Kat weaved through the bodies of the Bronze, the live band sounding louder than usual, but she knew it was just her new and sensitive hearing. She'd always liked the Bronze, the only issue being the amount of people there and her general dislike for crowds. It always muted her ability to have fun. This time, she had a smile on her face. She was actually having fun. There had been a time when she'd thought she'd never be able to be this close to a large group of humans again. Unsure if she was able to control herself. But she could and she did. She was proud of how far she'd come. At her ability to tame the monster inside of her. She felt free. More free than she'd felt in a long while as she'd danced, drank and had fun with everyone. She was on her way back from dancing with Buffy, the Slayer and witches still on the dance floor. But Kat wanted to find Spike. He'd been dancing with her but then said he was going to get them a drink. He hadn't come back. So she moved through the bodies until the bar was in view and her feet stopped abruptly.
Spike was there talking to a girl. She had blonde straight hair with half of it pinned up. A dress that left nothing to the imagination. They were smiling and chatting animatedly and Kat's eyes narrowed slightly, knowing that Spike wasn't the most social of people. There would only be one reason why he was happily talking to this girl and she didn't like it. Her feet wouldn't move and she strained her hearing to try and see what they were talking about. There was too much noise in the club though. She was unable to look away from the oblivious couple as she tried to will away the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then, Spike reached out and brushed his fingers along the girl's arm in such a gentle touch that Kat had a hard time processing what she was witnessing.
"Who the hell is that?" Buffy asked as she stepped next to Kat. Disdain dripped off her words like venom.
"I don't know," Kat replied tensely, watching as Spike laughed at something the girl said.
"Oh, that's Jessica. I bumped into her before. She's pretty awesome," Xander explained, materializing out of nowhere as he munched on a bag of peanuts he'd gotten from the bar.
Great. Jessica was awesome! She internally rolled her eyes at the new information and it didn't make her feel any better.
"You should go say something," Buffy huffed as Xander meandered back to the table where Anya was sitting.
"No… it's fine. He's allowed to talk to people," Kat muttered, moving to follow Xander. She meant it too. While it was uncomfortable to witness, mostly through her past experience of a relationship involving constant cheating, it wasn't like he couldn't speak to people just because they were together. He had as much right to talk and befriend whoever he wanted as she did. This was her issue. Her stupid past making her see it in a way it most likely wasn't. Twisting it into something sinister.
She ended up sitting alone at the table for what felt like an hour, convincing Buffy to go and have fun with the others, before Spike finally came back. She tried not to let it bother her, she really did. He was here having a good time as she was. She knew she'd be annoyed with Spike if she'd been having a harmless conversation with a guy at the bar and he tried to make it out to be more than what it was. So she didn't say anything. She also didn't say anything at the fact he'd forgotten her drink. She expected him to ask her to dance again. They'd been dancing and letting loose for once and he'd commented earlier in the night how he loved seeing her so carefree. He didn't. He didn't really say much either and she felt a weird uncomfortable air sitting between them. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it. Maybe she was. She was projecting her past relationship onto her new one and that wasn't fair to Spike. So as the others finally rejoined them at the table, she smiled and tried to ignore that uncomfortable nagging feeling in her chest.
Three days went by. Kat sat on the sofa, legs huddled to her chest as she stared off into space. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Ever since the night at the Bronze, Spike had been distant. He'd gone out every night to Willy's, saying Clem was having some issues and needed a friend. And that was great, except she had a weird feeling something wasn't quite right. He'd not kissed her, touched her, barely even spent any time with her. When she got home from work, he'd be off out, telling her where he was going before slipping out of the door before she had a chance to respond. The first night, he'd come back in the early hours covered in an unfamiliar scent, which wasn't unusual if he'd been at a bar full of people. In the past, if he ever came to bed later than she did, she'd wake to him wrapping his arms around her, murmuring an apology for waking her as he held her and kissed her shoulder. This time, he just got into bed and went to sleep. The next night he hadn't even bothered to come home and she had a feeling it would be the same tonight. He hadn't even been home when she got back, there was a note on the fridge saying he'd gone to Willy's. She felt all twisted up inside. She was making a mountain out of a molehill and she knew it. He was out consoling a friend having a hard time and here she was, acting like he was doing something nefarious. She really didn't expect to have to worry like this with Spike. All her past baggage was why she'd been reluctant to get into another relationship, but this was her soulmate. Yet here she was, worrying anyway like an idiot. She blew out a sigh as she stood up. She knew one way to settle her mind and put this to bed. Going to Willy's to see with her own eyes that she was going insane. She hated to be that girlfriend. The one that checks on their man like this. But she only needed to see him and then she could tell herself to stop being so stupid.
