TITLE: Hour of Secrecy [Beast Within part 17]
AUTHOR: Samantha McCullah
EMAIL: saintangelus@yahoo.com
DISTRIBUTION: If you have the rest of the series, go
ahead and post this one. If not, please ask.
SPOILERS: Up to Beauty and the Beasts, then it
branches off into its own universe.
RATING: R
CONTENT: Willow/Angel, evil-ness, minor sexual
situations, nothing graphic
SUMMARY: To find out what the Mayor is up to, Willow
casts a spell, causing Angel to lose his soul.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Joss's.
NOTE: The rest of the series can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nova/9691/index.html

"Thy soul shall find itself alone
'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone;
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy."
-- Edgar Allan Poe, Spirits of the Dead

"EGO VOLUNTAS!" Willow screamed out the last words of
the spell and doubled over in pain as the magick
worked its will on her body. Faintly she was aware of
Angel's grunts of pain as the spell worked on him as
well.

"Willow!" he screamed as his eyes flashed gold, and
his scream turned into an evil chuckle as the gold
light faded. "Oh, Will," he sing songed, looking over
at the unconscoius girl lying near him. Angelus rolled
onto his knees and edged closer to her; his nostrils
flared as he inhaled sharply. "Well, well, what has
the little witch done?" he whispered, laying on his
stomach and resting his chin in his hand as Willow
moaned and rolled her head. She opened her eyes and
licked her lips hungrily; Willow rolled her head to
the side and met Angel's eyes.

"Wanna play?" she asked, grinning lewdly.

"As much as I'd like that," he returned her grin. "I
hear there's a new boss in town." Willow pouted, and
Angel's hand reached out and stroked her bottom lip.
"Perhaps we can play later." She smiled.

"Will there be screaming?" she asked as she pushed
herself to her feet.

"Oh, yeah," he smirked, stroking the line of her
throat visible above the collar of her sweater. "But
that outfit has got to go." He grabbed the front of
the sweater and tore it roughly away from her body.
"Fuzzy is not intimidating." The cool air reacted with
her bare nipples causing them to harden, and Angel
licked his lips, his eye glowing with hunger. He
growled softly, tossing the sweater to her. "Find
something in my closet," he ordered. She smirked
slightly and headed for the curtained bedroom door.
"And Will?" he called out before she reached the door;
she glanced over her shoulder at him. "No underwear."
She grinned and pulled th ecurtain aside, walking into
his bedroom. Angelus amused himself by regaining his
bearings and enjoying the total freedom given to his
demon. "I'll have to thank the little witch," he
murmured.

Just then the curtain was thrown aside, and Willow
stalked into the living room. She stopped halfway to
Angel and waited.

"Better?" she asked, running her hands over her
leather encased hips. Angel's eyes roved over her
possessively, taking in the black leather pants,
leather midriff, and green silk shirt.

"Would look better on the floor," he smirked, covering
the distance between them. He lifted a finger and
softly traced the curve of her breast peeking out of
the top of her shirt. His mouth soon replaced his
finger, and Willow's hand intertwined with his hair,
pressing his face closer to her breast. She felt him
grin suddenly as he pushed her away from him. He
walked away from her and toward the front door.
"Coming?" he asked over his shoulder. Willow
surpressed a growl and followed him out the door.

The pair stalked through the streets of Sunnydale
sending lesser vampires scuffying into the dark to
tell their masters that Angelus had returned and that
he had a new consort. They were half a block from city
hall when Buffy stepped out of the shadows of an alley
and glared at the pair.

"Well, well, if it isn't the town whores," the Slayer
smirked, walking up to them. Angel remanined silently,
glancing over at Willow. The redhead cocked her head
at her exfriend, but didn't say anything. "You know,
Willow," Buffy commented, turning to her and taking in
the outfit. "Leather is so not a look for you." Willow
looked over and met Angel's eyes; they shared a small
grin. Willow lashed out suddenly catching Buffy by
surprise; the Slayer hit the ground, holding her mouth
as it bled.

