Chapter 6

There's nothin' like waking up in your own bed after bein' gone for a while. I give a good stretch an' roll over to nuzzle the back of B's neck. She'll be out for another hour or so an' she probably can't tell I'm here but it doesn't stop me from spendin' just a few minutes just…holding her. I don't get ta be this way very often when she's awake so I take advantage of the fact that I sleep less hours a day than she does. I trace my fingers over her ribs an' take in her scent. It should be weird ya know? Spoonin' up ta her like this, not feelin' her breathe. But it's not. It just is what it is an' I'm content with that. I know that in life, this right here, these quiet times, that shit wouldn't have happened. So I'm content with her unlife and I'm content with the fact that she shares it with me. I give a happy sigh before slidin' out of bed to get dressed.

It doesn't take me long ta get dressed and get to the bar because I don't stop for food but I'm starvin'. I push in the back door, givin' a nod an' a smile to a few of the girls and one or two of Ama's wolves. Best bouncers ever. There hasn't been a scuffle here since we took over an' I like keepin' it that way. "Hey boss lady! Welcome home." Xander comes around the bar an' puts a heaping plate of chili fries an' a burger. I love this guy. "Got some stuff to go over with you. Want it before or after food?"

I slide on to a bar stool an' rest my elbows on either side of my plate. "Hit me." He slides in to the seat next to me with the ledger an' a stack of paperwork. Ya know when I think about all the good things about settlin' down I always forget about paperwork. It's enough ta make me wanna take this show on the road. I let Xander steal a fry from my plate even though my instinct is ta slap his hand away. "Everything go alright while we were in Texas?"

He gives me a slow nod as he munches but I can tell somethin' is buggin' him. Xander scratches at the scruff on his jaw before flipping open a folder. "Mostly." He gives a look around, noddin' to Enzo one of Ama's strongest wolves. He's her grandson an' I know he knows I fucked around with his lil sister way back. Danni never really forgave me for the fuck an' run so I bet big brother hasn't either. I flick my eyes to Xander as I bite down on my burger. "So I have payroll here ready to be signed. And we need to find a replacement for Angie, she wants out of the gig. How do you want me to handle that?"

It doesn't happen often, girl's leavin' the business. Everyone starts for their own reasons, but they all stay because of the money. I'm not hatin', the kid wants ta go home and the truth is I'm relieved. She's young, there's still time for her ta get her shit together before this town, this job, eats her alive. "Give her two week's pay an' a ticket home. Switch the schedule up to rotate her extra shifts between the rest of the girls. I don't want any bitchin' about favoritism an' shit." It happens a lot. Girls get jealous when the floor time is uneven an' then there's shit talkin' and cat fights durin' business hours.

Xand nods an' makes a note of it in the ledger before movin' on down his laundry list of news. "I called a plumber about the leak, you're not gonna be happy about the price." Fuck. I blow out a breath an' glance at the estimate he slides my way. It's bad. We can handle it 'cause we got the money but it kills me ta have to shell it out. "Before you say anything…" He pulls out another estimate but this one is written on the back of a bar napkin. It's got parts an' no labor cost. "I would like to officially put my bid in to do the work. I know I know, it's a big job and my expertise is primarily carpentry but I think I can get it done, save us, er you, some bucks…" It's the way he changes us to you that makes me really look at him. My brows come up and he looks away to change the subject. "I was thinking of changing up the menu her. Maybe do a little work to spruce up the interior, I think we can bring in a whole new demographic."

Something is off but I'm gonna finish my burger before I poke the sore spot. "We not makin' enough money now?" He shrugs an' makes a so so gesture that makes me take a long look around the place. It's dark an' smoky an' it looks like you could get shivved in the back in any one of the dark corners. The floors are stick with spilled drinks an' probably other stuff from before I ever took over. I see his point. I finish my burger an' push the plate to rest between us so we can both polish off the fries. "You're lookin' ta put a lot of work an' time in to this place Xand."

Xander gives me a slow nod as he takes a fry. He's watchin' the wolves workin' out the door schedule for the night but his mind is workin' overtime tryin' ta voice whatever he's thinkin' about. "I miss it Faith." My brows come up again an' I get up to pour us both a beer from the tap. I slide him his before I gulp down a few swallows ta give him time to finish what he means. "I miss creating things, fixing things. I miss being the guy that people go to when they need a favor that doesn't involve murder or disposing of bodies, or breaking up potentially bloody wolf fights. I miss being normal."

