*peeks out and waves* I am so sorry, this is insanely overdue and I wouldn't blame you for giving up on me. I swear, cyber time moves at a much quicker speed than the rest of the world! Thank you if you have stuck with the story and have come back to keep reading :) It means a lot. And special thanks to Kaz and TrixieFirecracker for giving me the motivation to finally get this chapter out! Appreciate it, guys :) Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!


Chapter Twenty-Six

~o~

The streets were unnaturally quiet, shrouded in a darkness that was too deep and still; one that threatened to suffocate the dawn before it could even think about rising. The kind of night that felt endless, where time itself became an enemy and moved against you: where it took minutes to place one cautious foot in front of the other, and hours to edge around each blind corner. Where no matter how quick you breathed; how fast your heart beat; how sharp your reflexes were – the elusive safety of your destination never seemed to come any closer.

It was like being caught in a nightmare: you could feel yourself moving, running as hard as your mind would let you, yet the air seemed to stick like tar to your legs, slowing you to a desperate trudge. Where no matter what you did, you could never quite run fast enough to wake up.

Muffled footsteps pounded softly through the silence, echoing off empty buildings and stretching across the streets. Long shadows broke apart only to instantly reform in the wake of her steps; reaching up from the ground and wrapping around her ankles like icy fingers that tried to pull her under. The girl shivered and quickened her pace as much as she dared, struggling to escape her own dark reflection as it hurried along beside her. Her only company.

A sliver of sharpened wood could be glimpsed occasionally, clenched within her tense fingers, ready to strike at a second's warning. Wary eyes cast about nervously, always watching for a shadow out of place; listening for the scuffle of a stalking footstep behind her.

But humans were never meant to be nocturnal. They had never evolved the instinct and ability to easily navigate the black chill of night like so many other creatures. It made them weak. And on some primal level, the body and mind were always seeking out light and warmth; recoiling away from the threat of the unknown. They would never feel truly at ease in the darkness. It just wasn't part of their nature.

As the forbidding outline of the high school grew clearer, her speed increased, but never carelessly so. She never allowed her guard drop an inch, even in the relief and eagerness that she must have felt to finally get inside and away from prying eyes. This one was clever.

Or maybe just incredibly foolish.

Hurrying up the steps, she seemed to hesitate as she reached the doors. Her body twisted as she turned to glance over her shoulder one last time. Bright eyes scanned across the blackness, squinting into the silent night that coated the surrounding streets and parkland opposite. A frown glanced over her brow, an unsettled irregularity in her heartbeat as she struggled to place the prickle on the back of her neck.

A breeze stirred briefly, rustling through the softly swaying branches and almost making her jump. The ebbing current rippled through the air, whipping up the enticing whisper of her scent as she quickly pushed a lock of flaming hair out of her eyes.

A low snarl rumbled deep in the darkness, undetectable to any human sense but loud enough to earn him a sharp, warning glare from his companion. He scowled back, impatience and hunger riling his bad mood.

They'd followed this girl halfway through the town and now she was just standing there: like she was almost waiting for them to get it over with. He'd never been one for the cat-and-mouse game, or whatever this was. He liked his meals quick and easy, and the tantalizing taste that drifted across the road was more than enough to get his stomach growling.

He raised his eyebrows pointedly, seeking the confirmation to move. But his companion's face remained impassive. A barely perceptible shake of his head was the only response he was given; the cool authority in that gaze leaving no room for negotiation.

He fought the urge to bare his fangs in irritation – it wasn't worth the confrontation. It would probably only amuse the brat anyway. He turned back towards the school to find her still scanning in vain for their presence. For a second her eyes seemed to focus on him and he tensed in anticipation, but they quickly moved on, sweeping blindly over the liquid shadows that concealed them. He felt the groan of frustration building in his chest. It was almost too tempting to resist.

She abruptly dropped her gaze, moving her attention to her pockets as she retrieved something from the depths of her jacket. Almost reluctantly, she turned her back and fumbled with the wide doors that marked the entrance to the building, every line of her body taught with adrenaline. A second later she slipped inside and disappeared from view.

