Willow prowled through the unfamiliar street with a predatory eye. She watched as the prospective prey scattered about, not knowing death was so close, but yet fearing what hid in the dark.

She smiled wickedly as she saw young couple leave a nearby theater and enter the park. She followed them, hidden in the shadows. When they stopped near a tree to grope one another, Willow approached them.

She had come up behind them before they had even noticed her presence. She pushed the girl to the ground at her feet while she grasped the boy around the throat. She smiled at she saw the fear in his eyes. He began to prey. Willow laughed. "Save your words. God can't help you. No one can." She gripped him tighter to still his movements as her true face came forth. She heard the woman whimper at her feet as she bit harshly into the man's neck, and drained his life away.

When she was finished, she dropped the body to the floor and turned to the girl, whose sobs were becoming louder as she realized her death was upon her. Willow bent down and picked the girl up and through her forcefully against the tree. She laughed as she felt the girls' terror. She bent down, ready to claim her second victim of the evening…

*****

Willow awoke with a start. Her body was incased in sweat. She could still feel the dream surrounding her. She could still taste her victims' blood. She shook uncontrollably as she climbed out of bed. She looked around the room, and found Buffy sound asleep in her bed. She grabbed her robe and left the room quietly, heading towards the bathroom.

Once there, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked exhausted, haggard and worn out. It had been three weeks since the dreams had started and since then not a night had passed without her taking a life… if only in her dreams.
It was terrifying. S he knew that it was more than just a nightmare, more than just a dark fantasy coming to life. This was a sign of things to come. And unless she could stop it, she would do the unthinkable. She would become like them. The creatures the roamed the night.

*****

Spike entered the Mansion and took a look around. He dropped his bag to the floor, and walked through the house, noticing the dust, which had settled over everything.

"Bloody Wanker!" Spike snarled to the empty room. He wanted nothing more than to stake the bastard who'd forced him to return. Spike sighed needlessly. Even as he had the thought, he knew it wasn't true. Despite everything thing that had happened between him and Angel in the past hundred years, he was still his Sire. He would do what he asked. Partly because he was his Sire, and the control that gave him, and partly because he was his only family. His only connection to the past. To what once was.

He was startled out of his inner thoughts by the telephone ringing. "Now What?" He growled into the receiver.

"I see you made it." Angel's amused voice was heard on the other end.

"Bloody Hell, Peaches. What do you want?"

Angel chuckled. "I told Rupert you'd be by after sunset tomorrow. They still don't trust you, so be on your best behavior."

Spike growled under non-existent breath as he recognized the warning tone in his sire's voice. "Fine." He snarled.

Spike hung up the phone before Angel could make any more demands.

He strolled through the house until he had reached the master bedroom and flopped down on the satin sheets and fell into a deep sleep, filled with the dreams which plagued his every sleeping moment.

*****

She was there again, in his dreams. Breathing life where previously there had been none. Everywhere he turned, he saw her. Her fire, her innocence. Her red hair fell around her face like a curtain of blood. He longed to taste her. To claim her, to make her his.
She had haunted his dreams for nearly a year, ever since he had kidnapped her and the moron. He had left Sunnydale then, intent on getting his Dark Goddess back. About halfway to Brazil, the dreams started. At first they only came to him during the day, while he slept, but eventually, all he had to do was close his eyes, and there she'd be, dancing behind his eyes.

He would see her at school, in her classes, at home, on her computer, everywhere she went, he would watch as she lived her life. He saw her lose her virginity to the wolf, and his demon howled in protest. He saw her nearly lose her life at the hands of the mayor. He had stayed away from Sunnyhell, knowing that the closer he was to the creature that plagued his thoughts, the more likely his desires would reach fruition.

The things his demon whispered to him, the thoughts of what he would do once he had her tormented him. He dreamt of the day when she would be his, a creature of the night, like him. But just as his demon tempted him with his carnal desires, another part of him fought against such thoughts. The girl he had been watching, the one who went out of her way to help the Slayer, the one who had befriended his Sire when everyone else had turned there backs, that girl would be gone, and all that would remain would be a killer. He didn't want the killer, he wanted the girl.

Spike growled as she climbed out of bed. He fought against himself, and his thoughts for months, keeping far away for the object of his desire, only to wind up in the one place he could run far away from. The one place he was sure to find her. His passion, his pleasure, his fire goddess. His Willow.

*****
 

Willow hesitated on the doorstep, unsure if she was making the right decision. Remembering the previous night's dreams, she swallowed her fear and knocked.

After a few minutes, the swung open. Rupert Giles stood there, looking slightly disheveled.

"Willow?" Giles asked, a bit flustered. He stood aside and allowed her to enter. Giles took a glance at his clock, and noticing it was barely eight a.m., he wondered what was wrong. "Is something wrong?"

Willow went to sit on the couch, and then changed her mind at the last moment. She walked around the living room, steeling herself for what she was about to say.

"Giles. I think something is going to happen. To me." She finally sat against the couch.

Giles sat in the chair across from Willow and waited for her to continue.

"I've… I've been having these dreams." She paused and stood up again. "In them, I'm a… I kill people. I'm a vampire." She whispered the last part, not wanted to admit to the feelings she derived from the dreams.

