Chapter 43: Hunting Ground I
"We have wasted enough time, I have to go back to China in a week, so let us start the hunt, we will be going to Moscow first to inspect the situation and move from there." Alucard said as his shadow rotated and morphed his body into that of his girlycard, the 'little girl' that put the gods and humans on their knees in a single day.
Upon seeing his figure Catherine's eyebrows lifted, having faint memories of that girl in her mind after watching his ones before.
Alcina nodded in excitement, "I plan to work with you from now on Master, but it won't be with this appearance so..." Her shadow moved and did the only thing she could do for now... Get a mask. Surely in a week, she would be able to change her appearance and there was no way the countess would properly merge into a normal citizen with a height of almost three metres... Therefore, unlike Alucard who used a second identity to hunt, she would use her first to hunt.
Alucard only nodded and then glanced at Catherine with 'his' pink eyes...
...
Then Alcina also looked at Catherine with a snicker.
*RING!*
A phone rang amidst the awkward silence and Catherine cleaned her sweating forehead with a smile!
'My Beloved Daughter<3' was the contact calling...
'Just in time!'
"OH! I have a call now! You two can go ahead!" She smiled apologetically and prepared to leave the room but...
A shadow swiftly took the phone from her hand and threw it away!
*BANG!*
"Hey! She was really calling me! I didn't fake it! you mean vampire!" Catherine pouted and put her hands on her slender waist, looking at Alucard with outrage!
"You're not getting away from this, get a mask or something and come with us..." Alucard said, not wanting to accept a 'NO', but even then, he couldn't really force her.
"No, please! I don't want to kill people! or drink their blood! That's worse!" She tried to flee only to get swiftly grasped in Alucard's arm as she was pulled up on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, trying to push her to resolve.
"NO! At least let me talk with my daughter first!" The Queen harrumphed in a temper tantrum that made Alucard release a disappointed sigh and put her down.
'She's not ready...' He wouldn't force her to kill or drink blood if she didn't want to, but it was still quite disappointing that she was so averse to their nature, but well... This wasn't the first time any of his Draculines drank blood immediately, if anything, Alcina was a very odd exception.
Catherine stopped her tantrum once released on the ground and bit her lips, looking back only to see Alcina giving her a disdainful stare before 'merging' inside Alucard. The latter disappeared shortly after without sparing her a glance.
...
She wanted to say, 'Wait, don't go...' but the words just didn't come out of her mouth.
The Queen of England rested on her feet as the phone rang in the distance until she eventually crawled to pick it up...
"What is it, Jane?" She said with a quite dispirited voice not feeling well at all.
"Mum... Are you alright? You sound weird." Her daughter answered from the other side.
"I'm alright... Just tired, what can I do for you dear?" She said trying to pull out the best mood for her daughter.
"No, mum, I just wanted to tell you that, Yang Chen got heavily injured in a fight... He has already recovered due to his powers but, there might be a chance that we will go and visit you faster than expected" Her daughter said from the other side with a stutter, still believing something was wrong with her mother.
This however stopped Catherine's thoughts for a good while, what if they came while Alucard was here?
"Is really everything okay with you mum? You have been acting weird recently... You're not as cheerful as before and your attitude towards Yang Chen has become a little cold?"
Catherine frowned deeply and then bit her lips, "Actually, there is something... I have found someone, Jane... I'm in love with someone else..." What was the use to keep hiding this? They would know eventually and the faster they knew the better. It was time to finish this toxic and awkward trio that they had become.
"Huh?" A voice filled with disbelief could be heard from the other side...
"As I said, I love someone now and plan to move out with that person... Jane, I'll betroth you to Yang Chen, this is what you wanted right?" Catherine said, her voice sounding more like the authority of a Queen than the kind voice of a mother at this point.
The appearance of Alcina Dimitrescu changed everything, and if she didn't move... She might be left behind.
But she really couldn't bring herself to kill people and drink their blood... It was so disgusting! Alucard's blood was delicious and she was used, no, addicted to it! And the way she saw it, him sucking hers and vice-versa was more of a romantic ritual than anything else... But others? It felt like cannibalism, something she'd rather never partake in.
But still, if there was something she couldn't tolerate was her being the cause of his disappointment... That's why she wanted to still herself give that last step, even if it was disgusting.
"Are you joking mother!? why this all of the sudden!? Did you forget all he did for us!?" Jane retorted with outrage, how could her mother do this to Yang Chen?
