Chapter 9

Werewolf Den

The night was cool, with a light drizzle in the air when the Alpha of the werewolves was buried. The entire pack converged on the grave, her mate and offspring given the right of unobstructed viewing. Standing next to him were her mother and brother. Spike held young Tyler in his arms, his oldest burying his face near his father's throat. The middle child, a young boy of three and looking every bit like his father, clung to his pants leg and stared at the hole in the ground with a small frown. The youngest, a girl child of nine months, was being held by her grandmother. But even she could sense there was something wrong, being fussy with bouts of crying all day for no outward reason.

No words were spoken. No placating speeches. Just the silence of the graveyard where friends and family were buried. And now one more joined their number. Pained blue eyes watched the ornate coffin, carved by a family friend, slowly lowered into the ground. The Beta, Gamma, and Delta leaders moved forward with metal shovels, honed and shining for just such an event, and carefully moved dirt onto the grave. The Alpha tilted his head back with a mournful cry, his pack following suit as they all said a last goodbye to her.

Minutes, hours, days; time held no meaning as the farewells of the pack reverberated into silence, leaving each with their own thoughts. A firm hand squeezed his shoulder, jarring him a little out of his contemplation. He turned slightly to see the concerned brown eyes of the Beta. Nodding at him, the Beta wordlessly took Tyler before looking down at the second youngest, "Hey, little man, want to come with Uncle?" The little one cocked his head for a moment, peering up at his father with large blue eyes before nodding and holding up his arms. Uncle smiled a little and scooped the boy up.

Spike nodded at his mother-in-law, watching silently as his closest ties in this pack disappeared with everyone else in the mist until it was just himself and his departed love. He staggered to her headstone, crumpling to his knees and hiding his face in his hands as torrents of tears fell now that he was no longer holding them back.

***

Buffy wrapped the shawl a little tighter around her frame. They were in some kind of temporary house, with it's own little garden and everything. The closets were full of clothing, the cabinets and pantry full of food. There was even a television with a host of dvds to watch and cds for music. It was a lot like home actually but unlike home past the expanse of grass to the gate was the limit any of them could venture. She couldn't see anything beyond it or hear anything and escape was not a possibility. She knew. She'd already tried.

It wasn't anything that she could see or hear but she felt this deep wellspring of sadness from inside herself. She felt impossibly cold from it, cold down to her very soul. Had in fact for the last week. She brushed away a tear that fell from the corner of her eye, frowning to herself.

"What's wrong with him, mom?"

Frowning, still looking into the mist, "With who, Billy?"

The little boy jabbed his fists into his jeans pockets, "With y'know, him. He's so sad..." He hopped on the balls of his feet, looking anxious. He asked the same question every day and as the days had passed both Billy and Joyce were starting to fear they might never meet him. Their father, so close yet still so impossibly far away, "...mom, when are we going to see him?"

Without looking she held out her arm, Billy quick to snuggle up against her side. She'd never been able to explain this connection Billy claimed to have with his father. It's what always made her doubt Spike's death. Her son just seemed to always know when Spike was happy or angry, or sad like now. She had no idea why she seemed to have a similar connection, although all she ever felt from him was sadness. Not all the time. In fact it was rather rare. Just lately. She ran her fingers through his hair and along his back with a soft sigh, "I don't know, baby. I hope soon-..."

"Sooner than you think." Buffy whipped around, pushing her son behind her to confront a petite vampire with jet black hair and piercing violet eyes. She was no mere fledgling, the slayer feeling the power rolling off of her in waves. But Buffy had no weapons here, only her skills. The vampiress quirked a half smile, her eyes holding pain in their depths she didn't voice, "I will be escorting you to the Beta."

Frowning, not liking the sound of this. Didn't you send the scraps and leftovers to the second in command. Wouldn't it be so much better, not to mention easier, to just see the head honcho, "Why not the Alpha, get everything-..."

Her tone was sharp and angry, "The Alpha is in mourning and will not be seen today. We've lost the Alpha female of our pack. It is traditional. For now the Beta leads the pack and you will be seeing him today." Okay that she hadn't thought about. Stupid, Buffy, stupid. It was going to be hard enough to convince a bunch of werewolves to let a slayer with her reputation to stay. The last thing she wanted is a reputation of being difficult...even if she really was. She didn't just put her foot in her mouth that time, she put in her whole leg. Buffy held up her hands slightly in a placating manner and the vampiress relaxed again with a nod, "Gather your house, you will all be following me." For once Buffy thought ahead of her mouth and she managed to do exactly that without giving this vampire a piece of her mind about high-handed demons.

"Dawn. Joy."

The young girl came stomping into the room ahead of her aunt, hands on her hips, "What?" Buffy raised a single eyebrow at her daughter, who blinked once before looking down at the floor, "Sorry, mom..." Let it never be said that her little girl didn't inherit her attitude from both parents. Her tongue was as sharp as her father's and her temper as short as her mother's. Billy rolled his eyes at his sister, his quiet nature a mystery to her. She wasn't sure where he picked it up from.

"Geez, Buffy, you really taught her your manners."

Being the very mature adult she was, she casually stuck her tongue out at her sister who giggled. Buffy turned in time to see the vampiress look at her son with wide eyes before glancing away and pointing, "This way."

Buffy frowned, "What?"

Not turning around, her reply short and clipped, "Nothing." Dawn squeeze her shoulder and with a short nod Buffy dropped it.