His companion's eyes lingered on the closed doors for a moment longer before lazily turning to meet his. With a jerk of his head, both figures pulled away from the cluster of trees; the grass whispering under their feet as they melted back into the waiting night.

/o/

Willow immediately snapped the locks back into place, hands trembling so slightly as she released the breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.

She couldn't shake off the disconcerting feeling of being watched; the sensation of invisible eyes on her back. She was half tempted to think she was becoming overly paranoid, which was probably an accurate assessment, but all her time with Buffy had taught her that sometimes the paranoia was justified.

Still, she was here now and still in one piece. Somehow, for whatever reason, she had been left alone. Willow wasn't naïve enough to think she could be so lucky as to have escaped detection completely, without a single direct confrontation or defensive spell.

No, she was on somebody's radar; they just weren't prepared to step out of the shadows yet.

It was hardly a comforting thought, but you may as well count your small blessings, in whatever doubtful form they took. Straightening her shoulders, she backed away from the doors, keeping one eye on the enveloping night that pressed against the building just outside. They would only ever be able to keep it at bay for so long. Sooner or later it would come for her. For all of them.

With a deep breath, she forced herself to turn around and focus on why she was here; why she had stupidly braved the deserted streets in the first place. A current of nervous anticipation stirred in her stomach and her feet hesitated for the briefest moment, stopping her in her tracks, preventing her from moving closer to the truth.

Memories churned through her mind: painful and loving, dark and conflicted. Home seemed so far away right now. Honestly, Willow wasn't sure what she expected to find here; which way her heart was hoping. A small smile trembled on her lips as the echo of an amused voice whispered in her ear.

He'd probably have labelled the whole dilemma as majorly ironic.

The guilty confusion was making her feel sick, so she quickly slammed a door on the raging emotional storm. She would deal with this world one day at a time. That had been her philosophy so far and it seemed prudent to stick to it now. They would find a way to get through this. Step by step.

The school was dark and cool, the well trodden hallways stretching out in front of her like twists in a maze. Each corner promising a new direction, a different path, yet they always seemed to lead her back to the same place: the heart of their little world.

The lights of the library shone like a beacon in the gloom, managing to break the surreal sensation that she was wandering through a dream. A jolt skidded through her heart. Of course, it didn't necessarily mean anything. The room was nearly always occupied these days; Giles seemed to practically live there. Well, at least she knew for certain that she wasn't the only person here in this eerie building at such an unsociable hour of night.

She slipped up to the doors and peered through the porthole windows, trying to spy the librarian without being spotted. After all, she wanted to avoid Jenny finding out about this sneaky little trip if she could help it. Willow bit her lip nervously. Technically she had run away from her house in the middle of the night, and she could just imagine the concerned lectures she would be on the receiving end of if Jenny woke to find her gone. She really didn't want to cause any undue worry or awkward questions.

However, the floor appeared pretty empty from what she could glimpse in her limited field of vision. She frowned for a moment, considering her options, before laying her hands down to gingerly push against the heavy wood. It was now or never.

Her eyes swept quickly across the open space, a warm sense of familiarity drifting through her mind. Odd books were left lying about, remnants of abandoned research; the office door was slightly ajar, quietly welcoming, but she could detect no movement inside; the same clock sat high on the wall just like always: calmly ticking away, studiously counting down the hours of their lives.

Yet something about the scene felt almost timeless. The threads of their entwined pasts; the changing present and evolving future – for a second it all seemed to converge here. Everything that once was; all that could've been; the pages of history unwritten and laid out before her in a ribbon of blank verse. Everything that was still to come.

It was strangely peaceful.

She was almost reluctant to disturb it. Finally, with fresh resolve, she stepped forward and carefully crept through the narrow gap. The moment broke and slipped out of her fingers as she entered the waiting scene; taking her place in the story that was still unfolding.

Time crashed back down on her with an urgent force, quickening the pulse of her heart. Willow swallowed nervously as she edged her way to the book cage, eyes caught on the twisted wire as she tried to see past it, searching for at least one answer to her endless parade of questions. Something in her mind flinched in unease, but she forced herself to keep walking. She had to know for sure.

