AN: There is really no excuse for how long this update took. I Know I have a horrible track record at this point for updating. For those of you still reading this story, all I can say is that I hope you continue to stick with me through this journey.
Howling at the Moon
Chapter 4: Change
What had been an idyllic night was destroyed by the mangled sound of a scream mixed with a howl. The sound came from the second floor of a large Victorian mansion. To the occupants of the house waking up in the middle of the night was nothing new. Most knew well enough not to seek out the source of the sound. Nothing good could come from waking the man who's savage cries cut like a knife through the night.
In a dark corner of a spacious bedroom, the figure of a tall redheaded woman appeared. As she emerged into the room, she looked at the thrashing male body on the room's only bed. He had a pained expression on his face and his back arched as if lightning was striking him. His arms stretched out flat on the bed and three long knife shaped bone claws extended out of each hand.
The claws themselves were a strange sight to the woman every time she saw them. For as long as she had known him he had always had claws. What she found shocking was what the claws themselves were made of. Up until the week prior the claws, like the rest of his bones, had been coated in a metal that everyone, even the great Professor Xavier, had thought was completely indestructible.
She had felt a link to this man ever since she first saw him. The connection wasn't romantic, but it also wasn't entirely platonic either. She was married to another man and while she would never think of cheating on him she also couldn't deny that the man on the bed intrigued her.
Another feral scream wracked through his body and the telepath known as Jean Grey focused her mind back on the task at hand. Making sure not to touch the Wolverine she reached out with her hand and concentrated on his mind. As she made a connection to his subconscious, the green ring of her pupils took on a flame like appearance before she was lost to the darkness.
Sunnydale Cemetery... one of many
The soft sound of rubber hitting stone echoed through the air. Such an innocuous sound would normally be out of place. The clarity which Buffy heard the sound was a sign to the slayer that something was very wrong. Turning to the source of the sound Buffy couldn't help but smile. At the look on the slayer's face, Willow Rosenberg stilled her left foot as it was about to tap against the headstone she was sitting on top of.
"Whats wrong?" The redhead asked shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Buffy just chuckled as she walked up to her friend. "It's nothing," she stated placing her hands on the headstone on either side of the red head.
Willow sucked the bottom corner of her lip between her teeth. Whenever Buffy got this close to her, she couldn't help getting nervous. The slayer was so close to her now that she could feel the heat from the blonde's body. Shyly glancing up Willow blushed at the playful look in Buffy's eyes.
"You look cute when you blush," Buffy said with a soft smile. Reaching up Buffy traced a line down the side of Willows' face. At that moment the whole world disappeared. Every feature of Willows' face became intensified. Each freckle and pore on the girl's face becoming etched into the blonde's memory.
Moving slowly toward the red head Buffy's lips were mere millimeters from the other girls when a breeze drifted up shocking Buffy out of her trance. Turning sharply, the slayer began scanning her surroundings. Something was wrong, what she wasn't sure but whatever it was bothered something deep inside her.
"Is there something out there?" Willow wondered out loud. The nerdy teen was a bit thrown off. Whatever evil thing was lurking out there was going to get a serious dose of resolve face. She had been wondering when Buffy was going to kiss her again. She had gotten so close only to have it stolen away frustrated her even more.
Buffy straightened her stance and turned back to the girl on the tombstone. "That's just it..." she said trailing off as she glanced from side to side before focusing back on the redhead. "There isn't anything at all."
Now that she understood what was wrong Willow looked around them. She had thought it was a strange night before she was distracted by a certain blonde. Her feelings for Buffy had blinded her to just how odd that night had been. "What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know" Buffy answered honestly. "whatever it is can't be good." taking one last look around trying to open up her senses as much as possible Buffy turned back to her friend. "We should probably tell Giles."
Willow hopped off the tombstone at Buffy's suggestion and was about to start pouting over her missed smoochies when Buffy grabbed her hand. Letting herself smile at the contact she supposed she could get over the missed kiss as long as she didn't get interrupted the next time. She just might flay someone alive if she missed another smooch from the blonde.
Meanwhile… An Abandoned Warehouse
The main loading dock of the warehouse had filled with vampires of every size and age. In the center of the room, a circle had formed around a small blonde female vampire. The blonde was forced to her knees with her hands bound behind her back with heavy chains. Standing over her in the circle were two giant hulking vampires in dark leather trenchcoats. There was blood smeared across her face along with large gashes along one check.
"Where is the master?" One of the large vampires demanded raising one hand threateningly at the smaller vampire.
The blonde just smiled up at her tormentors. None of her features showed the telltale characteristics of a member of her race. Combined with the smeared blood and doe eyes, it gave her an eerie and haunting look.
The vampires on the edge of the circle shuffled back at her appearance. Most had heard of her reputation. That she had survived so long and killed so many spoke of just how dangerous she was despite her size.
"Do you really think I'll tell you where the master is?" She cooed with a doe-like expression on her face.
One of the oversized vampires surrounding her snarled and spat at her. He may have been strong, but he was also young and stupid. "You'll tell us or we'll drain you dry!" He shouted, now only a few inches from her face.
Throwing her head back the vampire let out a loud hysterical laugh. It reverberated throughout the warehouse, and her whole body shook from the force of her laughter.
"Oh god, you have no idea what's going on in this town." She said gasping for breath. She didn't need to breathe, but she still needed to fill her lungs to talk. The effects of her laughter rocked her body so forcefully that she was finding it hard to take in enough air to speak.
Her behavior was starting to concern the vampires in the middle of the circle. Were all vampires as old as her this mentally unstable? The two closest to the blonde shared a look clearly thinking the same thing about her state of mind.
"You should all be very afraid." The Master of Aurelius said looking straight up at the roof of the warehouse. Her head was pointed up, but her eyes were out of focus. "All we can hope for is a quick death…" She trailed off apparently not paying any attention to the vampires around her. "She'll come for us all, and when she does none of you will be safe."
This caused one of her captors to focus back on her face. The blonde master vampire had brought his mind back to the reason they were all there.
"Darla…" He said dragging out her name. "What do you know of her?"
They had captured the ancient vampire to determine how they were going to survive. Over the past month, their numbers had dwindled substantially. Sunnydale had been the home of countless nests and covens. There had been hundreds of vampire in Sunnydale. While not a large number compared to humans, it was still a significant amount for any one town.
A single girl had cut them down one after the other. The night stalkers of Sunnydale looked over their shoulders at every turn. At any moment the demon could emerge from the shadows. Many of those present that night bore scars from the predator's lethal claws.
"The Master can't save you." She said looking straight into his eyes. The haunted look was gone, replaced with certainty. "He is safe in his sanctuary."
Closing her eyes, Darla raised her head back to the sky as if in benediction. "She killed my angel." The blonde said in a soft voice. "We should all pray for repentance. That's the only thing that will save us now."
The white noise of chatter died down, and the whole warehouse paid rapt attention to the master vampire.
"All I want is to be with my angel."
Darla wept as she stayed knelt down on the ground silently praying that she would reunite with her love. She was so lost in her own sorrow the oldest master in the order of Aurelius never noticed the other vampires shuffle out of the warehouse leaving her to grieve alone.