Only plot is mine!

At the sound of the voice, Mare dropped the knife to the ground and turned to face the speaker. She looked into his eyes, and tried not to scream. But when her voice came out, it was still only a whisper.

"Jeremy." She fell back to a sitting position, and tried to pull away from his imposing figure as he advanced upon her. He looked at her, his face full of self-righteous anger, as he stared at his fallen friend who lay dying and the gleaming knife on the ground beside her.

"I told you Mary-Lynnette. I told you he was evil. But you didn't listen. Now you're killing people. How could you?" Jeremy repeated, his voice breaking.

She shook her head, trying to stop the tears that were attempting to force themselves out of her closed eyelids. What she was going to say next, she didn't really want to say, because it went against everything she believed in, and everything she had ever been taught. Even so, she forced herself to look directly into his eyes, making sure all of his attention was upon her. She swallowed, neutralized her expression, and forced her voice to harden.

"Jeremy, you and your little puppy band aren't people. As much as I tried to tell myself otherwise, you proved me wrong. And to think, I defended you against Ash all those times he called you vermin. I told him that you were kind, gentle, wonderful. I provoked him by calling you handsome, sensible, intelligent. But I guess I was wrong. I guess I was wrong because you aren't a person. You're vermin. You're a monster. If I had told Ash that I was meant to be with you back in the woods, he would have graciously stepped away. He wouldn't have tied me to a tree, threatened me, and then tried to off you. You're completely insane."

Jeremy had just stared at her during her onslaught. He had let her say her piece. Now, as she finished, he stared at her again. Long, and hard. Finally, he spoke.

"Well, hi to you too, Mary-Lynnette. Glad to see you after all this time."

She just looked at him reproachfully. "What are you doing back? Did the devil find you too nasty for hell?"

He just grinned back at her. "No, I had to take over my uncle's operation, that's all. You can't have a pack of werewolves without a leader, now can you?"

She gritted her teeth. "What operation?"

He laughed slightly, insanely. "The werewolf mafia, duh."

"How the hell did you get back?"

"Well, it's a funny story really, but one I will gladly tell you. See, about a week after you betrayed me and stuck me that hole in the ground, some of my buddies got wind of it, and snuck into the woods one night and dug me up. Then, they took me to one of their Circle Midnight contacts. The girl had a spell that would bring me right back. So they bring me to her, clean me up, and then, she says the spell. It takes awhile, but eventually, I wake up. You might say it was my re-birthday." Here he stopped to chuckle uproariously to himself over his extremely horrible sense of humor.

Mare stood up and pointed the knife at his throat. "Just tell the rest of the story."

Jeremy growled slightly, a guttural sound that made the hair on her neck tingle. He pushed her hand back, and the knife was no longer a danger to him.

"Anyway, it was my re-birthday, and it's a tradition that when it's somebody's birthday, they get presents. Well, there was only one thing I wanted for my birthday, Mary-Lynnette."

Mare snorted. "Yeah, I know what you wanted for your 're-birthday.' You wanted to hunt me down and kill me. That's not really news, Jeremy. Tell me something that will shock me."

Something flashed in Jeremy's eyes at her words. When he spoke, his voice was once again gentle. "I never actually wanted to kill you, Mary-Lynnette. I love you. Throw me a bone, will you? I mean, look at them over there." He paused to point in the direction of Ash and Malfoy, who were now both very bruised, and bloody, and panting with exhaustion. "Think about it. All their lives, they got everything they ever wanted. And what about me? I can't have the one thing that I want most in the world because they get it, too!"

Mare wanted to touch him, but kept her distance, thinking of her old car, Mrs. Burdock, and Ethyl the goat. "We wouldn't work, Jeremy. I'm a good girl. And you just said yourself you're the head of the Werewolf Mafia."

Jeremy shook his head violently. "I can change, I promise. Just give me a chance, please? We have our friendship. Let's take it to the next level."

Mare shook her head again. "You can't take something that's no longer there."

Before she could say anything else, he snapped his fingers, and four big werewolves descended upon her. Two took her arms, and two took her legs. She struggled, and screamed, but then, one put duct tape over her mouth and her cries for help ceased. Just then, another pair of wolves drove up in a battered red Ford truck. The four carrying Mare threw her unceremoniously in the back, while Jeremy joined them in the cab. Then, they drove away, the driver saying to Jeremy, "Happy birthday, Boss."

Ash and Malfoy continued to hit each other. Though they both were panting and exhausted, they knew that only one of them could come out of this alive. When they backed into the clearing again, Ash paused, paying dearly for it when Malfoy cuffed him hard in the chin. He felt like something was wrong. Before, Mare had been sending him little mental pick-me-ups, but there weren't any anymore. He had been looking down at the ground, but the punch from Malfoy brought his eyes up long enough that he saw Mare being hauled into the truck, and the truck driving away. Malfoy heard the roar of the engine about the same time he did and ceased his punching.

"What was that?" he asked, sounding a tad bit frightened.

Ash just looked at him. "It's a truck engine, you moron. The werewolves must've gotten Marie."

Malfoy nodded. "Then I guess, as her boyfriend, it is my duty to rescue her."

Ash looked Malfoy up and down and snorted "Puh-lease. Do you honestly think that you can break into a puppy nest, kill a whole bunch of werewolves who are bloodthirsty and insane, and rescue Marie?"

Malfoy's eyes had gone noticeably wider at the words "bloodthirsty and insane." He looked behind him, and then remembered that Crabbe and Goyle weren't there.

Ash nodded to himself, allowing a little grin at Malfoy's expense. "I thought so. I knew that a guy who only makes threats then relies on Daddy to come and save him wouldn't do much by himself. I guess I'll have to go."

"No. We'll both go." Malfoy said, finality in his tone.

Ash looked at him. "Do you have any idea what you're asking for? I know the guy who took her. He's the craziest of all of them, and so lovestruck it's disgusting. He will do anything to get what he wants, and he won't hesitate to kill-" Wait a minute, Ash thought, this could be good.

He straightened up and looked at Malfoy again. "Okay, you're on. But remember that you're coming at your own risk."

Malfoy nodded, and they walked out of the woods, following the loud whine of the truck's bad muffler.

Dogs die in hot cars- Aren't you made at me for bringing Jeremy back? I am so evil! But at least Mare is her old self so that she can fight him off.

A/n- the only reason Ash called Mare Marie was so that Malfoy wouldn't get suspicious. She won't go back to evil mode.

sexyirishBeep- Your wish is my command! Hope you like it!

Nightwood- Thank you so much! I'm glad I could do something for you. Here's your new chapter, and I hope you like it!

Mental Twitch- I'm glad this happened. It draws it out a bit! I'll be so sad when it's over! Hope you like the new chapter!

Angel- You were right! Hope this chapter is just as good! Thanks for the review!

Sarah Kristopher 4eva- I know, it is kind of weird seeing your name on reviewer responses. I still feel a bit weird too. Thanks for the review!