Chapter One

"Get in the car," the small red head timidly obeyed the slurred drunken order and moved to open the back door of the car. "The front." She looked over her shoulder nervously, she wanted to protest but the look on the demon's face made her quickly close her mouth. Slipping in to the front seat of the car she craned her neck and watched as the blonde-haired vampire practically tossed her friend Xander onto the back seat of the car. If he dies it will be my fault. She blinked back tears and took a deep breath. Willow Rosenburg may be terrified, but she would be damned if she broke down into a sobbing heap in this wreck of a car! As Spike turned the key into the ignition and pulled out of the school cark park Willow felt her finger nails dig deep into the leather upholstering of the car, he was clearly not in a fit state to drive. No doubt this death would be quicker than the one he has planned. She was in no doubt that she wouldn't see the sunrise tomorrow, and if she did live to see it she was equally sure she would be begging for death. She turned to look back at Xander once more. He was so still, so silent, was he even breathing?

"Please, we have to take him to the hospital." She begged Spike, the vampire turned to look at her giving her a cold hard stare. He ignored Willow's hints as her eyes flicked to the road and he used his hearing to judge whether they were heading into the path of oncoming traffic.

"If he dies, he dies. He is mortal after all, love." The vampire slurred finally turning to look back at the road. He reached down between Willow's legs and she felt her muscles tense as his hand brushed her jeans. With a grunt of triumph Spike pulled up a bottle of whiskey from beside her right foot and unscrewed the lid with his mouth. The bottle was half empty, within seconds there was barely a drop left. Every minute or so Willow cast a nervous look back at Xander, he had rolled off the seat and was lying face down on the car floor, she could see blood pooling beneath him. "For chrissake stop lookin' at him!" Spike snapped, "lover boy will be fine, although the smell..." Willow watched in horror as his face transformed, his forehead crinkled together and his eyes turned a hideous yellow shade. But the scariest feature were the two fangs where his incisors should have been.

"He is not my 'lover boy'." She snapped trying to force her fear down, she cried out as Spike grabbed her chin and gripped it tightly between his finger and thumb. He was so strong she was afraid her chin would shatter in his vice like grip.

"I would watch my tone if I were you," he hissed not paying attention and almost sending the car careening into an eighteen-wheeler. With snake like reflexes Spike twitched the wheel and propelled the car back into the correct lane, Willow squeezed her eyes tightly shut wishing she was unconscious like Xander. She kept her eyes closed for the remainder of the journey. As the car lurched to a stop she had barely unbuckled her seatbelt before Spike yanked her from the car and pushed her towards a dilapidated building. "Run and I kill him." Willow nodded, running hadn't even crossed her mind she had seen how fast Spike could move and she knew she didn't stand a chance of outrunning him. Even in this drunken state. She bit back a plea as he hoisted Xander from the car, knocking the teenager's head against the car hood door as he slammed it shut. Please be alright Xander, she silently pleaded. Why had she dragged him to the school so early? If she'd been honest about what she was doing he wouldn't have been there, she could have given it to him another time...if she hadn't told him to get there before Cordelia and Oz...

Spike walked behind her so that she had nowhere to go except forwards, he directed her to a dank room with a large bed in it. He dropped Xander onto the bed and began rummaging around boxes, he was so intent in his search that he seemed to have forgotten Willow. She quickly moved to Xander's side, moving him so that he was lying on the bed. The cut on his head wasn't as bad as she had first suspected and she felt her stomach unknot ever so slightly. Perhaps he would be okay. Dizziness washed over her and she sat down on the bed beside Xander's feet. She clasped her hands nervously in her lap and willed herself not to cry.

"Spell," Spike said throwing boxes across the room. "You are going to do a spell for me."

"W – What kind of spell?" She couldn't bring herself to look at Spike, she could sense him moving away from the boxes and pacing towards her. The air was growing thick and she was frightened she would suffocate.

"A love spell, are you brain dead?" Spike snapped at her and she winced feeling her body tense. Luckily he was moving away from her, to a pile of boxes opposite the bed. "I'm going to get what's mine. What's mine...teach her to walk out on me..." The sound of a bottle being opened made Willow's ears twitch and she turned to look at him slugging back yet more whiskey. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him, was he serious? He wanted her to do a love spell? "What are you staring at?"

"Nothin'." She answered quickly and turned her head forwards.

"You can do it right? You can make Dru love me again? Make her crawl?"

"I – I can try..." Willow answered weakly, truthfully she wanted to say no. She didn't have powers that could manipulate demons! Giving Angel his soul back had been traumatic enough, she wanted no part in magic and vampires. Spike however found her answer completely unsatisfactory. His hand reached out and his fingers twisted themselves into her long red hair, she cried out as he twisted her head back painfully.