"Always wanted to do that," Willow smirked, stepping
over Buffy's legs. Angelus laughed out loud and put
his arm around her shoulders as they walked to City
Hall. They slammed the doors open, startling the
Mayor's secretary.

"Excuse me!" she shouted as the two of them walked
passed her, forcing the Mayor's office doors open. "Do
you have an appointment?" she asked as the two
disapperared into the office. Willow popped her head
back out.

"No," the redhead smirked. She rejoined her mate,
standing in front of the Mayor's desk. The older man
looked from Angel to Willow and back again.

"Well, if it isn't the Slayer's lover and her best
friend, and to what do I owe this pleasure?" the Mayor
asked just as a door opened on the opposite side of
the room and a tall black man stepped into the room.
"Mr. Trick," the Mayor greeted. Angel glared at the
newcomer.

"Angelus, you returned to the fold," Trick commented.
"Again." He turned his eyes to Willow. "And you
brought a friend." Trick walked over and moved a
strand of hair away from her neck. He took in the bite
marks and grinned suddenly. "Your handiwork?" he
asked. Angelus growled and pushed Trick away from
Willow.

"Look, but don't touch," he warned, snarling softly;
he pulled Willow closer to him and glared at the
vampire.

"How long has she been one of us?" Trick asked; Angel
arched an eyebrow but remained silent.

"So, you two have come over to our side," the Mayor
smiled, leaning back in his chair and grinning
triumphantly. "This certainly puts a kink in the
Slayer's plans, but opens some many possibilities for
mine." Two things occured in that moment: Willow
moaned softly and clutched Angel tighter, burying her
face against him, and Trick's eyes widened.

"You were trying to play us," the vampire grinned,
lashing out, catching Angel by surprise and knocking
him away from Willow; he grabbed Willow's hair and
pulled her back against him. She let out a frightened
squeak as Trick's hand latched around her throat, and
hse looked over at Angelus.

"Release her," Angelus growled, stepping forward.

"Oh no, you don't," Trick warned, "you take one more
step, and I snap her neck like a twig." Angel stopped,
considering the dangers; he looked over Trick's
shoulder and grinned. He held up his hands in
surrender and backed off; Willow stared at him with
wide, fearfilled eyes. Just then Trick lurched
forward, releasing Willow who was immediately gathered
up into Angel's arms, and looking down at the pointed
wooden end sticking out of his chest.

"Not...good," he whispered just as he exploded into
dust. Faith stood behind him still holding her stake.

"You just gonna stand there staring?" she asked,
grinning at Angel cradling Willow against his chest.

"You had to go and ruin everything, didn't you?" the
Mayor asked suddenly, still sitting calmly behind his
desk. "Oh, well, I guess your deaths will just be more
painful than I had planned." He grinned, waving a hand
dismissing the three of them.

Angel lead Faith out of the building, and the three of
them headed down the street.

"You do realize, Faith, that I'm going to kill you as
soon as I let go of Willow," he grinned over at the
brunette; she just rolled her eyes.

"No, you're not," Willow commented, looking up at him.

"You gonna stop me, Witch?" he asked. Suddenly his
eyes widened, and he fell to his knees. Willow climbed
out of his arms and rose to her feet; Faith walked
over and stood beside her.

"What's going on, Red?" she asked, watching as Angel
screamed out in pain.

"His soul is breaking out of the prison I put it in,"
she replied, glanicng over at Faith. "Time release
mechanism," she explained at the Slayer's confused
expression. The brunette nodded as Angel screamed
again, throwing his head back. His eyes flashed gold,
and he was suddenly quiet.

"Willow?" he asked softly. She bent down placing a
hand on his shoulder.

"I'm here," she whispered, pulling him into her arms
and hugging him. "Welcome back," she muttered.

*FIN*

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