Chapter 3: Grandpa?
I barely recognized myself in the dressing room mirror. Who knew the right clothes could make such a difference? Turns out, black and red were definitely my colors. The tight black jeans, dark red tank top, and sleek new black jacket came together perfectly, miles better than the sorry excuse for an outfit I'd walked in with. I grabbed a few more pieces to last me the next few days while I figured out this whole new life in London thing.
When I stepped out of the dressing room, the saleslady was practically falling over herself with compliments. Sure, most of it was probably just to make a sale, but I caught the flicker of jealousy in her eyes as she looked me up and down. No matter how hard she tried, she'd never match my level of supernatural beauty. After a lifetime of being cursed by my so-called relatives, that flicker of envy felt pretty damn good.
I'd definitely spent more on a few outfits than I ever would've dared in my old life, but I didn't care. Money wasn't an issue anymore—at least, I hoped not. As long as the banks didn't start hiring witches and wizards to protect their systems, I'd be fine.
Speaking of magic… where were all the witches and wizards? I hadn't seen a trace of it since I got here, which was strange considering Rowena told me her magic school had been around for over a thousand years. Shouldn't a place like that be, you know, famous? Maybe I could just ask someone.
"Hogwarts? What's that?" the saleslady said when I casually dropped the school's name.
I blinked. "You know… Hogwarts? The school for magic founded by Rowena Ravenclaw over a thousand years ago?"
"Is that some kind of LARP thing? My roommate's been into that lately. I'm more of a smutty vampire kinda girl though. I love your red contacts by the way!" She complimented me.
"Uh… thanks?" I muttered, feeling my enthusiasm drain away. Realizing she was no help, I paid for the clothes and left with multiple bags hanging off my arms. I tossed my old clothes into a dumpster outside before approaching the first random person I saw on the sidewalk.
He gave me the same blank stare and same clueless response when I asked him about Hogwarts. In fact, it was even worse! He looked at me like I was completely delusional when I brought up magic at all.
Why didn't anyone know magic existed? After making a fool of myself with three more pedestrians after that guy, I gave up.
"What the hell is going on?" I grumbled. Rowena had said there was an entire magical community in Britain, but I hadn't had time to get any details of where it was actually located before I escaped the dungeons. I guessed I'd have to wait a few days to use the Resurrection Grail and ask her directly. I turned around to head back to my rundown hotel.
That was the plan, at least—until I accidentally walked right into someone!
"Oof, sorry about that…" I muttered, feeling like I'd just walked into a brick wall. The guy was sturdy. And tall—like, really tall. Coincidentally, he seemed to have a thing for red and black, too. He was decked out in a dark red trench coat and a wide red fedora.
"I always seem to run into the most interesting things during my walkabouts," he said with a quiet chuckle. Something about his voice made me shiver. He looked down at me through a pair of round, reflective yellow sunglasses, but I could still see the unmistakable gleam of red eyes behind them. They seemed to pierce right through me, and suddenly I felt very small under his gaze. Still, despite the obvious fact that this man was a vampire, I didn't feel like I was in any real danger. "...Who are you supposed to be, girl?" he asked curiously.
"I'm Valerie Tepes," I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I straightened up, determined not to be intimidated. I held his gaze with confidence, I wasn't going to be a weak little prisoner anymore. "Who are you supposed to be?" I threw his words right back at him.
"Tepes...?" he repeated slowly. Then, after a moment, he threw his head back and started to loudly cackle! "Hehehehahahaha! Interesting! Truly interesting!"
His cackling filled the street, and before I knew it, every passerby had scurried off, clearly wanting to be as far away from the "cackling madman" as possible. Within moments, the street was deserted, leaving just the two of us standing there.
Finally, he stopped laughing and grinned at me with his pearly sharp teeth. "You can call me Alucard." He introduced himself.
I snorted. Alucard? Seriously? This guy was trying to act all edgy by calling himself Dracula backwards...
"Sure thing, Alucard. What was so funny a second ago?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
He glanced around the empty street. "Perhaps you'll find out soon, but not here. This is no place for a proper reunion. I was just finishing my walk anyway. Would you like to return with me to my mistress's home, little Tepes?"
