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Author's Chapter Notes:
It's all the plot bunnies fault!!!!!
"Harmony, I haven't seen you since graduation. I thought you went to LA with Cordy," said the Slayer, causing the vampiress to look up at her in confusion.

Riley looked at Buffy in surprise. This was unexpected. Professor Walsh had picked this particular vampire to test for two reasons The first being that Riley could pass himself off as on a date and the other was that the vampire didn't act particularly smart so there was no chance of her messing up the mission.

"You know... Harmony," Riley asked, using the name that Buffy had used.

"Yep, we all do. We went to high school with Harmony. Didn't we?" replied Buffy. Buffy looked pointedly at Willow and Xander who both nodded.

"No, I haven't seen Cordelia since graduation. I have to go see my mom and dad on Thanksgiving or dad will cut off my allowance," Harmony said just above a whisper, her usual shrill voice and bravado at a minimum. Her eyes darted back and forth between Buffy and Riley. Harmony knew she was a vampire and evil, but she would rather the Slayer dust her quickly than go back to the labs with the soldiers.

"Your parents are paying you an allowance? Don't they know about your condition?" Riley blurted out before he could stop himself, earning dirty looks from his fellow commandos.

"What condition would that be, Riley?" Willow asked.

"Allergies... Um she has terrible allergies," Riley stammered. He was so busy clamoring for an explanation that he failed to notice how the commandos took note of his slip.

"I saw Cordy while in L.A.," Oz said quietly, "She was with Angel."

"You didn't tell us that," Willow replied. She glanced at Buffy to check out the reaction this news brought about, but Willow was happy to see that the Slayer didn't even flinch. In fact all she did was cuddle up closer to her newest vampire lover.

"Forgot until just now."

The sound of a beeper filled the air and everyone turned to watch as Riley grabbed the offending object out of his pocket. He read the message and then gestured to his buddies to leave. Riley stepped towards Harmony and grabbed her arm roughly.

"I want to stay here and catch up with my friends," Harmony whined and then pouted prettily, "Please, Riley Poo... " Harmony wasn't above using every weapon in her small arsenal. She turned a pleading look to Buffy and Spike hoping that the pair would take the hint. She was ready to pledge her allegiance to Spike if they helped her.

"Yes, we would love for her to stay, Riley," replied Buffy.

"No, she really can't stay. She must return with me," Riley stated as he began to drag the blonde vampiress out of her chair.

"Allegiance. I pledge it, Spike. Please," Harmony cried out loud. She wasn't a smart girl and she had been abandoned by her sire, but she knew that what she just did would bind her to Spike as a loyal servant. This wasn't her first choice as a solution to her problems, but as her 'master' Spike would feel obligated to protect her.

"Allegiance granted," growled Spike as he and Buffy rose as one entity, "Now, you pillock, leave the girl alone and toddle off to whatever business you need to attend to."

"No, I won't leave her here," Riley blustered as he attempted to pull Harmony away from the table again. Much to his surprise the men seated at the table also stood in a show of fealty to the thing that Riley knew was an undead creature of the night. His mind could not wrap itself around why they would show such loyalty to it.

"She doesn't belong to you. As the Master of Sunnydale, I do not allow those loyal to me to be harmed in any way," Spike snarled. The vampire and his friends advanced a step or two towards Riley which caused him to drop his hand from Harmony's arm.

Harmony jumped away from the commando and moved to the other side of the table. She was so glad she wasn't going to go back with the creepy guy that she didn't care if she was in the company of geeks. Her Blondie Bear had accepted her allegiance. It didn't matter anymore that she couldn't have him as her boyfriend; both he and his mate would protect her now.

"Master of Sunnydale? What the hell is that?" Riley snapped in impatience. Professor Walsh would have his hide for losing the hostile.

"Great demon hunter you are. Not knowing what a Master is," Xander snarked as he shook his head.