She set off to Willy's, feeling foolish and like the young teenage girl she used to be back when she was in her only other relationship. She really thought she'd gotten over this now. She wasn't sure why she was being so paranoid. That stupid gut feeling that wouldn't leave her alone. She shoved the door open once she got to the demon bar, a few demons barely giving her a glance as one or two gave her wary looks. She was a human last time she was here which is why she received more attention. This time she very much fit in. The wary looks were from those who knew she was related to the Slayer.
"Hey, Willy," she smiled weakly after a precursory glance revealed no Spike. He was cleaning a glass and beamed a smile at her when he saw her.
"Hey, Kat! Dead looks good on you," he winked with a sly smile. If she was feeling more like herself, she'd have made a comment.
"Spike around?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"Nah, not here. Haven't seen him in months," Willy said simply as he put the glass away, replacing it with another to clean. Kat blinked at him for a moment as her brain digested that information. Months. Before she was turned. He had been lying. She felt sick. Her eyes darted around and they landed on Clem who was drinking alone at a table. Without so much as a goodbye to the bartender, she walked over to him, plonking in the seat in front of him. His eyes lit up when he saw her.
"You seen Spike?" she asked, not bothering with niceties as her mind started to spiral.
"No, not since you guys got back," he shook his head. At her confused and hurt expression, he cleared his throat and sat up straighter.
"I mean… yeah… I've seen him," he murmured lamely. She gave him a look and he frowned, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, Kat. I haven't. But whatever you think he's doing, he probably isn't. Spike loves you," he said softly, a sympathetic expression on his face. Spike loved her, yet he'd been lying to her. She didn't do well with lies. Relationships were built on a foundation of trust and without that, it would crumble easily. She thought she could trust Spike. With her heart, her life. But he'd been lying and all she could think of was why.
"Thanks, Clem," she muttered, standing up as her head span. She didn't hear his reply because she was rushing out of the door.
She stood outside for a moment, trying to calm her head. Maybe Clem was right. Maybe it wasn't what she was thinking. He'd given her little white lies before, or more like evading the truth than outright lying. Like when he'd gotten the house and he didn't want to tell her until it was done. Maybe he was up to something but it wasn't anything that bad. Maybe he was back to selling weird black market items and he didn't want to tell her, knowing she'd disprove of his methods of getting said objects. She closed her eyes for a minute, forcing her body to relax. As a vampire now, her emotions were rampant and intense. Maybe this was just that. Maybe she was overreacting because it was harder to control herself now. She took a breath she didn't need before trying to calm her mind. She'd been reading up on sire bonds out of curiosity. She already shared a bond with Spike. The soulmate bond. And she'd been wondering how the sire bond might affect them too, if it even did. There had been no overt effects as of yet but one thing she read intrigued her. Some vampires could sense their sires and vice versa. If they concentrated, they could just feel the pull to them and know where to find them. And so with one last moment to still her rapid thoughts, she tried to concentrate on him. Tried to see if she felt anything. She did. It was faint, the barest of whispers but it was there. So she let her feet just go wherever they wanted and hoped it would lead her to him. She walked for half an hour before she wound up in some neighborhood. She'd started to wonder if it hadn't worked at all and she'd just randomly walked somewhere. The slight tug led her up a driveway to a pristine looking house. She heard them before she saw them. She'd recognised those sinful moans anywhere and she felt bile rising to her throat at hearing them like this. She walked up to the large bay window, a few feet from it as her heart shattered into tiny fragments in her chest. He was on the sofa that was facing away, Jessica straddling him, completely naked as she went to town on him. Their moans mingled with each other and each one broke Kat's heart even further. With the sofa facing away, she couldn't see his face, but she'd recognize that bleached blonde head anywhere. His hands were pawing at the girl like she was a sacred object and Kat's eyes welled with hurt and angry tears, her nails biting into her palms so hard she broke skin. Yet she couldn't look away. And then, Jessica threw her head back in pleasure, eyes snapping open and landing on Kat. She expected her to jump off Spike or something. Anything. Instead, she smirked. The bitch smirked right at Kat before leaning down and capturing Spike's lips in a heated kiss. Kat hurried down the driveway with tears streaming her face. Most of her wanted to kick the door in and beat the shit out of them. There were a few flaws with that plan though. The first being she didn't have an invite to get in. The second was the fact that Jessica was human. She'd fought hard to keep her control as to not hurt anyone and she'd be damned if this bitch made her break that. Even if the voice in the back of her mind told her to kill her for touching what was hers. She was sure it was the demon.