"Dreams? I'm sure there nothing. Just dreams." Giles tried to reassure the girl. He had noticed how pale she looked, and Buffy had told him about how she hadn't been sleeping well. "You probably just need some rest. You haven't been sleeping well, or eating right. When was the last time you ate, Willow?"

Willow's mind flashed to the young man her dream self had drained. She could still feel the power of his blood coursing through her veins. She shook her head at the memory. "I don't know. A day or so, maybe longer." S he couldn't really remember the last time she had eaten actual food.

"Well then, that's it. You just need some rest, and some nourishment. Why don't you stay for breakfast?" He asked her as he stood up and headed into the kitchen.

Willow nodded, but felt her stomach lurch at the thought of food. "It's more than that Giles. I can feel things in these dreams. Powerful things. It's like I'm really there. I can feel the lives I take. I can feel the power they give me." She tried to make him understand.

Giles looked up at her revelation, but brushed it aside. "Willow, You're not a vampire. These dreams are just your subconscious' way of dealing with some of the fears you have." HE ushered her back into the living room. "Now sit down. I'll make you some tea. Why don't you lie down, maybe take a little nap, before class?"

Willow nodded and reluctantly lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. She knew that Giles didn't understand. She had been afraid that would happen. She tried to push away her fear, as her body succumbed to sleep.

****

Willow felt her body tense as she sensed the presence of another. He had come, just as she knew he would. Tonight they would hunt together, kill together. Tonight they would be made one.

Her mate moved seductively towards her, his black duster billowing behind him in the wind. She moved closer, into his arms, and felt his coldness pressing into her. She breathed him in. He smelled of leather, and cigarettes, and death. She relished the feel of him as he nuzzled her neck, nipping along her jugular, where her pulse had once beat beneath the skin. Willow closed her eyes as she felt him pierce her skin, claiming her, making her his. She tilted her head up slightly and made her own claim on him.

The two vampires stood there, in the darkness of the cemetery, claiming each other, exchanging the blood that would form a bond that would last an eternity.

*****

Willow opened her eyes with a snap. She saw Giles bending over her with a cup of tea in one hand and a small plate of food in the other.

"Willow?" Giles spoke softly, not wanting to startle her.

Willow sat up, and pushed herself off of the couch. "I, uh, I have to go."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked, "Maybe you should eat something first?"

Willow shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry." The thought of food made her nauseous. All she could think about was the feel of Spikes blood coursing through her veins.

She could still feel his arms around her, still smell him. He invaded her senses. The scent wafted its way through her very being, claiming her.

Willow ran out of the watcher's apartment. Running from her thoughts, from things she couldn't control. She didn't know what has happening to her, but she knew that whatever it was, was just the beginning.

*****

Willow walked through the streets in silence. She had wandered around all day, thinking about her dreams and what they could mean. She had come up with nothing that made any sense. She was now heading towards Oz's house. She had wanted to see him before the full moon that evening. Things had been strained between them lately. Partly due to her dreams and partly due to the increasing amount of attention he bestowed up Veruca, the singer of a band who frequently played at the Bronze. She didn't like the girl, and couldn't understand what Oz saw in her. They had some sort of connection, she didn't understand.

Willow knocked softly on the front door, and when she received no answer, she entered and headed down towards the basement, knowing that was probably where she'd find her boyfriend.

She was unprepared for the site she found when she entered the basement. Oz and Veruca were clawing at each other animalistically from inside of the cage. They change had already started to over come Oz. Willow noticed that he was not the only one changing. Veruca was also covered in fur, as her body changed into that of a werewolf. She stood there shocked, as she watched the two wolves continue to paw at one another, oblivious to the intruder. Willow turned around and ran out of the house.

She ran as fast as she could, until her legs gave out. She looked up and found herself in the cemetery. It looked remarkably similar to the place where her dream self had claimed Spike as her mate. As all of her thoughts ran together, she realized that what she had felt in her dreams, was a powerful connection to her life-mate. A love born of power, and desire, and things she didn't quite understand. What she had felt for Oz, had dwindled considerable since the clothes fluke. She had wanted so desperately to regain what she and Oz had lost.

Sitting on the ground, in the cemetery, Willow realized that all things happen for a reason. She didn't know what was happening to her. W why her dreams were overpowering her every thought, but obviously she and Oz weren't meant to be. That realization did nothing to lessen her hurt or anger at what she had witnessed.

Willow stood up on shaky legs and dried her eyes of the tears, which had started to fall. She headed towards Giles house, preparing herself for the evening ahead.

*****

"So, where's the Willster?" Xander asked from his place on the couch. He and Anya had just arrived, followed by Riley and Buffy.

Buffy shrugged. "I haven't seen her all day. She was gone when I woke up this morning." She turned towards Giles. "Have you seen her?"

"Well, actually yes. She was here this morning. I'm sure she'll be here soon." He looked at his watch and hoped Willow would hurry. He wanted everyone to be there when Spike arrived.

*****

Willow entered Giles house with a smile plastered onto her face. "Hey Guys." She waved slightly.

"Will! You made it. Now the party can begin." Xander joked.

Buffy turned to Giles. "When will he be here?"

