Chapter 8

“I wonder what my mom’s doing right now.”

Spike soothingly ran his fingers through her hair. “You miss her?”

Buffy nodded. “I know I don’t see her much since I’ve moved into the dorms, but I would still visit occasionally and call almost every other day. She’s probably going out of her mind right now; hopefully Willow would cover for me.”

“You’ll get to see her soon enough, love. I promise you that.”

She smiled and snuggled up closer to his side, taking a deep breath before saying what she wanted to next. “I love you.”

He instantly froze at those words, not knowing how to respond.

Buffy glanced up at him. “I don’t expect for you to say it back. We haven’t known each other all that long, and I know you’re still not completely over your ex. It’s okay, I can wait.”

Spike sighed in relief, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He was still confused about his feelings for the blonde, but knew that he cared about her deeply. It was more than he ever felt for Drusilla, and he didn’t think that was possible. All he knew was that in less than a week, this young girl came to mean so much to him. Spike was about to answer her, but stopped at the sound of a woman screaming outside. He could tell that Buffy wasn’t able to hear it, but he could with his enhanced hearing.

“What’s wrong?” she wondered.

Spike quickly stood up and got dressed. His caring for Buffy immediately made him care for others that might be in trouble. It was definitely not a feeling that he was used to yet, but he couldn’t ignore it. “I’ll be right back.” He left without waiting for a response, making his way out of the mansion and to where he heard the terrified scream. Spike found a young blonde not too far away, confused of why she was so scared. He couldn’t see her being attacked by anything, but when he got closer to her, realized that she had no heartbeat.

She gave him a smile. “I’ve been waiting for you.”


* * * * *


Buffy was starting to get worried when Spike took too long to return. She couldn’t wait anymore and after putting her clothes on, left the mansion to try and find him. She knew that was a bad idea after what happened last time, but couldn’t seem to care. Buffy finally spotted him in the cemetery, but saw that he wasn’t alone. She felt her heart ache at seeing him with another woman, watching her place her hand on his arm and noticing that he did nothing to pull away. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but wasn’t about to stick around to find out. Buffy turned and ran back the way she came, not stopping until she crashed into a hard body. She gasped at the sight of Angelus now standing in front of her, taking a step back from him.

He grinned. “Well, what do we have here?”

Buffy tried to run away, but he snatched her arm in a tight grip.

“You’re not getting away from me that easily. This time, Spike won’t be around to help you.” Angelus placed his hand over her mouth to cut off her scream. “Now, that’s not very nice.”

Buffy bit into his hand, causing him to let her go. She couldn’t get very far, though.

He pounced on top of her, knocking her to the ground and pinning her arms above her head. “I wanted to wait until I got you back to the warehouse, but since you’re being so difficult, I’ll just have to settle for having you right here.” Angelus turned her head, ready to take another bite out of her, but pulled back in shock. “He claimed you? I’ll fucking kill him!” he spat, getting off of her and yanking her up with him. “Oh, he will pay for this. William knows better than to take what’s mine.”

Buffy finally had enough, lifting her knee up into his crotch. “I was never yours.”

Angelus groaned and clutched his privates.

She used that to her advantage and took off, knowing that he wouldn’t be very far behind. Buffy realized that she was right when he caught up to her, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back towards him.

“That’s where you’re wrong, honey. It’s not a complete claim, which means it can be broken. You’ll be mine soon enough.”

Buffy closed her eyes when he licked a trail up her neck, feeling tears form and wishing that she never left the mansion. She cursed herself again for being so stupid.

Angelus lowered his fangs to her throat, but was suddenly ripped away from her.

“You won’t be touching her, mate.”

Buffy immediately went to Spike’s side, wrapping her arms around him and not letting go.

Angelus glared at him, then saw his annoying childe run over to them.

“I did what you said, Pooh Bear. I got him distracted for a bit, so you can’t blame me if it didn’t really work out the way you wanted.”

Spike chuckled. “Pooh Bear? Isn’t that just adorable?”

Angelus scowled at both of them. “I told you to stop calling me that, Harmony. You’ll be getting yours later.”

She squealed and clapped her hands in delight. “You promise? Oh, will you take me to Paris? You said you would.”

Angelus could feel a migraine coming on, which wasn’t something he thought could happen. “You know what? I’ve had enough.” Without warning, he pulled a stake out of his pocket and threw it at Harmony, grinning when it connected with her heart. He watched in satisfaction as she exploded into a cloud of dust, knowing that stake would eventually come in handy. “Never again will I turn such a ditz.”

Spike was still finding the whole thing amusing. “I think you’re starting to lose your edge, Peaches.”

Angelus hated that nickname even more. “You’re really one to talk, William. What? You think saving a couple of young girls will make up for all the lives that you’ve taken? Do you think she would ever want to spend eternity with you?” he said, pointing at Buffy. “I’ve got news for you; she’ll eventually get bored and move on. Just like Drusilla did, you’ll never be able to keep her satisfied. She didn’t even bother to return your pathetic claim.”

Spike tried not to let his grandsire’s words hurt him, but realized that was all he had been feeling since he met Buffy.

“No one could ever love you, boy. You’ll never be able to keep a woman like her.”

Buffy heard enough, she wouldn’t let this bastard make Spike have any regrets about being with her. With that thought in mind, she grabbed Spike and pulled his neck down to her mouth. She bit him hard enough to draw blood, then whispered the words that would change everything. “Mine,” she said, feeling him shiver under her touch.

“God, yours,” he whispered in response, staring up at her in awe.

Buffy caressed his cheek. “I’m always yours.”