She couldn't believe Spike would do this to her. Spike. Her fucking soulmate, who she was fated to. She couldn't wrap her head around what she'd just seen. Never in a million years did she think he would hurt her in this way. They'd been through so much, he'd helped her so much. Things had been going well and this was so sudden. Maybe it wasn't though. Maybe he'd done this before. Maybe this wasn't a one time thing. Her thoughts turned dark, wondering why she was so stupid. Stupid to think this wouldn't happen to her again. Of course he did this. He found someone prettier, better, less of a wreck than she was. Why wouldn't he jump at the chance? Why in the world did she think she'd ever be able to keep someone like Spike? She'd kept his attention for a while, but now he was over it. No doubt sick of her and her constant mental issues. She was sick of herself, it was no surprise he was sick of her too. She walked right past her house, no intention of going there. Not tonight. She didn't want Spike to come home. She couldn't predict how she'd handle it. She needed to get herself together first. And so, she ended up at Buffy's. She didn't knock, pushing the door open as she sniffled, getting somewhat of a reign on her tears on the walk. Buffy was sitting at the table with Willow and Tara as she walked into the room.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked concerned, standing up quickly to go to her. She opened her mouth to say something but all that left her was a broken and pitiful sob and she quickly covered her mouth. The witches jumped up too then as the girls all tried to ask what was wrong and if she was okay.
"Spike's cheating on me," she lamented, once she got a hold of her sobs.
"What?!" Buffy asked, shock and confusion on her face.
"Are you sure? Maybe… maybe you're just mistaken," Willow asked with a frown.
"I'm pretty sure since I just saw that Jessica bitch riding him on her sofa," Kat bit out, not meaning to be so snappish with Willow but she was hurt, confused and angry. The girls all looked shocked for a moment before a furious look passed on Buffy's face.
"I'm gonna kill him," she growled, moving to the door. Tara reached out and grabbed her arm though, not letting her leave. She gave a small shake of her head as she looked at Kat, telling her without words she was needed here instead. Buffy blew out a breath, moving Kat to sit in one of the dining chairs as the rest of them followed suit.
"How can he… He's your soulmate. He's not supposed to cheat on you! He was loyal to Dru for years without that bond, it doesn't make sense," Willow mumbled sadly.
"Are you okay?" Tara asked quietly, looking at her worriedly.
"I don't know what I am right now," Kat admitted mournfully. She'd felt so many things at a rate even her vampire mind couldn't keep up with and she was in some state of shock.
"Do you wanna stay here?" Buffy asked, taking her hand. Kat nodded. There was no way she wanted to see him, not yet. She couldn't face going back to the house she shared with him.
The next day, she went to work. Buffy had told her to call in for the day but Kat didn't want to be at home on her own with her thoughts and she knew Spike wouldn't be showing up at the shop since he was busy with Jessica.
"Oh, Katherine," Giles frowned sadly when he saw her, going over and giving her a hug.
"Buffy told me. I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair as she hugged him back. She thought he'd have a few more angry remarks regarding Spike but maybe he thought she wasn't ready to hear them just yet. When he moved away from her, Anya walked over.
"If I was still a vengeance demon, I'd make his penis explode or have large painful pustules come out all over his body," she murmured with a firm nod.
"Thanks, guys," Kat gave them a weak smile, glad to have their support but too drained to want to talk about it. So she got to work as usual to keep her mind busy. As the day wore on, the rest of the guys turned up at various times for the meeting that night. Sometimes it wasn't technically a meeting since nothing had happened for them to discuss, but they'd all hang out anyway. Xander walked into the shop at around 8, the last one to arrive.
"What's with the long face?" he asked as he frowned at her. She was sitting at the round table now, chin propped up in her hand as she stared at nothing.
"Spike cheated on her with Jessica," Buffy explained quietly and carefully.
