Chapter 1

"Where are you going, love?" Angel purred at Faith as she rolled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.

Faith smiled, glancing over her shoulder at the naked vampire laying enticingly on the bed. "Well, Darla wants us at that 'meeting' of hers in like an hour and a half, so..." she raised one sweeping eyebrow at him, "I thought I'd *shower*!" Her other brow flew up to join the first as he leapt from the bed and was at her side in mere moments.

"I'm sorry, sweet, but you can't *do* that," he said silkily, one hand, at the small of her back, pulling her against him, while the other wound itself into her hair. "Darla's going to introduce us as mated ones tonight..." he explained gently, staring into her beautiful earthy eyes, "It's kind of... *important* that we carry each other's *scent*..."

She almost laughed before she realized that he was serious. "Wait... so what you're saying is... We have to go to this thing, *smelling* like we've been having sex for two days straight..." She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his broad, cool chest when he nodded. "Oh... yeah, and that won't be *too* embarrassing..."

Angel grinned, holding her tighter. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, my love... the more we smell of each other, the stronger the mating, so..." His smile widened. "And I doubt whether anyone there has ever seen a mating *this* strong!" His eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he concentrated on her scent, and the strong strain of 'Angel' overlaying it. "Besides," he breathed softly into her hair, "It's not like we'll be the *only* ones... Spike and Willow will be covered in each other's scents, too..." He sighed happily as her strong, slender arms wrapped solidly around his waist.

"So..." she said, finally having accepted the necessity of appearing in public smelling like she'd just escaped from a cat-house, "What should we do for the next hour or so? Because," she explained, as her tongue slipped out to caress his tightly budded nipple, "I'm pretty sure that I can get dressed in less than thirty minutes..."

Angel groaned deep in his chest, loving the way his mated one thought, although... "You know," he almost growled, as he lifted her up and carried her back to the bed, "It's a good thing I'm already dead, because..." He set her down atop the tangled sheets. "If I *weren't*, you'd be the death of me..." he finished, as he began to slowly lick his way up her body.

"So, pet," Spike purred softly against the redhead's sweaty throat, "Do you feel any... *different*?" He licked again at the still seeping mark on her neck. "Now that you've been *claimed*, I mean..."

Willow growled slightly, an ability she'd just discovered acquiring. "Depends," she said, "On what you mean by 'different'! If you mean do I love you even more--- which, by the way, I would have said was impossible just a day ago--- then *yes*! I feel different!" She giggled, threading her fingers through his hair and pulling his lips away from her neck. "Spike..." she said hesitantly, "I'm just so... *happy* right now..." She sighed deeply, staring intently into his glorious blue eyes. "I don't know... maybe it's growing up on the Hellmouth, but... I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop... I mean," she pulled him to her for a quick kiss, and continued, "Every time things seem to be going well, something always *happens*!" Her lips found his again for a moment before she pulled away and shook her head. "Enough." she said determinedly, "I'm not going to worry about it anymore! I'm *here*, with *you*, and I'm just going to *enjoy* it!"

Spike grinned, moving his lips back to her neck. "I'm glad you feel that way, luv, but..." he murmured against her skin, his eyes glancing at the clock, "We'll have to pick this up *later*." He pulled himself from her arms, and rolled from the bed. "Darla's minions will be here to escort us to the meeting in half an hour, so..."

The redhead shrieked in dismay. "Why didn't you say something *earlier*!" She jumped from the bed and began running around the room. "I still need to shower, and..." She stilled suddenly as he caught her by the arms and pulled her against his naked body.

"No, luv. No showering. Not if you want my claim to be recognized as *valid*, anyway..." He braced himself for an argument, afraid that she'd be upset at the idea of a large group of strange vampires knowing exactly what they'd been up to.

Willow thought about what he'd just said, and finally decided that if it came down to a choice between smelling of Spike and sex, or having the vampires at the Gathering doubt his claim, she'd just have to... smell. "Oh." she said softly before pulling herself from his arms. "I guess I'd better get dressed then... Unless," she teased, meeting his eyes, "I'm supposed to appear *naked* as well?... No?... Good!"

Spike laughed softly to himself as he began to dress. He should have known better! His witch was, after all, the practical sort!

The four people-- two vampires, one former Slayer, and one witch-- were assembled in the living room of their suite a full five minutes before they were due to be collected. The men were dressed very nicely, black leather pants and a blue silk shirt for the dark haired one, and new black jeans with a dark red silk shirt for the blond... of course, no one was going to notice *them*, they thought... not with the way their women were dressed!

The clothes had been a surprise, as they had emerged from their rooms to find the large gift boxes on the couch, each box bearing a name. The mens' clothes were fairly simple, but the womens'...

The redhead's box had contained a long, almost floor length gown in the same shade of red as her lover's shirt. She had been concerned about the shade at first, but had been pleasantly surprised at how well it actually complimented her colouring... it clung to her body in all the right places, before flaring a bit from the hips down... Her lover had said that he wanted her to wear that colour all the time... besides, it went so very well with the platinum and garnet choker she still wore.