My stomach gives a nasty flip but I nod at him in understanding. He wants ta leave. That's why he changed 'us' to 'you'. I huff softly as I pull the check book and a pen closer so I can sign off on payroll. "So what're ya tryin' ta tell me? You're puttin' in notice?" I won't let him see it bother me. That wouldn't be fair to him. I guess I never really considered that he wouldn't wanna be a part of our life here.

"What?! NO! God! No!" I'm too relieved to look up at him just yet. I don't want Xander to see the little bit of panic still in my eyes. "No…I just…" I finally look up at him an' my lips twitch in to a frown. Somethin' is buggin' him real bad if he can't spit it out. Xander never has a problem talkin'. "I love you and Buffy. And I love being here with you guys, being your right hand Joe, but I can do good stuff too. And I need to. Do good stuff. What you and Buffy have here, I want to be able to say there's some of me here too. Something. Nice."

Oh. I finish off my beer an' pour another one before I scoot back on ta my stool. "Okay. Start with the plumbing. I'm tired of that shit flooding." He gives me a grin that I can't help but return. Sometimes I forget that Xander isn't like us. Even before B was a vamp she had a darkness inside from seein' too much, knowin' too much an' bein' too close to death. Like me she's comfortable in the dark. Xand, he needs ta see life in the darkness because he's still human inside. I guess sometimes I just forget what it feels like ta be human.

The front door behind me clicks shut as the last wolf leaves through it to his spot. We're finally alone except for the dancers and servers. "Listen I wanted to talk to you back at the House but I didn't think you'd want to wait to hear it." See when people say shit like that it automatically means you're not gonna like what they gotta say. I grunt an' nod my head for him to continue. "Something is happening in Ama's pack. The day you left Enzo tells me he's assigning the wolves to bar duty from now on because Ama isn't feeling well. I figured you'd want to know how she was so I called and Danni said she was resting. Then she hung up."

"Could be maybe she was." He nods at that acceptin' that its possible.

"Could be. I just don't like the guys Enzo's using. They're getting awfully comfy in the club. Possessive. Handling the girls a little too much…" A low rumbling growl trickles out an' I stand. Ima get to the bottom of this shit right now. "Hey…where you going? The doors open in thirty…"

"Handle it." I know he can, he's been doin' it since we left. I always use the back door but just this one time I take the front just because. All three wolves are hunched together talkin' off near the parking lot. They get quiet when they see me so I make it a point ta strut up ta them. "You, back door. You inside." They don't move fast enough for me. "NOW!" The two peel off without lookin' back and I pin Enzo with a look. "Got somethin' ta tell me?"

He sneers down his nose at me. "You like makin' demands you. I ain' your wolf yeah? You ain' my pack. Grand'Mere, she might have a soft spot for you but I see what you are, eh. You a devil and you be bringin' hell to our door."

I snort at that. "Good thing you're not the boss then." He smiles a lil too big at that.

"Pic kee toi. Grand'Mere won't be around forever yeah."

Fuck me? No fuck you. I snarl an' push him back against the wall hard. "This is my place, you don't like workin' here get the fuck out. You fuck with my girls, my place, we're gonna have a fuckin' problem." One his Alpha can't fix. He just laughs which pisses me off even more but I don't slug 'im. I wanna. But I don't. I don't like the way he said Ama wasn't gonna be around forever. I give him another hard shove an' turn on a heel. If shit is goin' south with the wolves I gotta know now. All I can think as I put the truck in gear is that the pack will go to shit if Enzo becomes Alpha.

I pull away from the curb in a squeal of tires. I don't need this shit right now I really don't. In a few weeks B an' I will be up to our eyeballs in underworld politics an' we need all the trustworthy people at our backs that we can find. The whole way to Ama's I keep hearin' Enzo say she won't be around forever so that by the time I pull up to the house I'm just a lil keyed up, ya know? I take the front steps two at a time but I'm stopped at the door by one of Enzo's boys. He reaches out ta grab my shoulder but I'm faster. My hand grips his thick wrist and twists hard with a yank ta bring him to his knees. I bring a knee up in to his face, smirkin' when his heavy body hits the porch. I push open the front door an' creep up the stairs to where I know Ama's room is.