"Well, duh! Who wouldn't? Jessica is great," he laughed, looking around like the others would agree with him.
"Xander!" Buffy chided, a glare on her face. Kat was shocked, unable to form a response as Xander muttered something about going to grab a hotdog from the hotdog stand that had taken residence just outside of the shop.
"I can't believe he said that," Willow frowned.
"I know, it's annoying. Ever since Friday it's been 'Jessica this, Jessica that'," Anya huffed in irritation as she slammed the register shut.
"B-But that's weird, right? Why would Xander like her so much? Or be okay with what S-Spike did?" Tara asked, looking confused.
""Wait a minute… a thrall!" Willow exclaimed, jumping out of her seat for seemingly no reason as she just stood there and toyed with her hands.
"A thrall?" Buffy asked slowly.
"You remember how weird Xander got when Dracula was here, right? He was under his thrall. And he's acting like that again. Maybe… maybe it's a thrall or some kind of love spell?" Willow asked, a mix of confusion and hope on her face.
"That would make more sense why Spike cheated on Kat then, given their soulmate bond," Buffy mused softly. Kat wasn't sure what to think. It wasn't too hard to believe Spike would cheat on her after how dark and depressing her thoughts had gone and she didn't want to get her hopes up thinking it was all a spell and it turned out to just be him. But she couldn't deny Xander was acting weird. She'd expected him to be outraged. Expected an 'I told you so'. When Xander wrote that stupid list all that time ago, he'd put that Spike would be unfaithful on it. And Spike had gone out and got his soul right after reading it. It didn't make sense. None of it did. Xander would never in a million years be okay with Spike cheating on her, no matter who it was with. He was the head of the 'I hate Spike' club. And he hated seeing her hurt. And why would Spike go out and go through hell to get his soul for her, just to turn around and cheat on her.
"I can… I can do a spell, to confirm what it is. But we'll need Xander and Spike together to do it," Willow muttered excitedly, really thinking she'd figured it out.
"Great," Kat muttered tensely. She didn't want to see Spike and since Xander was such a big fan of this Jessica bitch, she didn't want to be around him very much either. An hour later, Kat avoided Xander like the plague as she sat about struggling to distract herself. She kept flip flopping between believing it was some kind of spell and then the fact that Spike was just too good for her and had figured it out. Buffy had texted Spike to tell him to come to the shop. A life or death emergency. She didn't expect him to turn up but a little over an hour later, he came through the door. And it stung because Kat knew if she'd texted him, he probably wouldn't have come.
"What's this big emergency then?" he asked, like he wasn't a lying, cheating piece of shit. Kat clenched her jaw so tight she was surprised her teeth didn't shatter. Not even a hello or a glance thrown her way by him.
"We just need to test a spell out on you and Xander… to see if it works. It's important," Buffy explained in her no nonsense attitude.
"A spell… Not sure about that, Slayer," Spike muttered warily.
"Why? Jessica not a fan of magic?" Kat bit out scathing, sarcasm coating her tone. She hadn't intended on saying anything but it had slipped out. He finally looked at her then for a long moment, the others silent. But then he grabbed her wrist and led her away from the others a little, dropping her arm like he couldn't stand touching her for more than a moment.
"You know, then?" he asked calmly.
"That you're cheating on me? Yeah," she growled. She expected guilt on his face, a little remorse. Something. But he smiled. He fucking smiled and he looked relieved.
"Thank god. Wasn't sure how to tell you. Without you… you know, goin' off the deep end," he chuckled. She stared at him dumbly, so many feelings they'd turned into an unintelligible ball.
"You should move back in with Buffy," he suggested, like he was talking about the weather.
"Excuse me?" she asked lowly, a spark of rage slowly simmering in her belly.
"Move out. You know, fly the next? Want Jessica to move in with me. Be a bit awkward if my ex bird was still hangin' around the place," he snorted. She could do little else but blink at him, completely dumb struck, as Willow called out she was ready for the spell.
"Look… I don't love you anymore. I love Jessica. I'll give you until the end of the week to get your stuff, but then I want you gone," Spike said seriously, no emotion on his face. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest at his words, feeling like she was being sucked into a black hole of pain.
Spike walked over to where Willow set up two chairs, Xander in one, Spike taking the other. Kat was too in her own head, still standing where he'd left her, to know what stupid excuse they'd given him about what the spell was for. She turned to look at them as Willow muttered something in Latin. She clicked her fingers and the pair of boys went to sleep, slumping in the chairs. She grabbed a clear bag of something that looked like orange dust or glitter.