The brunette girl's box had held an outfit that was entirely suited to her tastes, and she wondered just how anyone there knew her well enough to choose it! She hadn't been a bit concerned, when she'd opened the box, that it wouldn't suit her... and she'd been right not to worry, because the black leather skirt that hit her mid-thigh looked fantastic on her, as did the blue bustier that matched her lover's shirt exactly! The fishnet stockings and high heeled ankle boots that had been included finished the look off perfectly. All that had been missing was some sort of jewelry, and Angel had taken care of that when he'd pulled the long chain from around his neck and slipped it over her head.

So it was, that when the knock came at the door to their suite, they were all ready, and looking great. They went to the door and filed out, following their escorts down the hall and into the elevator. None of them noticed the sound of an abandoned cell phone doing its best hyperactive cricket impersonation in the room they'd just left.

< Sunnydale >

Cordelia rolled her eyes as the Slayer made yet another bitchy, whiney little comment, wishing with all her heart that Dru *had* arranged for the girl's death... Buffy had been going on and on, for what seemed like hours, about Giles' unwillingness to re-schedule her training so that she could go out on a date... As if, Cordelia snorted, anyone worthwhile would ever want to date her anyway! Finally, she'd had enough, and turned away from the computer to glare at the blonde. "Shut up!" she shouted, eyes flashing dangerously. "I don't want to hear even one more word out of you!" She shook her head angrily, standing up and stalking towards the now speechless girl. "Willow left Giles in charge, and you're damned well gonna do what he tells you! Or," she continued, the threat obvious in her voice, "Do I have to *call* Will and tell her what an unmitigated little *bitch* you're being?... No?... Good!" She nodded her satisfaction, and returned to the computer just as it finished downloading Brother Iggy's site. Her eyes scanned down the page, stopping abruptly at a new prophecy... "Oh... *shit*..." she said softly, noticing the abundance of pound signs beside it. "Giles," she said, worriedly, "Call Will."

Giles stepped up behind the girl, his eyes reading the display over her shoulder. He felt his breath catch as he found what she *had* to be looking at. "Oh... oh dear..." he muttered, turning away. "Yes, you're right, Cordelia, I *should* call Willow... she'll know what to do..."

"What?" screeched the blonde, standing up to stop him, "I *stopped* complaining, Giles! You don't have to call Willow, I'll be good from now on, I *swear*!"

Giles rolled his eyes, pushing the girl out of his way. "Yes, well, that's *fine*, Buffy, but sadly, not *everything* is about *you*!" He grimaced, annoyed at his Slayer. "So either sit down and shut up, or make yourself useful and patrol!" He put the blonde girl from his mind as he reached the phone and dialed the cell number that he'd had memorized by the time he'd been in town three days, frowning when he got no answer. "Cordelia," he said, concerned, "E-mail her... she must have lost her phone..."

"Fine!" Buffy muttered to herself as she left the shop, "*Willow* would never be that mean to me..." She continued griping to herself as she began her first sweep of the nearest cemetery.

Chapter 2

The four of them looked rather oddly at the minions who had come to take them to the meeting. For some reason, one of their 'escorts' had pulled the emergency stop button, although the alarm wasn't sounding in the elevator. Spike pulled the redhead closer to him and sidled towards his Sire and Faith. "What's going on here, mate?" he murmured, getting only a slight head shake for his trouble.

Angel had no idea of what was happening, either, but he had his suspicions, which were borne out as the 'lead minion' began to speak.

"OK," the somewhat small vampire said to the Master's family, "I need to tell you how things are going to work, so..." He stared at them silently for a moment before continuing.

Angel and Spike glanced at each other, still confused, as the minion explained the obvious. They finally understood, however, when they looked at their women... the girls had had no idea of how they were expected to behave, and this minion had obviously taken it upon himself to *tell* them, without making it look like he was singling out the non-vampires... Sire and childe exchanged a speaking look, each seeing in the other's eyes the determination to steal this rather sensible, and sensitive, minion from Darla's side... after all, she couldn't value him *too* highly if she had him playing 'escort'... They watched from the corners of their eyes as the emergency stop button was disengaged, and relaxed when they felt the elevator resume its descent.

The four of them sighed in relief as the doors finally opened on the Mezzanine level, and they stepped out in the order they'd become accustomed to... first Spike and Willow, then Angel and Faith. They followed the minions assigned to them until they reached the double doors of the main ballroom.

"I'm sorry," the same minion, Zachariah, said to them all, "But Angelus and his woman must go first... it's a *seniority* thing..." he explained, looking tense until the dark haired vampire nodded abruptly.

Angel stared at the man for a moment before nodding. "Fine," he said, "But Spike and Willow had better be right behind us, or I'll know who to kill." He growled slightly, just to get his point across.

Faith grinned to herself as her mated one pulled her into the ballroom behind him... he sure was a *bad-ass* when he wanted to be! Her internal grin faded as they were announced, and she tried to remember the instructions she'd barely listened to in the elevator... approach the dais with her mated... bow... climb the steps... Angel goes before her and kisses Darla's cheek before moving to a spot slightly behind and to the right of the blonde woman's... *throne*, for lack of a better word... then she was supposed to do the same...

