Author's Note: Hey everyone. Sorry I've missed out so much. School hasn't been any easy on me and homework had really been a pain in the butt! Well, I'm just glad I found some time to continue on with the story.

Chapter 12: Werewolf's Mark

"Verona is dead!" Aleera hissed angrily at Nathalia. "And all because of you! It was all a trap."

"If you want your monster so badly, sacrifices should be made!," Nathalia snapped, "Your master has already told me what to do if something like this happened." She stared at Aleera with a coy smile. "And it would seem we will soon have a new pet."

Form afar, she could see Anna kneeling before Velkan, her eyes watery as she said good-bye to her brother. He was dead after being shot with silver bullets. Now, Anna truly was the last of the Valerious. And Dracula will be more determined than ever to destroy her and anyone who gets in his way.

ooo

Anna heard movement behind her after planting a kiss to her brother's forehead as a farewell. But she wouldn't be long to meet up with him. She knew it all too well. He was dead and she feared that the same fate may have fallen on Nathalia. She turned around to see a staggering Van Helsing, his hand on his chest. His face showed pain, but not the same pain she felt right now.

"You killed him!" she yelled at him, getting up and pushing his against a tree, her fists hitting him lightly. She had no strength to hit him harder. "You killed him." she said in a whisper this time.

He grimaced, even though her punches were not hard. "Now you know why they call me 'murderer'." he said through gritted teeth. He groaned out loud, pain searing through his entire body. Why did it hurt so much? He never realized it would.

Anna stared at him, fear all over her face. Could it be that-?

To make sure her assumptions would not be true, she pushed his trench coat aside gently. What she saw made her gasp softly. She revealed a bite wound. One that came from a werewolf. The gray sweater he wore underneath was tattered around the wound and stained with dried blood, making it appear darker than its hue. "You've been bitten." she said solemnly.

He pulled the coat closer to his wound, grimacing from the movement he made with his arm. Anna backed away from him, ready to flee.

Passing by a tree behind her, a hooded figure appeared behind her. Sensing the presence, she turned around and gasped, recognizing the figure. "Nathalia?"

Nathalia punched Anna with all her preternatural strength, sending her spinning and colliding her head with a rock. Anna was knocked out before she even hit the rock. She quickly transformed into her hellish bat form, her body taking flight as she grabbed Anna by her ankle and flew away with her cargo.

Van Helsing heard too much commotion and went quickly to find out what was going on only to find Anna in the air and racing away. "Anna!" he called out, seeing that the princess was unconscious. He raced through the dense forest, rushing to get to her on time. He then reached the edge of a cliff and stopped abruptly, staring at the huge bat who stared behind her and smiled at him.

From his distance, he still couldn't see who it was. "Anna." he whispered helplessly. The pain jolted through him once more and he clutched the wound tightly, making it worse.

"Van Helsing!" Carl called out. He was behind the hunter, along with Frankenstein who limped quickly to catch up. His leg was a bit messed up after the jump a little earlier. They all stared at the figure flying away into Budapest.

ooo

Nathalia kept a watchful eye on the three men. She hid herself in an alley as they walked through the streets of Budapest. This was her home. Her territory. And they were in it. The friar rushed beside Gabriel's side and asked, "What are we going to do now?" They all seemed almost desperate t accomplish what was left of their mission.

"Save Anna and kill Dracula." Gabriel responded sternly. He looked at Carl. "The same plan as usual." he said to the friar. As they passed her, she walked behind them, loading her wrist-bow. In seconds, she was behind them and pointed the weapon to Gabriel's head. "Don't try anything, Gabriel."

ooo

Upon hearing his name, Van Helsing stilled. The voice wasn't male, though. It was female and all too familiar.

"All three of you; turn around. And don't move." she said.