I frowned. "I'd rather not follow a vampire I don't know back to his home…"
He chuckled. "You're quite the cautious one, aren't you? But I give you my word, no harm will come to you, as long as you behave yourself. It's for your own good. Unregistered vampires aren't supposed to be wandering around London."
"Unregistered with who? And I'm only a dhampir," I pointed out, crossing my arms.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said with a shrug. "Policy states that all vampires not registered with the Hellsing Organization are to be exterminated. That would make me quite sad, considering your last name..."
What the fuck?
"Hellsing? The legendary vampire hunter who fought Dracula? There's an organization named after him? And it has vampires working for it? Also, how are you even standing in the sun? That trench coat isn't completely covering all of your skin."
Alucard's smirk widened. "There's a lot you clearly don't know about our kind, little dhampir. If you come with me, I can promise all your questions will be answered." He offered again.
Dammit…
My luck would turn out like this, wouldn't it?
"Fine." Against my better judgment, I begrudgingly decided to follow this random vampire back to his "mistress's home." On the off chance he wasn't full of it, I'd rather not be hunted down by some vampire-hunting organization when all of it could've been avoided with a bit of paperwork.
Alucard seemed a bit surprised that I accepted his offer, but didn't say anything as he led the way. We walked in relative silence for about thirty minutes. The surroundings became more luxurious and grand as we went, until we finally arrived at a massive gated mansion. Four armed guards with machine guns stood by the gates. One of them gave a nod to Alucard before the gates slowly creaked open, and we made our way up the long driveway towards the mansion.
–Sir Integra Hellsing–
Integra liked to think of herself as a patient woman, but there were moments when that patience was thoroughly tested—usually by her organization's most valuable and, simultaneously, most infuriating asset. Every time Alucard went on one of his "walkabouts" through town, he somehow managed to stir up trouble.
This time, he brought that trouble home with him.
"Alucard," Integra said slowly, her eyes narrowing as she observed the unfamiliar girl seated awkwardly in their sitting room. "Why is there an unknown vampire girl in my house?"
"Technically, she's only a dhampir," Alucard told her with his usual infuriating grin. "And I invited her..."
"A dhampir?" Integra raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping over the girl more closely. She was squirming slightly under Integra's scrutiny. "I thought those were a myth." The Hellsing Organization had never encountered one—until now.
"Not a myth," Alucard corrected with a grin. "I fathered a dhampir myself around 400 years ago." He said it so casually, but there was a faint glimmer of fondness in his tone, which made Integra uncharacteristically curious... and perhaps the tiniest bit jealous. Though she'd never admit it.
"Would you care for some tea, Miss Tepes?" Walter, ever the impeccable butler, asked the girl with a warm smile.
"I'd love to try some. Thank you," the girl said.
'Wait…Tepes!?' Integra thought to herself, her eyes widening in shock! That couldn't be a coincidence. The name was far too significant. It had to be the reason Alucard brought the girl here.
Her gaze darted between Alucard and the girl, searching for any resemblance beyond their shared glowing red eyes. But she found little. The girl was strikingly beautiful, almost like something out of a painting—delicate features, pristine. Meanwhile, Alucard was... well, Alucard.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Valerie Tepes," the girl introduced herself politely. "I came because Alucard said I needed to register with the Hellsing Organization if I wanted to live in London."
Well, that was certainly new—a vampire, or rather a half-vampire, who was both polite and law-abiding?
Integra allowed herself the faintest of smiles. "Alucard was correct," she said coolly. "The Hellsing Organization does not tolerate unregistered vampires—or half-vampires—wandering around Britain unaccounted for." It was true. There were only a handful of registered vampires in the country, and most of them were ancient, far older than even Alucard. They preferred to live in peace, causing no fuss. Alucard, however, always managed to be the exception.
"So, I can just register and be on my way then?" Valerie asked, her voice hopeful.
Integra smirked. "It's not quite that simple. First, we'd like to know a bit about you. We don't let just anyone roam around Britain without understanding who they are."