Darla smiled smugly as the former Slayer performed flawlessly... she was the only one, other than Angelus, who could see the brunette's anxiety. "Well done," she murmured softly, as the girl kissed her cheek, "Now join your mated... on his left!" Her smile grew, ever so slightly, as she felt the girl comply. She looked once again to the door, waiting for the entrance of her grand-childe and his claimed.

"William the Bloody, called Spike..." cried the minion who had been roped into major-domo duties for the evening, "One half of the Scourge of Europe, favoured childe of Angelus, Grand-Childe to the Master... and his consort, his *claimed*, Willow Rosenberg, of the order of Aurelius!"

Willow grinned wickedly at the vampires who dared to give her a look as she passed by them on Spike's arm. "Your *consort*?" she said softly, amused, "Is that anything like your 'leman'?"

Spike grinned wildly, loving his woman's irreverence. "Oh, no, pet... it makes you much more than just my *leman*... it makes you my future *mated*."

The redhead giggled softly, for his ears only. "So... does this mean we're *engaged*?" She giggled again at the stunned look on his face. "Well, if being mated is like being married, then..."

The blond vamp smiled down at his lady love. "Well... yeah!... I suppose we *are* engaged... at least in so far as you humans figure these things..." He turned reluctantly from her, facing his Grand-Sire, and bowed, glad to find that his Willow was barely a second behind him with her own obeisance. He pulled away from his love and climbed the few steps before kissing Darla's cheek and moving to his assigned spot behind her and to her left. He watched, completely relaxed, as his witch imitated his movements, coming to stand on his right. He'd had no worries at all that she'd remember the sequence of events, and he took her hand, squeezing it gently to show his support.

Darla smiled slightly in satisfaction. With the way the two couples were reeking, there was no chance that either the mating or the claiming would be challenged... She stood, ready to introduce her family to her world.

<Sunnydale>

"So?" Giles demanded, once again sweeping in to the room and almost glaring at Cordelia, "Any response?"

The brunette sighed heavily. "Giles..." she said patiently, "It's only been half an hour!" She rolled her eyes, ignoring his fidgets. "Look. She might be away from her computer... I mean, after all, she *is* at her Aunt's wedding, so she can't have it with her *all* the time!"

The Englishman stared, disbelievingly, at the much younger girl. "And you really think that she'd be away from the... what? Net?... at a time like *this*..."

Cordelia sighed again, standing up and crossing the room to the man. "It's not like she knows there's anything *wrong*, Ripper," she said softly, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his surprisingly hard chest, "I mean, when she *left*, the only thing we had to worry about was that eight-pound-sign prophecy... she has no way of knowing that there's an *eleven* pound-signer in the works..."

Giles sighed, folding his own arms around his lover of the past two years. "You're right, Cordy... I just wish..."

"Hey!" the brunette yelped, "No wishes! Remember what happened the *last* time one of us made a wish!"

"God... yes..." Giles shuddered, holding his girlfriend more tightly. "Paul Anka came to Sunnydale..." He frowned deeply, "I'm *still* not sure of exactly what Percy was trying to accomplish..."

Cordelia smiled, her hands slipping under his shirt. "Well, I'm fairly sure that he was trying to summon Poulyanka, the Patron Saint of Scorned Men..." she giggled as her lover laughed against her neck. "After all, it *was* right after Willow dumped him... Obviously, he did something *wrong*..." She moaned softly as he found that tender spot at the nape of her neck, and didn't say anything recognizable for quite a while thereafter.

Faith smiled frozenly as yet *another* vampire approached her and Angel, congratulating Angelus on snagging a Slayer as his mated one. :: Am I invisible?:: she wondered, tossing her hair angrily, ::Do I not even *exist* as anything other than a former *Slayer*?:: She tightened her hold on her mated's fingers, and glared at him through the pleasant expression on her face. ::I *swear*...:: she thought angrily, hoping he'd hear her, ::If I don't get out of here *soon*, I'll *stake* someone!:: Her eyes went round as she heard, for the first time, his 'voice' in her head.

Angel grinned, hearing his mated's frustration in her mental 'voice'... [Just a few more minutes, sweet,] he thought back at her, shaking yet another hand. [A few more minutes, and we'll be able to go back to our suite... and I can hardly *wait*...] He sighed, both inwardly and outwardly. [The bond still calls me, love... I *need* you!]

Faith grinned at her lover, this time for real. ::Me, too, Fang... me too... and hey! Won't these people understand that? I mean...::

Angel smirked slightly. His mated one was *right*, of course... if *anyone* would understand the mated bond's urgings, it should be *this* group. [Yes, sweet...] he purred internally, [Let's go...] He turned away from the latest well-wisher, and pulled the brunette hard against him. "I'm sorry," he murmured, to anyone who cared to hear, "But we've got to... *go*..." He ignored the amused chuckles that followed him as he swept his girl up in his arms and out the door... he almost couldn't wait to get to their suite...

