Chapter Fifteen

They had been walking for a while in silence, Angel and Wolf both stopping and sniffing every now and again in hopes of picking up Connor's scent. They did not have any luck. As they continued to walk, they could hear twitterings in the bush. When they came upon a particularly heavy twittering area, Angel figured it was going to be attack time, but they passed through it without an attack.

As they walked still deeper into the dense forest, their tension grew. They could feel eyes upon them. Delvira conjured a fireball that she kept in the upturned palm of her left hand, but still they could not see anything. They could only hear the twittering and sense the enemy drawing ever closer.

Even though it was nighttime, the moon shone brightly down upon them, illuminating their pathway. Angel thought he could hear something up ahead. He whispered to the others, "You hear that?"

"What?" Wolf asked. "Are you talking about the scuttling noise or the twittering noise? I wonder what's making those sounds, but I'm not in any hurry to find out." The hair on his body was sticking straight out, and he felt as though the wolf was wanting out. He looked at the moon and had to stop himself from howling. Oh, Hell! Tomorrow night's the full moon! he thought.

With her free hand, Delvira gently shoved Wolf's shoulder. "Save it for the bedroom," she whispered to him. "Don't let it out here."

"I'm so thirsty," Wolf suddenly whispered. "I've got this craving for . . . " His eyes darted over to Angel. "Blood, but I don't even drink blood!" He began to scratch at himself as though he was covered in fleas. "It feels like a thousand needles trying to stick in to me! What's wrong with me?"

Angel looked at him in the moonlight. "You've been bitten by Elvira."

"So? Don't you bite women when you're having sex?"

"Not usually. I don't want them to vamp out. Elvira's a Vampire even though she can go out in the daylight like I can. Didn't you know that when you let her bite you?"

"Well, yeah. So?" Wolf asked.

Delvira was not surprised that Elvira had not bothered to inform Wolf of the consequences of their mating for she knew her sister didn't know the Vampire like she did. "Well . . . " Her black eyes turned to look up at Wolf. "Your new Vamp's trying to come out."

"What! I hate blood! I like the rich, succulent meat, but I don't like blood! Yuck! You telling me I've got to drink blood now? Well, guess what, I bit her too! What will that do to her?"

Delvira glanced at Angel before looking back at Wolf. Could this man really be as dense as he seemed to be? "Well, this is certainly a lovely piece of . . . work," she quickly cut off what she'd been about to say, knowing how much her husband hated the other phrase. "You've got Vamp coming, and she's going to have wolf coming."

"Oh my Gods! Does she know it? Do I look any different?" He scratched at his face which was covered in hair.

"Get a hold of yourself, Wolf!" Angel told him. "You're wolfing! You don't need to do that yet! Save it for the attack."

"What attack!" Wolf asked. "Where!" His nervous eyes darted around, and he continued to scratch everywhere his hands could reach.

Delvira shook her head, stepped up to Wolf, and promptly slapped him. "Get. A hold. Of. Yourself," she repeated Angel's command. The last thing they needed was for a Werewolf to lose his control in the midst of dinosaurs!

Wolf was breathing so heavily that Angel felt like stepping forward and slapping him too as he felt Wolf was breathing on him. "Calm down, Wolf. Doctor Doom might need to look into this. I've never met any one that was half wolf and half Vampire, and now there's going to be two of you with a problem. Oh, what a price we pay for love!"

"Okay," Delvira announced, her eyes cutting into Angel and Wolf both now. "That's enough of that crap. So what if they're wolf and Vamp? It's not a problem; it's just something they've got to get used to! And you!" She turned back to glower up at Wolf. "You can't tell me that you didn't know my sister was a Vampiress when you screwed her! You can't be that stupid!"

"No, I knew she was a Vampiress, but I didn't know it'd change me or that I'd change her. I love your sister. I would never hurt her. Is it possible that being half and half could hurt her?"

Delvira rolled her eyes. "No. Look. I've known a little bit of everything in my time, and you two aren't the first to have mixed blood. It's just something new you've got to get used to. But not right now."

Angel had drawn just a little ways away from the other two, hoping that Delvira could get Wolf under control. Something was definitely coming their way, and it was trying to be as quiet as they were. He could smell tigers, crab, and last but not least, Connor! "Some one's with the boy. He's alive. They're moving our way." He did not tell the others of the smells, waiting for Wolf to verify what he was smelling.

"What are tigers doing out here?" Wolf asked as his nose told him that there were tigers coming.