"Demon hunter? Why do you think that?" Riley's eyes bugged out as he realized his cover was blown. Oh ya, Professor Walsh was going to be really, really pissed off.

"We have our ways," Buffy hinted. She glared at the commando, daring him to say another thing.

Riley stared at Buffy for a few minutes before turning and following the path that his buddies had taken a few minutes before. His mind dredging up every little tidbit of information that the Initiative had gleaned from the vampiric hostiles. The only conclusion that Riley could come up with was that the blonde male vampire must have thrall. A powerful thrall that could encompass an entire group of people. He knew he had to figure out a way to break it.

"So you are the Master of Sunnydale, again," Buffy stated as she turned to her mate. She gestured to the chairs and the group settled down again now that the threat had departed.

"Only master vampire in town, luv. You got yourself quite a rep goin' for slaying masters," Spike bit his lower lip lightly and winked at Buffy, "Why do you think I came to town to kill you in the first place?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you going to be okay with this, Giles?" Buffy asked as she watched Harmony poke around the Watcher's apartment. She pulled the man into a small hug as she slipped a note into his hand which he immediately palmed and read.

"Yes, this will be fine," Giles answered both the verbal and the written question, "Spike has ordered Harmony to not harm any humans and to drink bagged blood, so I have nothing to worry about."

The need for wards against electronics had slipped the Slayer's mind until the confrontation at the Bronze earlier this evening. Buffy had written a small note to the Watcher but just now found an opportunity to slip it to him.

"Come on, Slayer, let's get a move on. It's a perfect night for a walk in the moonlight," Spike grumbled as he stomped out his cigarette.

"Ya, ya, hold your horses," Buffy grumbled, "Gotta get a move on, Giles. Mr. Impatient over there wants to go for a 'stroll'."

Buffy waved at Giles and watched as he closed the door of his apartment before she turned to look at Spike. She moved towards him in an entirely predatory manner. His eyes flared yellow as he watched her slink towards him.

"You wantin' to play, kitten?"

Buffy nodded as she moved closer and closer towards her mate. When she reached him instead of kissing him like he anticipated, she fell to her knees to nuzzle his jean clad crotch. Mmmm, he had been right; the strawberry glaze was hard to wash off and the smell still lingered. Buffy's mouth watered with memory and in anticipation of having her mouth on Spike's cock for the second time in so few hours.

Spike silently groaned as Buffy opened his jeans and pulled out his hard shaft. His eyes drifted shut as she began to caress his dick with her heated hands and wet mouth. Wanting to feel how she was pleasuring him, Buffy nudged against his mind until he opened it to her. She could feel how the pressure of her hand gliding along his satiny skin made him shiver, how the heat of her mouth against the sensitive head made him shudder, and how the quick flicks of her tongue along the veins on the underside made him shake.

Spike, for his part, could tell how much his Slayer delighted in giving him pleasure, how she enjoyed the length and girth of his cock in her mouth, the taste of him with or without the strawberry glaze. Buffy was so responsive physically, Spike wondered if she was mentally, also. Through the claim he worked hard to make her believe he was stimulating her nipples with his fingers. He was rewarded with a groan and a quick rub of said nipples against his legs.

Buffy's nipples tightened and began to ache as she felt Spike's mental manipulation of them. She rubbed them against his legs in hopes of some relief, but all that did was make her hornier. Buffy gently bit down on Spike's cock, causing him to lose what little control he had and cum in her mouth. She swallowed down his ropey emissions, taking delight in the delicate flavor. She leaned back a little and watched as he tucked his flagging hard on back into his pants.
Buffy's hands were about to stray to her aching nipples when she got a slight mental chiding causing her to drop them back down to her sides.

No, Spike didn't want her to touch herself; he wanted to do all the work himself. He peered down at his oh, so responsive mate at his feet. Her head was thrown back, hair hanging down her back to her butt, and her neck exposed. Her breasts were thrown out, nipples hard and her thighs were spread wide. Spike could smell the arousal pouring off of her. She was so hot, so wanton, so perfect.

