Giles cursed and rushed toward the door as he heard Buffy's voice screaming in agony. He saw Oz pulling her from the Jeep and heard the screams taper to whimpers as her head lolled against the werewolf's shoulder. He pushed the panic down, and reached for her.
"Sorry, if I let her go the screaming will be back." Oz looked up at Giles and there were tears coursing down his face. "The only thing that makes it stop is me holding her."
"Fine, can you tell me what happened?" Giles watched as Oz settled on the couch with Buffy draped across his body.
"We decided to have a little Scooby fun night. You know, get the gang back together. When we got to the Bronze Buffy went on alert. She said there was magic, not good magic, in the room, but she couldn't pinpoint it. Turns out that's it." He nodded toward her hand.
Giles looked at the hand encased in a bright orange shirt so ugly it could only be Xander's. Buffy opened her eyes and groaned.
"It's a little velvet bag, it burns like a hot poker, worse than tiny cuts and salt." Buffy closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Oz's chin, drifting back into her whimpering stupor.
"Do you have any idea who did this? It might help us figure out how to counter act the spell." Giles drew Oz's attention away from Buffy.
"Willow can tell you more once she gets in here. She knows what the damn thing is. She made it. Buffy figured it out, pinpointed the source. She was angry, and made Willow give her that thing."
Giles turned a baleful eye to Willow as she crept into his home. "What have you done now?"
"I made it to protect Tara." She looked miserable. "I wanted to keep her safe if Oz went wolfy on her."
"Where did you get the spell?" Giles stood, pacing.
"A book I picked up after Oz went nuts last time." Willow collapsed against the breakfast bar in tears.
"We already sent Xander after it." Tara told Giles and walked around to the wolf cradling her friend to his chest. "Can I touch her, do you think?" She asked him looking him straight in the eye. "I can try some healing magic. It might dull the pain."
Oz wanted to pull Buffy away from Tara, but he looked up at her guileless face and nodded curtly. Buffy didn't flinch rom Tara's touch. After a few minutes the painful whimpering started to subside. Tara met his gaze again and smiled a bit. He nodded his head in thanks and pressed a small kiss to Buffy's temple.
"What's in the pouch, Willow?" Giles asked it softly, trying to sound reasonable.
"Wolf's bane, agrimony, acacia, chrysanthemum, a moonstone earing." Willow gulped as she watched pain flash across Oz's face.
"The earring, Giles, Buffy helped me find it. She picked it out, told me Will would love it. She played with the pair for the whole day while we Christmas shopped. Could that have something to do with this?"
"It probably doesn't help, but I would imagine the fact that she's your Alpha may have a bit more to do with it."
Willow's head jerked toward Giles. "What do you mean? How can Buffy be his alpha? She isn't a wolf."
"No she isn't. Slayers are immune to the bite," Oz's head shot up looking intently at Giles as he continued. "But a werewolf forms or finds a pack fairly quickly. Oz never did. He stayed with us. We are his pack." He watched Oz nod. Giles closed his eyes and grimaced. He knew after his talk with Oz that there was more going on between the pair, but prying could wait for a less volatile moment.
"I was going to come talk to you in the next couple of days, see if you'd found anything." Oz met his eyes, their gazes locked. Giles smiled and nodded his head.
"We'll have that chat, and get caught up after this is over."
"But doesn't an alpha have to accept you? She'd have to know. Why didn't she tell me? I'm her best friend." Willow looked perturbed.
"Not the best time to go why me, honey?" Tara nodded at Buffy to help keep Willow on track.
Willow turned around ignoring them all. "If she had told me, I wouldn't have needed the spell. She's being all secret keeping and ignoring me again and now we're in another mess."
"So, it's her fault that you wielded black magic again?" Giles yanked his glasses off and glared at the young witch.
Willow stared up at him, and for a moment Giles saw the blackness swirl through her eyes. He stepped back and ran his hand over his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Willow, go outside and sit by the fountain. Do anything but be here, right now." Tara stood shaking.
"But, Baby." Willow's face crumpled again.
"You did this, Willow. She didn't keep anything from you that you needed to know. She trusted you. She'll forgive you. It's what she does, but you shouldn't forgive yourself." Tara turned her back on Willow and sat by Buffy again, using all her magic to try to hold off Buffy's pain.
"Thank you." Oz smiled at the blonde. I'm having a hard time keeping it in check, having her gone helps. He kissed Buffy's temple and leaned his forehead against her hair.
Tara smiled at them and kept stroking Buffy's arm. She was pumping healing magic into Buffy with every stroke. Oz looked down at her and fixed his emerald gaze on her for a moment. "I'm sorry about last year. I didn't understand very much about myself at the time. I could have hurt you."
"I don't think you could have hurt me. You love Willow and Buffy. Killing me would have destroyed your pack. I think you stopped because you are good. I hope we can be friends." Tara glanced up at him shyly.
"I think we are already on our way."
