Alucard pulled the last of Anderson's swords from his arm, then knelt down before Seras. He pulled up the sleeve of his coat, uncovering the wound, gazing at her intently with hidden eyes.

"Master, Alucard," she started.

"Police Girl, you must drink my blood," he said. "Drink my blood, only then will you be free of your servitude to me. Once you are free, you will be ready to become true family."

Seras just gazed up at him, hands pressed to the floor. "You won't be my master anymore?"

"No, I won't," he said, and brought his arm closer to her. "But you will become a master of the undead. You will drink blood and walk the night by your own will. Now drink my blood, Seras Victoria."

She gasped, as he had never used her full name before. She groaned, but moved her head toward the wound in her master's arm, tongue ready to drink. But she couldn't do it.

"No," she said. Tears pricked her eyes. She lifted herself to her knees, ignoring the cut in her throat. "I don't want to leave you."

He made a sound of shock, lowering his arm. Seras continued to move closer to him, her eyes alight with something that was unknown to him. She didn't quite know what it was she felt; only that she was drawn to him, and it wasn't because he was her master. She remembered how gentle he had been in the church, how the smell of his blood had intoxicated her afterward.

"Alucard," she said again, and pressed her lips to his. Seconds later she pulled away, but her gaze refused to leave his. "I won't drink your blood. I won't leave you."

Seeming to gain a life of its own, his hand drifted up, cupping her cheek. His other arm slipped around her, pulling her up against his chest. That unknown feeling had broken through the stone that surrounded his still heart, filling it until it nearly burst. He felt her hands in his hair as her arms snaked over his shoulders, and a single phrase blew softly from his lips. "Seras Victoria," his mouth descended on hers, his veins filling with the same ecstasy he had felt the night they met; when he had changed her into one of his own. His wine-colored eyes closed, and his anger subsided into passion.