The tunnel exploded into a symphony of violence.
Alucard and the Hound were a chaotic tangle of shadows and snarls, rolling across the rusted tracks. Every time the beast’s claws raked across Alucard’s chest, the air filled with the scent of his ancient, potent blood—a scent that acted like gasoline on the fire of his own hunger.
"Alucard!" Anne shouted. She couldn't get a clear shot. They were moving too fast, a kinetic blur of gray fur and black wool.
The Hound slammed its massive head into Alucard’s sternum, throwing him backward onto the third rail. If Alucard were human, the voltage would have fried him instantly. Instead, he simply gripped the electrified iron, his eyes glowing a terrifying, incandescent red. The electricity arched around his body, illuminating his face—the face of a predator that had hunted the nights of Europe for centuries.
The beast lunged again, its jaws wide enough to crush a human skull.
"I said... don't look!" Alucard roared, his voice echoing with a supernatural power that made the tunnel walls vibrate.
Anne's knees buckled. It wasn't just a shout; it was a command, a piece of the Dracula bloodline manifesting. Her eyes instinctively shut for a fraction of a second, but her training overrode the magic. She snapped them back open just in time to see Alucard catch the Hound’s upper and lower jaws with his bare hands.
With a primal snarl, he twisted.
A sickening crack echoed through the Ghost Station. The Hound shrieked, a sound that transitioned from a wolf’s howl into a human scream. It fell back, its form flickering like a dying holographic projection.
As it hit the ground, the massive beast began to shrink. The fur receded into pale, sweaty skin. The glowing eyes faded into the terrified, bloodshot eyes of a man.
"Please..." the man gasped, clutching his shattered jaw. "The serum... it wouldn't... stop..."
Alucard stood over him, his chest heaving. His coat was in tatters, and his white shirt was soaked in a mixture of black ichor and his own crimson blood. He looked down at the man, his fangs still extended, his fingers twitching with the urge to finish the kill. To feed.
"Alucard."
Anne’s voice was soft, but it cut through the red haze in his mind like a silver blade.
He didn't turn around. He couldn't. He knew what he looked like. He knew the monster was currently sitting in the driver’s seat of his soul.
"Is he... is he the killer?" Anne asked, her boots crunching on the gravel as she stepped closer. Her gun was lowered, but she hadn't holstered it.
"He’s a victim," Alucard rasped, his voice sounding like it was being pulled through broken glass. "A prototype. Carmela didn't just make a leech this time. She tried to make a soldier."
"Alucard, look at me."
"No."
"Look at me!" She stepped around him, forcing him to meet her gaze.
Alucard flinched. He expected to see horror. He expected her to scream or pull the trigger. But Anne Jones just stood there, her face pale and her lip bleeding from the fall she’d taken earlier. She looked at his red eyes, at the fangs, at the blood on his chin.
She didn't run. She reached out, her hand trembling, and wiped a smudge of the beast’s black blood from his cheek.
"I knew you weren't drinking V8," she whispered, a small, sad smile touching her lips.
Alucard’s heart—that slow, heavy drum—skipped a beat. The red in his eyes began to recede, fading back into the icy blue of the man she knew. His fangs retracted with a sharp, dull ache.
"You... you aren't afraid?" he asked, his voice returning to its velvet-gravel tone.
"I've worked Narcotics for five years, Alucard. I’ve seen what humans do to each other. A guy who drinks blood but saves my life every Tuesday? That’s the least of my problems."
Alucard let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. But the moment of peace was short-lived.
The man on the ground suddenly convulsed. His skin began to glow with a dull, internal heat—the same "lava" effect they had seen on the Hound.
"He’s overloading!" Alucard grabbed Anne by the waist, lifting her off the ground.
"What? What's happening?"
"The serum has a fail-safe. Carmela doesn't like loose ends."
Alucard didn't run toward the ladder. He turned and sprinted deeper into the tunnel, toward a heavy steel blast door. He threw Anne inside the small maintenance alcove and shielded her with his own body just as the man behind them detonated in a flare of white-hot light.
The shockwave rattled the station. Dust and soot rained down on them.
When the ringing in Anne’s ears stopped, she realized Alucard was still holding her. He was shielding her so completely she could feel the coldness of his skin through her jacket.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice muffled against her hair.
"Yeah," she breathed. She pulled back slightly, looking up at him in the dim emergency light. "But you... you can't hypnotize me this time, Alucard."
Alucard looked away. "Anne—"
"No," she said firmly, her hand finding his. "Stop resetting the clock. I know what you are. And I’m still your partner. Unless..." she paused, her eyes searching his. "Unless you don't trust me."
Alucard looked at her—really looked at her. He thought of the centuries of loneliness, the "tomato juice" lies, and the shadows. He looked at the woman who had seen the Dracula legacy and didn't blink.
"I trust you, Anne," he whispered. "More than I trust myself."
Suddenly, his phone chimed. A video call.
He answered it. Carmela’s face appeared, looking as flawless as ever, though she was holding a tablet that showed the vitals of the man who had just exploded.
"Well, that was a spectacular failure," Carmela sighed. "But the data was priceless. Oh, hello, Detective Jones. I see you’ve survived the 'gas leak' again. You’re remarkably sturdy for a human."
"Carmela," Alucard hissed. "It’s over."
"Over?" Carmela laughed. "Brother, the Hound was just the distraction. While you were playing hero in the tunnels, someone broke into the Sanguine Vault. They didn't take money. They didn't take drugs."
Her smile faded, replaced by something genuinely cold.
"They took the Primal Strain. The blood of our father. And Alucard? I think they’re going to use it to bring him back."
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