Valerie frowned at that, clearly uncomfortable with that topic. "Okay… but my story isn't very long, or very happy," Valerie said hesitantly. She began explaining her life, and despite what little Integra knew about dhampirs—or vampires in general—it was surprising to discover Valerie really was as young as she looked. Nineteen, maybe twenty years old, and she didn't even know her own birthdate or the current year.
As Integra listened, a rare feeling stirred in her—pity. For a moment, she thought of her own difficult life, her uncle's betrayal, the murder of her parents, and his attempt to take over the Hellsing family. But Valerie had endured even worse. Her vampire family apparently delighted in killing their half-human offspring for sport. Yet, for reasons unknown, Valerie had been spared.
The girl had spent her entire life locked away in some nightmarish vampire castle straight out of a horror novel. Then, one day, she discovered a way to communicate beyond its walls. She managed to reach a witch—an actual, literal witch—who taught her to harness the magic in her blood and use it to escape her lifetime of imprisonment.
That revelation hit Integra hard. 'How on earth did we miss all of this?' Her organization, with agents scattered across the globe, had no idea that magic was real, or that there was a whole secret magical society living in Britain. And on top of that, a thousand-year-old magic school existed.
She didn't even want to get started on the topic of Romania being secretly controlled by two ruthless vampire clans—one of which were Alucard's own direct descendants. Although Valerie obviously didn't know that part–yet.
Integra shot Alucard a sharp glare.
He shrugged shamelessly. "Don't look at me like that. I had no idea about any of this either. Let's not forget that your ancestors had me locked in the basement for hundreds of years. I had no idea what was occurring in the world after my disappearance. They only let me out for world war two, and then I was right back in the hole."
Integra bit her lip, considering Alucard's excuse. As far as excuses went, it wasn't terrible, but still... This was going to be a nightmare to explain to the Queen and the rest of the Round Table. The fact that an entire country in Europe had been secretly run by monsters all this time was bad news, to say the least.
Her organization would likely need to expand its forces after all these supernatural revelations. And, as she glanced at Valerie, she considered that she might just have a new recruit in the making. But how to go about getting the girl to join them? Integra's gaze curiously drifted down to the shopping bags next to Valerie.
"I have a question for you, Valerie," Integra started probing a bit.
"What is it?" Valerie replied cautiously.
"You mentioned that you escaped Romania earlier today with the help of a wizard. You should have arrived in London with nothing—yet Alucard found you walking out of an expensive clothing store carrying thousands of pounds worth of brand-new merchandise. Where did you get the money for all those clothes?"
Valerie averted her eyes, clearly trying to dodge Integra's sharp gaze. "I... found it…"
Integra raised an eyebrow. The girl was a terrible liar. She was already letting Valerie off by not prying into the parts of her story that were clearly missing, but this was different. She couldn't ignore it.
"If you're going to live in our great nation, we cannot tolerate you being a criminal," Integra said, her voice firm. "I won't ask where you obviously stole that money from, but I won't allow it to happen again. If you need money, then you'll need to get a job!"
Valerie's eyes widened in disbelief. "A job? Seriously!?" she sputtered.
Integra had her now. She allowed a small smirk to creep onto her face. "Luckily for you, our organization is currently hiring. As a direct descendant of Alucard, I expect you could do very well with us."
Valerie blinked, her head snapping towards Alucard. "Wait, what? Are you actually Dracula? I thought you were just some edgy vampire using his name backward!"
Integra barely suppressed a snicker, catching the brief look of irritation that crossed Alucard's face. He frowned, clearly unamused by the accusation.
"Edgy... random vampire?" Alucard repeated, his voice low and dangerous.
Valerie continued. "I mean... kinda? We're inside now but you're still wearing sunglasses."
Integra almost lost it! Watching her infamous vampire servant's ego take a critical hit was oddly satisfying.
–Valerie–
I couldn't believe it—I had literally been picked up off the street by Dracula himself! Who, as it turns out, was also my ancestor. Who had somehow ended up enslaved by the original Hellsing and now worked for their organization hundreds of years later? I was still a bit fuzzy on the details, but Dracula—er, Alucard—didn't seem too bothered by his current lot in life.