Just as Giles was about to answer there was a knock at the door.

Willow, who was closest to the door, opened it. She felt the oxygen leave her body as she saw Spike standing there. He smirked at her.

"Red. Care to invite me in?"

****

Willow stood there, too stunned to move. Spike was standing on the other side of the door smirking at her in that way he had. The one that made her insides quiver. She looked him over appreciatively, thankful her back was to the others in the room and hoping Spike wouldn't notice her staring. She raised her gaze to his face. Their eyes locked, and in an instant she saw her own emotions mirrored in his eyes.

"Come in Spike." Giles voice broke the silence.

Willow turned around, confusion on her face, as Spike brushed passed her and entered the house. Willow felt her skin heat up at the slight contact.

"Uh, excuse me. Care to clue in the lay person?" Xander asked from his place on the couch.

Giles watched with trepidation as Spike strolled into the room and flopped down into an empty chair. He noticed with the slightest hint of nervousness how everyone one eyed the vampire warily. Xander was stunned. Anya was curious. Buffy was suspicious. Riley was confused. Willow was frozen, whether in fear or something else entirely, he couldn't be sure. Spike had this amused expression on his face, telling Giles he was enjoying everyone's reactions.

"Well uh, he's here to help." Giles looked to Buffy for assistance. She was the only who had known about Spikes impending arrival.

Buffy sighed. "Angel sent him. He's one of the good guys now."

Spike snorted. "Not bloody likely!"

Willow giggled. Earning a look from everyone in the room. "I, uh, I mean to say that… You're evil." She stuttered realizing he wouldn't like being called a good guy. Her eyes locked with his once again and her breath caught in her throat. "Pure evil." Her mind flashed on her dreams, and she shook her head, trying to will the memories away.

Spike arched an eyebrow, and then turned to the rest of the group, trying to focus his attention everywhere but on the witch who had occupied his thoughts for so long.

Giles turned towards his desk and handed out a couple of books to Xander and Anya. Why don't you look through these, while Willow searches on that… contraption? Buffy perhaps you can take Spike on patrol?"

Buffy nodded. "Come on, Blondie." She stood up, grasping Riley's hand and headed towards the door, followed by Spike.

"So, that was Spike?" Anya stared after his retreating for appraisingly.

Willow felt something deep inside of her spark at Anya's words. It was a feeling like she had never experienced before. Something that overtook her very being, robbing her of rational thought. Jealousy. It was different than anything she had felt before. It was a deep-seated jealousy, which called to a part of her nature she recognized, if only from her dreams.
The emotions she had felt after witnessing Oz's infidelity didn't even come close. That was but a minor prick of pain. This, this was all consuming. She turned her attention towards the door and then back to Anya. Her dream-memories were plaguing her thoughts. She couldn't help but wonder what her dream self would do, given the thoughts entering her mind. She pushed them away, not wanting to witness the carnage that might fallow if her dreams progressed.

"I have to go!" Willow looked apologetically at Giles. "I'll do that research for you from home." She ran out of the house before anyone could stop her.

Anya shrugged before opening the book and beginning to read.

*****

Willow ran as far and as fast as she could. She needed to get away. Away from her thoughts, away from Spike, away from what was happening to her. She slowed her pace as she neared her parents' house. She didn't bother to go into the house, knowing no one was home. Instead she entered the garage and pulled the cover off of her mothers' car. She wasn't supposed to use it unless it was an emergency, but she needed to find out what was happening to her. Giles hadn't believed in her fears. There was only one person left who might.

*****

"So, Slayer, tell me what have I missed? Who's the new bloke?" He nodded towards Riley who was peering into the darkness as if he could see the danger if he looked hard enough.

"Riley," Buffy emphasized his name, "Is none of your business." She stopped and turned to him. "Let's get something straight. You're here, against by better judgment, not for chit chat." She smiled slightly, "What exactly did Angel tell you to get you to come back anyway? I thought you would have been off torturing you're crazy girlfriend."

Spike growled. His relationship with Angelus was complicated and not something he wished to discuss with the Slayer. "Watch it, slayer. You're treading on dangerous ground." He warned her.

Buffy shrugged and turned her attention back to her surroundings, her senses alert for any vampire activity.

****

"Cordelia, Would you care to explain to me why Laurel Robbins file has been filed under Z?" Angel asked from where he stood over the filing cabinet.

Cordelia was about to answer him when she felt a shooting pain behind her eyes. Her feet gave out beneath her with the force of the vision. The images flashed before her in random fashion. Each was making less sense than the last. When they finally stopped, she looked up to find Angel standing above her with a cold compress and a bottle of imported water.

Angel handed her the water and helped her to her feet. "What did you see?" He asked as he guided her towards the couch.

"Death. Everywhere." She looked up at Angel, with the glazed look of fear in her eyes.

"Vampires?" Angel asked, fearing the worst.

Cordelia nodded. "Willow. She's in trouble. We may already be too late."

****
 

Willow knocked on the door once, and waited. When there was no answer, she pushed the door open, and looked around. The office seemed to be empty. Willow sighed and stretched out on the couch to wait. Angel would have to return eventually, and she needed to talk to him. Tell him about her dreams. Hopefully he could help her. She didn't know why, but she felt as if time was slipping away.

