The Beast Within

Chapter 4

Hi everyone, still don't own any of this, but it's fun to play with!

I know it's been almost 2 weeks since the last chapter, but, hey, it's also more then twice the word count so hopefully that makes up for it.

Nick closed the last of the Grimm books with a sigh, nothing in that one, he looked up to see the others watching him. Monroe and Rosalee were on the sofa, Rosalee had her head rested on Monroe's shoulder as she looked at him and Hank was sitting opposite him with his crutches resting by the side of the chair. Off to the side there was a table laden with old take away boxes and bottles. Nick might not be a neat freak but there was no way he'd let bottles of beer and wine glasses near these books. It wasn't like they could be replaced if there were any accidents. He shook his head at their silent questions.

'Well that was a big load of nothing,' Hank commented. Nick shrugged.

'I guess my ancestors never met this Wesen.' It wasn't the first time that he'd encountered a Wesen that wasn't in his books. Mauzhertz were a good example.

'Well that makes sense, man, there are a lot of different Wesen out there, I mean it's almost impossible to know them all.'

'Doesn't help us though,' Rosalee said.

'Maybe we should ask the Captain about it,' Nick said. Roselee sat up at the suggestion.

'You want to ask Renard?' Monroe asked his doubt in the suggestion clear in his voice.

'Can he really be trusted?' Rosalee asked.

'Yeah, I mean he's not exactly been trustworthy of late.' Hank said.

Nick could see where they were coming from and usually he would agree. He had got Aunt Marie killed. But he didn't help with Juliette and he did give him back the key and wasn't on good terms with the Royals. There was no doubt that Renard was only in it to help himself and wasn't in the slightest bit reliable but they didn't have much choice at the moment as he was their best option for information.

'I know, but he's a Prince and a Zauberbiest, it's likely he'd know something.' There was a pause as everyone thought this over.

'Ok, fine, but just for the record I'm against this.' Monroe said. Hank nodded.

'I have to agree with Monroe on this one, but if you think it's the only way, I'm gonna be there with you.'

'Thanks,' Nick glanced at one of the many clocks that filled the walls of Monroe's house, it was gone eleven. 'But it's going to be tomorrow. It's getting late.' He moved to collect the books.

'Leave them,' Rosalee said a bit too quickly. Everyone looked at her. 'It's late and Monroe can take them back to the trailer tomorrow.'

'I can?' Monroe said and faltered as Rosalee gave him a significate look. 'Of course, I can, no problem.' Nick held up his hands, as Hank just watched amused by it all.

'Okay, thanks.' Nick said standing,

'You know, I have a spare room so you don't have to…. go home.' Monroe finished with a wince.

Nick knew what this was about, it wasn't like he didn't appreciate it and he had to admit that he'd needed tonight. It was much better than sitting in the trailer on his own, much faster as well. But really could they just try to be more subtle about it. He was saved from Wesen mothering by Hank, who stood and grabbed for his crutches.

'I hate to brake this up but Nick's my ride and I have a date with a warm bed.' At this both Monroe and Rosalee stood up together.

'Of course, man, don't know what I was thinking. You totally should go home.' Rosalee nodded her agreement. Nick and Hank share an amused look before heading for the door.

'You'll let us know what Renard says?' Rosalee asked.

'Yeah,'

Hank managed to wait until they got outside and the door closed before he broke out in chuckles.

'You know, they're just trying to help.' Hank said as they walked down the path.

'I just wish they weren't so…' Nick stop unsure what to say.

'I hear you, but at least you know they care.' Nick just gave him a look that made Hank shake his head in amusement. They carried on walking until they got to Nick's truck. At which point Hank turned to face him.

'Hey, do you think it's a Wesen thing.'

'God, I hope not,' Nick said with dread, 'Seeing as I now have more Wesen friends than human ones.'

'Just the curse of being a Grimm I guess.' Hank said, totally straight faced, as he pulled open the truck door.