"This bedroom will be yours, Miss Tepes," the butler, Walter, said as he showed me around one of the mansion's many spare rooms.
"Thank you, Walter. You can just call me Valerie, though," I replied. There was no reason for me to return to that rinky-dink motel since I had agreed to join the Hellsing organization. I didn't know if i would work with them forever, but when i thought about it, it was a good option for me.
Integra had explained that Hellsing would train me to fight vampires properly, and Alucard would teach me how to harness my vampire abilities. Apparently, I had a lot of untapped potential, being a direct descendant of the most infamous vampire of all time.
When I'd asked Alucard if being a dhampir would limit my abilities, he just gave me that cryptic grin of his, and said, "It won't be a problem."
I set my bags down on the ridiculously luxurious bed and took a moment to soak in my surroundings. Everything in the room screamed obscene wealth—the thick curtains, the polished mahogany furniture, the ornate chandelier hanging overhead. It was worlds away from the cramped, dingy motel room I'd woken up in that morning.
"Before I go, this is for you," Walter said, handing me a thermos covered in sleek black leather. It was warm to the touch. "This is a gift from Alucard," he added.
Curious, I popped it open and immediately caught the scent of something… delicious. The rich, metallic tang of blood hit me, but there was something off about it. It didn't smell quite like human blood, but neither did it smell like animal blood. It had a scent I felt was familiar but couldn't quite place.
Eh, I'm sure it was fine. I shrugged inwardly, figuring it would be rude to turn down what was likely some kind of peace offering from my great-great-great…and many more greats grandpa.
Besides, I was still hungry, even after feeding from those junkies earlier. I lifted the thermos to my lips and drank. The strange scent barely registered as the warm blood hit my tongue and slid down my throat. Despite the odd smell, it tasted–
It tasted incredible!
I quickly downed the entire thermos, licking my lips at the end, savoring every last drop. As the blood flowed through me, a tingling warmth spread across my body, though it felt different from the usual orgasmic rush I got from human blood. This wasn't carnal, this was deeper, richer, like there was a slow-burning fire sparking to life inside me.
"That was fantastic!" I smiled. "What kind of blood was that?"
Walter raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by my enthusiasm. "Was that not just ordinary human blood?"
I shook my head "No! It was way different than human blood!"
"Interesting," he murmured. "Perhaps Alucard–"
I didn't hear the rest of what Walter had to say as my world suddenly went black and I collapsed backwards on the bed…
–Alucard–
Alucard snickered as Walter scurried off to tattle on him to their mistress. He could practically hear Integra's accusing tone before she even walked through the door.
"What was in that thermos you gave our newest asset, Alucard?" she demanded with narrowed eyes. "I've never heard of a vampire fainting after drinking blood before."
Alucard smirked. "It was nothing bad," he drawled, leaning lazily against the wall. "I just wanted to make sure my new daughter was up to snuff."
Integra's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, disbelief flashing across her face. He always did love riling her up.
"Your daughter?" she repeated incredulously. "That girl might be your descendant, but she's not your daughter."
"Correction," Alucard said, a sinister smile curling at the edges of his lips. "She wasn't my daughter. But after she drank MY blood... she will be."
Integra and Walter both gaped at him. "Your blood!? Why would you give her your blood?" Integra asked.
"I am a monster, I've always known that. But even monsters have regrets," Alucard said cryptically. He didn't feel up to speaking on the topic further.
Integra threw her arms up in frustration. "Fine, whatever! It doesn't really matter if you want to 'adopt' the girl. Her original family needs to be dealt with anyway. Just remember how many enemies you have, Alucard. Some of them will come after her if they find out about your connection."
Alucard agreed. "That's why I gave her my blood. She's too far removed from me to inherit much of my powers naturally. When she wakes up in a few days, she'll have evolved into something… different."
Integra narrowed her eyes. "Will she still be half-human? Her ability to walk in daylight was one of the reasons I thought she'd be useful to us."
Alucard waved her concern away with a flick of his hand. "You needn't worry about that. She'll keep her immunity to the sun."
XXX