CHAPTER TWELVE: BEGGING
Willow and Xander walked through Sunnydale, having thoroughly checked Sunnydale High School. They had even checked the bell tower at the top of the school, only to find absolutely nothing. Xander kicked an empty coke can across the street.
Somehow, they had managed to walk to Buffy's house without even knowing that they were headed there. Xander stopped suddenly and looked up at Willow. She glanced at him curiously.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He grinned and shook his head in disbelief.
"What's the one place that we wouldn't think to look for Buffy?" he asked.
She shook her head, unable to decipher what he was trying to tell her. He turned her around and pointed to the house across the street. The Summers' residence.
Willow's eyes went wide. "Oh god, Xander!" she cried. She turned around and hugged him joyfully, not even stopping to think about her actions. He hugged her back quickly and the two of them stepped away from each other and towards the darkened house.
Xander stopped in the driveway and moved a large rock from its place, revealing a key buried beneath some dirt. He turned to Willow suddenly.
"I want you to stay here," he whispered. "If I don't come out, you need to find Giles."
"Xander, he said to stick together," she said, really not wanting to be left alone in the dark.
"I know," he told her quickly, "but if something happens in there, it's no use for both of us to be trapped. If I'm not out in fifteen minutes, then something's gone wrong okay?"
She hesitated, extremely fearful about letting Xander go into the house alone. Eventually, she nodded her agreement. He put a hand on her arm and gave a brave but petrified smile.
"Good luck," she whispered as he unlocked the door and quietly went inside.
------------------------
Angelus listened from the kitchen as the front door opened quietly. He grimaced, wondering how his brilliant hiding place had so easily been discovered. He had barely even started breaking Buffy properly.
It had only been two and a half hours since he had taken the girl. He smiled, thinking that he had managed to nearly break her so easily. He should have known that under the tough Slayer exterior, she was nothing more than a weak and pathetic child.
Lurking in the shadows, he watched as Xander went quietly up the stairs, stake and cross in his hands. Angelus quickly moved to the staircase, grabbing Xander's ankle through the wooden bars and yanking him down the stairs.
Xander fell in a heap, surprised by the sudden grip on his foot. He tried to stand but found himself being punched in the jaw. He looked up to see Angelus standing above him.
"I've wanted to do this for months," the demon said, a feral grin on his face. With that, Angelus punched him again and Xander fell into a world of blackness.
------------------------
She had never felt hunger like this. The very feeling of it was enough to make her go crazy. She knew that if pushed, she would do just about anything to get fed. Possibly even beg for it.
She heard the door open again, and she tried to steel herself against whatever attack he had for her next.
The sudden smell of blood in the air made her demon spring forth eagerly, the chains rattling as she tried to break free to get to the source of the smell. She couldn't see very well in the darkness, her demon too weak with thirst to try and even distinguish shape, form or colour.
Angelus stepped in front of her, holding up a warm wrist to her mouth. She could hear the blood pumping in the veins, hear it crying out to her. She could almost taste the power it would give her, the strength it would regenerate.
Her lips moved forward unconsciously, but suddenly her meal was taken away from her. She growled angrily, her eyes glowing yellow as she glared up at the demon who was taunting her.
"Not for you," he whispered, his lips coming to her cheek. "Not unless you beg me for it."
She snarled and pouted, if it is possible for a vampire to pout. He just smirked and waved Xander's wrist in front of her, the proverbial dangling carrot.
She hesitated for a moment, but her demon refused to starve.
"Please," she whispered, unwilling to offer anything more.
Angelus, however, wasn't satisfied.
"Angelus please," she said, her voice soft. She could hardly think straight, the smell of the blood and the sound of the heart pumping was sending her to the brink of insanity.
"Tell me what you need," he whispered, nipping gently at her neck, making her bleed once more, the added smell sending her senses haywire.
"Blood," she whispered, desperately craving it. "Please."
He shook his head, still not satisfied with her begging skills. She closed her eyes, wondering how much more he wanted before he would satisfy her craving. Somehow she knew she would have to say the word 'beg' before any amount of blood passed her lips.
"Angelus, please. I need it."
"Need blood, or need me?" he asked.
"Both," she admitted quietly.
"What will you do for me if I give you some?" he asked.
She almost groaned, but she just kept her eyes closed, trying to stay unattached to herself. It wasn't easy when her demon was fighting for dominance when she didn't have the strength to fight back. The demon won.