She felt her eyelids drooping and let sleep claim her. Instantly she knew she was there again, in the dream. He was here too. She could feel him. He was nearby.

Willow spun around and grinned widely as she saw the Slayer fighting of a trio of Fledges. She giggled at the absurdity of the situation. The young ones believed that could take the slayer. They were wrong. She felt a small twinge of regret as she watched the Slayer finish off the last of the fledglings.

Willow approached the Slayer, keeping to the shadows. "You've improved."

Buffy turned her gaze to the voice but was having trouble seeing anything in the darkness. But the voice was unmistakable. "Willow?" She asked lowering her stake slightly.

Willow laughed at the stupidity. "Slayer, your memory fails you." She spoke mockingly as she stepped out of the shadows, her demon face glinting in the slight moonlight.

"Willow, don't do this. We can help you. We're friends." Buffy pleaded, knowing she couldn't stake the demon, which wore her friends' face.

"You're friend is dead." Willow spat as she grabbed the slayer around the throat, and pushed her to the ground. She climbed over the fallen girl and lifted her up, "I've heard Slayer's blood is divine. Shall we find out?" She whispered into Buffy's ear as she lowered her face and pierced the girls flesh.

The rush was incredible. She could feel the power surging through her veins, making her stronger. She longed to feel the girl's heartbeat stop. She wanted to see her live again, like her. To claim the night as her mistress. To take what she wanted and never look back.

Willow bit into her wrist savagely, enjoying the pain, she lowered the seeping wound to the Slayer's lips…

*****

Angel climbed out of his car wearily. He had just dropped Cordelia off at her house after several hours of research, followed by several hours of searching for a particular breed of demon that had appeared in Cordelia's vision of Willow. They had come up empty on both counts.

Angel had called Giles' to see if he had any relevant information, only to find out that as far as he could tell, nothing was wrong. Angel wasn't so quick to dismiss the knowing in his gut, which told him otherwise. He wanted to discuss the potential problems with Spike, but he had gone on Patrol with Buffy and her Commando, so he would have to wait.

It was situations like this, which had led him to sending Spike Sunnydale in the first place. Something was wrong. He could feel it. It didn't matter that everything seemed fine. It wasn't. Spike knew how he thought. He knew about things, which even the watcher had no grasp of.

Thinking about his childe, he smiled as he recalled Spike's reaction to returning to Sunnydale. He seemed to have mixed emotions. About what exactly, he wouldn't say. But it was apparent that there was something in Sunnydale he both wanted, and wanted to avoid. He wondered what it could be, or if it was a *what* at all.

Angel shook his head at the thoughts, which seemed to plague his exhausted mind. The moment he entered the office he felt the presence of another. He searched the darkness, searching for the intruder, and almost laughed out loud at the irony.

Willow, was sleeping on the couch in the office. He had spent a good portion of the evening trying to gain information on Willow's activities, only to find her snuggled on his couch. Why was she there? He wondered. Just as he was about to wake her, Willow's eyes snapped open, and she shot off of the couch. She looked around the room wildly, as if trying to determine where she was.

"Willow?" Angel asked approaching her.

Willow's eyes darted around the room nervously. "A…Angel?" When her eyes settled on him, she smiled in relief. "Thank Goddess!" She launched herself at the vampire and hugged him tightly.

"Willow? What is it? What's wrong?"

Willow sat down on the couch. "Something is wrong." She told him quietly. "I've been having these dreams. I think they're a warning." She looked into his eyes. "I think they're real."

Willow began to explain her dreams to Angel. When she had finished, Angel sat in silence, contemplating everything she had said.

Finally Angel spoke, "Are you sure they aren't just dreams?"

Willow shook her head vehemently. "Angel, I can feel things in these dreams. What it's like to drain the life out of someone. Feel their blood, as it surges through my veins. The power, the hunger, the need."

She turned to Angel, her green eyes boring into brown. There's something else. It's Spike." Angel looked at her sharply, wondering what he had to do with her dreams.

"He's been in the last few dreams." She paused, not sure how to say what she was thinking. "I think he's having the dreams too."

Angel's response what interrupted by the telephone ringing. He sat there in stunned silence for a moment, before answering.

"Hello?"

"Peaches? Watcher said you rang." Spike's accented voice came through the other end.

"I need you to come here. There's trouble." Angel spoke into the line seriously.

"Bloody Hell! Do I look like your personal slave? You don't own me." Spike snapped.

Angel stepped a little further away from Willow and spoke quietly into the phone, knowing Spike could still hear him. "Willow's here. I think she's in trouble. You both are."

Angel heard a click on the other end before he had finished speaking. He hung up the phone silently, knowing his childe would come. He had been sure when he had told him. He hadn't been sure of much of anything since Willow had shown up. He didn't know what Willow's dreams were about, if they were about anything. He didn't know what her dreams had to do with Cordelia's vision, and he didn't know how Spike fit in. But the one thing he had learned, was that whatever was going on involved both his favorite childe, and his close friend.

*****
 

"Angel?" Willow spoke suddenly, bringing Angel out of his silent thoughts.

"What is it?" He asked softly.