Through the claim, Spike began to once again to start his ministrations on Buffy's nipples. He thought about gently twisting them, biting them with both blunt teeth and fangs, about licking them with his soft human tongue and his rough cat-like demon tongue. He slipped into game face to see Buffy better. She squirmed, her hands fluttering around by her sides like captured birds, yet never straying where they didn't belong.

"Please, Spike, please," Buffy begged.

"Guess you are the begging kind after all, Slayer," Spike growled playfully.

"Only for you."

Spike continued the mental assault on his golden goddess's breasts and moved his mind lower to between her sweet thighs. He thought about putting his mouth on her clit as he fingerfucked her hitting that secret bundle of nerves inside, how her juices tasted of honey, how tight she felt around his cock.

Buffy began to writhe in an overload of pleasure. It was as if she could feel Spike's lips on her nipples and her clit at the same time, his fingers and his cock jammed tightly into her pussy. Buffy moved up and down as if he was beneath her for her to ride. She only needed one thing for release now.

Spike could feel his mate's overwhelming need for his fangs in her neck. It felt right because he had the very same need. He knew sometimes humans became addicted to the bite and visited vamp whorehouses to get off, but he knew this wasn't the case with Buffy and him. They were only addicted to each other. In his mind, Spike moved his teeth to Buffy's neck, licking and tasting the salty skin, and when he mentally plunged his fangs into her he was surprised to find that his mouth actually filled with her incredible blood.

Buffy felt Spike's teeth enter her neck and the strong pulls as he took her blood. She could feel the tendrils of pleasure spiraling outward from her womb, her clit, her nipples, her neck. This orgasm was going to be so overwhelming she hoped she would be able to walk home afterwards. She jammed a hand in her mouth as she mentally screamed Spike's name over and over as she crested the wave of pleasure. Buffy felt her fangs descend and her night sight made the darkened courtyard seem like day. She could see that Spike's fangs hadn't touched her, that he was peering down at her with his yellow-demon eyes, that even so there was a small trickle of her blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Mine. My Sultana," Spike growled.

"Yours." Buffy gasped, "Mine. My Aurelian"

"Yours." Spike nodded.

The Slayer and the vampire felt the mystical connection between them tighten and become stronger. They both knew at this point nothing could break the claim; not the Watchers, not Angelus, not even death. The two of them were bound together sharing everything - including Buffy's soul.

Spike pulled Buffy up to stand on wobbly legs and led her out of the courtyard to the street. He was surprised his strong Slayer would allow him to help her until he looked down at her face on his shoulder and saw the sappy smile of a very satisfied woman. Spike let his game face fade away as they moved towards the crowded downtown. A flash of red caught out of the corner of his eye which caused him to turn his head where he saw Willow hurrying out of the cemetery that he knew Oz was housed when he was wolfie.

"Luv, Red's not looking too happy over there," Spike murmured.

Buffy lifted her head from Spike's shoulder and nodded when she saw her friend frantically looking down the street in both directions. The Slayer and the vampire crossed the street to where Willow was standing.

"Where's Oz, Wills?" Buffy asked. She had to snap her fingers in front of Willow's face to get her full attention.

"I don't know. He was extra agitated tonight so I went to get some more tranquilizer darts and when I got back he had escaped from his cage," Willow informed her friends. She was frightened for Oz. What if the commandos captured him?

"Okay, let's circle around and check the woods. That's where he usually ended up the few times he has escaped," replied Buffy.

They set off towards the woods, circling around a couple of Sunnydale's many cemeteries before passing by the UCSunnydale campus. Each one had thier senses on high alert on the lookout for Oz. Within a few minutes they saw Professor Walsh searching through some bushes.