"What do you mean try? You'll do it!"

"Yes I'll do it!" Willow gasped tears burning her eyes, her heart was pounding and she could feel her hair beginning to tear from her scalp. Spike released her and slammed the whiskey bottle into the bed, Willow turned her face away trying to regain her composure. She barely had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief before he twisted his hand back into her hair once more and arched her back. She caught the broken bottle neck out of the corner of her gaze as he forced her head back so she could see his face.

"You lie to me," he said holding the bottle close to her face menacingly, "and I'll shove this through your face? You want that?"

"No," Willow whispered shaking her head but Spike hadn't heard her and continued to threaten.

"Right through to your brain."

"No, please no." Willow begged him, she was ashamed at herself for pleading with him. For being unable to hide the fear in her eyes. Had Buffy been in this position she would have twisted his arm and kicked the bottle from her hand, or at the very least given him a witty retort. But Willow was too terrified for wits, for both herself and Xander. As Spike released her once more she inched away and tucked her hair behind her ears, her breath came out in rapid gasps and she forced herself to try and not hyperventilate. When she turned back to look at Spike the anger was gone, instead his face was twisted with grief.

"She wouldn't even kill me," he said softly. Dropping the bottle he moved to Willow's left and slumped down beside her. "She just left...she didn't even care enough to cut off my head or set me on fire, I mean...is that too much to ask?" He asked her through a sniff, Willow had no idea what the correct answer to this question was, tears trickled down her cheeks but she was too frightened to move and wipe them away. "You know...some little sign that she cared." He sighed and sat in silence for a few moments. "It was our truce with Buffy that did it, Dru said I'd gone soft...wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. And I told her it didn't mean anything I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care." He was talking to her now as if she were a friend, someone who cared for his wellbeing. Rubbing her nose Willow opted to remain silent, perhaps Spike would simply spill his feelings and let her go. Don't be an idiot Willow...he'll talk...he might forget you're here, but he'll remember when he's finished talking...and then... He wanted her to do a spell. He needed her. "So we got to Brazil and she was...she was just different," he turned to look at Willow and for a split second she found herself making eye contact with him. Quickly she looked down at her hands which were nervously clenched, Spike's leg was so close to hers she was afraid it would brush against hers. "I gave her everything, beautiful jewels with beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them...but nothing made her happy." Willow's stomach twisted sickeningly at this thought. Those poor girls... "I caught her on a park bench making out with a chaos demon," Spike scoffed in disgust, "have you ever seen a chaos demon? They're all slime and antlers, they're disgusting," he seethed.

He fell silent and Willow closed her eyes willing for this all to be a horrible nightmare, but as Spike's hand tenderly brushed against her head, his thumb stroking her ear, she was snapped back to reality with a squeak. "She only did it to hurt me," he whispered his hand dropping from her head, "so I said I am not putting up with this anymore and she said fine," Willow felt as if she was in a conversation with Cordelia now. "She said we could still be friends," all of a sudden Spike's head was resting on her shoulder and he was crying into her pink fuzzy jumper. Willow tensed, her whole body held still and she didn't even breathe, "God I'm so unhappy!"

"There, there," nervously she forced herself to pat Spike's knee, perhaps if she tried to offer him some solace he would decide against the spell? Perhaps she could convince him to fight for Drusilla? To return to Brazil and win her back. She cared nothing for Spike's feelings, both he and Drusilla terrified her. But at least if they were in Brazil she and her friends would be safer.

"I mean friends! How could she be so cruel?" He sobbed into her shoulder, he sniffed and turned his face towards her. The tip of his nose brushing her jumper, trailing up her shoulder and her hair. "That smell...your neck..." Willow's heart began to race as he brushed his lips against the side of her neck. "I haven't had a woman in weeks," she turned to stare at him in horror and found him with his predator face on.

"Whoa! No!" She jumped up quickly from the bed looking at him in horror. "Hold it –"

"Well...unless you count that shopkeeper." He stood up as if he'd not heard her protests and advanced on her.

"Now – now hold on! I'll do your spell for you and get you Drusilla back," Willow tried to reason with him quickly before he decided the spell wasn't as important as dinner...or something much worse. "But there will be no bottle in face or – or having of any kind with me...alright?" Spike gripped her neck pulling her forward and a cry of fright escaped her, for a split second she thought she was safe as Spike's hand against the back of her neck relaxed. She glanced at him from under her lashes and saw that his face had relaxed back into his handsome human features.

"No." Willow looked at him in horror, "sorry love. Man's gotta eat." Willow screamed as his fangs buried themselves into her neck, she clawed at his shirt trying to push him away but he only bit down harder sending her plunging into waves of darkness.