She jerked to a sudden stop, freezing in place, as a familiar soft growl rose to meet her ears. A surge of painful emotions gripped her heart, fighting for dominance and demanding confirmation. Breath shallow in her lungs, she took another tentative step forward, refusing to heed the wolf's warning of discontent.

Coal black eyes flashed in the dim light, wary and dangerous. Willow felt a stabbing jolt of déjà vu swell through her body as her gaze finally fell upon the prowling creature beyond the bars. The large wolf was pacing sullenly at the back of the cage, ears flat against its head and a deep rumble in its throat as it regarded this new intruder to its territory.

Oz…

She could feel her heart fluttering against her ribs like a trapped bird, her eyes soaking in every detail of the dark animal before her: the same shape-shifting form of her lover that she had watched over so many nights before. As the initial impact began to subside, she stepped closer, her movements slow and careful, ever considerate of the wolf's temperamental disposition; the unconscious instincts falling easily back into place. Her gaze was unflinching as she felt the weight of the truth resonate softly through her bones like plucked strings on a guitar. The temptation to slip backwards into the safety of her memories was almost overwhelming: she could feel the echo of their parallel lives beckoning at the back of her mind, but she reluctantly pushed against it; forcing herself to try and remain in this new life, to remember the realities of the situation.

Still, she couldn't help the warm ache that burned through her chest; the fragile bubble of hope that maybe this world wasn't quite so foreign. The wolf moved restlessly under her examination, sharp eyes darting up to hers as it bared its teeth in a quiet snarl. Willow watched back, gently searching those familiar ebony depths – and for once, the lack of recognition didn't hurt. It was almost a relief. For the first time since she had stepped into this dimension and intruded into his life, Willow felt like they were standing on equal ground again. Against all the odds, here they were: returning to the comfort of a pattern they had moved to so many times before. For one deceptively innocent moment, it was just another full moon cycle; just another night together in the library. They were just Willow and Oz again.

Her eyes roved over the stalking animal, drinking in the sight like a soothing elixir: the soft patter of his great paws; the agitated flick of his tail; the powerful muscles that rippled under that same coarse, gun-metal grey fur. She knew it was horribly selfish and she knew it wouldn't last, but as the lingering pain in her heart momentarily receded into a dull ache, she couldn't bring herself to feel anything but gratitude. For one wishful second, she could convince herself he was still her wolf.

It may only be a faint reflection of the relationship she had lost, but it was enough to bring a cautious smile to her face. Willow touched her fingers to the meshed bars of the cage, her eyes soft and words a tender whisper.

"Hey you."

The wolf didn't cease its pacing, tossing its head slightly in frustration as it continued to contemplate the walls of its prison. She watched him quietly, lost in her own thoughts.

"I wouldn't get too close if I were you."

Startled, Willow jerked back from the cage guiltily and turned in the direction of the familiar voice. She was met with a cool glare that instantly quelled the tentative warmth that had begun to spread through her system, and she briefly wondered how long she had been standing there. Annie's face was a mask as she leant against the upper balcony, arms folded casually over the railing and a thinly veiled challenge in her voice as she regarded her unwelcome visitor.

She tilted her head, a tight smile quirking her lips. "Just a suggestion."

Willow bristled at being warned away from her boyfriend like an over eager child at the zoo. With some effort, she stopped herself from narrowing her eyes in response and instead opted for inoffensive civility, for all the good it had done her so far.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone…I thought Giles…" She trailed off into awkward silence, unsure how to plausibly explain her abrupt presence.

Annie raised an indifferent eyebrow to the other girl's ramblings, clearly unimpressed. Willow hesitated before looking back towards the cage, inwardly struggling to curb the defensiveness at having to justify herself. Taking a breath, she patiently reminded herself of her proper place in this reality. Annie had every right to be looking out for Oz. A frown crossed her face and she quickly stomped on the flicker of jealousy that rose up.

At that moment, the wolf interrupted her thoughts with a deep growl that seemed to vibrate through the tense atmosphere like a brewing storm. Willow seized the opportunity for a redirect, keen to break the strained silence.

"Is he okay?" she asked, concern furrowing her brow. "He seems a little…cranky."