"Hello, is there anybody there?" Professor Walsh called out. She stumbled as a big, dark furred creature jumped out of the bushes, snarling at her. The professor jumped back as she threw her bookbag at the monster. Turning she ran in the opposite direction, only to stop short at the sight of another hairy creature, only this one's fur was more of an auburn color. Professor Walsh jumped to one side when the lighter haired beast leaped at her. She landed in the bushes and hid, keeping quiet in hopes that the two things would attack each other. And in turn, would forget about her.

Buffy, Spike and Willow watched with astonishment as the two werewolves rolled around on the ground fighting, the professor forgotten. They growled, snarled and tore into each other with ferocious determination. Neither one got the upper hand, but in a few minutes one of them pulled away from the fight to lope into the woods. The remaining werewolf shook its head and followed.

"We have to go after them. 'Cause he might get hurt or hurt someone else. I mean, what else could they be doing?" Willow cried, but when she noticed the look that Buffy was giving Spike she knew that there was something her friend wasn't telling her, "Oh no, you guys don't think... but it's Oz, and Oz wouldn't because... because he's Oz. The other one is a female, isn't it?" Willow's voice took on a dejected quality.

All Buffy could do was give a little nod and watch her best friend since she had moved to Sunnydale fall apart. Buffy took one of Willow's arms and Spike took the other so that they could lead the red-haired girl to their house where they settled her in the guestroom. Her quiet sobs could be heard the rest of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ms. Summers... I want you to prepare to lead a discussion group next class on your paper's topic. That was smart work," Professor Walsh informed Buffy as she handed back papers.

"Oh yes, Riley told me last night at the Bronze," Buffy replied distractedly as she watched a listless Willow fumble with her books, "William and I discussed the paper quite extensively so I shouldn't have a problem discussing it."

"Mr. Finn informed me you went to high school with the young... woman he took out on a date last night," Professor Walsh said in a questioning voice. Walsh was hoping to get Buffy to slip up while her attention was on her friend, Ms. Rosenberg.

"What? Ya, we went to high school with Harmony. We didn't run in the same social circles back then, but graduation changed things," Buffy jerked her attention back to the professor, "Sorry, we have to go. We are meeting someone for lunch. Thanks, Professor Walsh, catch ya later."

Oz had called early that morning searching for Willow. He had been relieved that she was at Spike and Buffy's house and that he hadn't attacked her when he had escaped. They made plans to meet for lunch at the little cafe just off campus. Buffy and Willow walked quietly through the campus, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Buffy wondered how she could help one of her oldest and best friends cope with the days ahead. She didn't think that Oz had meant to do anything with Veruca, but from the Slayer's recent experiences she knew the call of the wild was strong and powerful. Buffy heard a small sob from Willow and turned to see a crystalline tear flow down the Wiccan's cheek.

Willow was worried that she had lost Oz, that the female werewolf interested him more than she did. She hadn't felt this inadequate since her failure to catch Xander's attention so many years ago when Buffy had moved to Sunnydale. A little tear leaked out of Willow's eye and down her cheek.

"Willow... "

"What if he leaves me, Buffy? I will be alone again," Willow sobbed.

"You are never alone, Willow. You always have me and the rest of the gang," Buffy tried to soothe Willow, "Now let's go see Oz. He will explain everything and it'll all work out. I promise."

Willow let out another hiccupy sob before nodding and allowing Buffy to lead her off campus towards the cafe. She stopped suddenly when she saw that Veruca was sitting at the table. Oz looked embarrassed and kept glancing around as if he was looking for someone, while Veruca scooted closer and closer to him touching his arm as she did.

"I can't do this, Buffy," Willow cried before she turned and ran back the way the two girls had come.

Buffy sighed. This wasn't going to be easy, especially since Buffy didn't exactly have any good advice to tell either Willow or Oz. Until Spike, her own love life hadn't been stellar. Buffy decided it was time to test her hearing and began to concentrate on Oz and his companion.

"You really should come meet my... pack, Oz. You just have no idea how it feels to belong. To be with others like you. Family," Veruca purred seductively.

"I have family here, Veruca," replied Oz as he moved his arm out of the other werewolf's reach.