Before Angel could answer, all Hell broke loose. They found themselves cut off from the other group and surrounded by raptors! "Looks like party time's here!" Angel said as he reached for the nearest raptor. He was extremely thankful that these were not as big as the ones that Clark had fought earlier that day.


When Joxer had been snatched by Phoebe into her bedroom, he fell to his knees. He finally got up, leaving his boots on the floor. "Phoebe, darling, please don't make me do it!" he pleaded with her. "We're not ready for that kind of commitment! I don't want it to be like this! I wanted it to be a beautiful moment between us!"

Phoebe was taken aback by the change in Joxer. "Joxer, what are you talking about? Sex is sex."

"No. What is between us . . . should be love, and sex . . . when you're in love is not sex." He was trying hard to explain how he felt but failing miserably. He knew she didn't have a clue as to what he was trying to tell her. He tried again, "When a man loves a woman and a woman loves a man and they have sex, it's a beautiful thing, but when you have sex just for the sake of having sex, it's not." He looked at her, hoping she would understand what he was trying to say.

"Joxer," Phoebe asked, looking down at him through worried eyes, "don't I . . . excite you? Don't you want me?"

"Oh, yes, very much! I love you! But I can't do sex without marriage. I don't want you running around with every other man that comes along. I want you all to myself!"

Phoebe sat down on the bed and dropped her face into her hands. She could not believe what she was hearing! "Joxer," she tried to tell him though her voice was muffled, "just because I don't want to get married doesn't mean that I want another man."

"You don't?" he asked bewildered. "But you said if I didn't give it up, you wouldn't let me in to be with you! So if I don't give it up, isn't that the same thing as you getting somebody else? I don't want you to go anywhere, Phoebe! I love you!"

"Joxer, I wasn't thinking about anybody else. I was just thinking about getting you in my bed, because I want you. I'm not a virgin," she admitted, "but no one's ever set my blood on fire the way you do."

"I do?" he asked. "I don't have much experience with women. In fact, the closest I've ever been to two women were Xena and Gabrielle. I felt lucky if they let me carry their luggage."

Phoebe peeked at him through her fingers. "You were with Xena and Gabrielle?"

"We've been knowing each other a long time. They treat me like I'm a kid brother most of the time. They want me gone so they can be alone, but if I ever get in trouble, they rescue me."

Phoebe let out an audible sigh. "Joxer, I don't want you gone," she then told him, "but I do want you, just not as a husband."

"Why don't you want me as a husband, Phoebe? I'd be a good one, and I'd take good care of you."

She did not doubt that he would be a good husband for she knew that he was kind, loving, and gentle and always tried hard. "Joxer, I . . . I just don't want to get married. I'm too young, and a husband's never been something I've wanted. They . . . They don't work out well with Halliwell women."

"Maybe we could be the first?" he asked her, his eyes shining. "I know I'd do my part, and I think you'd do yours."

"Joxer," Phoebe repeated, "I don't want to get married. And you don't want to do the other, so what are we going to do?"

"I'm gonna hang around and take care of you the best that you'll let me and hope that one day you'll marry me. We could . . . sleep together but not have sex."

Phoebe cautiously looked up at him. "Would you still want to?" she asked him. How far was he willing to go without sex or marriage?

"I live to serve you to make you happy, Phoebe. I wish I was able to do what you want me to do, but I don't even know how to. My Father told me I'd find out on my wedding night. Then he told me to ask my Mother if I had any other sex questions. She always told me to ask my Father, so I never did learn anything. And . . . I've never watched Xena and Gabrielle, so that doesn't help any." He sat on the bed and looked at her in earnest. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well, I could teach you," she offered. "There wouldn't be any problem with that, but . . . " She sighed. "I don't want to force you to."

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be forcing. It would be learning. I don't want any other woman but you, and I am willing to learn some." He gazed into her eyes, wondering what she was thinking.

Phoebe knew he was trying to please her, but she also knew that she could not force him into something he did not feel was right for him yet. "Joxer . . . " She was already gazing into his eyes, but now she took his hands in hers. "I'll tell you what. I won't push you to have sex if you'll stop talking about marriage. If I change my mind on the marriage, I'll let you know, but if you come to be ready for sex without marriage, you tell me and I'll teach you."

"Does that mean we can't kiss or that I can't hold you at night?"

She smiled though still partially sad. "Joxxy, you can do to me whatever you want to."