"If… if these dreams are a sign of what's to come… I don't want to become a killer."

"That's not going to happen. We'll stop this." He told her, hoping he sounded more convinced than he felt.

"And if we can't? What then? Stake me? Could you do that? Could Buffy?"

Angel ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. We'll think of something."

Willow stood up abruptly and made her way to the computer. She tapped on the keys for several moments before going to her bag and fishing out a yellow floppy disk. She returned to the computer and inserted the disk.

"Willow? What are you doing?"

Willow's eyes were concentrated on the computer screen. "The curse. Maybe I can alter it." She looked up at him. "Just in case."

"In case of what?" Spike strolled into the office.

Willow froze. Flashes of her dreams coming back to her. Her heartbeat sped up. It was pounding so hard, she was sure they could hear it.

Spike looked over to the desk, where Willow was hunched over the computer. If he'd had breath, he would have held it. She looked so beautiful, standing there. Her cheeks flushed, heart pounding wildly in her chest. She called to him. He wanted her, desperately. Something inside of him screamed for him to take her, mind, body and soul.

He stalked towards her predatorily. She was staring at him with this look in her. One he had never seen on her, not even in his dreams.

Willow walked out from behind the desk, meeting his gaze. At that moment the world ceased to exist. Nothing was real, except for the two of them. She no longer cared about the dreams; she only wanted the reality. She only wanted him.

Angel watched in stunned silence as his childe and his friend melded together with unspent passion. It took him several seconds before he could shake himself loose from the shock. But as soon as he did, me made his way between the couple, separating them.

He pushed Spike away and growled warningly. Turning back to Willow he spoke. "Willow, are you alright?"

Willow could vaguely here Angel's voice speaking to her. It sounded very far away. Her eyes were glued to Spikes. She could her own desire mirrored in his ice blue orbs.

"Willow!"

Angel's harsh tone refocused her attention. She turned to the dark-haired vampire. "Hmm?" She blinked, her brain losing some of the fogginess, which seemed to envelop it. "What happened?"

Angel ran a hand through his hair and sighed needlessly. He turned towards Spike, who was still staring at Willow, his blue eyes, trailing over her form lustily.

"Spike, go downstairs." He spoke quietly. When Spike didn't move, he snarled. "Now!"

Angel's demand seeped into Spikes mind. He looked at his sire, and saw the warning in his dark eyes. Shaking his head loose from the images of Willow, he turned and headed to the elevator. He didn't know what had come over him. But the moment he had entered the office, and seen her, something had seemed to drive him, control him.

He flopped down on Angel's couch and closed his eyes. He needed some sleep. He hadn't gotten any in several hours. It had been an exhausting day, and he had been ready to crawl into bed when Angel had demanded he come to Los Angeles. Not that he would have refused, at least not if Willow was in danger.

He closed his eyes and let sleep claim him. That's when the dreams came. But these dreams were different than all of the others. These dreams weren't about the present. They weren't about the Willow who sat upstairs with his sire. These dreams were about the future. These dreams were about the Willow that would be. The Willow he would make.

*****

"Angel, what's going on?" She asked nervously. "I don't know who I am anymore. What am I becoming?"

"I don't know." He told her honestly. "But whatever is happening, is happening to you both." He sighed uselessly. "Work on that spell. I'll be back." He grabbed his jacket and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked curiously.

Angel stopped and turned around. "To find some answers."

*****

Angel entered the underground cavern below the post office. He hoped the oracles would have answers to his questions. He hoped that they would give him those answers.

After performing the small little ritual, Angel closed his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself in the hall he had visited on three previous occasions.

"What have you brought us?" The female oracle asked.

Angel held up his offering. A crystalline bird. It would act as a prism when held up to the light.

The female oracle smiled as the offering flew into her waiting hand. "You seek knowledge." She looked at the bird carefully. "Like this, you wish to know that is. But also like this, you will never see it all."

Angel looked at her in confusion. Trying to understand the oracles was often a difficult task.

"I need to know what is happening to my friends"

The male oracle took a step closer. "Your needs do not concern us."

"She walks the path of darkness, though she is light." The female smiled.

"They will be warriors for our cause." The male oracle spoke.

"Her dreams, how do I stop them? How do I keep them from coming true."

The female laughed while the male spoke again, his voice harsh. "You cannot stop what is to come."

"What is, is meant to be." She spoke soothingly.

"Are you saying that she is supposed to become a vampire? A demon? I won't accept that."

"You have no say in the path that has been chosen." The male waved Angel away.

"You may however, guide her to the peace you seek." The female told him. "She is on the right path. Help her, and her soul shall not be lost."

Before Angel had a chance to form another question he found himself outside once more.

He ran back to his office. If what the oracles said was true, there was nothing he could do. Willow would become a vampire, a demon, like him. But there was still a chance he could save her.

****

Spike felt it the moment Angel had left. He found himself drawn to the office. He knew she was there, waiting for him. He rode up in the elevator, contemplating what was happening to him. He was beyond the point of caring. His dreams had plagued him for so long, haunted his days. He wanted them to stop. He wanted his sleep to be peaceful. But more than that, he wanted her. She consumed his every thought.