Willow smiled to herself as she watched Angel carry Faith from the ballroom. The two of them were so obviously *right* together! Her smile became a sigh, however, as she had to shake still *another* hand welcoming her to Aurelius... She almost laughed aloud when she caught Xander rolling his eyes at her from across the room, then wondered where his friend, and Faith's, that girl Angela was... of course, Angela wasn't bound to Aurelius, or... Willow grinned again, this time at the somewhat distracted look in her friend's eyes... Angela might not be Aurelius yet, but Willow had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't be long before the girl *was* a part of the family! She glanced at her lover from the corner of her eye, wishing that they could just *leave*... after all, she *had* just found out that she was engaged! Could she help it if she wanted to *celebrate*? "Spike," she purred finally, not caring *who* heard her, "I *want* you... *now*!"

The blond vampire grinned at the envious looks he was receiving, and glanced quickly at his Grand-Sire... after all, she was the Master here, and this was *her* party... His grin became a smirk when Darla just smiled slightly and nodded, and he threw the tiny redhead over his shoulder, stalking from the room with a definite goal in mind... He was going to take her back to their suite, then he was going to undress her and lick every inch of her body before burying himself deep inside her for at least an hour or two... he would shag her until she *begged* him to stop... He grinned again as he got on the elevator and turned around, letting her push the button for their floor... He thought that she'd be able to go quite a while before the begging started... he *knew* that she would...

Darla waited until she was sure that none of the four who had left would be coming back. Finally, she gestured to her great-grand-childe, smiling wickedly when he was once again by her side. "All right," she said softly, loving the way the entire room quieted, "let's get down to *business*." She smiled at her dear boy Xander as the vampires at the meeting sorted themselves out. "The first thing we need to discuss," she said levelly, "Is the rising of this 'new' Master... Opinions?... Anyone?..." She smiled more broadly as Drusilla stepped out of the shadows at the back of the dais, hurriedly re-assembling her clothing.

Dru grinned back at her Grand-Sire, the amusement in her brown eyes letting the blonde woman know that the minion she'd just left behind the curtains would live... but he'd probably need to *sleep* for a while... She came to stand at Darla's right, and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Thank you, Grandmother," she whispered very softly, "You were right... he was just... lovely." She stepped back, taking the spot Angelus had recently occupied, waiting to hear what might be said about the prophecy that she and Willow were determined to stop.

Willow giggled softly as Spike carried her into their suite before putting her down in the living room. She knew her face was bright red, due mostly to all the blood that had rushed to it from being carried over his shoulder for so long. She grinned up at his smirking visage, giggling again as she heard the sounds coming from Faith and Angel's room. "Well," she said, still chuckling, "I guess they didn't waste any time..." Her chuckles died out when the blond stepped up close, pressing his long, cool length against her.

"No, pet..." Spike murmured, his arms wrapping themselves around her waist, "I'd say not..." He pulled her even more tightly against him. "Angel never was one for delayed gratification..."

The redhead sighed happily, her own arms reaching around her love, hands wandering down his back and up under his shirt. "Runs in the family, does it?" she asked slyly, rocking her hips slightly against him. "Unfortunately," she said wickedly, as she pulled away, "*Your* gratification is going to *have* to be delayed... for a few minutes, anyway," she clarified, not at all afraid of his growling. "I'm sorry, love," she told him, over her shoulder as she crossed the room, "But I have to check my e-mail... after all, I did *promise*..." She sat at the table and opened her laptop, waiting impatiently for the thing to boot up, and signed onto her e-mail. She hoped there wasn't much to read... after all, she had a blond to bed.

Spike sighed, wanting nothing more than to be shagging hell out of her right that minute, but... Her loyalty and her sense of responsibility were part of what he loved about her... he couldn't reasonably expect her to set those things aside just because she'd found *him*... had become a part of his life. Of course, he'd never been *too* reasonable, but... for Willow? He'd try. He crossed the room in a flash, standing behind her when she gasped in what sounded like...

She nodded to herself as her e-mail finished loading, and went directly to the message from Shoppergirl. She quickly scanned the content, gasping loudly in horror... Cordelia had found another prophecy... and it was *not* of the good. She could feel Spike's eyes scanning the page, and when she knew he was finished, clicked on the link Cordy had included. She turned her head, eyes meeting her lover's, as they waited impatiently for Brother Iggy's page to load. Her gaze flew back to the screen when she heard the little ding indicating that the download was complete, and leaned back into Spike's comforting cool hands as she began to read, her eyes growing wider and wider. "Spike..." she finally said, timidly, "This sounds like... I mean, it seems to be..."

"About *us*," the blond finished for her. "It's about *us*, love... *All* of us." He spun her chair around, pulling her from it and into his arms. "It'll be OK, baby... It'll be OK..."

Willow sighed deeply against him, wishing that there was some way he could be right. "How, Spike? 'Cause it seems like... whatever we do, we're going to..."

"*No*!" he almost shouted, pulling slightly back so that he could stare deep into her eyes, "We are *not* going to *die*, Willow! I won't *allow* it!" He pulled her tightly against him once more, holding her as close as he possibly could. "I just *found* you, pet... I'm not going to let you go that easily. We'll find a way around this, and then... we'll have eternity... all of us!" He sighed deeply. "Believe me, pet... believe me..." he begged, knowing that he would do whatever it took to keep his redhead safe.