He smiled at her. "Then I can kiss you and hold you while you sleep." He hoped one day to be able to do more, but for now he felt himself lucky to be able to do that.

She nodded. "I have two lips," she reminded him, "and no waiting line."

He leaned over and kissed her on her two lips. He trembled at the emotions he was feeling, and his hand reached out and stroked her hair.

She returned his kiss but did not push him any further. Though it might kill her, she would let him lead until the day that she prayed for would come when he would ask her to teach him.


Zora had just caught wind of a strange group of three Vampires and a Werewolf when the raptors surged forward, coming from everywhere at once. She and Vang reacted simultaneously as they turned their backs to one another and prepared to meet the enemy head-on. Her muscles rippled between Connor's legs, and she growled to the boy, hoping he'd get the message that she needed him to get off for her to be able to fight freely.

Connor got off of Zora and stood with his dagger ready. He wished for a bigger weapon as the dagger had not been much help during his first battle. He had smelled Angel and two others whose scents he did not recognize. He realized that they were cut off from each other even as he met his first attacker. The raptor ran straight for him and leapt for his face, but Connor swerved, bringing the dagger out and cutting a jagged edge on the raptor. Blood oozing out of the raptor caused the other raptors to stop and turn on their fallen comrade.

The first dead raptor brought the others surging on to it in one large group, but Zora knew that they would not stay that way for long. She pounced into the group, her claws flying as she tore into more, severing them in a dozen different ways. Some of their heads fell off. Others were split down the middle or even across the middle.

As Zora pounced on one side, Vang leapt toward the other. As he moved, Sebastian jumped for Connor but disappeared somewhere around the boy. The two tigers were a blur of orange and black, but even as they butchered raptors left and right, more came pouring from the forest.

Connor told Zora, "The group that was coming toward us were looking for me. It's Angel and two more that I don't recognize. If we could fight our way toward them, we'd have a better chance of winning."

Zora could barely latch on to Connor's words for the heat of the battle that surrounded them. She answered him with a growl and then growled again, checking on Sebastian and Vang. Vang answered her immediately, but Sebastian took a second longer. When he spoke up, assuring her that he was fine and would keep with them, Connor could tell that he was near him yet still could not find him.


Angel attacked on the left, and Wolf attacked on the right, leaving the middle for Delvira. Angel went into full Vamp mode and began slashing, clawing, and biting at every raptor that came near him. He was in such a frenzy that he was able to take out quite a lot of them but would not know what the others were doing until later.

Wolf attacked on the right, doing his best to take out any that jumped toward him. They kept coming. He felt scratches all over his body, but at least there had not been any bites. He could not stand the thought that if he got bit by one of the things, he might only be 1/3 wolf, 1/3 Vampire, and 1/3 raptor! He could see Angel fighting but couldn't get anywhere near him.

Delvira had been throwing one fireball after another and roasting as many raptors as she could get in her line. Still, more came, and she knew that they could not hold up forever. She waited, letting the latest to come into her part of the fight grow ever closer, as her clasped hands summoned fire. The fireball continued to grow until it was so large that it illuminated most of the battle scene. "Hang back!" she called to the men.

Angel and Wolf moved out of her way, hoping that the fireball she had created would do the trick. They watched in amazement as she released it.

Delvira had poured every bit of her energy and power into the largest fireball she'd ever created before finally releasing it straight for the raptors. One had been about to jump her, but it was the first one burnt to soot. As the fireball spiraled forward, however, Delvira collapsed to her knees.

The fireball took out everything within its path for a hundred feet. It killed all of the ones that were attacking Angel's party and many of those attacking Connor's and scared the few remaining raptors so badly that they broke off fighting and scampered away into the woods.

"CONNOR!" Angel called even as he moved forward to help Delvira get back to her feet.

"COMING, ANGEL!" Connor called. "I'M BRINGING FRIENDS!"

Zora did not know where the fire had come from, but Vang had sensed it just in time to call out a warning to them. They'd managed to move aside and missed the fire, but as the remaining raptors ran away, Zora dropped to the ground.

Connor ran to her side. "Are you hurt?" he asked fearfully. His hands reached out and brushed at the blood that covered her coat. He could not tell what was raptor blood and what was her own and thus had no clue where she was hurt.

Vang was beside Zora in an instant, but still he did not beat Connor reaching her. They reached her at the same time, one on either side, and he growled softly to her.

