"They're in the woods."

"Our woods?" Cordelia growled. "The woods we played in last night?!" That went beyond a challenge to territory, this was offense on a whole different level.

"Our home." Alex confirmed. "But not Flutie, just Tor and them. I can't see Flutie."

"Then he's inside somewhere." Jesse stated. "Since Eolas only connects to nature and structures block it. Electricity too."

"He's probably still in the High School somewhere." Aura speculated.

Alex straighten up and headed for the parking lot, his pack following him. "Cordy, call your father, he can run Flutie down. We're going after Tor and them." Cordelia pulled out her cell phone and reported the problem to her father, the Prime Alpha, as they reached Alex's car and climbed in.

"We have no idea what we're dealing with." Alex stated. "Animals mentally, possibly on the verge of physically. We're stronger than an average human, they may be too. But they didn't ask for this and have no frame of reference for it. Morally, any actions they commit can't be held against them. What I felt during the Ansion is no different than what I feel as a wolf hunting and killing a pig myself would feel like. They're seeing and feeling the world the way an animal does."

"And they'll defend themselves the way an animal would." Jesse pointed out. "Instinctively, even against humans, who won't know they're possessed. We could end up with a lot of dead people and exposure because of this."

"We have to stop them fast." Aura put in. "Before it gets to that point, we know those woods, they don't. And it's well marked and recently, thanks to last night."

"Which is to our advantage." Alex decided. "All those smells, more than 50 wolves? It'll confuse and intimidate them. We can use that to our advantage. In human form we're stronger and faster than an average human, in wolf form we're stronger and faster than an average wolf. That's how we deal with them. They're smelling all those smells from the tame pack in the woods. They smell us and they'll hesitate because by now they'll know there's no wolves currently in Miller Woods. And we use Jesse's favorite tactic."

"Hit them from behind and drive them to the ground." Jesse grinned. "Works so well with vamps."

"And it should work on Tor and company." Alex agreed. "If we hit them head on, wolf form or not, they can defend themselves and we'll take some hits. We take them by surprise from behind, while they're thinking there are no wolves currently in Miller Woods and we have a chance to end it fast, without having to kill them. Hopefully Buffy and them will find something that explains this and Giles finds a way to fix it." He stopped on the edge of Miller Woods and the four teens got out of the car and began stripping. This wasn't a fun run in the woods, this was a hunt and defense against an incursion in their territory, their home. Alex's large gray timberwolf padded past Cordelia's smaller, light gray wolf, Aura's delicate brown wolf and Jesse's ochre and yellowish colored wolf. The four wolves silently padded into the woods, finding and following the smell of unknowns and found them. The wolves spread out and then rushed forward on silent paws and leaped, each of them landing on the back of one of the other teens. Alex landed on Tor's back and drove him to the ground and gripped the back of his neck lightly with his teeth. The message was clear, move and I tear out your spine. Tor froze and lay still, an instinctive response to feeling very large and sharp teeth just barely puncturing the skin on the back of his neck. Alex kept his paws on Tor's shoulders and transformed. "Yield."

Tor growled and Alex grabbed the back of Tor's neck and shook him. "Yield, this is our territory and we will defend it. If there's any part of your brain that's still human, Tor, understand this. I will kill you. You're a threat to everything I hold dear. Yield." Alex was growling himself and the menace in his voice was clear. Whether it was animal instinct or some part of him that was still human enough to comprehend that his life was at risk, Tor yielded. Just went limp and whined.

So did the others.

Charles Chase hung up the call from his daughter and immediately headed out. "Mary, there's a problem at the High School. Somehow several people seemed to have gotten possessed, call Ms. Cooper, I don't trust Rupert Giles, he has his own agenda and I do not like what the background check on him and this damned Watchers Council he's part of has to say. Get her researching animal possession and reversal."

"Yes, Sir. What will you be doing?"

"Explaining to a wannabe Alpha that this is my territory and I won't tolerate challenges. Oh and cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. I don't know how long the clean up from this mess will take and put the lawyers on stand by in case there's any legal fallout."

"Yes, Sir." His very efficient Secretary responded and immediately began following his orders as he headed for the High School, praying he got there before Bob Flutie did something regrettable.

'I guess regrettable depends on your point of view.' Charles Chase thought when he succeeded in tracking down Principal Bob Flutie. 'I mean Bob's going to have a hard time living with what he's done. On the other hand no one is going to miss Snyder. I hope Bob doesn't get indigestion from eating him. He's such sour little man. Or rather, was. Snyder must have inadvertently tried to challenge Bob.'

Subduing Bob Flutie wasn't nearly as hard as Charles Chase had expected, but he also hadn't expected him to be asleep after killing and eating a solid portion of the Vice Principal of Sunnydale High School. Just a knock to the head to make sure he stayed out and than Charles Chase just had to tie him up. Easiest challenge he'd ever dealt with.