She pulled back slightly, glancing up to meet his eyes. "I do believe you, Spike," she lied, one hand on the back of his neck pulling his lips to hers. "I'm just... freaked, I guess..." she murmured before losing herself in his kiss. "And there's nothing that we can do right *now*, anyway, so..."

"Oh," Spike purred, putting this new prophecy from his mind for the moment as he picked his girl up in his arms, "*I* can think of *plenty* of things to do right at the moment... want to do them *with* me, pet?" He cut off whatever words she'd intended to say by the simple expedient of covering her mouth with his as he carried her to their bedroom... After all, he *still* wanted to make her *beg*...

Chapter 3

Darla hung up the phone and strode purposefully through the big old house she lived in with her immediate clan. The previous Master of Seattle had done his business from the top of a high-rise apartment building, but when *she* had taken over, she'd decided to go with something a bit... classier, and so she had had a small group of minions locate her current abode. It was large and sprawling, with enough land around it, encased by a tall brick wall, to qualify as an estate, and she thought that it was partly due to her home that she received a good deal more respect from the city officials than the prior Master had... they also seemed to understand that she had a bit of knowledge of how to run things, and rarely tried to manipulate her anymore. Of course, she had to thank her own Master, whatever corner of Hell the demon now resided in, for the many years of training she'd received in his court... no, the humans of Seattle had very little chance of ever using her to *their* advantage!

Her steps slowed for just a moment as she stood outside the door to her great grand-childe's room. He had stayed at the Gathering until almost sun-up, barely beating the sunrise to their door, but... this was too important. "Xander," she said loudly, crossing the room to the bed when he didn't respond. "Xander!" she said again, louder this time, kicking hard at the wooden platform his mattress sat upon.

The brown haired vampire opened sleepy eyes, staring confusedly at the blonde for a moment... why did his mother have blonde hair?... it couldn't be time for school already! His eyes opened farther as his mind cleared itself of the last vestiges of sleep. "Darla..." he mumbled, not really awake yet, "What is it? What's wrong? And..." He groaned slightly, cursing the many shots of Jack Daniel's he'd been given the night before, "What *time* is it?"

The blonde woman sighed, watching him struggle into a sitting position. "Something's come up, and we need to go to the hotel. It's almost ten AM." Her lips twitched at the corners when he groaned. "Now, get up and dressed, dear boy... I'll find your Sire. Meet us in the foyer in twenty minutes." She turned and left the room, pausing for a moment in the doorway. "Twenty minutes, Xander... I mean it!" She continued on her way, searching for Dru this time, a smile on her face as she recalled the speed with which he'd jumped up from the bed at her last words... her boy certainly *did* know his place!

Willow exchanged impatient looks with Spike as they waited for Angel and Faith to finish reading what Cordelia had found on Brother Iggy's web site... she really hoped that the mateds would hurry up, already... Darla would be there soon, with Dru and Xander, and she wanted the four of them to have a chance to discuss things before they arrived. Her eyes softened, and her heartbeat sped up a bit when her lover slowly licked his lips while staring directly into her eyes... It had been a long night for both of them... he'd almost worn her out completely! She grinned, a bit wickedly, and started to slowly walk towards him, her hips swaying enticingly, and laughed, mostly to herself, as his eyes went from sapphire blue to cobalt... she loved it that she could affect him so much without even touching him. Of course, he affected her equally, she thought, as she felt a shiver of anticipation tingle down her spine. She had almost reached him when the other couple in the room finally finished digesting what they'd just read.

"So, wait..." Faith said slowly, "This is about us... and we're gonna die, no matter what..." She looked up into her mated's deep brown eyes. "I... How is that possible? I mean, I thought you said I was..."

Angel sighed, pulling her tightly against him. "Immortal... I know. And you *are*, for the most part... it's just that..." He sighed again, not sure of how to explain it to her.

Spike, fortunately, didn't have that problem. "It's like this, pet," he said, looking over at his Sire and the former Slayer, "Your immortality is connected to Angel's. As long as *he's* around, *you're* around. *He* doesn't age, so *you* don't age. Only a few things can kill him, but he's a vampire and you're not, so... as long as the poof is still roaming the earth, you are *truly* immortal, but *he's* *not*." He snorted in amusement when they stared at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted an extra head. "What? I'm not allowed to *think*, now?" He turned his eyes to his redheaded witch and took the few steps to her side. "I had to figure out what it would mean for *us*, love," he said softly, wrapping the girl in his arms, sighing contentedly as she rested her head against his chest... they might be slated for death, but he was for damned sure going to enjoy life while he could!

The brunette girl thought about that for a moment, leaning hard into her lover. "Fine." she said determinedly, "Then you need to mate Willow as soon as possible, and the two of us will go and handle whatever's gonna happen." She frowned up at Angel when he began to protest. "No, Fang, it's the only way! This *thing*... it's gonna know you're vampires, it's gonna know how to hurt you... *kill* you! But me and Will? If we're immortal, it *can't* kill us!"