I don't make it all the way down the hall when Danni sticks her head out of the room with a growl. I stop an' raise my hands up ta show I didn't come ta make trouble. She lets out a breath an' pads out to me barefoot. "I should have known it would be you." I'd be offended if she didn't sound so fuckin' relieved ta see me. "That boy of yours, he told you yeah?" I just nod an' gesture over my shoulder toward the front door.

"Wanna tell me what's goin' on? I leave for a few days an' your brother starts movin' in on my club, Ama goes MIA and you start hangin' up on people." What the fuck? She looks down the stairs then gestures to Ama's room. I follow her in an' shut the door behind me. Ama is layin' in bed and she looks like shit. She's pale an' she musta lost twenty pounds. I look at Danni in confusion. She was fine last fuckin' week!

"She's getting worse. I don't know what it is but I'm scared. The full moon is coming and if Ama isn't well anyone in the pack can challenge her." Fuckin' politics. Again. If she's not strong enough ta lead someone will take her place. Only they gotta kill her first. Ama stirs on the bed an' turns sightless eyes on me. Creeps me out when she does that. She blinks milky white eyes an' licks her lips.

"Faith?" My steps take me to her bedside and I kneel close so she doesn't hafta strain ta talk.

"I'm here Ama." She takes my hand in hers and I frown. There's still some strength in her grip an' a fierceness in her jaw. I can see she musta been beautiful when she was young. "How can I fix this? What do I gotta do?"

She gives me a soft half chuckle an' shakes her head. "Ain't no cure, girl. Sure as the moon calls that coullion grandson of mine killed me. My body just don't have the sense to let go yet." I'll kill him. She must feel the tension in my body because she squeezes my hand harder. "Non! You hearing me, girl? You fight him now, you lose." I gotta snort at that. I know Enzo an' I know I could take 'im. Might maybe even take me ten minutes instead of two but I know I can take him. "You laugh but I tell you, you can't win. Look at what's left of me, then you tell me. You think you can fight a wolf that can steal an Alpha's power?"

I look at her again then Danni. She's lookin' away because it's hard ta take in. Maybe even 'cause she's ashamed of her brother. I would be. I swallow hard because Ama's power scares the crap outta me. "There hasta be a way, Ama. He'll kill you if I don't…"

"Told ya. I'm already dead, but I'll be damned if I let that boy take my pack." I look back at Danni an' frown. If I can't stop Enzo from takin' her power how the hell am I gonna stop him from takin' the pack? She coughs a lil an' her grip weakens. Danni flinches but kneels an' wipes the sweat off Ama's brow with a soft cloth. "Come full moon he'll call for a challenge, him. He'll finish me off if no one objects the challenge."

I nod like I know what the hell she's talkin' about. Danni shoots me a look an' shakes her head. Wha? "If someone objects it's a fight for dominance. Enzo won't let you walk out of there even if you could raise objection." I blink at her. "You're not pack." That's the second time that's been thrown in my face today. But I get it. I can't shift. I'm like wolf light to them. Ama tsks at Danni an' gives another squeeze, this one even weaker than the last.

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do here? I can't beat him an' even if I could I got no right ta interfere with his challenge. I can't even stop him from doin' this to ya." I feel lost. Give me a target an' I'll smash, bash an' kill but tell me my hands are tied an' I just don't know what else ta do.

"I said you can't be him now. Full moon's coming. It ain't here yet, girl." She drops her head back on ta the pillow an' I frown. So what do I gotta do between now an' the full moon to be able to fight this fucker? "It's in you, Faithless. It's all in you." She's driftin' in an' out as her words come so I lean in ta hear better. "Find it, girl. Find your fai…" I swallow hard past the lump in my throat. Danni strokes Ama's hair tenderly. Whatever Enzo is doin' she ain't a part of it and I'm glad.

"You two gonna be safe here until the full moon?" She doesn't look at me for a minute, she just goes about straightening the sheets around Ama.

"We'll be fine. Not even my brother would challenge outside the full moon." I nod an' put Ama's hand on her stomach as I stand. I got no idea what findin' my faith means. I just know I gotta find it fast. I turn to leave but Danni stops me by callin' my name softly. I turn at the door an' she looks up at me finally. "He won't let you live if you lose." It hurts her ta say because she knows that I'll have ta kill him first. I nod slowly an' say the only thing I can.