'Thanks, really.' Nick deadpanned, which made Hank grin.

'Anytime.'

Waking up in the woods was not something that Xander ever expected to do, but that was exactly what happened the next morning. He blinked as he stared up at the canopy of leaves. His brain trying to process the fact that he'd spent the night sleeping rough in the woods rather than in a comfortable bed back at the motel. It didn't help that he felt so energised and well rested. Or that the itch, in the back of his mind, that he'd felt since he left Sunnydale was gone.

With a groan, he rolled over, only to come face to face with the remains of a rabbit. With a yelp, he jumped up and away from the bloody mess of ex-rabbit. It was then that he noticed the blood on his hands and clothes and when he licked his lips he could taste it there as well. Oh god, he'd eaten a rabbit. His mind instantly flashed back eating Herbert with his pack, back when he was possessed by the hyena. The hyena! Oh god, was he having a relapse? Is that even possible?

He tried to think back to what happened the night before. After he'd left the spice and tea shop and the scary fox lady he'd ran. After a while he found the entrance to a park and running through the trees had felt so right, so freeing. He didn't want to stop and after that he wasn't sure if it was a memory or a recap of the dream he had the other night. He glanced at the corpse, ok maybe it was real and he guessed he should be glad it was only a rabbit. He groaned, this was something he should talk to Giles about. But first he needed to get back to the motel. The tangy scent of blood filled his nose and reminded him that he'd need to clean up before venturing out of the park. It would have made for a quick way to see the inside of a police station otherwise. He needed to find a pond or stream or some source of water to wash the blood off.

He'd always had a good sense of smell, something he quickly learnt to hide once he'd found out that it was not normal to be able to find someone by their scent only. It was a good thing that Buffy never asked him how he'd found her in tunnels the first day they'd met. It would have made for an awkward conversation. He took a deep sniff of the air and paused, that was odd, it was the first time he'd actively scented the air since he'd left Sunnydale and everything seemed clearer, as if his nose had been unblocked after a heavy cold. He mentally shrugged that was something to think about later, but first water. He sniffed again, mentally filtering out the blood and searched for any hint of water. He turned around several times before heading off in the most likely direction.

Several hours later, Xander stumbled into his room, after he'd found a stream to wash off the worst of the blood he'd found his way out of the park and hailed a cab. It turned out that he was on the other side of the city, how that could have happened he had no idea, it didn't seem that he'd ran that far the night before.

The shower got rid of the last of the blood and bits of the forest that he'd been unable to get off in the stream and he stared into the mirror at plain old Xander, with plain old chocolate eyes. But as he stared his mind flashed back to the rabbit and the taste of it warm blood and the sounds of excited yips as the pack devoured Herbert. He felt something similar to a surge of adrenaline and jerked back as his eyes glowed red.

'What the hell!' The red vanished but he felt and saw skin on his face ripple as if there was something underneath trying to get out. He shook his head and stumbled back as his features changed and fur rippled out where no fur should be. It only lasted a second before it all faded away again, leaving Xander to question whether it had happened at all. What the hell was happening to him. Without losing eye contact with himself he slowly moved closer to the mirror until he was almost nose to nose with himself. Had that really just happened? The fur, from what he'd seen in the few seconds did sort of look like what he remembered on his arms at the shop. If it really is happening, maybe he could make it happen. He glared at his reflection, change he thought to himself. But that didn't anything,

'Change you bastard,' he told himself out loud. But all that did was make him feel ridicules. But maybe if he… He took a deep breath and concentrated on how it felt when he changed before and he felt it flow though him. He changed and this time it stayed. Xander stared, taking in all the details, the eyes, teeth and fur. He glanced and saw the fur on his arms and hands, along with vicious looking claws, which left no doubt as to their purpose. What the hell happened to him, was this something to do with the hyena? But that was over two years ago, surely it would have happened before now if that was the case. Could he have caught some sort of lycanthropy without noticing? One that didn't need the full moon? No, that didn't sound right. It didn't feel wrong to be like this, it didn't feel forced or evil, it felt just as natural as being human. No that wasn't true either, he felt powerful, like he could take on the world and rip it's throat out. The shock of that thought was enough to make him shake himself back into human. Ok, he really needed to talk to Giles now. He continued to stare into the mirror for a few more seconds before turning away.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket and quickly found Giles's number as he walked back into the main room and sat on the bed. Pressing down, he waited for Giles to answer, it didn't take long.