They did as they were told to see a dark hooded person. The woman reached out with one hand and collected both of Van Helsing's revolvers from their holsters. "You've," she began, making sure he wouldn't try to do anything heroic, "caused so much trouble to my master." She looked up at him and from the little light provided for him from the clouded sky, he saw emerald eyes. Except, these looked glazed, as though under a spell. "So much trouble." she finished.

"What do you want?" he snapped. Whoever this woman was, she was ticking him off. She was just so damn familiar!

She looked at all of them. "As you all know, you've all been a thorn in my master's eye." she said. "A very nasty thorn." she said, disgusted. Her eyes fell on Van Helsing. She smiled. "The master commands a trade." She stared at Frankenstein who tried to cover his face, but all his efforts were futile.

"The monster," she then looked at the hunter coyly, "for the princess."

Having thought this through, he said, "Somewhere public. Lots of people." Beside him, Frankenstein growled and looked at the hunter in disbelief who ignored the sudden dread and anger that flowed from the monster.

"A place where my master will be less inclined to show his- other side?" she asked, smiling at how obvious he seemed to want the trade to be. But she wouldn't let it be so easy on him. It was all just amusement from him. He nodded and she chuckled.

"Tomorrow night is All Hallow's Eve." she said, circling him carefully. As would a predator would to her prey. "Here, in Budapest, there is a grand masquerade ball." She stopped in front of him, her eyes glowing under the dark hood, the only light inside the darkness. "We will see you there."

Before she had the chance to flee or fly away, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close enough to his face. He reached out to remove her hood. He felt something cold and hard against his throat. She had a dagger menacingly to his throat, putting slight pressure.

"I haven't fed in a long time." she whispered. "I could slit your throat right now and you wouldn't even know it."

"Then, why don't you?" he asked.

"I have no permission." she said. "If I were still a rogue, I would."

He took the opportunity to push her hood and she pulled back immediately, but it was already to late. Carl gasped behind him and the hunter was caught by surprise. A name escaped his mouth.

"Nathalia?"

She looked at him coldly. Without a word, she flew away, out of sight. He cringed in pain and for a moment, he thought it was his heart twisting in pain. Her cold and lifeless eyes forevermore scarred in his mind.

"You've let the Devil seduce her." Frankenstein said. "You let the Devil take what was left of her own soul!" he growled.

"I tried to save her. She didn't let me." Van Helsing said, speaking to himself, ignoring everyone and everything else. The pain and failure was almost unbearable.

In frustration, Frankenstein pushed him, and as Van Helsing stumbled backwards, his coat was pushed back to reveal his bite wound. Carl simply stared at it as the hunter covered the wound once more. Franknestein looked at it, his face almost looking satisfied.

"He has been bitten." he said. "Bitten by a werewolf." He stared at the hunter, a smile on his face. "Now you will become that which you have hunted so passionately."

The hunter sighed and withdrew the blow dart from within his coat. He held onto it tightly, unsure of what he was doing was right. Making up his mind, he removed the top and said, "I'am sorry."

Frankenstein stared at him with understanding eyes. "May others be as passionate in the hunting of you." he said, holding back his anger and remorse.

Van Helsing blew the dart out of the tube, three hitting their target. Frankenstein collapsed on his knees, struggling and still conscious. "You must... save her... from the Devil's grasp." he whispered.

Van Helsing sighed, remembering once more how glazed Nathalia's eyes were. Dracula had her under his spell. Seeing her face and eyes in a scowl, rage boiled inside him.

"I'm not like them."

"I know he has taken everything from me. My dreams and hopes. Who knows, he probably even took away my family."

Her words echoed in his head. She wasn't like them. He knew so and he would not let Dracula's tricks to make him doubt it. Frankenstein had finally fallen into a deep slumber and Carl walked up beside him. "Do we continue with our plan?" he asked.

The hunter looked at the young man. "We stick to the plan, Carl." he responded. "We kill Dracula. Make sure he burns in Hell."

Author's Note: That's the end of the chapter. Once again, sorry for the delay. So much damn work. I'll try to keep up with the program as much as possible. Ciao!

Luna