Zora replied in a weak growl. She was more than hurt. She'd never been in such pain before in her life. At least, she amended in another weaker growl, physical pain.

Sebastian stuck his head out of Connor's jacket. "Then change!" he told her.

Zora's eyes were lowering as she shook her head.

"What's wrong, Sebastian?" He could not believe that Sebastian was in his jacket and had not stuck him!

"She's hurt bad, mon," the crab answered sadly, "but she could save herself."

Vang nudged Zora's side. He growled again, demanding that she change, but she shook her head. He growled softer, and she growled in response. At their exchange, Sebastian shivered inside Connor's jacket.

When Connor had been with Pan, he had been able to talk to the animals. He closed his eyes and concentrated, praying that some of it would come back to him now. He listened to Vang trying desperately to get Zora to change. He heard her tell him that she wanted to be with her father. He could not stand the thought that she wanted to die. She was young, beautiful, and had excited him! He wanted to get to know her even if he couldn't get any closer than friends. Again, he ran his hand over her face and to her neck. "Zora, I know you can hear me. Fight this. We need you desperately. Please fight this. Change. It will save you."

She growled in answer, telling him not to feel sorry for her and that though she could change, she did not want to. She then growled again, asking him if he thought the Captain of their ships might be able to return Vang and Sebastian to a place called Tortuga.

Vang roared in protest at that. He would not go anywhere without her!

"Zora, I'm not feeling sorry for you!" Connor told her. "You're a very brave tiger, a good fighter! Too bad you're a girl! I'd like to have you for a partner, but you're a girl," he repeated. He hoped if he made her angry enough, she'd change.

Zora's eyes opened to cut up at him. "I may be a girl," she told him, "but if we'd met before, I could've beat your butt with one paw tied behind my back."

"What's wrong with now?" he challenged her.

She glared at him. "You're not that dense."

"Dense? No. I just know you can't beat me. You're a girl!"

Zora growled. She was growing ever weaker, but she knew she could beat this boy. She could beat any boy. She reached up with unsheathed claws and snatched Connor down to her by the front of his clothes.

"I didn't say the tiger couldn't beat me, Zora. I'd be just another hairball to her. I said you couldn't beat me."

Angel walked into the clearing just in time to see Connor about to be eaten by a tiger only to hear Connor call the tiger Zora. He ran over to where he could stand, looking down at her. "Zora Sheridan, I don't believe it! It's been ages! You were just a little cub the last time I saw you!"

Wolf ran over to look down. "She's not a little cub any more, Angel."

"Well, it has been years," Angel said.

Zora's eyes moved to peer up at the familiar voices, and her mouth hung open in surprise at the men she saw standing there. Vang could hardly believe it any more than she could, but he hoped that this would give them the opportunity they needed to change her mind. He rubbed against her side, purring his words to her instead of growling. "See? Now you have to live. You know Phillip would want you to check on our old friends and make sure they got out of here safely. Besides," his next words came from a breaking heart, "you can't be with both your fathers at one time. Would you really choose him over me?"

Connor moved back, feeling Zora's claws letting go. "Thank you for coming, Angel. You were just in time. Where'd the fireball come from? I've never seen anything like that!"

When they had seen Zora, the boys had left Delvira standing beside a tree. She'd since been leaning on it for support to keep standing. "That was me," she called to the kid.

Connor walked straight toward her. He could tell she was about to pass out. He managed to reach her just as she toppled forward. He caught her, scooped her up, and brought her back to the others. "I think she did herself in, Angel. She needs to rest." He peered anxiously at Zora even as he laid the woman down on the grass till they got ready to go or she revived.

Wolf looked anxiously at Delvira. "She needs blood, Angel, and a lot of it."

Angel said, "I wonder if raptor blood is safe to drink? They should have a lot of blood."

Sebastian looked at his old friends. "Mon, if their meat's safe, their blood should be too." His attention then turned to Zora. "Now are you gonna change back or are we gonna . . . " His voice trailed off as he watched the human begin to emerge. "Thank Gods," he whispered.

Connor grinned. "Guess you want to beat my butt now?" he asked her.

"Later," she told him as she returned to her natural self, "but I promise you one Helluva butt whupping when I do."

"We'll see," he told her.

Angel went and dragged a raptor back. Sebastian stuck a claw into the neck, making a hole, and blood came oozing out. Angel caught some in his hand and put it on Delvira's lips. He hoped it would revive her so that she could drink more blood from the raptor.