As a unit they followed single file. Dawn started humming the song from Snow White, the one the dwarfs had been singing on their way home from work. Buffy swatted at her sister who just grinned. At the entrance to the fog the vampiress held out her arm at the barrier and after a moment Buffy extended her hand in trust. One by one they passed through the mist, their sight clearing to a giant cavern. Joyce and Billy huddled against their mother, blinking quickly as their eyes adjusted to their surroundings.

"Wow."

And what a view it was. They were surrounded by an ancient cavern and a network of tunnels that went into every which direction. But directly above them sunlight was bearing down on them from a crystal blue sky. Buffy jerked her head around in surprise to see the vampiress give her a fangy grin, "Sunlight does no harm to me. I'm not your typical vampire. Also we're in a sort of alternate dimension so sunlight here won't hurt my kind at all."

Buffy let out a breath of relief even as she kept her face as unreadable as possible. Dawn crossed her arms in defense even if her tone was curious, "How many of you are there?"

The vampire's voice was carefully neutral, "A few. This way."

Buffy just shook her head, "Vague much."

They walked through a confusing network of tunnels, so many so that Buffy knew she had no hope of retracing her steps should she need to. She gathered the impression that was precisely the point. After more than half an hour they entered a small cavern with a low ceiling. Light poured in from wall fixtures, giving a surprisingly warm feel to the space. Rich carpets lay on the floor, chairs and sofas spread out. Others were mingling in here, most of them in small groups, talking in quiet whispers. Her senses tingled, telling her werewolf, all up to the last at the back of the cave. A lone man sat with his back turned, head tilted as the vampiress whispered softly in his ear.

He sat up quickly and brushed down his jeans before turning around. Buffy felt her heart jump into her throat as she got a good look at the man before her. Alexander Harris, her Xander. His eyebrows raised in surprise as she smiled and pulled him into a hug. Evil looked rather amused. Unable to keep the surprise out of his voice, "Hey to you too, Buffy."

She pulled back, guilt flashing across her face, "I-..." Looking down, "I'm sorry, Xander." Blinking rapidly to keep her eyes from tearing up. So many things about the past went wrong, starting from her return from death and going from there, "I was just...I was in a bad place back then...I had no right-..."

Holding up his hand, "Buffy, we all made a mess of things back then."

Shaking her head, "You saved my life and I paid you back by kicking you out of it-..."

Shrugging, "We kicked you out a while back, Buffy..." He sighed and gave her a half smile, "How about we just put it in a box and bury it?"

A grin tugged at her lip, "Bury the hatchet?"

Joking, "As long as it's buried in dirt."

Groaning, "Same old Xander." She did a double take, just now realizing there was no eye patch. He'd lost the eye fighting against Caleb and the First Evil. It was ingrained into her mind forever, if for no other reason that it was one of the few times she'd ever seen Spike flinch. Not to mention she'd felt completely responsible since she should have protected him better. Pointing to his eye, "Fake?"

Grinning, "Nope. Got a really gifted sorceress around here. Fixed me up right and proper."

Buffy's mind jolted a little at the way he'd phrased that. It was almost like something Spike would say. Actually, no, it was exactly like something Spike would say, "So...are you here to see the Beta or something?"

His grin became a tight smile as he shook his head, "I am the Beta, Buffy."

Her eyes widened, "What?" He wasn't tingling of werewolf. In fact, her senses were telling her good old fashioned human.

He shrugged, eyes turning to take in Dawn and the two children at her side. Joyce had a clear look of distrust on her face, almost curling her nose while Billy had his head cocked slightly to one side as if assessing him. Joyce's look was a classic Buffy maneuver and Billy's screamed of Spike. Facing Buffy honestly, "I'm the Beta, the highest rank of the Beta class." His eyes moved over to the vampiress who had led them here, "We all have ranks save Evil here."

Evil shrugged a little with a coy expression, "I'm just special I suppose." Xander snorted but chose not to comment, "I'll show the kids around while you two talk shop."

Dawn stiffened, looking indignant, "I want to be here as much as Buffy does and I haven't been a kid in years."

Smirking at the girl, "It's all relative, my dear. Compared to me, you're all infants."

Xander hesitated and glanced at Buffy before looking over at Evil but Buffy answered for them, getting it, "There's no question, is there?" When neither one answered she gave her sister a small smile, "You're already in." Looking back at Xander, "I'm the wild card." Dawn frowned but Buffy just shook her head, "Go on, Dawnie...I'll see you in a bit."

Joyce frowned, "Mom?"

Buffy wrapped her daughter in her arms, kissing her temple, "Shh...I'll see you soon now go."

She ruffled Billy's hair as he passed, "Mother!" His cry was one of sheer outrage before immediately trying to smooth down the rat's nest. Since it was always in that state she'd never understood why he was so fussy about it.

She kept a slight smile, watching them go before squaring off against her former best friend, "So. What do I have to do?"

He looked down and sighed softly, "If only...afraid the Alpha's the only one that can approve you. They didn't tell me which slayer came with the kids. I was gonna ream you over the coals to figure out if we can trust you..." He shrugged, "I already know we can. Now, he just has to decide."

Frowning, "How long before he does that I mean...he won't even see me."

He glanced around before frowning to himself, "You drink?"

Blinking twice before shrugging, "A little. Is your...mate going to join us?"

He grinned his usually lopsided grin and pointed with his chin, hands in his pockets, "Nah, I don't have one of those. Just because I'm the Beta doesn't mean I have a mate."

Confused, "Really? Giles was a bit vague about the whole werewolf thing-..."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot Giles knows crap about." Xander tone was both forceful and angry and Buffy jolted a bit in surprise. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, "Anyway. We have a bar-like place down that tunnel. I could show you I guess."

She returned his grin with one of her own, their friendship easily falling back into step, "Let's."