"If it's some kind of thrall or spell, this will turn blue," she explained softly, taking a handful of it. She blew it towards the comatose people in the chairs and the dust stopped just before them, swirling like a vortex in front of them. Kat held a breath she didn't need, she couldn't move. She was as still as stone as she glared at the dust. This would be it. The truth. Was it a spell or just her? She felt sick. And the feeling only grew as the dust continued to glow orange. She was mildly aware of the worried glances in her direction and she tried to keep herself in check because she was a moment away from either falling to the floor sobbing or wrecking the place in anger. She should have known it was her. She was foolish to cling onto the hope it was anything otherwise. She was about to turn around, tell the others she was going home, Buffy's, because she really didn't want to be around when Spike woke from his magic induced slumber. But then she caught it. Her enhanced vision saw one speck of dust turn blue, followed by another and another until the whole vortex turned into a swirling blue mass. The relief hit her so hard, she had to quickly move to sit down. She felt Buffy's hand on her shoulder and she hadn't even realized she'd let a few tears free. It was magic. Not her, not Spike. It hadn't been his fault. It still hurt, of course it did. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to scrub the image of him with another woman out of her brain. But it had been beyond his control, he wasn't himself. She remembered when Xander did a love spell gone wrong, making all the women of Sunnydale go after him. Kat had been one of them. She'd never seen Xander that way. She wasn't attracted to him that way in the least, he was like a brother to her. But she hadn't been in control. It hadn't been her fault, just like this wasn't Spike's.
"Magic then. This Jessica girl must have used it on Spike. I don't understand the milder version on Xander though. Maybe he got in the way or something?" Giles mused, cleaning his glasses near the counter.
"Or maybe it's not a spell at all. Thralls come in many shapes and forms. It doesn't have to be a traditional love spell," Anya piped up.
"It's possible. But whatever it is, Spike didn't cheat on you because he wanted to. We know that for sure," Willow said firmly, giving Kat a tentative smile. She nodded, a grateful smile on her own face. Willow chanted something else and Xander and Spike woke up instantly, looking like they didn't even know they'd been asleep.
"You gonna get to it then?" Spike asked impatiently.
"It didn't work, it doesn't matter," Willow lied with a shrug. Spike got up, not even sparing her a glance.
"Alright, I'm off then. Important things to be gettin' on with," he muttered, leaving the shop swiftly. She had to hold her tongue, it wasn't his fault. And telling him wouldn't help either. It would drive him further away. They'd have to do this without Spike and without Xander.
"I'm gonna go have a word with this girl, see what the hell is going on," Buffy declared as she grabbed her coat.
"Spike might be there," Kat warned tiredly. The whole thing had drained her. She didn't know how to feel about it all. She was happy and relieved but the hurt didn't dislodge from her chest.
"I really don't care," Buffy grinned darkly, zipping her coat up.
"I can come with. I can use magic on Spike if he gets a little weird. Make him just stop moving, like a Spike shaped statue," she grinned, looking at Kat for the last bit like she was reassuring her she wouldn't turn Spike to a pile of dust with a few Latin words.
"You're going to see Jessica? I can come!" Xander beamed, moving to grab his coat. An angry looking Anya blocked his way though.
"I don't think so, mister. One more mention of her and I'm gonna call on D'Hoffryn," she warned with narrowed eyes. Xander gave her a sheepish smile, moving to go and sit down.
"Just be careful," Kat murmured to Buffy and Willow, watching them leave. She had no idea how this would go. Part of her really hoped she'd beat Jessica up, but for all they knew, she was human and it went against Buffy's ethics as the Slayer.
There was more waiting around. Anya hovered around Xander like she was worried he was about to bolt and leave for Jessica's place, Tara and Giles were looking over some magic books to try and figure out if they could narrow down just what was going on. Kat sat there, once again lost in her own thoughts, the words on the page she was reading dancing around on the page and not processing in her brain at all. It was almost two hours later when the door opened and Kat's head whipped around to see Willow and Buffy walking in, grinning and chatting animatedly.
"Did it go okay?" Tara asked anxiously, standing up.
"Great, actually. Jessica was really fun," Willow grinned.