Zora watched the others from where she leaned against Vang. He was right. She could not be with both of them at once, no matter how desperately she ached to be. Besides, she reminded herself, she also had to kick Connor's ass and find out how Jack and his crew had come to be stranded on this Hellhole.

The drops of blood slipped past Delvira's lips, running down her mouth into her throat and beyond. Slowly, she started to come back to.

Wolf squatted down beside Delvira as she woke up. "I'll help you get to the raptor's neck," he told her, "if you want."

Usually, the only man she would allow to help her was Jareth, but she was coming to trust these two. She nodded in response to his offer.

He lifted her up until she could reach the neck and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see her sucking the blood out. He figured by the next night, he'd be hunting something with blood himself.

With weak hands, Delvira took the raptor from Angel and did not hesitate to dig her fangs in deep to the dinosaur flesh. She sucked its blood as though she had not fed in weeks, and her eyes glazed over as she was feeding.

Wolf knew better than to move any closer to her. He didn't want it to be his neck that she was wanting to suck. He'd have to talk to Elvira about that when he got back. Why hadn't she told him that by biting him, she was going to make him a half Vampire and that, when he bit her, he was going to make her half Werewolf? He wondered if she even knew.

Delvira quickly drained the raptor Angel held, but she was still hungry. Before she could even begin to stand in hopes of finding more blood, she found another raptor being offered to her. She looked from the raptor to find a blonde girl dressed in leather standing beside Angel. She dismissed the stranger as being another of Jack's crew that she had yet to meet, took the raptor, and drained it as well. Then, finally, she was beginning to feel truly back to herself.

"We'd best be getting back to the house before we get attacked again," Angel said. "It won't take them long to get over what we done to them. Their anger will revive them and send them after us again."

Zora looked up at Angel in surprise. "You're living here!"

"We were shipwrecked. Four ships of people are at the house. You know where the house is, don't you?"

Zora shook her head. "We wrecked on the other side of the island," she explained. "This side's still new to us."

"Are there dinosaurs on the other side, as well? Where's your father and the rest of your crew?"

She would not look at him as she answered, "There're dinosaurs everywhere here." Vang touched his head to her hand with a soft, reassuring purr, and she stroked his head.

Sebastian clicked his claws to draw Angel's attention, then shook his head.

"Well, you're coming with us. It's just you, Vang, and Sebastian?" Zora nodded mutely. "Jack's got the rest of the people at the house. So far, we haven't been attacked there. We'd best hurry."

The group headed out, hoping that they would gain the safety of the house before the raptors returned.


Cole still could not believe that Piper was in leather! He wondered where she had got it from as it was not her usual attire and they had had no clothes left save what was on their backs. His hands swept down the length of her body, feeling the sensualness of the leather, but although it felt sexy to his touch, he wanted it gone so that he could touch her naked skin. The tops of her breasts were exposed, and his lips left hers, raining kisses down the side of her face and her neck until he reached the tops of her breasts. Once there, he began to lick at her. Each lick was followed by a kiss. He wanted to reach her peaks, but they were encased by the leather.

Cole's kisses had already been driving Piper wild, but when his lips moved and began to descend further down her body, her heart had nearly jumped out of her chest with delight. When his tongue touched her breasts, she moaned aloud and nearly melted on the spot. His every touch filled her with a burning need to be one with him, but in the back of her mind, she remembered that he would not push her. Her hands had been growing steadily bolder with their exploration of his body, but now they moved to her own body where her trembling fingers began to unlace her bodice.

Cole had been enjoying her fingers on his body yet he had held himself still as best he could. He now sensed that her fingers were unlacing her bodice, and he moved his mouth to where her fingers were. "May I?" he asked her, his brown eyes gazing into her limpid pools.

"Yes," she breathed. "Please." She was not yet used to the outfit she wore, and her fingers had been having to fight with the laces in their attempt to free her breasts to him.

Very carefully, with his teeth, Cole grazed the laces. They seemed to spring apart as if by magic, revealing one plump melon at a time. His mouth trailed kisses to her peaks. Then he took the right in and began to suckle it while his other hand played with the left one. He felt it jump and grow stiffer. He moved his mouth to the left one, and his right hand began to play with the other one.

Cole's touches made Piper burn even more, and as he granted her breasts such delicious treatments, her moans of pleasure played a melody on his ears. Her hands reached out to his body again, caressing his chest and then his back before beginning to move further down. Finally, as her groans grew even louder, she dared to caress his rear.

