Xander planed to go after Willow. He hates seeing her sad, despised the thought that he'd been part of the reason she felt so upset. But cheering Willow up is something he can do; he's had a lot of practice over the years. The thought of helping her made him feel better as well. He'd been so useless lately. Powerless before Cordelia's sudden change and what she now wants from him. Nearly helpless against her advances and his own inexplicable desire.

Xander wanted her. It's not even the lust any heterosexual hormonal male would feel when presented with one of the finest examples of the female species. He wanted her smile, her strangely aggressive cuddles, the backhanded compliments. Everything that made Cordelia, Cordelia, superpowers or no. He didn't understand. His body's betrayal was horrible, but expected. He didn't understand what was wrong with his head. A part of him felt pleased instead of terrified when she claimed him. The thought of leaving his very species behind isn't as horrifying as it should be. It didn't make any sense. He wasn't the one possessed; he shouldn't be affected by whatever Cordelia had become. But it still felt like she was messing with his head somehow.

It was probably why he felt such a strong need to draw his line in the sand. He would stay human, he would not become Cordelia's mate, and he would certainly not come to like it. He would remain Xander Harris. Buffy's and Willow's Xander, not Cordelia's mate.

Life feeling a little more manageable now that he had a plan, Xander had begun making his way to Willow's house. Then he got ambushed by Amy. The girl seemed to come out of nowhere, wrapping her arms tightly around him and burying her face into the same side of his neck Cordelia seemed quite fond of lately. He stared down at her, baffled, hoping like hell that whatever Cordelia had done to her wouldn't mean that Amy would think he was prime mate material as well.

"You smell like alpha." Amy murmured dreamily, "Pack."

"I'm not Pack!" Xander burst out, frustration building. He'd just finished explaining to Cordelia that that was not the case. Amy pouted at him, like he'd just told her that he'd eaten all her ice cream. Then her eyes narrowed and she frowned, somehow giving him an even stronger impression of a toddler.

"Alpha said to find the Pack." Amy said, tightening her arms around him stubbornly, "You're Pack."

"I said I'm not-" Xander bagan, before he slumped, all the energy leaving him suddenly. He knew better than to argue with kids, and Amy was acting like a snot nosed brat. "Where's Cordelia?" Amy was her responsibility now, considering that her new behavior was due to whatever Cordelia had done to her.

"Alpha left to kill Vampires." Amy informed him, happily nuzzling his neck. Xander spared a moment to wonder why he hadn't even tried to pull her off before remembering that she was probably super strong now, and that the attempt wouldn't end well for him anyway, "She said the pack would take care of me."

Amy followed that last useful nugget with an expectant look. Xander was seized with the urge to rage at the universe for being unfair. He knew from experience that it never actually changed anything, but it might make him feel better to get it out of his system. Xander tried an expectant look of his very own, "Did she tell you where the rest of the pack was?"

"She said I could smell them." Amy frowned thoughtfully, pointing towards another street, "The rest are that way, but you were closer."

Xander bit back another sigh, "Let's go meet the rest of the pack then."

Amy didn't let go of his arm and dragged him the whole way there.

xXx

Kyle loved being a Primal. Loved it.

He felt so strong. Moving was easy in a way that defied explanation. He felt so light, so free, so powerful. And being under Cordelia's rule gave him a sense of belonging he'd never even imagined existed. Feeling the need to cuddle close and touch his pack didn't seem like a big deal. He felt at home pressed up against Jonathan and watching some geeky show the nerd put on. Waiting for their alpha and new pack mate.

When the doorbell rang he didn't even have to get up. He sprawled on the couch languidly as they came into the living room. Amy was looking around like she's never seen a living room before, clutching at their alpha's mate. Kyle smiled at her indulgently. He remembered the first rush of power, how the world was just inexplicably more.

Amy flopped on top him, tugging Xander down with her.

"Where's alpha?" Kyle asked, his query overlapping Jonathan's question of, "Why does Xander smell like pack?"

"Cordelia is off fighting Vampires," Xander informs them, squirming uncomfortably as they invaded his personal space, "and I am not pack."

"He's alpha's mate." Kyle tells them, remembering Cordelia's initial delight at the discovery, "He's omega."

The others nod, instinctively understanding Xander's place at Cordelia's side. It helped that his scent was so soothing, he felt warm too. Kyle pressed closer, hiding a smile in Amy's hair when Xander quit struggling and just accepted that they weren't going to allow him any personal space.

"Then why aren't you like us?" Jonathan asked Xander. Even after becoming what they were now, Jonathan just couldn't seem to turn his brain off and bask in the moment. Shame. Despite his initial reluctance, Xander was a snuggling pro. Perhaps it was an omega thing.

Xander scowled, "I like being human, and I am not Cordelia's mate, no matter what she says."

Kyle snorted at this. He couldn't fight what he was anymore than Cordelia could. Already he was present when their alpha was not. And he had brought them Amy, perfectly calm and ready to cuddle despite the need to assert dominance that was a natural part of what they had become. He and Jonathan had grappled for a bit before Kyle established himself as superior. He'd expected to feel the need to fight Amy as well, but Xander's presence made it feel so unnecessary. She was closer to their alpha's mate, smelled like she was higher in the pack hierarchy than he was, and he found himself perfectly fine with that.

"You'll change your mind." Kyle assured him, sleepily. He felt so calm and content, it was oddly comfortable to be crammed into the couch as they were. Cordelia would come for them soon enough, there was no reason not to take a short nap.

"I won't," Xander muttered, sounding stubborn.

Kyle bit back a laugh, confident in his alpha's power and her ability to take what she wanted.

xXx

Tentative truce aside, Buffy didn't continue her patrol with Cordelia. Rematch planned, they both went their separate ways. She spotted Angel in the distance and took off to see him. For all she knew about the guy, he might have an inside scoop on Primal's.

They get ambushed by vampires before she got a chance to ask.