Angel shook his head slowly, knowing his childe was doing the same at the suddenly excited Willow. "No, love... but it can *hurt* you... make you *wish* you could die..." He swallowed hard at just the thought, and pulled her tightly to him once more. "Do you think that I could *stand* that, Faith? That I could just sit by, feeling your pain, feeling your love turn to hate in my mind?" He swallowed again, almost crying. "I just can't do it, love... I *can't*! So please," he whispered at the end, "Please don't ask me to even *try*..."

Faith sighed to herself, somehow knowing that he wasn't going to budge even an inch on this one... he'd made up his mind, but then again... so had *she*. He was her mated one, and a part of her, just as she was a part of him... and if he really thought that she was going to let him endanger himself, when *she* was the obvious choice in this case, well... he'd find out differently soon enough. She smiled softly, meeting his eyes for a moment before snuggling closer into his embrace... it was so sweet, the way he wanted to protect her...

"No." Spike kept saying to the redheaded girl. "No, Willow," he said again, eyes meeting hers angrily, "I won't allow it!" He shook his head hard, although not nearly as hard as he wanted to shake the little witch. "You're my claimed, and I won't let you risk yourself like that! So you won't be able to die once we're mated. Great! That doesn't mean you'll be impervious to harm! Did you ever even *think* about that? This thing that's coming, it could beat you, tie you up, and *rape* you, every day for all of eternity, and you wouldn't even have the *escape* of death! It could cut you, whip you, make you *bleed*, and you'd just heal up and go on and on like that *forever*!" He growled, seeing the resolve still in her eyes. "Is that what you *want*, pet? Because if it *is*, then *I* can do all those things to you..." He growled again, his true face showing this time. "I don't particularly *want* to, but I *will*..."

Willow sighed sadly, and shook her head. "No..." she said softly, "That's not what I want, but... Spike!" she exclaimed, pressing herself tightly to his lean, cool form, "I don't want *you* to die! I mean, we're supposed to have *eternity*, damn it!" She pressed her face against his hard chest, hoping his shirt would soak up the moisture leaking from her eyes. "It took me all this time to find you... I don't want to lose you now..." She sniffled slightly as his arms tightened around her, and let herself relax against him, the low rumbling in his chest soothing her anxiety... She would do whatever it took to keep him safe... and she knew that Faith would do the same for Angel.

This was, of course, the scene that Darla, Drusilla and Xander walked in on... the three of them exchanged curious glances before Darla finally broke the silence. "*Such* a touching scene," she purred, seating herself on one of the couches, "But do you mind telling us why we're *here*?" She smirked openly when her childe, and her grand-childe, growled at her from within their women's arms.

Willow raised her head from where it rested on her lover's chest, and turned it, glancing towards her best friend. "Dru..." she said softly, "Laptop." She returned to her earlier position, once again ignoring the new arrivals... there would be time to talk to them later. Right then, she needed to figure out how to get Spike to mate her... and *soon*! She wasn't going to lose him... not for anything.

Chapter 4

"All right," Darla said, having scanned the information on the prophecy at least a half a dozen times, "What am I not getting, here? Because *this* seems to be saying that the seven of us go up against whatever the hell a Triumbathertsa is, and we all die." She glanced around the room, her gaze pausing for just a moment on each of the people there, sighing when none of them responded to her question. "OK, then... can one of you please explain to me why we would even *do* this if our deaths are unavoidable? Because that's the part that I'm really having trouble with..." She stared straight at the redhead, and was completely surprised when Faith was the one to answer her.

"Because," the former Slayer said bluntly, "If we *don't* do it, we'll just end up dying anyway, only a lot of other people will die first!" She sighed angrily, pulling herself from the arms of her mated one and approaching the blonde woman. "Think about it, Darla. This Triu... trea... whatever it's called, this *thing* is gonna come, and eventually, it's gonna figure out that there's actually someone, somewhere, who can stop it!" The brunette nodded slightly at the awareness seeping into the blonde's eyes. "So do you really think that it won't be able to figure out who we are? And if we've all moved on, gone our separate ways, it's gonna be that much easier for it to kill us, one by one. No," she said quietly, "We're better off trying to stop it when it first breaks free... it'll be at its weakest then, and maybe... maybe we *won't* die! I mean, Willow says that her little group back in Sunnydale has averted prophecy after prophecy, so..."

"That's true," Willow chimed in, her eyes wide. "I never really thought about that, mostly because this is a much... *larger* prophecy than any I've faced before, but..." She leaned back against her vampire, her red hair spread out over his shoulder as she thought. "Maybe... maybe if we can change *one* element, it'll change our chances..." She pulled quickly away from her lover, and flew across the room to her computer. "So all we have to do," she continued as she frantically typed, "Is find something, anything, that can be changed without detrimentally altering the likelihood of us defeating this thing..."