At the first touch of her hands on his rear, Cole jumped. If she wasn't careful about that, she'd have him cumming before he ever got started! "Piper . . . a little higher?" he whispered to her in between kisses.

Though she wondered why he wanted her hands off of his rear, she did as he requested, moving her hands back up his back. She stroked his back and caressed the hard muscles her fingers came into contact with before slipping her hands back around to his chest. There, she again moved up until her fingers brushed against his nipples.

"My hair too," he whispered. "I want you to touch every part of me!" He began to rain a trail of kisses down to her lower part but was stopped by the pants. He wondered how one got leather pants off a woman. He knew how tight they were and wondered how she'd gotten into them in the first place. "Piper, I want those pants off in a hurry."

"I . . . " Her bashful eyes moved away from his. "I want them off too. I want nothing left between us, Cole! I just don't know about doing it in a hurry." After all, she had thought she was about to break her legs off as she had originally fought to pull them on, but she'd continued fighting with them until managing to actually get them on.

"Allow me," he told her. "I'll get them off of you. I wish I had magic I could take them off with." Where are the buttons? he thought. His wandering lips located the buttons, and he unbuttoned them with his mouth and kissed the area exposed. His hands gently slid around the pants and began to inch them off of her slowly.

As Cole worked on her pants, Piper's hands continued to caress his body as they moved higher upwards before finally diving into his silky strands again. Her fingers played with his dark curls as her hands massaged his head.

Cole was having a hard time being able to think. His sword was stiff and ached to plunge which he would never allow to happen in a hurry. The pants were taking forever, and now Piper was massaging his head! He felt that he would explode at any minute from the tension that was in his body, but he had to get the pants off first. He struggled at the ends of the pants, hoping that they would help, yet they clung to Piper like a second skin. Oh, Aphrodite! Help me! I'll never get these pants off! As Cole prayed, he tugged again, and the pants shot off, taking Cole with them as he fell off of the bed.

Piper leaned up to look at Cole in perplexed worry. "Cole," she asked, "are you okay?"

"Yes, darling! I don't know what made the pants let go. Thank Goddess they did!" He stripped his own pants off and dived back into the bed, never hearing Aphrodite's giggles as She left the room. His lips connected with Piper's and deepened their dance of passion.

Piper's hands swept lower in their renewed exploration of his body even as her tongue traced his lips. She could remember Phoebe, Paige, and even Prue raving about their first French kiss and how it was so much sexier than normal kissing, and she now dared to attempt the same with Cole.

Cole felt Piper's tongue seeking his, and he met hers with renewed passion. He was surprised that she knew how to French kiss. He wanted to ask her where she'd learned but then decided not to. Maybe country doctors knew more than he thought they did.

Piper's tongue rubbed against Cole's as she dove into his mouth in a bold exploration of his heated contours. He was increasing her fire ever more, and not for the first time did she fear she might explode before they actually connected. Her hands were already rubbing his back, but now she reached out with a tentative foot and slid it against his leg.

Cole broke off the French kiss. He knew that he'd best move fast or they'd mate and Piper would not be ready. After all, it was her first time, and he wanted it to be perfect for her. He rained kisses down her chest again, pausing for a moment on each breast and laving each in turn before he continued raining kisses down her stomach and then lower. His face brushed against her curls even as his tongue dove inward.

Each of Cole's kisses had brought a moan of pleasure from her, but as his tongue dove within her, a yell broke from her mouth. She arched upwards against him.

He dove his tongue even deeper, licking at her and hoping that her juices would flow a little so that she would not be in pain. He dreaded the coming of breaking of the doorway. He knew she'd be in pain. He didn't know how to prepare her for it. He licked at her even more as her juices began to flow just a little. "Piper . . . " he spoke in between licks. "The first time hurts. Are you sure? It will stop hurting after . . . " His voice trailed off. He paused to look into her eyes.

Her hands reached down to gently cup his face. Though she'd ran from talk of sex her entire life, she'd still been warned that the first time would hurt. That warning had came with her grandmother's original talk about the birds and the bees. "Cole," she breathed his name as she gazed into his eyes, "I know it will hurt, but . . . I want you. I want to be one with you. And yes, I'm sure."

"Piper, I love you so much! If I could take the pain away, I would, but I can't and I want to be part of you more than anything else in the world! I'll be as gentle as I can." He leaned back into her and licked her a few more times. He could tell she was ready. He was surprised he had not exploded yet. The first taste of Piper had been sweeter than anything he'd ever imagined.