"Anything," she replied.
He growled his approval and threw the wrist in front of her lips, pushing it onto her fangs.
Without thought or hesitation, she bit down into the soft flesh and drank deeply.
~*~
Willow bounced uncomfortably in the spot she was crouching in beside the tree. It had been twenty minutes, but she wanted to give Xander the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was doing a thorough search.
She heard a voice calling her name quietly from behind her. She spun quickly, hoping to see Xander. When she saw Giles, she was both relieved and disappointed.
"Where's Xander?" the Watcher asked.
She pointed to the house and saw Giles' face drop.
"Do you know if Buffy's in there?" he asked.
Willow shrugged. "He told me to go and find you if he didn't come out in fifteen minutes," she said.
"I see," Giles replied, maintaining his exterior look of calm. "How long ago was that?"
"Twenty minutes ago," she replied.
Giles grimaced and began walking towards the house.
"Be careful," Willow called.
He nodded and continued on.
------------------------
Angelus grinned as the tiny blonde vampire drank at the wrist he held at her mouth. Her eyes were closed as she fed, and he could tell that he was now in a position to make the claim before Spike had a chance. He tore the wrist away from her, a cry coming from Buffy's mouth as her dinner was cast to the floor in a heap.
He stepped forward and looked down at her, bending his mouth down to hers, licking the blood off from around her mouth. She hadn't even drank enough to be at a quarter strength, just enough to keep her awake for the next hour or so. She was too weak to fight back or even flinch away at his touch.
"More?" he asked gently, wondering if the girl even knew who she had been biting.
She nodded meekly and he brought his own wrist to her mouth. The claiming bite needed an exchange of their blood, as well as a small ritual. He had yet to work out how he was going to get her to repeat the words, but he would come to that in a minute.
He winced in pleasure filled pain as her fangs ripped into his wrist. He felt her suck deeply and he in turn bent his fangs down to her neck.
"I claim thee as mine," he whispered against her neck. "Mine for eternity."
She didn't even hear the words that he spoke, could only feel her stomach beginning to fill properly. Of course, she was losing blood as quickly as she was gaining it, though her body was having trouble understanding that.
She felt him pull away, gently taking his wrist away from her. She blinked in confusion, trying to get her head to stay in the one spot.
"I need you to say something for me Buff," he whispered gently. He knew that harsh words wouldn't get him anywhere while he tried to get her to reciprocate the claim and accept it.
She looked up and nodded, all rational Slayer thoughts completely departed from her mind. She had a taste for blood, and her hunger was making her agreeable to even the worst of acts. Submission to Angelus.
"Thy claim I accept," he whispered. "Repeat it."
She went to repeat it, knowing that as soon as she was done, she would be fed. Something kicked inside of her, the words finally registering in her mind. She looked up, her eyes finally focusing. And Angelus knew she was back,
"I'd really rather not," she said, glaring at him.
Angelus gave a small smirk and before she even knew what was happening, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down to see a small dagger in Angelus' hands, now covered in her blood. She swallowed in pain, not allowing herself to cry out.
She breathed in sharply, trying to get away from the blade as Angelus made a trail from her navel up to her neck with the tip of the knife. He was slow in his actions, but he was pressing hard enough to leave a broken line of blood on her front.
She bit back a sob, holding in her tears.
"You're mine Buff," he said, caressing her skin with the cold metal. "You promised to do anything for me. All you need to do is say a few words for me."
"I'm never gonna accept your claim," she told him clearly.
He grinned cruelly and dug his dagger in, making a deep slit on her shoulder. He tore it out and made another and another. The shape of an 'A'. She gasped at the pain, her body feeling as though it were on fire. She knew that she was close to losing consciousness, something she desperately did not want to lose.
She had pissed him off badly, and that was never a good thing where he was concerned. She didn't really want to wake up and find his entire name engraved into her.
She heard movement behind him, could see something in the shadows, but the demon in front of her was far too caught up in trying to make her cry out. She whimpered to keep his attention on her, making him grin even more.
He was about to begin to carve 'n' next to the 'A' but without even sensing anyone else in the room, he felt something sharp enter the centre of his back, piercing his chest. Buffy smiled when she saw the surprised expression on his face, and the subsequent turning to dust. Her body finally relaxed and once more she fell into unconsciousness.
One more chapter left. Thanks soooo much for all your reviews on this fic!!
Toodles.
K.