"They don't care for you... not really. Not like we would. They're all just a bunch of puny humans that will hold you back from your full potential," Veruca stated emphatically, "Come with me and be what you were meant to be."

"What exactly is he meant to be?" Buffy asked as she approached the table. She really didn't like how this female was acting towards Oz. It wasn't jealousy per se, but it was a very possessive feeling.

"Oh, here's one now. He's meant to be free and wild... taking what he wants... taking WHO he wants," Veruca growled, her eyes flashing.

"Oz is free. Free to do what he wants," Buffy growled in return as she grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat beside Oz.

Oz sat quietly as the two women argued. He knew something significant was happening as soon as Buffy's arm brushed his. There was an electric feeling to her skin. He had been a Scooby long enough to know this was something new.

"And yet he is caged when the moon is full," replied the she-wolf. She felt confident she would win this battle and the male wolf would be hers for the taking.
"Because Oz is a good man. And he is right. He does have family here. Mine. He belongs to my family," Buffy's eyes glowed, but the she-wolf was so busy staring at Oz she failed to notice.

"He cannot belong to your family, bitch, you aren't demon enough to hold him," Veruca hissed, but when she glanced at Buffy she was astonished to find iridescent green-gold eyes glowing at her. She gasped in surprise when the petite blonde woman grabbed Oz's wrist and sunk tiny pearly fangs into him. Veruca could only watch open-mouthed as Buffy removed her teeth and licked the marks clean.

"I claim thee, Daniel Matthew Osbourne, as my own, belonging to the clan of Sultana-Aurelius. My werewolf," Buffy smirked at the she-wolf, "You should have found out who his friends were, bitch, before you played with him."

Veruca hissed at Buffy and Oz before jumping up off her chair and rushing down the street. The Slayer and her werewolf watched until the woman turned the corner, disappearing from sight.

"Do you know what you just did, Buffy?" Oz asked quietly. He could faintly feel both Spike and Buffy at the edge of his mind; nothing intrusive unless he concentrated hard.

"I think it was another Sultana thing," Buffy whispered as her eyes went back to normal and her fangs receded, "Wish Giles's friend would get here and tell us what is going on."

"I have to leave town for awhile. I need to get control. There's a monk in Nepal that I have heard of that might be able to help," Oz continued to speak quietly.

"I understand. You must let Willow know you are leaving and will be back. Can you do that, Oz?" Buffy asked the werewolf as she laid her hand on his arm.

"Yes, I will. Thank-you, Buffy. You don't know what it means to me to be in your clan," Oz touched Buffy's hand briefly before rising to leave and find Willow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In South America, a dark-haired vampiress awoke suddenly when she realized she could no longer feel her childe. He had always been there in the back of her mind even when they were apart. Her cries that he had become the sunshine's and was lost forever worried her bed companion so much that he went out into the daylight to find her a new toy to play with.

In Los Angeles, a dark-haired vampire awoke suddenly as he realized he could no longer feel his grandchilde. His childe's pain was so great that he could feel it despite the distance and the soul. He howled his displeasure scaring the other two occupants of his detective agency enough that they went out into the daylight to escape the noise.

In Sunnydale, a bleached blonde vampire awoke suddenly as he realized that he no longer felt his sire and was now the head of a newly formed clan. He felt the expansion of his family to include the werewolf and that was fine with him. A werewolf was a fine extension of the clan. He was so pleased with his mate that he went into the daylight to find her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Been busy, luv," Spike kissed Buffy on the cheek as he slid into the chair next to her. He wrapped an arm around his mate's shoulders and pulled her towards him.

"Mmmm, ya. Oz is leaving town for a bit, but he will be back. He wants to go visit a monk in Nepal that might be able to help him learn how to control himself. He's saying goodbye to Willow right now," replied Buffy as she leaned into Spike's body and let his love wash over her.

"When he returns we will help him, pet," Spike assured Buffy, "Family above all else."