The old wood creaked under her grip as Annie pushed away from the railing. Willow glanced over as she came down the steps and walked up to join her on the floor in front of the book cage. Annie kept her gaze trained on the stalking wolf behind the metal as she shrugged in reply.

"Animals don't like cages. Unsurprisingly."

She stiffened at the dismissive tone before swiftly hiding her reaction, suspecting that the callous words were chosen for her benefit. They stood in uncomfortable quiet for a moment: Willow shifting slightly on the balls of her feet, fingers clenched into her jacket; Annie calmly still, arms folded tightly across her chest in a physical barrier.

"You're not scared."

She looked over at that. There was curious line to Annie's mouth, like she found something bitterly amusing about the situation. Willow frowned, trying to read the line under her words, before straightening her back in subtle defiance, tired of playing dumb.

"Why would I be scared of Oz?"

That earned her a cursory glance, sharp appraisal burning in those dark eyes, and Willow couldn't tell if her answer had been wholly unexpected or not.

"Well, he's not exactly Oz right now, is he?" she replied tersely, a tone of condescension in her voice that made Willow bite her tongue in response. Annie turned her head away, flicking back a stray lock of hair as her gaze fell upon the animal across the room. She shook her head. "You shouldn't be here."

Willow flinched at the blunt reprimand, one that she had no real grounds to challenge despite every objecting fibre in her body. She felt her shoulders slump slightly, a twinge of unfair frustration stinging inside her heart. She sighed tiredly.

"I just wanted…I had to know."

Annie's mouth twitched in a hard, mocking smile, before it was quickly concealed under mild distain once more. "Well, now you've had a good goggle at the freak show – you can leave."

That was a snide dig too far for Willow's already frayed emotions. She shot an indignant glare at the girl beside her, knowing she was trying to push her buttons but unable to stop herself.

"I would never –"

"Oh spare me," Annie interrupted, scornful derision filling her voice as she wheeled around. "You may have all the guys wrapped around your finger and falling for this harmless little bookworm routine, but we both know it isn't true." Her eyes shone with resentment as the brittle tension finally cracked between them. "And if you think I'm just going to stand back and watch you hurt the people I care about –"

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Willow said quietly, even as she fought back the uncomfortable doubt that crept along the edge of her mind; a constant reminder of the twisted web of complications she was getting caught up in.

"Yeah, sure. You're just passing through, right? Little Alice tumbling through Wonderland, wreaking havoc wherever you go, and then when the shit inevitably hits the fan – you get to wake up, safe and sound, back in your own world. How convenient."

"Convenient?" Willow snapped, her temper finally exploding under the pressure of Annie's goading. She clenched her fists and didn't even bother to try and reel it back in. "You think this is all a game to me? A big joke or something? You have no idea what you're talking about! You can't begin to imagine what it feels like to be a whole world away from the people you love; trapped out of reach with no means of contacting them. Knowing I'll probably never see them again…" She panicked as she felt the sting of tears threatening behind her eyes and furiously blinked them away, determined not to break down in front of Annie of all people.

"And whose fault is that?"

Willow felt as if she had just been punched in the gut. She stared at Annie's unflinching expression, temporarily lost for words as the blow of her accusation cut dangerously close to the bone. She couldn't know; there was no way. Her mind stumbled into fear before she quickly got a grip on herself. She was just lashing out, trying to hurt her, and Willow refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing just how painful the truth behind her remark was.

Annie glimpsed a wave of raw emotion darken those eyes for a moment before they turned cold, and took the chance to push her advantage.

"I don't know what your angle is or why you're here, but we both know there's something else to all this." She held Willow's gaze stubbornly, silently daring her to try and deny it. "I don't care what the others think – things just don't happen for no reason. Not around here. I mean, you just show up on our doorstep, out the blue, amnesia girl or vampire or wicked witch or whatever the hell you are, and you think it's somehow okay to give us no explanation!"

There was a frustrated snarl from the cage, dark eyes flashing as the wolf paced in increasingly frantic circles. Willow cast a distracted look over while mentally struggling to keep a guard on her tongue and the heated retort that was burning in her lungs; everything she'd kept bottled up for so long but couldn't afford to reveal. Not now. Not like this. Returning her attention to Annie, she opened her mouth to object but found that her accuser wasn't finished.