He now came back up her body, lowering himself to her, even while his finger searched the hole so that he could line up his sword with her sheathe. He reached up and pulled a pillow from the head of the bed. He still had not entered her yet. His sword had just merely teased her. "I want to put this under your butt, Piper. It will help. Lift up just a little." He slid the pillow under her back and began to position it. Then, before she knew what had hit her, his lips came back to hers even as his sword penetrated her sheathe. He went slowly even though the friction made him almost erupt.

Piper's scream was silenced by Cole's lips, but as soon as the pain had began, it started to ebb as it was crushed out by the pleasure he made her feel. She arched upwards into him, returning his kiss with equal and growing passion. He plunged ever deeper into her until he felt his sword enter up to the hilt. He began to seek the age-old rhythm of making love with the woman of his dreams.


Angel walked as quickly as he dared without making a sound, leading the group back to the house. When they had reached the same spot that he had heard the scuttling noise in before, he heard the noise once again. He held his hand up for silence and to stop the group.

"What?" Connor whispered. Then he, too, heard the scuttling noises.

Zora and Vang had been walking side by side, but now he left her side to walk silently up beside Angel. He sniffed, and his eyes widened at what he smelled. "Grr?"

Angel sniffed the air. "Tigers?" he asked, looking down at Vang. "I thought you were the only two tigers left."

"So did we," Zora answered for Vang as she edged toward the front. What was going on? Could there be others of their party left? But how? They'd seen so many of them killed. Her eyes moistened at the memories.

Wolf, who'd been at the back of the line assisting Delvira whenever she'd let him, sniffed the air. He whispered up to Angel, "There seems to be two distinct smells, but both are definitely tiger. Somebody has to investigate." He looked pointedly at Vang. After all, he was the male tiger and should be able to handle anything.

Although Vang stepped forward, Zora moved with him. The pair tracked the noises to a bush that hung slightly off the beaten path, but when they moved the branches away, they still did not see anything but a hole. It was only after looking down into the hole that they found the little noise-makers. Vang growled in surprise, but Zora could not speak a word.

Angel had followed close behind Zora in case it was some new menace that they would have to deal with. He told Wolf to remain with Delvira and Connor. Wolf didn't argue. Between the itching and becoming ever more increasingly thirsty, he didn't feel like arguing. What he was beginning to think he needed was a bloodbath. He couldn't wait to see Elvira and make sure that she was all right. If she was going through the same stuff he was, she'd probably be going crazy because she wouldn't know what was causing it.

Angel peered down into the hole. "Well, I'll be damned! Cubs! Where'd they come from, and how do we get them out of there?"

"We saw their mother be killed," Zora explained, her voice sounding strange for the emotions she fought down, "but we got to her too late. We thought they'd already taken the cubs." She laid down across the ground and tried to reach the cubs, but they remained out of her reach. "Vang," she directed, "grab hold of my feet. Maybe if you guys lower me down, I can reach them."

"I can go down in there with them," Angel offered, "but I don't want to be eaten by them." He peered at the cubs again. They seemed to be on the verge of starving, and he didn't want to be their main course.

"They're not going to eat you," Zora growled up at him, "but if you get down there, what's going to get you back up?"

"Me," Angel told her. "I can leap that far. In fact, I can probably bring one cub out at a time if you're sure they won't eat me." This was the first time he had been around tigers, and he wasn't really sure how to handle them. He'd always thought Jack a little insane for hanging out with them and had made himself scarce when he had.

As Zora stood, her wild, green eyes glared up into Angel's dark eyes. "They're not going to eat you," she repeated. "Tigers aren't the man-eaters idiotic humans make them out to be."

"Gee, thanks, Zora. I already felt bad enough about being a bit nervous around them, and now I'm an idiot too?" Without another word, he leaped down into the hole. He could have stayed longer and explained to her that he was afraid that if they tried to eat him, he would Vamp out and eat them, but he didn't. She reminded him too much of Faith, and words had only been a waste of time on Faith until today. He figured they'd be about the same for Zora.

Once down into the hole, he walked over to the cubs. They were mewling piteously, and he wished he had some food for them. "Sorry, guys." He showed both of his hands to them. "I don't have any food. The kind of food I eat you wouldn't want, any way." He continued to talk softly to them, inching his hands closer so that they could sniff him. One of the cubs sniffed him; the other one spit without sniffing.

