that would reveal her shoulders and she felt him smile against her skin.

Presently they both drew away from their markings and kissed once more, allowing each other to taste themselves. Maria's blood had changed only marginally, having lost some of its sweetness in exchange for something more complex and bitter like cacao.

They broke the kiss and Maria nestled into her place in the crook of his shoulder as he put a cool arm around her. She could feel his seed leaking out of her, and she couldn't help but lament its loss.

"Now what?" she asked presently.

His answer was matter-of-fact. "We're not leaving this bed for at least a week. And after that, we'll lay waste to the Turks."

Maria laughed, a full and happy sound. "Of course. Silly me."

A/N: And this is the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed it. I know there are still some things I didn't cover, like the obliteration of the Turks, the wedding, or Maria's coming out to the human politicians. If you'd like me to write those things, let me know in a review and I may be persuaded. :)

I always liked the concept of familiars. I imagined that Schroedinger was actually a familiar given a human body and not a werewolf. This would allow him to travel "everywhere and nowhere," and would align with how the Major treated Schroedinger as though he were a pet.

Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed. It made writing this story well worth it.

"Eşti gata?"=Are you ready?

Acesta va fi de peste în momente=It'll be over in a matter of moments.

Pe curând=See you. :3