'Rupert Giles.'

'Hey Giles.'

'Xander. How have you been?'

'Erm, fine I guess. But I have a few questions.'

'I shall endeavour to answer them.' Xander paused suddenly not so sure that this had been a good idea, but he couldn't back off now. He had to say something.

'They're of a watchery kind.' There was a sigh.

'Xander, have you been fighting demons?' Giles asked and Xander winced at the disapproval tone. 'Have I not installed in you the danger of doing so alone?'

'What? No, there has been no fighting of demons, well except for that one vamp, but I handled that and I'm fine. So, no violence,' Well, except for the poor rabbit he thought to himself. 'Just saw something that I didn't recognise and though you might know something about it.'

'Alright, what did you what to know?'

'Erm, is it possible for demons to hid their demoniness? I don't mean vamps, I mean like demony demons.' He was sure that he heard Giles mutter something about the butchering of the English language. Xander grinned, he could almost see Giles polishing his glasses. Giles cleared his throat.

'It is possible, but usually it's a hybrid between a human and a demon.'

'How would that even happen?' Xander burst out. Just the idea of a human and a demon going at it was not something he ever wanted to think about.

'Ah, well, usually it's not consensual.'

'Oh, yuck.' Although, if that was the case it would explain why his father never seemed to care about him.

'Yes, quite,' Giles agreed, 'What was it that you saw?'

'Erm, fox lady. I mean one minute she was a normal woman, quite pretty, really. Then the next she sorta looked like a fox, with fur, ears and everything. Are there any demons that can do that?'

'Hmm, yes, maybe. There are demons that look like animals, but they are mostly in Japan and nearby countries and they can't change between human and demon. I shall research this.'

'Giles, there's one more thing.' Giles just hmmed at him, clearly already moving into research mode. 'Is it possible for the hyena to come back or maybe to have left something behind?'

'No, it was exocised. Why is there something the matter with you?' Suddenly Xander had the feeling that he shouldn't be talking to Giles about this that it could be dangerous. What if he did turn out to be a demon and Giles contacted the council and they tried to kill him like they did to Faith.

'No, not really just enhanced senses, I'm sure it's nothing.'

'Alright, if you're sure,' Giles said, but Xander could hear the doubt in his voice. 'You should call Buffy and Willow, I'm sure they would love to hear from you.'

'Yeah, I'll do that. Talk to you later.' Xander said before cancelling the call. He stared down at the phone. He'd never felt so unsure about talking to Giles about the supernatural before, but somehow it didn't seem as though it was something that he should talk to Giles about, like something bad would happen if he did. Just like not talking about his better than normal sense of smell.

Suddenly something came back to him, when he'd first realised that his sense of smell was better than other peoples, he'd asked his father about it, during one of his more sober moments. His father had told him that he must not talk to anyone outside of the family about it as it could put all of them in danger. He never found out any more, or what the danger was. But it stuck in his mind because it was the first time that he could remember that his father showed any care for him. Which meant that there was someone he could talk to about this but whether it would make any difference he wasn't sure.

He stared down at the phone, his thumb hovering over the word home. He took a deep breath it was best to get this over with. The worst that could happen is that they wouldn't answer or he'd get yelled at for interrupting their drinking time. He pressed down and waited for the phone to connect. It rang for a long time but just before he lost his nerve and hung up, it was answered.

'Hello,' it was his mother's voice.