"She even told me where to get the skirt she was wearing. It was to die for," Buffy gushed. Kat blinked slowly at them for a moment.
"Oh, dear lord. Not you too," Giles sighed exasperatedly.
"What's wrong with them? Are they under the thrall too?" Anya asked in a hushed tone.
"She invited us over to dinner tomorrow night, you too Xander," Buffy smiled excitedly. Xander beamed a smile that quickly faded at Anya's glare.
"You're not going," she said firmly.
"Are you kidding me right now? Everyone's just boarding the 'Jessica is great train'?" Kat lamented.
"You don't need to be so sour just because she's better than you. You can't blame Spike for that," Willow scoffed. And while Kat knew she was under the influence of a spell, the remark stung.
"Willow!" Tara gasped, looking horrified as she shot a sympathetic look to Kat.
"I'm done. I can't do this. I can't deal with everyone I care about go fawn over the bitch who's stole my soulmate. I'm gonna book myself into a motel," she muttered, feeling rage and hurt stirring in her chest. She didn't want to lose her cool. Not now. Not with the people she cared about most.
"I'll call you if we figure it out. I'm sorry, Katherine," Giles lamented.
The motel was seedy, it wasn't like she could afford some luxury five star accommodation. But it was better than going home or staying with Buffy. She couldn't deal with people talking about how great Jessica was. It was grating on her nerves that already felt raw. She'd asked Giles to keep an eye on Dawn, have her stay with him. She couldn't trust Buffy while she was under some kind of spell or thrall. Days went by in her solitude in the motel room. She couldn't face the magic shop since Buffy, Willow and Xander might be there. Giles had been by once to give her some pig's blood, but he'd been working tirelessly with Tara and Anya to get to the bottom of it all. She felt guilty, not helping out and just hiding away. She could almost hear Spike berating her for running from her problems once again, telling her she needed to face them. But she couldn't, it was too much and she wasn't the same girl, the girl who could stuff things in a box and ignore it. The lid of the box was missing now she was a vampire and everything was spilling out. She knew she'd have to get over it eventually. It was a spell and it wasn't their fault, Spike's fault. But it was her worst nightmare come true and she was forced to live through it and she couldn't shake the hurt that went along with it. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to look at Spike again after what she'd seen. It was the fourth day of going insane with no one but herself for company when a knock sounded at her door. She presumed it was Giles with some blood or something, but he hadn't called to tell her he'd be coming. She got up, dressed in some short pajamas she'd asked Giles to buy her since she wasn't going anywhere near her house or Buffy's. She opened the door, hoping Giles was maybe coming with some info as well as blood. But that wasn't who she saw.
"Angel," she breathed, the first genuine smile in days gracing her face.
"Hey, Kat," he gave her a sad smile in return before hugging her. She sunk into his hug, glad for some company.
"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously, moving to let him in. She moved to sit against the headboard and he followed, perching on her bed.
"Giles called me. He told me… everything. I'm so sorry you're going through this," he frowned. She shrugged, a sardonic smile on her face.
"Is what is it, I guess," she murmured.
"Well, good news is, we know what we're dealing with now. Me and Wes came to help out. He's with Giles researching," he explained. She sat up straighter at the news.
"What is it?" she asked eagerly. She just wanted this over with so things could go back to normal and her loved ones could stop stabbing her in the back.
"A siren," he said simply. She blinked at him for a moment, furrowing her brows.
"Like singing sailors to their death, sirens?" she asked slowly.
"Yeah. That's what they used to do in ancient times. They do it a little differently now. Giles wanted me to come get you, come to the shop so he can explain it fully," he said softly. She nodded, getting up to grab her clothes. She dashed into the bathroom before coming out fully dressed and rushed to stuff her boots on. She really couldn't wait to deal with this bitch.
She walked with Angel back to the magic shop and he kept her hurried pace, no doubt sensing she wanted this over with. As soon as she walked in, Tara walked over and gave her a tight hug. She felt sorry for her. From what Giles said, Willow, Buffy and Xander weren't exactly in love like Spike was, but they were somehow charmed to think she was wonderful and spent a lot of time with her or gushing about her. She didn't imagine it was easier for her.
"Katherine, you're here," Giles smiled brightly, glad to see her. She smiled back and Wesley got up, giving her a brief hug before sitting back down in research mode.
"Alright, what's the low down then?" Kat asked, sitting at the table with the others.