"I'm sorry."

xxxxxxxxx

I can feel the bed press down behind me with Faith's weight. She's been gone a while but not long enough for me to have really gotten out of bed. Okay that's a lie. I woke up, I spent a little time with Denna, feeding. I showered. I powdered. I preened and I puffed. And I did it all just in time to slide right back in to bed to pretend to be asleep when she came back in. It's still early and the work night hasn't even really started but there's a heaviness to her movements as she kicks off her boots and curls up behind me. I turn in her arms and tangle my fingers in her hair. "Why the sad puppy face?"

"Ama's dying." I don't know how to feel about that. Ama's magic has always bothered me, it makes my skin crawl with unease. But I owe her for this annoyingly superior judgey soul that keeps me tethered to Faith. I bump her forehead with mine because I can't really say anything else. I don't really know the woman as well as Faith does so her loss doesn't touch me. It's just another death.

"What does that mean for us?" Faith raises a shoulder in a shrug.

"Nothin' good. It's all about power, B. Enzo is gonna kill her an' I can't stop him." That's… I don't even know what to say to that. Of course she can stop him. We can stop him. I open my mouth to say so but she shakes her head. "No we can't." She already knew what I was going to say. "I'm not wolf enough ta even be a part of the pack." The way she says it lets me know it hurts her. That's always been her sore spot. Never feeling good enough to fit in anywhere. Not as a kid, not as a Slayer, and now not even as a wolf.

It never really occurred to me before that I have the easy end. I might be conflicted between my demon and my soul but I know I'm a vampire. I was alive, now I'm dead. I know where I fit in to this world. Faith never has. "So what do they expect you do about it?" I know they expect something. Someone is always expecting something of us. She sighs heavily and shrugs again.

"I dunno. Find my faith or some shit. I don't even know what that means."

I frown slightly at that and mull it over. "That's it? Find your faith? That's all you got?" It's pretty vague. Now if someone had told me to find my faith I would have immediately looked for Faith. Because she's mine. But a literal translation probably won't work here.

"Pretty much. She said it was in me already, whatever it is." This is why I don't like magic. It's all vague and creepy. Ama couldn't have said 'look deep in to your soul and hang a left at the AMPM'? "Even if I find it, she's gonna die, B. He's stealing her life away an' even if I kill him at the full moon, it's too late ta save her."

There's an echo of hurt in me. It's not my hurt but the memory of hurt. The memory of knowing there is nothing you can do because in the end some people die. I see my mother's face bloom before my eyes when I think too hard on the memory that hurt. "You fight Faith." She looks in to my eyes then and I want to lean in to her and kiss her. Or bite her to snap her out of it. "You rise up with fists. Because that's what we do. That. Is. Who. We. Are."

She chuckles a little when I give her lip a hard nip. I couldn't care less if she was a full werewolf or not. I couldn't care less if the whole pack spontaneously caught fire and burned to death. What I do care about is this life we've just decided to build. I killed to take it and I'll kill to keep it. Even if I have to break some deals with the wolves. Or bones. I could break those too. "B?" I nudge her jaw up with my nose so I can burrow in to her neck and feel her pulse flutter against my lips. "You think we're in over our heads?"

We've been in over our heads for a long time now. But that's never stopped us from doing what we wanted before. I pull back enough to look up at her with a mild look. "Would it change anything if we were?" She shakes head at that with a dimpled grin. I reach up and touch one with a fingertip. Random and besides the point I note not for the first time that she's beautiful. I knew that in high school but Faith, like wine or a good scotch, has gotten better with age. Better even the less human she is. I go back to nuzzling in to her neck, letting my lips graze her skin as I speak. "You're not afraid are you?"

She writhes a little when I graze fangs over her skin lightly. I like the way her breathing catches and then speeds up when the tip of my tongue glides over the thick vein in her neck. Her pulse jumps and I nip at it hard enough to sting without breaking the skin. "Scared? Nah." It's a little too fast and I know it's because she's turned on. I roll her on to her back and straddle her waist. I pin her wrists above her head and drag my fingers down her arms so lightly it raises the baby fine hairs on her arms.

"No?" I lean down and trail my tongue along her collarbone even as I slide hands up her sides under her tank top. Faith rolls up under me and I chuckle as I move, hovering just out of her reach as I explore her body with my lips. I push the tank up and nibble the valley between her breasts. I'm just about to slide my tongue through one of her nipple rings when there's a loud knock on the door. I give it a passing look but I'm much more interested in the shiny. Just as I duck my head to her nipple there's another knock. I snarl and bite Faith's elusive nipple hard before sitting up and snarling at the door. "WHAT!?"