'Mum.' There was a crash over the line as if someone had dropped something. 'Are you alright?'

'Yes, yes I'm fine.' His mother said, Xander frowned something was off about her. 'How's your trip going?'

'Mum,' Xander said, as it clicked with him what was off. 'Are you sober?' there was a short pause.

'Yes, sweetheart, I stopped drinking when you left. I knew you'd call and I couldn't be drunk for this.' Xander struggled to get his head around this, the conversation was not going the way he'd imaged it. Not that he'd thought it would get this far anyway.

'Err, what?' was the most sensical thing that Xander could come up with in response.

'Xander, has something happened, is that why you're calling?' her voice managed to sound both resigned and hopeful at the same time.

'Erm, maybe.' There was a sigh over the line.

'It has, hasn't it. You woged didn't you?'

'Woged?' Totally thrown by the fact that his mother was not only sober but seemed to know why he'd rung, he couldn't seem to get more than one word out. Xander shock his head to clear it. 'What do you mean? Do you know what's wrong with me?'

'Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry but there's nothing wrong with you, you're Wesen, just like your father and I.' A spike of fear shot down his spine, was she telling him that he's a demon?

'Wesen? What the hell is a Wesen? Is it some kind of demon? Oh god are we demons?'

'Alexander LeVelle Harris!' his mother snapped. The use of his full name got his attention and snapped him out of of his rising panic. 'We are not demons, I don't know where you got that idea from? Must be that Summers girl.'

'Hey, don't pin Buffy for this, if I don't know then it's your fault not hers,' There was an even longer silence in which Xander was tempted to hang up, how dare she try and blame Buffy for anything, but couldn't, he needed to know the answers that his mother could give him.

'You're right we should have told you,' she said after a while. 'Well, you see, some people have another side to them, an animal side,' she said, and Xander frowned that didn't explain anything. Her voice turned very serious when she continued 'Xander, tell me, what do you look like when you woge, err, change?'

'Erm, like a demented werewolf I guess, is that normal?'

'For you. But this is important what colour are your eyes?' The hopeful and urgent tone of her voice made Xander pause enough that he didn't just say something sarcastic and answered without thinking.

'Red, I think.'

'Oh, thank god, you take after Tony.' Xander blinked, there had never been a time his life that he wanted to be anything like his father.

'And this is good thing?'

'You have no idea how much of a good thing it is.'

'Huh, ok, I guess.'

'Xander, where are you?' Xander was thrown by the sudden change it topic.

'Erm, Portland, Oregon.'

'Perfect, listen, I can't tell you everything that you need to know over the phone, but there is someone in Portland that can, if he hasn't moved. His name's Monroe. He's Tony's cousin, he can explain everything.'

'And he's…?'

'Wesen? Yes, a Blutbad like your father,' she said, he could almost hear the smile in her voice as she said it. 'Have you got a pen?'

'I'll get one,' Xander scrabbled to find some pen and paper. To tell the truth he was glad that there was someone he could go to about this, even if it was someone he'd never heard off before. He scrambled up to find one. Finally finding a pad and pen on one of the bed side tables. 'Shot,' he said and carefully copied down the address that she rattled off. He was really going to have to speak to this Monroe and soon.

'Xander, I'm really sorry we never told you about any of this. But we had to live on the Hellmouth. It hides what we are and it was necessary to protect you. Just know that we have always loved you.' He was so thrown but the fact that his parents knew about the Hellmouth that he couldn't respond and he lost his chance when the line went dead. Xander was left staring down at the phone again, that definitely wasn't what he'd expected.

Thanks for reading.

Ok, challenge time: If anyone can guess what is going on with Xander. I'll post a sneak peek into a future storyline of this series and yes I am planning sequels. Hint, all the clues are now in place and bare in mind things are not always simple. Some people have got close but they just aren't quite there yet. There is one more chapter before the big reavel so you have until then. Enjoy.

Please remember to review.

SSG