"I'm presuming Angel told you we're dealing with a-a siren. They have a venom gland in their mouth and they use it to infect people with some kind of love spell as it were. It can be as a lover, a friend… anything really," Giles explained, taking his glasses off his face to clean them. Wesley looked up from his book then to glance at her.
"We looked into this girl and found some worrying details. She bounces from state to state, never staying longer than a month. She infects people in various states of love for her, gets them to do things for her they wouldn't ordinarily do. Give her money, their possessions, things like that. And then there always seems to be one main target… a main victim," he said with a frown.
"A victim?" she asked warily. Giles nodded with a sigh.
"She makes one person fall deeply in love with her. She waits until they're clutched in her grip and then she tells them she doesn't love them. It drives them to insanity until they kill themselves. Their sucide letters always mention how they can't carry on without her. From the ones we know of, she's done this to at least 32 people," Giles muttered tensely. Her throat constricted a little and her hands clenched into fists.
"And Spike is her main victim here, isn't he?" she asked carefully.
"I'm afraid so," Wesley gave her an apologetic smile.
"So how do we stop it?" she asked urgently. Like hell she was letting this bitch get Spike to kill himself.
"We kill her," Giles said. His answer so consice yet heavy. The demon in her was pleased with the answer and she wanted to be the one to do it.
"How?" she asked. Angel grabbed a wooden box from the chair next to him and placed it on the table. He opened it to reveal a bronze dagger.
"With this. It needs to be coated with a victim's blood. But I'm gonna hazard a wild guess and say at least one of them will be with her. A quick slice to get the blood and then stab her in the heart with it," he explained. He didn't need to say that Spike would be the one there, she knew that herself. But with the prospect of the siren being gone on the horizon, Kat felt the familiar thrill for a fight start to tingle and spread throughout her body. She grinned, grabbing the dagger before she stood. She'd kill this bitch, but not before she took out some much needed aggression.
"Time to beat the shit out of a siren then," she smirked gleefully.
"Katherine!" Giles chided with a frown.
"What? She's not human," she scoffed.
"I know, but… language," he murmured, shaking his head.
"You need to take these. They will protect you both from succumbing to her thrall," Wesley said, handing both her and Angel a necklace with a small green pendant of a bird. She presumed Angel would be tagging along then. It would be helpful since she doubted Spike would let her take down siren bitch without a fight and she really didn't want to fight him.
"We will be staying here. We need to keep the enchantment going while you're there," Giles explained. She was glad. She didn't want anyone else getting hurt or getting caught in the crossfire anyway.
"Ready?" she asked, looking at Angel. He nodded, slipping the necklace over his head as she did the same.
"Ready," he nodded.
They set off out to Jessica's home, presuming and hoping she would be there. Kat was itching for a fight now, she didn't want to have to hunt her down.
"Will we need an invite?" Kat asked as they walked, the thought just occurring to her.
"No. She's not human so we should be good to go. I'll have Spike, you get her," he said firmly.
"I bet the only reason you're coming with me is a reason to beat up Spike," she snorted teasingly. While she didnt want Spike getting hurt too much, the sick demon part of her wanted him a little beat up for hurting her, even if he didn't mean to do it. Angel scoffed and shook his head.
"I'm coming to back you up and keep you safe… And to beat up Spike. He's an idiot, cheating on you, he's your soulmate. I mean, falling for a siren? Who does that?" he grumbled. Her lips twitched up a little at his protective brotherly streak and his amusing rivalry with Spike.
"Uh huh. I bet you'd be able to resist her thrall without that necklace," she grinned, raising a brow at him.
"Definitely," he scoffed. As they approached the house, she felt the fire burning in her veins. She couldn't wait to end this bitch. She didn't knock and instead, just booted the door open with her vampire strength. Jessica and Spike both stood from the couch in shock.
"Kat? Angel?" He asked, confusion etched on his face. Jessica just looked mad.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she growled. Kat grabbed the dagger from her jacket pocket, reveling in the fear that flashed behind Jessica's eyes at the sight of it.
"Taking back what's mine," Kat smirked darkly. With her vamp speed, she rushed over to Spike, slashing at his neck and drawing blood.
"Bloody hell! What are you doing?" he yelled in anger. She ignored him though as she dove at the siren.