Spike tried, he really did, but the sight of his claimed typing away like crazy while trying to sound reasonable was just... too amusing, and he knew that he was going to crack any second. Of course, Willow would find that insulting, and he knew it, so he walked slowly and quietly to their bedroom and went in, closing the door behind him. Unfortunately, he could still hear his little witch's voice, and that meant that she'd be able to hear *his*, so... He quickly stripped himself, and rushed into the bathroom, turning on both faucets fully as he stepped under the shower head and laughed harder than he'd ever laughed in his entire life. It wasn't just that the situation had been amusing, of course, it was also the fact that Willow, his claimed, thought that she could figure out a way to change the outcome of a prophecy that had been in existence for thousands of years. And sure, he'd been the one to tell her, at first, that they would find a way around it, but... he'd known at the time that he was just whistling in the dark, trying to keep the bad thoughts away. It was the bitterness of his own laughter that caused him to stop. He didn't want to lose the girl, but... he didn't see any way around it! The prophecy clearly stated that the seven would face the Triumbathertsa beast, and the seven would cease to exist. He sighed deeply, turning off the shower, and stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist.

Willow scanned the page yet again, still not seeing a way out... It seemed that no matter what, they were all going to die, or maybe... "Maybe it doesn't mean *all* of us," she mused, out loud. "Maybe it's only *some* of us... or even just *one*. I mean," she elaborated, turning around in her chair, "It says that we face the Beast, and the *seven* won't exist any longer, but if even *one* of us dies, then we won't *be* the seven anymore, right? I... maybe *that's* what it means..."

Angel felt his mated one suddenly go still against him, and for a moment, fear shot through his veins. But it wouldn't be her, he reminded himself. Even if Willow was right, it wouldn't be his Faith... she was immortal now, after all. He slowly released a sigh of relief, and felt a bit guilty immediately. [I'm sorry, love,] he thought to his mated, [I know it's wrong, but... it won't be you, so I'm... happy. Even if it means that another part of our group dies, it won't be you, and...] He sighed again, this time at the disappointment he could feel coming from her.

:: You'd *better* be sorry, Angel,:: Faith snarled back at him, :: These are our *friends*... our *family*! They're the only people in the entire world who accept us, despite the things we've done... the things we *are*!:: She glared at him angrily for a moment before turning her eyes towards the redhead still typing away at the computer. ::I may be immortal now, but if I could, I'd die for any one of them... Even Darla or Dru. I... I'm starting to remember things, Angel,:: she thought at him, a slight note of panic replacing the anger in her 'voice', :: And they don't know it yet, but... the two Ds were always the strongest ones of all of us... They were the ones who always stood at the front and took the worst of it, they *protected* us, and... I can't let that happen again!:: She shivered slightly and relaxed back against him when his arms tightened around her in a comforting embrace.

[Hush... hush, love,] Angel thought at her, feeling her fear and anxiety through their bond, [If there's a way to avoid it, *none* of us will die... we'll figure it out, Faith, I promise...] He sighed again, hoping that he'd be able to *keep* the promise he'd just made, but afraid that there wouldn't *be* a way. At least he'd managed to comfort his mated one, though... that was worth being forsworn for, or so he told himself. Finally, when he could feel the sense of calm flowing through his love, he returned his attention to what was happening in the rest of the room.

Xander, Drusilla and Darla had been discussing the possibilities with the redhead the entire time that Angel and Faith had been 'talking', and had come to the conclusion that even if Willow's hypothesis was incorrect, they were going to accept it as writ. The fact was that it was *necessary* for them all to face this thing, this Beast, and they would go into it in better spirits if they thought that only one or two of them might die. Of course, what none of them were saying was that they had each decided that if someone *did* have to die, they would be the one, and that internal decision only spread when Angel and Faith joined the discussion.

After a few minutes of repeating what they already knew, the mated couple made their excuses and returned to their room, ignoring the sly, knowing grins of their friends... after all, it was still a new mating, they couldn't control the bond yet. Darla took that as her cue to leave, as well, and Xander and Dru followed after her. They needed to sit and drink while they discussed things further.

Willow glanced around the empty living room and sighed, shutting down the computer before heading towards the room she shared with Spike. Something was bothering him, she knew... now she just needed to convince him to tell her what it was!

She entered the bedroom just in time to hear the shower being turned off, and smirked slightly as she quickly pulled the shirt over her head and dropped her skirt to the floor. The smirk became a touch wicked while she stood, naked, outside the bathroom door, waiting for her vampire to open it.

Spike sighed, staring at his lack of reflection in the bathroom mirror while he combed his hair back. He was going to have to go back out there and listen to more talk about how they were all going to die, and... he didn't want to. But, Willow was out there, and if he *was* destined to die his true death, he was going to spend as much time with her as he could. That decided, he put down the comb and turned around, opening the door. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened as he took in the oh-so-appealing sight of his claimed, standing naked just outside, gracing him with her best come-hither smile.

Willow glanced him up and down quickly, her mouth watering at seeing him all wet from the shower. "Hello, lover," she purred, one hand rising to trace its way from his collar bone, down over his tight nipples, past the smooth planes of his mid torso, and over the defined muscles of his abdomen. Her fingers stopped their travels at the slightly bunched fabric of the towel he wore low on his hips. "Oh, I don't think you'll be needing *that*," she said silkily, plucking at the material until it fell to the floor. "There, now," she almost whispered, her eyes drinking in the purely male beauty of him, "That's better..."