"Funny that, isn't it? No idea how you got here or why you were pulled out of your own reality, and yet you know so much about us. All those knowing looks and little comments, as if you're in on something we're not; like you think you know more about our lives than we do." Placing her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. "Giles and Jenny may find it all terribly fascinating and endearing, but you don't fool me."

Willow fought the urge to grit her teeth and dug her nails harder into her palms; cursing her luck as she tried to gather her tumultuous thoughts into effective arguments. She hadn't anticipated coming under fire in such a personal attack tonight. She mentally rolled her eyes. Of all the people on Oz-watch, it just had to be Annie didn't it?

Taking a breath, she tried to inject some patient reason into her voice. "They were my friends back home, that's all. Of course I know them. I haven't pretended otherwise."

Her words did nothing to appease the young woman as Annie hardened her glare in response. "Just because you knew them before doesn't mean you know them now. Having a few titbits of generic information doesn't give you an insider's perspective into who we are or what we've been through. These are real lives you're toying with here; this isn't some fantasy you can just bend to your whim."

"You think I don't know that?" Willow demanded hotly.

"No. Frankly, I don't think you do," she shot back. "This is our world; our home – not a second rate replica you can use to try to recreate yours. You have to start accepting that. You can't always have what you want; sometimes you have to learn to live with what you get. Just like the rest of us."

There was a rattle of metal from across the floor but it barely registered against the heat of the girls' argument. The wolf drew back with a deepening growl, pitch black eyes fixed on the quarrelling humans outside his cage. The tension they were giving off was palpable; the sharp, unpleasant pitch of their raised voices grating against his ears, adding to his restlessness. Fresh scents and heightened emotions mixed through the air, overwhelming his senses and stirring up a fevered agitation in their wake. It was a cacophony of noise inside his head, and he didn't like it. Crouching low, he poised every muscle and sprang forward, hurling his full weight against the door. The bars groaned again.

Willow shook her head softly, fighting back the sting of Annie's words; the guilty flinch in the back of her mind that knew she deserved it. What she'd done was selfish and unfair and maybe unforgivable, but she couldn't change it now.

"I'm not trying to steal your world from you," she said firmly, forcing herself not to break eye contact and lose ground in the stand-off. "I'm just trying to help."

"Oh really?" she scoffed. "Then what's the big conspiracy for? If you've got nothing to hide, then why do you keep refusing to give any answers? Why say nothing if you knew about Oz all along? What exactly are you waiting for?"

Willow allowed herself a thin smile. "Like you pointed out, it wasn't my place to make assumptions, was it?"

Annie glowered before swiftly reclaiming the moral high ground. "Whatever. You can try and defend yourself all you want, but the truth is that you and your secrets are going to put us all in even more danger, and trust me: we don't need any more help in trying to get ourselves killed."

There was a muffled bang from the cage followed by an irritated snarl. Willow glanced over with a frown, but was distracted again as Annie instantly resumed her self-righteous speech.

Crossing her arms, she levelled an almost speculative glare at the redhead. "I don't know what it is you think makes you so special. What gives you the right to go flitting across other realities like this: crashing through people's lives, screwing with their feelings, only to waltz out again and leave us to pick up the pieces!"

Willow felt something inside her snap; furious resentment rushing through her blood. "You don't know that," she fired back, eyes blazing. "You don't know anything about me."

Annie laughed, short and bitter. "Exactly! Why don't you try telling them that?"

"And that's what you can't stand, isn't it?" she challenged, stepping forward, taking control of the volatile exchange. "That they trust me; that despite every reason you give them, they've still let me into their lives because they aren't as jaded and suspicious as you!"

Annie shot her a withering glare but before the confrontation could escalate any further, a screech of rusty metal pierced the air. Both spun around but could only watch in horror as with a thunderous crash, the battered cage door finally gave up the fight.

~o~


AN: Hmm, wait months for an update and then leave it on a cliffe...Evil, me? ;) This took frickin' ages to write but hopefully it turned out okay. Kudos if you spotted the line from Willow's other wolf-related confrontation. Thanks for reading.

Reviews are lovely things and always appreciated, with smiles and cookies :)