Her first punch landed hard, right in the bitches face, and she flew into the wall. She just about registered Angel and Spike arguing and fighting as Angel made sure he kept Spike out of Kat's way. Jessica lunged at her but she dodged it easily. She might be a siren but she wasn't as fast or strong as a vampire. And Kat was pissed. She landed a flurry of punches, anywhere she could get them as Jessica tried to fight back but couldn't. She got her to the floor, wrestling with her as she tried to shove the knife into her. She got it into her chest but a little too to the right. Jessica screamed, trying to buck Kat off her but she was too strong.
"Stop bleedin' hittin' me, you ponce! I'm better now!" Spike yelled at Angel. The stab might not have killed her but it seemed to have broken the spell. It still wasn't enough for Kat. She started laying hard and heavy punches to her face, the siren becoming too weak to fight back, her face swollen and covered in blood as Kat roared, taking out all of her rage on her for what she'd done. She vaguely heard her name being called by both Angel and Spike but she ignored it, punching the bitches head until she saw brain matter. Then she shoved the dagger roughly into her heart. There was a loud wail before the girl under her seemingly disappeared altogether and Kat was left kneeling on the floor, panting out of habit more than necessity. There was a long drawn out moment of silence, Kat's rage still swirling around inside of her as she tried to contain it again.
"Katherine…" Spike murmured warily. She jumped to her feet, hand clenched tightly around the dagger. She couldn't look at him. Not when she couldn't get a lid on her temper. She looked at Angel, he was looking at her strangely. A little worried, whether it was for her or her display of complete merciless anger, she didn't know. She swiftly left, passing him the dagger as she went. She heard the twin pair of footsteps following her.
"Kat… are we gonna talk about this?" Spike asked, guilt and wariness coating his tone.
"Not now," she bit out, walking in front of him and not looking at him. She missed how Angel grabbed Spike's shoulder and shook his head in warning.
When they got to the shop, everyone was there, seemingly back to normal.
"Kat!" Buffy smiled relieved, rushing over to her. Kat quickly took a step back, her eyes wide and her body trembling. She'd been brutal and ruthless with the siren but the demon in her wasn't satisfied. It wasn't enough. Her hands shook as she clenched and unclenched her fists rapidly, everyone watching her carefully.
"It's done," she muttered, voice sounding hollow even to her own ears.
"That… good," Giles said, looking worried. There was another tense silence for a moment.
"I'm going back to the motel," Kat uttered, not waiting for a response before she slipped out of the door. She didn't get far before she heard someone following her and she knew just who it was.
"Kat, please," Spike implored. She didn't stop, didn't look at him.
"Just bloody talk to me, please!" he begged desperately. He grabbed her wrist and twirled her around so she had no choice but to face him. She couldn't contain the anger and hurt behind her eyes. Spike's eyes were glistening with tears threatening to fall, guilt smothering his face. She yanked her arm from his grip, taking a few quick steps back. The demon was too close to the surface and she was getting worried.
"I-I can't. Not yet. I can't… I can't stop the… the rage. And I know it wasn't you. It wasn't your fault. But I can't…" she agonized, her lower lip trembling a little. His face fell as he looked at her, his hand twitching like he wanted to reach out to her.
"You know that… I didn't wanna do that, right? I had no control over what that wench did to me. I'd never willingly do that to you," he pleaded, a frown marring his face. She swallowed thickly and looked down.
"I need… I need some space. I need to calm down and I need to deal with this," she whispered desperately. She couldn't do this, not now. She turned on her heel, hoping he'd let her walk away and understand she wasn't ready to face this yet.
"I love you," he murmured sorrowfully, his voice quiet but she heard it fine. She stopped but didn't look back, her mouth opening to respond but nothing came out. Her voice seemed lost. She took a shaky unneeded breath, squeezing her eyes shut before she forced herself to carry on walking. It was times like this that she hated being a vampire. Normal Kat would have dealt with this better, or most likely, not at all. Sweeping it under the rug and moving on with her life. But she couldn't. Not now. Not when all she felt was blind rage that wouldn't quell and a heartache so deep she felt ready to crumble at any moment. She needed to settle her emotions before they could fix things. Before she said or did something she regretted at the behest of her demon. She knew it wasn't fair to him, knew it wasn't his fault. He'd been a victim here too. But all she could see was Jessica on top of him as he held her like he was worshiping her. All she could hear was his blissful moans being inflicted on him by someone other than her. She wasn't ready to deal with this just yet.