As he walked out of the elevator, he could feel her calling to him, beckoning him to her. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, he could sense it. Whatever was happening was beyond their control.

He watched her as he entered the office. She was working on the computer. She was typing something. After several seconds he heard the printer start up. She looked up at him, her green eyes boring into his. Their depths held the answers to questions he hadn't thought to ask. They were drawn to one another, their bodies screaming for contact.

Willow approached him with desire in her eyes. She pressed her body firmly against his, devouring his mouth with her tongue. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips pull away from her mouth and descent down her throat. She felt a slight shiver as he licked at her neck. She felt him pierce her flesh and gripped his body tighter to her own, silently begging him to continue.

Spike drank the nectar from her body, only vaguely away of what he was doing. All reason had left him. All coherent thought was gone. All that was left was the feel of her in his arms, the taste of blood sliding down his throat, the scent of her arousal as he drained her life away.

When he had nearly drained her dry, he pulled his fangs from her throat. Surprisingly, she wasn't weak. She attached herself to his throat, just as if she knew what was to happen next. She bit his savagely with her blunt teeth. Hard enough to break the skin. She sucked his blood into her mouth, as if it was second nature. She drank hungrily from him, until he gently pulled her away.

Willow looked into his eyes as she licked her lips. She smiled lazily as him and spoke softly before she slipped into slumber. "Goodnight."

Her body became limp in his arms and he picked her up and carried her down to Angel's apartment. He laid her gently down on the bed and watched her sleep. It wasn't until he had been staring at her for several minutes, watching her skin pale ever so slightly, that he realized what he had done.

He paced around the room frantically, trying to figure out what had possessed him to take her life, to make her like him, a killer. She was so much more than that. He couldn't find the answers. He didn't know why he had done what he had done, he only knew that he had, and now she was his, for eternity, and it somehow seemed… right.

*****

The moment Angel entered the office, he knew something was wrong. He could feel it. He noticed that the computer printer was spiting out page after page of something, but Willow was nowhere to be seen.

He ran down to his apartment, fearing gripping him at the thought of what could have happened. When he entered the living room, he found Spike pacing around wildly.

"What happened?" He demanded.

Spike stopped and looked at Angel, confusion in his eyes. "I don't know."

Angel pushed past him and into the bedroom. He saw Willow lying motionless on the bed. She appeared to be dead, but he knew that wasn't the case. He turned towards he closet and started rummaging through his things. "Spike, come here." He yelled. "Help me with these."

Spike entered the closet and saw his sire pulling out a set of chains. He helped carry them over to the bed. Spike secured Willows arms while Angel concentrated on her legs.

"Make sure they're tight." Angel reminded him. Spike nodded but said nothing.

When they were finished, Angel checked the restraints. Satisfied they were secure, he turned to Spike. "How much did you give her?"

Spike searched his mind for the answer. Everything was so hazy. "Enough." He spoke through clenched teeth as he walked back out into the living room and sat on the couch.

Angel sat across from him in a chair. He watched him carefully. Spike seemed to be really upset by the latest turn of events. It was clear to Angel that he had had no control over the events. He was just as confused, if not more so, as Willow had been.

"I'm sorry." The words were so softly spoken, Angel almost didn't hear them.

"It's not your fault." Angel told him.

Spike looked up sharply. "Peaches, in case you missed it, I killed her." There was sorrow in his eyes.

Angel moved to the couch next to Spike. "I know, but this wasn't something you could control."

Spike looked questioningly at his sire. "You found something out?"

Angel sighed needlessly and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I saw the oracles. From what I could gather, this was supposed to happen. They mentioned something about you joining their fight. Both of you."

"Bloody Hell, Peaches." He stood up and started pacing around the room. "Why do they have to include me in this shit?"

Angel shrugged. Spike turned back towards the couch. "Why chain her?"

Angel stood and headed towards the elevator. Spike followed. As they rode up to the office, Angel explained. "She was working on altering my curse. If she finished, we could use it on her."

"Curse her with a soul?" Spike asked cautiously.

Angel stared at Spike, trying to understand how Spike felt about this. "Do you want her soulless?" When Spike didn't answer he spoke again. "You love her." It was a statement, not a question. "Like she is… was."

Spike slowly nodded. It wasn't something he had admitted, even to himself, but it was true. He had fallen in love with her. She had always intrigued him, from the moment he had first seen her, but through his glimpse of her life in his dreams, he had fallen in love with her. She consumed him. And although fancied keeping her with him for an eternity, he loved who she was, not some sadistic murderous version of her.

"Will it work?" He asked quietly.

Angel left the elevator and headed to the computer. He tore off the printed sheets. He looked them over, but they didn't make much sense to him. He headed towards the phone and started dialing. As he waited for someone to answer, he turned to Spike.

"We won't know until we try."

*****

Angel paced around the office, stopping every once in awhile to glance at the clock. He heard the chains rattling again and turned towards Spike, who was moving towards the elevator.

"You don't want to go down there." He warned.

Spike shot Angel a look. "Well someone has to. She could be hurting herself down there." He entered the elevator and leaned against the wall, as it made it's decent.
 