The blond moaned deep in his chest, all thoughts of death driven from his mind by the feel of her small, warm hand on his suddenly throbbing cock. He didn't know how she had known exactly what he needed, and he didn't care... she was his claimed, and right at that moment, that was all that mattered. He let her lead him slowly to their bed, her hand still grasping his hardness, and didn't even *think* of objecting when she pushed him down and straddled him. His eyes rolled back for just a moment, and he groaned out loud, as she slowly and carefully lowered herself onto him. He could feel each inch of his turgid erection sliding deep into her wet heat, and he groaned again, his hands gripping tightly at her hips. His fingers tightened, and he gasped, when he was finally sheathed fully within her, and she began to move.

Willow wasn't sure of exactly what she was doing, she only knew that she wanted him, like this, right *now*... it was a yearning in her blood, in her spirit... she needed him, needed to be in control, to take him slowly, and make him beg. She didn't know what it was that she wanted him to beg *for*, but... this was *right*... at this particular moment, *this* was *right*! She moaned softly when she had finally taken all of him into her, and began to rock gently against him, her eyes closing tightly as she concentrated on the sensations. Eventually, though, it wasn't enough, and she raised herself slowly from him, her eyes opening again to stare deep into his. He loved her, she knew, she could see it there in his eyes, undisguised by lust this time... a small smile slid across her lips as she slipped her hot core back down his cool, hard shaft, and he moaned.

This was it, he thought, staring into her bright green eyes as she began to speed up her motions upon him... he could feel *everything*, things he hadn't felt since he was human, and things he hadn't felt even then... he could have sworn that his heart had started beating again; he almost thought that he felt it! And she was so warm, so tight and wet... His eyes grew even wider when she slid down him again, this time adding a small twist of her hips when he was in her to the hilt... she was his claimed, and he hadn't truly understood what that meant until just that moment. He wished that he had the time to fully explore the meaning of the claim, but... he didn't. He was going to mate the girl, and he was going to do it *now*. A deep growl escaped his lips, and he felt his true face slide on over his human features. "Willow," he moaned, thrusting his cock up into her, "Willow, please..." His fingers tightened even more on her already bruised hips as he held her tightly against him. He sat up beneath her, tilting his head to the side. "Take me, pet..."

She was surprised at his request, but something in it felt... *right*... destined, even. And it was fitting. If they were going to face death, she wanted to face it as his mated one, wanted to be able to feel him even when he wasn't with her. She nodded, still rocking against him, and lowered her lips to his skin. Her tongue flicked out, tasting him for a moment, before she bared her teeth and latched onto his neck, slowly increasing the pressure as his moans became groans, and then deep growls. She could feel him trying to restrain the urge to thrust deeply up into her, and bounced a bit on his throbbing member as his skin finally parted and she tasted the true sum of him for the very first time.

He almost thought that he would cum right then... he'd had no idea of how erotic it could be to have a human drink from him. Of course, she wasn't just *any* human, she was Willow... He groaned, feeling her bouncing slightly upon him, and gave up the fight to remain still. His hands loosened their hold, and he growled when she began moving freely upon him once more, his fangs finally finding their way home as he buried them deep in her neck. He drank as she did, his pace matching hers, and growled again, more deeply this time, as she slammed herself down hard on him. His eyes, golden, grew wide again, and he pulled his teeth from her flesh as she clenched hard around him, and he exploded, deeper inside her than he'd ever been in anyone.

He tasted of life and death, of pain and pleasure, of myriad things that she couldn't even begin to identify... he was everything she had ever wanted to have, to know, to *feel*... and he was *hers*. Her fingers dug deep into his shoulders, and she moaned against his skin as she came, the feeling of his cool seed flooding her aching heat throwing her further into her own release. She pulled her mouth away from the wound she'd given him, her eyes not quite focused as he fell back against the mattress, pulling her with him.

They lay there for a while, still connected, not saying a word, until sleep descended over them, and dragged them down into its gentle darkness.

Angela listened again to the tape of the conversation that had gone on in the suite Faith was sharing with the witch and the vampires. It was a good thing that she looked so innocent; they'd never even *think* of her if they found any of the bugs she'd planted!

It seemed that the Elders had been *right* for once... the time *was* near, and Faith... Faith really was one of the seven. She was somewhat surprised that the other six were a witch and five vampires, but if a *Slayer* could be one of the called, she didn't see why *they* couldn't.

She quickly finished transcribing the words on the tape, and quick-scanned the hand-written pages with the small unit she always carried in her coat pocket. Crossing to the window, she angled the small lens at the front of the gadget towards the sky, watching the screen until it showed the correct angle and relative velocity. She smiled slightly as she pressed the send button, and stepped back, flipping the cover of what *looked* *like* a moderately priced cell phone closed. She slipped the unit back into her coat pocket, knowing that even as she had been putting her 'phone' away, the information she'd acquired had been bounced off of three different satellites before finally arriving at her clan's compound, where even now, it was being sent out to more than a thousand clan members in North America. It was *her* show, but there was something comforting in the knowledge that back-up was available, if she should need it.

End.

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