A/N There aren't many stories that have anyone other than Oz as a werewolf in them. Some notable exceptions include Nodakskip's 'Shifting Phases' in which Cordelia becomes a werewolf and Kylia Quillars 'Iron Coin Chronicles', in which Oz bites Willow. Since I like Xander, as well as Xander/Cordelia stories, I decided to write one of my own.

Now, personally, I think Xander's best moments on the show are when he stands up to people. He's so solid and attractive when he does that (tell me you didn't think it was hot when he told that hillbilly bully 'and I swear by your full and manly beard, your going to break something trying'). This is the Xander I would have liked to see more of in the show. I personally think most of the problems people have with Xander stems from confusion with the character. Who is he supposed to be, the clown or the confident guy. We can even see the two personalities switching back and forth in the same episodes. Nothing illustrated this more than the episode 'The Replacement', where the 2 personalities are fully on display. Giles says Xander is a bad influence on himself, but in this same episode we have his boss showing confidence in him, which leads to Xander fast tracking in his company. If Giles and the others had shown such confidence in him, what might he have become? When you find it hard to have confidence in yourself, you need others to help you to gain it.

I like reading and writing stories where Xander learns how to do that. Given his own issues of self esteem, this means an outside source is needed to help him. It's one of the reasons I love the Xander/Cordelia relationship. His shock at her choosing him seems so genuine. And they seemed so real together, so good for each other. That's why the Fluke didn't make sense. Beside there being no sexual chemistry between Xander and Willow, I mean. And why a number of fans, like myself, point to an outside influence as being responsible. Willow's casual mind raping of Tara or Skip admitting the he and Jasmine had been manipulating everyone's life for a long time, give us something that helps make sense of that whole thing.

Which brings us to this story in which I will explore the question, 'How far is Xander willing to go to protect someone he loves?' We did see several examples of this in the show, him threatening to kill Buffy if Willow died because of her or being willing to die himself to bring Willow back from her terrible despair. I also think he only claimed responsibility for the dancing demon in order to save Dawn.

That being said, Cordelia will be bitten in this story and yes, she will become a werewolf, but the main thrust of the story will be the lengths, hopefully believable, that Xander will go to in order to protect her.

Disclaimer: all characters are the property of Joss Wedon and company. I am not profiting in anyway, unless you count working out my issues.