He didn't know what was going on. Why he had spent so many days, and nights dreaming about Willow's life. Things he couldn't possible have known. Things he never would have guessed. He didn't know why some unseen force had drawn him to her. It controlled him, drove him.

Angel had told him about Willow's dreams and he found himself at a loss to explain it. What he found most disturbing was the vision of Willow as an evil creature of the night. Logically, he should relish the idea of a vampire that could rival even Angelus in cruelty. A vampire as stunning as Willow would be. A vampire that could be his equal.

However, the thought of his Willow as a soulless killer bothered him to no end. He had seen her, as no one else had, through his dreams. He knew her like no one else had ever dared. He knew all parts of her, not just the parts she showed the world. And while he could sense darkness in her, it didn't consume her.

He had fallen in love with the Willow he had seen, the real Willow, and didn't want her to get lost in the primal urges of her demon. He didn't know what had driven him to take her life, to change her. Angel believed it was a sort of fate, and although he didn't believe in such things, Spike was unable to come up with another explanation, rational or not.

When he entered the apartment, he could hear her rattling around in the chains. He could feel her; she was calling to him.

"Spikey?" She sing-songed. "I know that's you. Come out, come out. Willow wants to play."

Spike entered the bedroom and stared down at her. She was magnificent. A truly stunning creature. She had power; he could feel it, coming off of her in waves. He refrained from stepping any closer.

Standing there, watching her, he realized that she was his equal. She was his mate.

****

Giles practically ran into the office. He looked around the room. "Where is she? Is she alright?"

Angel nodded. "She's been restrained." He handed the print out to Giles. "Can you make any sense of this. Will the curse work for her?"

Giles took the paper and scanned the ritual over. Something about two-thirds of the way down caught his eye. "No, that's not right. He shook his head as he sat down in a chair. "This doesn't make any sense."

"What?" Angel asked concerned.

Giles ignored him and read through the paper again. "Good lord, what has she done?"

"Giles?" Angel asked frantically. He didn't know what they would do if the spell wouldn't work for her.

"Well, according to this," he pointed to a spot on the paper. "This ritual is similar to yours, but not. It's actually more of a binding ceremony than a restoration."

"Will it work?"

Giles sighed. "I think so. It'll bind her soul and her demon together, tempering the demon, but…"

"But what?" Angel all but growled.

"Well, it won't work unless…." He paused and looked up at the vampire. "She needs to be bonded, blood-bonded, to her soul mate. Which we can't do if we don't know who that is." He explained.

"Not a problem." Angel answered quickly, relieved that it wasn't something more difficult.

Giles eyed the vampire curiously. "Do you know something that I don't?"

******

"Come on, Lover, just think of all the death, the blood, the violence. Think of the way the slayer's blood will taste going down your throat." Willow tempted him, her voice low and seductive.

"You know you want it. You want me." She purred.

Spike turned towards the bedroom door and left without replying. It was so tempting. To go to her, release her, make her his. Her words brought a thrill through his body. But it was only short-lived. He knew that in the end, it was his Willow he wanted, not this new version.

He didn't know when his thoughts had become so twisted, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it now. And truthfully there wasn't much he wanted to do.

He left the apartment, hearing her rattling the heavy chains as she screamed insults at him. He hoped that the watcher could finish what Willow had started, otherwise, eternity wasn't looking nearly as promising as it once had.

*****

****

Angel couldn't help the grin, which appeared over his normally stoic features. "Spike."

Giles looked strangely at the vampire, sure he had misheard him. "Sp... Spike?" He asked. That couldn't be what he said that was just… ludicrous.

"That's what he said, mate." Spike grinned as he walked into the room, but Angel could see the expression didn't reach his eyes. He looked the Watcher over for a second before turning to his sire. "Well?"

Angel grabbed the paper out of Giles grasp and handed them to Spike. "It's a binding spell. Binding her soul and demon together." Angel explained.

"It's more than that." Giles interrupted after he regained some composure. When the two vampires turned to look at him, he continued. "This ritual will bind her soul to her demon, but at the same time it will bind her demon to another… to her soul mate, for lack of a better word. But…" He paused not knowing exactly how to tell them the rest.

"Get on with it!" Spike snapped.

Giles glared briefly before sleeping back into his 'lecture voice'. "This ritual, it's permanent, there's no way around it once its complete. No clauses, no hidden loopholes, no magic could undo it."

Spike turned to look at his sire, clearly not understanding how that could be a bad thing. Angel shrugged slightly and turned to Giles. "What else?"

Giles sighed. "I know you want to help her, so do i. But this isn't something you can do without thinking about the consequences."

"What consequences?" Spike all but snarled. He didn't like the thought that Willow could be in some sort of danger.

Giles turned to the blonde vampire, his gaze never wavering as he explained. "If you do this, it will be forever, for eternity. You can't bind yourselves together and then decide later you want to go your separate ways." He told him solemnly.

"Never happen." Spike's voice was so serious, Giles couldn't help but believe him.

"There's more." He stared. "She'll be different. She'll have her soul, but she won't be like Angel." He looked from one vampire to other and then back again finally settling on Spike. "Nor will she be like you." He took a deep breath. "Her soul won't prevent her from killing, but I thin that it will keep her from killing discriminately."