"You seem quite pleased with the weirdness that happened," Buffy replied as she pulled away to look up into Spike's face.

"I am the head of my own clan with my drop dead gorgeous mate who has found us our first family member. And a werewolf, no less. We have a minion who has pledged allegiance to us. What more could a vamp ask for?" Spike chuckled.

The waiter came up at that moment, interrupting the conversation long enough for Spike to order some hot chocolate. With little marshmallows, of course. Buffy decided she was ravenously hungry so she ordered a sandwich, a salad and a piece of chocolate cake. The conversation resumed after the waiter took the order inside. For such a nice day the cafe was surprisingly quiet so there were few interruptions.

"What are we going to do with that minion, Spike? She can't stay at Giles's forever and we can't let Riley get her again. I don't like her, never have, not even in high school, but she's ours now," Buffy asked as she sipped her drink and watched the people traveling up and down the sidewalk.

"Bloody Hell, she ain't moving in with us. After the auctions we will set something up for her. She might not be the only minion. I have to speak to the remaining minions tonight to see which ones will give allegiance," Spike informed Buffy.

Spike's thoughts drifted to the few minions that remained under his mastery. He was sure they would do as he asked. Most of them were drinking pig's blood already so as not to upset the Master's mate. This particular group was pretty loyal considering they were evil bloodsuckers. He had recognized them, knew they were the ones that Drusilla had turned while he was in the wheelchair.

The waiter arrived with Buffy's sandwich and Spike watched with delight as she gobbled it down. Her salad was demolished with ferocious abandon and her chocolate cake was polished off with eager enthusiasm. Buffy even deemed him special enough to get a bite or two of her dessert.

Everything about her shouted out her enjoyment of her life; a definite change from the girl he had gone to for a truce against Angelus, from the girl he had fought beside last fall, from the girl who had hoped he would be willing help take revenge on that idiot, Parker. Buffy was his girl, his golden goddess, his mate. And Spike knew he was the luckiest creature on the planet.

The couple spent the rest of the afternoon talking as they walked around downtown peeking through the stores that lined the street. They enjoyed a mocha latte together from the Espresso Pump, gleaned the antique shop looking for treasures, and reminisced about the fight at the Magic Box.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oz stood outside Willow and Buffy's dorm room for several long minutes as he worked up the courage to knock. He loved Willow so much and he didn't think she would take his leaving town even with the promise of his return. Oz couldn't understand how such a beautiful girl as Willow could lack so much self-confidence. Taking a deep breath, he quietly knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the mumbled reply.

Oz turned the door knob and pushed the door open. He stood in the doorway staring at Willow who was lying on her dorm bed hugging a pillow.

"I'm sorry, Willow. I don't know what came over me. I think it's best if I leave town for a bit to find someone to help me with control over the demon," Oz said quietly.

"Are you leaving with her?" Willow asked, finally looking up at him. She was surprised by the look of sadness in his eyes.

"No, no, I will be by myself. There's a monk in Nepal rumored to be great with overcoming these things. I won't be gone forever, Willow, I promise to return as soon as I can," Oz promised with his entire heart.

"You do, you promise?" Willow asked. When she saw Oz nod, she sat up to open her arms to her boyfriend, "Please be hugging me now."

Oz closed the door behind him and moved to the bed. He sat down, took Willow in his arms and kissed her. The couple spent the afternoon in bed with whispers and caresses until it was time for Oz to drive to his aunt's house before heading to Los Angeles to catch his plane out of the states.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We need to get rid of that she-wolf, luv. You know that, don't you? Can't have her running amok through Sunnyhell," Spike informed Buffy as the sun began to set and the moon began to rise.

"I know. I'm worried she will go after Willow if we don't stop her. We should go check on Willow. Oz is at his aunt's, caged up with his cousin," Buffy replied, "I think Willow has a late chemistry class today. We should check out the lab."