He continued to talk softly to the one who had sniffed him, easing his hands out to finally make contact with the cub. "You wouldn't eat me, would you, little guy? Nah. I'd just be a nasty taste in your mouth." He had no trouble picking the cub up. He wondered how long it had been in this hole as its little bones were beginning to stick out of its fur. "Don't worry, little one. When we get you to safety, I'll make sure you get something to eat." He held the cub gently but firmly. "Now we're gonna fly. Just wait." Angel concentrated, then sprang upward. He didn't quite make it out of the hole, but he was close enough that he tossed the cub to Zora.

The flying cub startled Zora, but she managed to catch it. She was not surprised to feel how skinny it was for she had known that they had to have been in there for a long time and realized how blessed they all were that they were still living. She cuddled the cub close to her chest and waited for Angel to return.

Angel landed hard on his feet but recovered quickly. "Now, you little bugger," he said, talking to the other one who kept spitting at him, "you're going up where your brother is. Knowing the luck I have with females, you're probably a female. Now don't you scratch me. Just hold still."

The cub looked upward where she had last seen her brother disappear, looked back at Angel, spat again, and scratched at Angel with a claw. It was then that she was startled even more by a familiar voice calling commandly down to her. She looked back up at the opening with a perplexed look. Vang? Was that really him?

The cub settled down enough to allow Angel to get his arms around her. "We're going to fly, little one." Holding her firmly, he leaped again. Once again, he was unable to gain purchase of a hold to keep himself as his arms were full. He tossed the cub and went down the hole one last time.

Zora had managed to move the first cub to one arm and grab the second one in time, but when Angel dropped back down, her worry grew despite herself. "Angel!" she called down to him.

Angel immediately bounded upwards one last time. This time, he was able to catch hold of a vine that fell down in the hole. He pulled himself up the rest of the way and dusted his hands off.

Zora looked up at Angel even as Vang dropped the vine and moved back to join her.

"Thanks, Vang," Angel said. "The going down was easy, but the coming up was a little hard. Now we'd better rejoin the others. You want me to carry one of those, Zora?"

"Well, as I told you, they won't bite you. But . . . " she relented only a tad bit. "You didn't quite get what I was trying to say earlier, Angel. Tigers get a bad rep, about like Vampires, but it's all from those idiotic humans. But you're not a human."

"I still think of myself as human sometimes, Zora, and I wasn't worried about being eaten alive by one of the cubs. I was concerned with my Vamp coming out if they tried to eat me."

"But they wouldn't have tried to eat you. They still can't even kill on their own. Their mother'd just taking them off hunting with her the first time when . . . it happened . . . "

"Sorry for the loss of their mother." He offered his hands out to one of the cubs. "Give me the boy."

She started to bristle at his words but forced herself to relax as she remembered that he did not mean to sound commanding. He was only trying to help, and he was one of Jack's men, after all. Cuddling the girl close to her side, she held the boy out to him.

"Now we'd best hurry," Angel said as he accepted the boy. He rubbed his face against the soft fur. "I promise, little guy, just as soon as we get there." He was finding that he was liking the tiger cub more and more and was in danger of getting too attached to him already, but the little girl . . . As usual, it was a different tale for females. Until Cordy and Crys, he'd never had a female that he was attached to. Now he had two of them which meant double trouble. He hoped Lorne was able to handle Crys and that she had not managed to escape. He couldn't wait to return to the house.

Zora and Vang raced beside Angel, and they quickly rejoined the group.

The others were very surprised to see the two white tiger cubs, but none grinned as big as Connor. He reached out both his hands and scratched their little heads. "Want me to carry one?" he asked hopefully.

Though Zora'd let Angel carry one, she wasn't about to let go of both. "You can help with them later," she told him. After all, she was going to need help feeding them. A stray thought of how cute he seemed to be as he gazed down at the cubs swept through her mind, but she pushed it away with a mental growl.

"You can carry this little guy," Angel offered, reluctantly holding the cub out. Connor accepted it greatly and fell into step beside Zora. He cooed to the little fella as he stroked him under the chin. He could tell from the shape that they were in that they were lucky to still be alive.

Angel resumed his place at the head of the group, and Wolf and Delivra took up the rear again. Angel could see the house and knew that they still had a little ways to go to reach it, all of it uphill, but he did not hear any twitterings so he thought they were safe for now. Still, he moved quickly.

To Be Continued . . .