Spike took in what he said. She wouldn't be a killer, at least not as she was at that moment. That was good. And if she wouldn't be a brooding mess like his pouf of a sire, that was also good. He looked up at the watcher. "So, lets get started already!"

*****

Several hours later, the three men surrounded the bed Willow was chained to. She had this amused expression of her face, not entirely pleasant.

"Why do you resist, luv? You know you want it? You want me." She asked seductively as Giles set out the supplies.

Spike groaned to himself. The sexually sound to her voice was beginning to wear him down. His demon rejoiced at her power, her desire. He couldn't deny her, but he couldn't succumb either.

"Ready?" Angel asked, breaking Spike out of his internal debate.

Spike nodded and stepped into the circle as Giles handed him the dagger he would need to cut himself if Willow refused to bite.

Giles handed a bowl to Angel, who bit into his wrist and dropped a few drops into it before handing it over to Spike. His blood wasn't necessary, but since he was Spikes sire, and Willow's grand sire, his blessing, given in blood would strengthen the bond.

Spike accepted the bowl with a nodded and a silent thank you, and turned back to the bed. Willow was sitting completely still, but he could see the golden flecks in her green eyes. She was restraining the demon, which he found to be impressive considering how young she was, and the fact that she had been chained to a bed for hours on end.

"Will I need this?" Spike asked her with the raise of his scarred eyebrow as he motioned with the knife.

"Will you enjoy it?" She asked him, a smile quirking on her lips.

Spike bit off his retort as he heard Giles start the chant. He offered his wrist to her. For a moment she hesitated and he was about to pull it away when he saw her face shift and she savagely bit into his cold skin. Spike closed his eyes and felt his own demon take root as the pleasurable sensations washed over him. If he hadn't felt the firm, but reassuring hand of his sire on his shoulder, he may have forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

Pulling his wrist away, he squeezed some of the dripping blood into the bowl. With a strength he didn't know he possessed, Spike avoided Willow's feral gaze, which was hitting his cold flesh. He grasped her wrist and tore into it with a savagery similar to her own. He sucked some of her blood into his mouth and smirked into her cool skin as he heard her moan in pleasure.

Remembering why he was feeding off of her, Spike moved the bowl under where his mouth and her wrist met. He pulled away gently and let her blood dribble into the blood already mixing at the bottom.

Listening to Giles continue the chant, Spike finally allowed his eyes to meet hers, and took a deep unnecessary breath at what he saw there. No longer was their barely restrained rage, but acceptance, and something he had never seen her eyes, not as a mortal, and not as a vampire. Love.

"My blood to your blood." He took a drink of the blood. It was rich, and powerful.

"My demon to your demon." He tilted the bowl to her lips and watched as she drank.

"I bind the to me."

There was a strange light and their bodies were surrounded by a bluish glow. Almost as soon as it had started it was over. It had so quickly, Giles, as the only non-vampire in the room, wasn't even sure if it had.

When Spike's eyes readjusted to the darkness and turned towards his mate. She was unconscious, and looked truly dead, but her pale skin just added this ethereal beauty to her magnificence.

"Did it work?" Giles asked, unsure if anything had actually been accomplished.

Spike stood up and left the room to shower and change. She probably wouldn't waken for awhile and then they would have lots to discuss.

After Spike had left, Angel turned towards the watcher who was nervously gathering the supplies. "It worked."

Giles stopped and faced the vampire. "Are you certain?"

Angel nodded. "She's different I can feel it." He paused, not sure how he was going to say what he needed to. "I think it's time for you to go."

Giles blanched. "What?"

Angel sighed uselessly. "She'll wake up… eventually, and she'll have… questions. She probably won't want to see you, or anyone really."

Giles thought about what Angel had said. "You're here. Spike is here."

Angel ran a hand through his hair and walked out of the room, willing the watcher to follow him. For all of Giles' knowledge, and wisdom, there was stills o much he didn't know, or understand.

"We are the same." He stated simply, knowing that that wasn't an explanation, but he really had no desire to elaborate further, unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Because of your soul? Angel I told you…" Giles started before Angel cut him off.

"No, we're family. I'm her grandsire, Spike is her mate." He stopped, hoping that would be enough, and then turned his dark eyes to the watcher. "Rupert, we're vampires. No amount of soul restoration will change that. Some things don't change. Something never will. Some things… we don't want to change." He said the last part quietly, but Giles heard him.

As the meaning to his words sunk into Giles brain, he stood up. "Yes, well, I'll be… I'll be going." He turned towards the door, but stopped before he reached it. "You'll take care of her?" He asked without turning around.

"Yes." Angel spoke softly.

Giles nodded and left the office. Angel sank into the couch and ran another hand through his hair. He hadn't meant to say some of those things to Giles, but he didn't think that the watcher would have left anyway. How would he explain to a man he had once tortured that although he now had his soul, and his guilt weighed heavily on his conscious, he didn't not wish to loose who he was and become something he could no longer being.

Although he knew that Willow had been a vampire for less than twenty-four hours, he also recognized something in her, something he knew would not go quietly back to what she had been. She was forever changed now. But maybe she really hadn't changed that much; maybe the turning had simply released something that had always been there.

Either way, things had gotten extremely more complicated.

****

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