Denna's curly head pokes in and she gives me an apologetic look. "We have a problem." Oh for fucks sake. I collapse down on Faith's body with an irritated grunt.

"Can we just kill everyone and bathe in their blood?" Faith's laugh makes her body jiggle under me. Stupid work things. I sit up again to give Faith's body one last longing look before I crawl off her to look for a robe. "What's the problem?" I might as well fix it and get back to what I was doing.

Denna shifts from foot to foot nervously. It's not like her, she's never had trouble speaking her mind around me. Something she gets away with when most others do not. "Supplies are coming in for the bacchanalia." So? Isn't that what's supposed to be happening? I give her a 'continue' you look and she shrugs. "The livestock is here." Livesto…oh. People. Why is this an issue? Most of the people like being passed around by vampires and demons. I'm just about to ask what the problem is when she lowers her head. "It is children."

I just stare. It's Faith who moves first, she's out of the bed and down the hall to the stairs up. Denna and I catch up to her in the parlor and we spill in to the room together. The smell hits me first, that smell of meat and snotty noses and playgrounds. The smell of children. I wrinkle my nose in disgust and glance at Faith. "Ew." Even my demon is repulsed by the idea of bringing children in to our sweet little dungeon. "Why are they here?"

Gus bows low before me but scuttles out of the way as Faith pushes past him to the only other adult looking figure in the parlor. "Who the fuck are you?" He…? I can't be sure but I think it's a he. He blinks in disdain at Faith and crosses yellow skinned arms across a wiry chest.

"I am Bartarok of House Goremea. I was told you were hosting this year's bacchanalia, I come bearing gifts." He gestures to the dozen or so children negligently and I resist the urge to hiss. "This is of course just a small sampling of what I have to offer. Yours to use as you see fit. This fat one here has been given extra. He will make a fine dinner." Oh Christ, the fat one is crying. I give the demon a look of distaste and turn to Faith. Well. He can't live that's for sure. "Small Asian children are the preferred cut but some of your guests won't be quite so choosy."

"Ya know, Bart, ole buddy, I'm not so big on the kiddies." The demon blinks at her in surprise. How dare she not be in to feasting on children. I roll my eyes at him. I may not like the idea of children here but even I have my lines in the sand.

"Oh? Acquiring delicacies is my speci..erk.." I chuckle as Faith grips him by the throat and slams him back against the wall.

"See the more ya talk the more I don't like ya." He struggles trying to break her grip but having been caught in that grip myself I can say he's pretty well stuck. Faith squeezes tighter and I mold myself against her back, practically purring my encouragement. "You get one free pass here Barty boy. You don't know so I'll tell ya. Kids are off limits here, ya get me?" He nods a little too quickly but I don't want this to be over yet.

"Is a warning really as effective as a threat?" I close my eyes as Faith's scent raises warmly from her skin. Its intoxicating and I'm lost in it for a minute. When I open my eyes the demon is starting to go pale and his hands are batting weakly against Faith's strong grip. She smirks at him and shrugs.

"Ya heard the lady…" And then the delicious crack as her grip crushes delicate bones and cartilage. Faith lets him drop to the ground, clutching at his throat, gasping in vain for a breath he'll never get past the ruin of his crumped throat. I slip my hands under Faith's shirt, up her belly to cup breasts. He's going to die and I'm going to enjoy watching. "Gus…"

Our butler kneels by Faith waiting for her command. Oooh that's a neat trick. "Yes Mistress?" I like the sound of that too. Denna is already gathering the kids together and filing them out in to the hall. I'd say they're too young to see death but chances are they've already seen it and much worse.

"I wanna know who those kids were meant for." He gives her one solid nod and rises. I like that he doesn't have to be told to remove our guest. Gus just bends and grabs an ankle to drag the nearly lifeless body out of the room. "Think he'll live?" I snort.

"Not very long." I'm still rolling her nipples between my fingers, lightly tugging the rings as we stand here together. I'm not incapable of being around Faith without touching her but I just don't care to keep my hands to myself. I know she doesn't mind, Faith never minds. "You know this changes things for Oz, right?"

She nods and places her bigger hands over mine. Her warmth prickles at my skin and I smile at her distracted grunt. "Definitely in over our heads." Boy howdy are we ever. But it could be worse. We could ugly too.