"Right then, on our way," Spike said as he pulled Buffy away from the shop window and towards the UCSunnydale campus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow sat in the lab, mixing ingredients together as she studied the book laid out in front of her. There were some vials on the table and a beaker on a Bunsen burner boiling. Willow dropped one of the vials on the floor and while she was bending over picking it up the door of the lab opened.

"Damn," Willow muttered.

"Can't say I'm surprised you didn't go through with your little hex. You don't have the teeth," Veruca announced sarcastically.

Willow straightened up quickly, bumping her head on the lab table. She rubbed the offending spot as she stared at the she-wolf. Willow realized she didn't bring her tranq gun with her. This was very, very bad.

"I'm not doing a hex. I was attempting to understand the formula in my text book. And... and I got the teeth. I got a whole bunch of... teeth," Willow gulped and babbled, "Okay, not teeth like Spike has... but teeth."

"Spike? Who's this Spike?" Veruca asked in a confused voice. How did Oz deal with such a ditzy girl?

"Spike would be me," Spike answered as he slipped into gameface. He chuckled to himself when the girl whirled and saw him for the first time. She gave a little scream and backed away from him before she remembered she had a powerful demon inside her.

"I know what you love. I have his scent on me right now," Veruca snarled at Willow as she moved close enough to grab the red-headed girl's arm, "Where is that werewolf anyway? Shouldn't he be here helping his groupie?"

"Don't touch her again," Spike growled, "And Oz is safely out of your reach, bitch."

"You really think that little girl hiding behind you can keep a beast like Oz on a leash. She isn't powerful enough," Veruca sneered as she threw Willow away from her.

Willow landed hard on the floor, hurting her tailbone and palms, but that didn't deter her from scrambling across to Spike and Buffy.

"Little girl behind me is the most powerful Slayer to ever exist, doggirl. I should know. I've killed two of them myself," Spike announced as he waved Buffy forward to help Willow to her feet.

"A Slayer isn't that powerful."

"This one has killed two master vamps and sent third one to Hell. Oh, I think she's powerful enough," Spike snarked.

Veruca had had enough of this, so she slowly released the control she had over her werewolf and began to morph. Fur erupted from her face and her eyes turned a brilliant blue. Spike didn't allow her to get the advantage and leapt towards the she-wolf. The two supernatural creatures grappled for supremacy. Veruca morphed entirely into her demon self, but it was too late. The vampire used the time it took the werewolf to morph completely to his advantage. As Veruca tried to leap towards Buffy and Willow, Spike grabbed her head in both hands.

"Don't touch my mate. Or our friend," Spike snarled as he twisted the werewolf's head instantly killing her. Spike dropped the she-wolf's body to move to Buffy and the sobbing Willow.

"It'll be okay, Willow," Buffy tried to soothe her friends feelings. "Oz will be back. He promised, didn't he?"

"But how can I be sure? He's gone and I just don't know anymore," Willow cried. Buffy and Spike looked at each other over the weeping girl.

"Willow, what if I told you I could make you feel just a bit of Oz all the time? Would you like that?" Buffy asked. She was sure Willow would clamor for the ability to sense Oz.

"How, Buffy?" Willow sniffed and hiccupped.

"Today when I talked to him, I made him part of my family," Buffy pointed at herself and Spike, "Our family. Would you like to be in our family? It's something to do with the Sultana."

"Really, you would want me?"

"Of course, Red. You belong to us," Spike answered.

Buffy allowed her fangs to descend and gently put Willow's wrist to her mouth. She bit through the skin with her small fangs and then immediately removed them, licking the wound.

"I claim thee, Willow Marie Rosenberg, as my own, belonging to the clan of Sultana-Aurelius. My Witch."

"Our Wicca," Spike murmured as he wiped the tears from Willow's face. He smiled at her and got an answering smile. It was a shaky smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Do you feel him, Willow?" Buffy asked.

"Oh yes. I can feel him," Willow said breathlessly.

Miles away, contained in his cage, the werewolf began to purr as he felt the woman he loved slip into his mind.





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