Catherine frowned and answered with equal outrage, "I know what he did, and I respected our deal for long, but no more! I don't want that anymore Jane! The next time you come we can talk about this more extensively... also, please make sure to tell me before you come, it is for the best if they don't encounter each other..." Having said that Catherine hung up on her daughter for the first time... Not wanting to continue this topic.
Now that Yang Chen had been injured by someone, it was more than confirmed that he would perish at the hands of Alucard if they ever crossed paths... Something she wanted to avoid at all costs. The Queen didn't want to encounter herself in a situation where she would have to make a choice between the two... Because she knew who she would choose no matter what and it would just hurt all of them...
She just left for her room not before ordering the maids and guards to act normally again. Then lay on the bed refraining on the back of her leaving and disappointed lover. Why did she have to fall for someone so complicated? It was mostly due to the shared memories.
But it didn't matter... nothing could stop those constant torrents of feelings that kept pouring and pouring out of her heart.
'Nothing can stop them... vampires are so fearful' she thought as she hugged her pillow and sulked.
**
**
In Zhonghai things were still hectic due to the Catastrophe but progressively calming down as this region wasn't covered by coasts with the wide river that disembogued in the Chinese sea being the only inconvenience.
In a period of a week or two, everything would be black to normal, but that didn't stop military groups and secret organisations from roaming around the streets.
Hunter Jets flew around and the atmosphere was heavy overall still, two certain CEOs didn't cease activities.
Tang Wan sat on the table of her villa, now working from home as her daughter was compelled to stay due to the school's routine suspension of activities for a few weeks.
The Tang Clan had been asking her to return to Beijing for a while and this whole ordeal only enhanced their efforts, but she still refused adamantly, she really didn't want to get back to those bunch of leeches, it was only her grandfather, Tang Zechen, that worried her.
She was looking at her laptop's screen and couldn't help but clench her hands tightly at the numbers she saw...
'Yu Lei International, +20% 24hrs change.'
'Hermes' Brewings, +12% 24 hrs change.
'Maple International Corporation, -2% 24 hrs change'
Those numbers suggested a simple matter... that cold bitch had gotten to Vlad Tepes before her! That was the only explanation. Her spies had told her nothing regarding Yu Lei's schedule or future programs, products or events, that suggested such an increase in their share value and that was only twenty-four hours, in three days they had gone up a whopping sixty per cent! And she had no doubt if the Catastrophe hadn't happened, that number would have just increased exponentially!
Yu Lei's shares should be going down dramatically together with the rest of Zhonghai's companies!
And moreover... She had been trying to contact that bastard for so long yet he didn't answer!
Who was she? She was the CEO of Maple International Corporation! China's richest corporation! Who was she? She was the richest woman in China! Chinese and Foreign billionaires queued to marry her! Yet this... 'UHG!'
Tang Wan held her nose bridge tightly, and closed her laptop, deciding to leave the matter aside.
*RING!*
"Good Afternoon, Jiemei", she answered the call with irritation, not wanting to speak with anyone today, this catastrophe was more like a holiday for her.
"Good Afternoon Boss, I have good news! The head secretary of Hermes' Brewings just called, Chairman Tepes is willing to have a meeting with you next Thursday, and he's coming to our branch in Zhonghai!" From the other side of the phone, her secretary said with glee!
The brunette rich CEO stopped in her tracks and stood up abruptly! and threw her expensive phone away like a piece of rubbish!
"YES!"
She clamoured, that Romanian asshole had finally dignified himself to answer! 'See how I will treat you Vlad Tepes!'
Moving her hand to her ear, she coughed twice and continued, "Yes, accept and prepare everything Jiemei!" But something was wrong... Moving her hand to check... The phone wasn't there.
Her gaze turned mechanically to the side only to see her newest phone broken on the floor in tiny pieces...
"NO!" The CEO's countenance fell at the overwhelming Dejavu feeling of this very same situation repeating once again as she ran to pick her deceased phone up but it was already unusable...
Luckily, she had another one in case of an emergency, an emergency like this that has happened more often than she dares admit.
...
As she spoke with her secretary, preparing to arrange everything, the place, the clothing, the contract (even if nothing was yet discussed) she didn't notice or feel how her brown eyes dimmed slightly and shone with a mysterious purple light for the briefest of moments.
Her destiny had just drastically changed upon receiving that call.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone