Chapter Fifteen

When they reached the girls, Buffy was curled into a fetal ball and Faith was wrapped completely around her, murmuring words of comfort and acceptance. Her relief was obvious when she sensed them, as she untangled herself to meet them in the entrance-way.

"Hey, KJ." Faith whispered. "You're gonna have to do it. She's not gonna respond to either of us."

"What am I supposed to do?" Kathryn asked her, worried. "What exactly is wrong with her? She's been dominant before, and she's never reacted like this."

"Not like this, you haven't." Faith told her. "She's been in control, yeah, but she's never really had the power actually force us to submit to her. That's what she did last night. She didn't even realize she was doing it, but her fury made her overwhelm our... will, for lack of a better word."

"Oh, God, are you all right?" Kathryn asked.

"We're fine." Faith grinned saucily. "Had the times of our lives, in fact, but B's got a real problem with power like that. She thinks that she forced herself on us."

"How can I help?"

"Just talk to her." Faith took Willow's hand. "Make her understand that she didn't do anything wrong. I'm gonna take my mate over there to the hot spring before she really starts feelin' those sore muscles, and we'll join you guys in a bit."

Faith dragged Willow over to the spring, leaving Kathryn staring at her old lover. It was breaking her heart to see Buffy so shattered. Crawling onto the furs, she took Faith's place, pulling Buffy into her arms and holding her close, but from the front instead of the back so that she could surround the small blonde with her scent. She knew instinctively that would be the fastest way to get through to her. "Oh, honey. You've got to come out of this. You're scaring us."

She hugged Buffy to her, tucking the blonde head under her chin, as she rubbed her back and spoke to her. After several never-ending minutes, Buffy finally twitched, inhaling deeply. 'Kathryn?'

"Hey, sweetheart." Kathryn leaned back to look down at her. Buffy was finally looking back at her, but her eyes were horrified and sad. "Oh, Buffy, it's all right."

"I hurt them, Kathryn." Buffy whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "They couldn't even say no. I don't know what happened."

"According to Dawn, you all were given traits similar to a species that once existed in this dimension, but is now long extinct. They were more feline in nature, but the strongest among them, the ones whose natural ability far outstripped the others, was Prime." Kathryn said simply. "You are Prime. Not because you were the oldest Slayer, but because you are the strongest, in all ways. One of those natural abilities is the ability to dominate those under her. It's instinctive for you, but it isn't something that you use lightly. If you think about it, you could do it as a Slayer. When you put your foot down and demanded the obedience of the Potentials, they gave it, willingly or not, but it wasn't something you did often."

"So that's where those thoughts are coming from." Willow mused quietly to her mate from the springs where Faith was massaging her sore muscles. "I was wondering. We've been thinking of her as Prime, you as an Alpha, and the rest of them as Betas. If we're taking on feline tendencies, then that makes sense."

"What if I do it to you?" Buffy cried, ignoring her friend as she revealed her real fear. "I couldn't handle doing that to you."

"Buffy, when we mate, I will be your equal." Kathryn countered gently, brushing a strand of shimmering hair behind a small ear. "If you do have the ability to dominate me as well, or any other mates that we have, then it will always be an extreme situation. Just like it was with Faith and Willow. They provoked you. It was for your own good, yes, but they did provoke you when you were already out of control. Would you have pressed your will on them if you had been in control?"

"No." Buffy sniffled.

"Did you sense any hesitation or resistance on their parts when you were taking them?"

Buffy shook her head, a small, involuntary smirk on her face as she thought back. "No, no resistance."

"They wanted it." Kathryn assured her, glancing over Buffy's shoulder to see the other two leave the pool to join them. "They told me so, and you know that if Faith didn't want it, she would have fought with everything in her."

"Yeah, B," Faith said, lying beside her with Willow tucked close. "There's no bad here. Trust me, we loved every minute."

It wasn't long before Willow and Faith were asleep once again, relaxed from their soak in the spring. Buffy lay quiet for a long while, simply absorbing the comfort of her family around her, before she found herself nuzzling Kathryn's throat, rubbing her face on whatever available bare skin she could find, purring in contentment. "N'mina." She whispered. "N'mina ain."

My mate. Kathryn scraped her nails along Buffy's scalp as she answered. "Yes."

Moving on pure instinct, she pushed her hands underneath Kathryn's top and pulled it off so that she could rub the bodies together, much like she had done with Willow before. Kathryn moaned at the sensation of their breasts rubbing together. She felt her nipples harden and her body shivered as Buffy ran her tongue from her pulse point up to her lips, where she kissed her with hungry need, moaning with Kathryn at that indescribable, yet irresistibly delicious taste that filled their mouths. Suddenly, Buffy pulled back.

"You're not doing this to make sure I don't flip out again, are you?" Buffy asked her voice hoarse with the effort to talk past the fire beginning to burn. "I'll leave before I force you into something you don't want."

"No, sweet one, I had already decided to be your mate." Kathryn smiled. "I was simply going to wait until I had a free moment, but Seven and Q informed me that we wouldn't have a more perfect time than now."

"Q?" Buffy asked curiously, as she slowly stripped Kathryn out of the rest of her clothes. "Your godson's father? What was he doing here?"

"I'll tell you later."

Nodding, Buffy kissed the inside of her thighs, licking up the secretions that had began to cover the soft skin. She cleaned Kathryn's thighs, then moved up to dip her tongue in her mate's navel, making the muscles clench and contract. She moaned as Kathryn involuntarily dug her nails in her scalp as she gripped her head, trying to push her back down. She resisted the pressure and moved up to tease hard nipples with sharp teeth and swipes of a rough tongue.

"Liz, please." Kathryn groaned, her body arching. She bent her knees so that she was cradling the younger woman between her legs. Buffy lifted just as Kathryn did, making sure to keep their bodies apart. "Liz!"

Finally, Buffy lifted so that her face was over the redhead's, her teeth bared in a smile at the sight of Kathryn spasming in need. Buffy dipped her tongue in her open mouth, in and out so quickly that Kathryn didn't have time to capture the teasing muscle. Buffy had always been very inventive in bed, but this was taking it to whole new levels. She continued to tease for another long, agonizing minute, before she swooped down and took the captain's mouth in a kiss so hot, Kathryn was surprised that they didn't burst into flames instantly. Growling hungrily into the kiss, Buffy shifted until she had a muscular thigh pressed firmly between Kathryn's legs, making the older woman shudder helplessly. Gripping Kathryn's ass with both hands, Buffy began moving her mate up and down, pressing down, giving her the friction she needed so badly. Neither noticed when Faith and Willow awoke and watched them in sleepy contentment.

"Ahh!" Kathryn cried, the intensity of the climax taking her by surprise. "Liz!"

Shifting quickly, Buffy reversed their positions so that Kathryn was straddled on top of her. Using her legs to spread her lover's, she continued to move Kathryn with her own power, this time as she pushed up her own hips to stroke their clits firmly together. Kathryn's head flew back, her eyes fluttering closed as the fiery pleasure began to roll through her once again.

"Are you ready, n'mina?" Buffy purred, staring at her through narrowed eyes. Her teeth were clenched as she instinctively held back her orgasm.

"Yes!" Kathryn choked out. She fell forward, bracing herself with her hands on either side of Buffy's head, as her body began moving on its own accord

As soon as Kathryn had the rhythm and was moving on her own, Buffy released Kathryn's ass to move one hand to her waist and the other behind her head to pull her mate's head down so that her lips grazed Buffy's throat. Kathryn shivered as she ran her tongue over the bite marks on that thick vein.

"Angel's mark." Buffy groaned, the puncture wounds still sensitive even after all this time. "Take them. Claim them as your own."

Groaning in response, unable to resist the desperate need in her mate's voice, Kathryn bit down hard, breaking the skin and tasting the almost tangy quality of her blood before the slight wound healed once again. The bite threw them both into a savage, shared climax. The fire ripped through them in vicious waves until they collapsed together, both unconscious.

"Well, fuck me." Faith gasped, gaping at them with wide-eyed awe.

Willow gaze narrowed on her mate. They were both turned on from that display. She smiled wickedly as she reached down between Faith's quivering thighs and ran her hand through the gathering wetness. "Don't mind if I do."

Before Faith could do more than note the lust burning in her mate's voice, she found herself tumbled onto her back, Willow kneeling over her, one knee wedging itself between her legs. As the brunette's body shuddered, her red-headed mate began feasting on her breasts as if starving, reducing Faith swiftly into mindlessly reacting to the pleasure. 'I guess we're rested enough that a quickie won't hurt' was Faith's last coherent thought for a time.