Stricken

Part Four

“Oh dear? What’s ‘oh dear’?” Xander demanded, eyes wide, flickering from Angel to Wesley. His mind raced and he edged away slightly from the vampire.

“Well, um… it says that when a vampire bites a werewolf, it forms some sort of bond-” Wesley started, his eyes skimming over the open book in his hands, but Angel interrupted him, sounding as aghast as Xander was.

“Bond? What kind of bond? I didn’t claim him, I’d know if I did that!”

Xander felt his eyes go huge as his head whipped back around to stare at Angel in horror. “Claim!? What claim? No claimage going on here. I should have known you’d do something like this, Deadboy. You can’t turn me into some kind of demony concubine!” he yelped out, scrabbling backwards until he reached the far end of the couch.

Angel rolled his eyes and sighed, a strong pale hand grasping his bare ankle to pull him back towards the vampire. Xander wasn’t having any of that and clenched his hands on the arm of the couch to keep from being pulled away, resulting in a tug of war until Angel gave up.

“I don’t want you as my ‘demony concubine’, Xander. Stop that and get back over here,” Angel snapped out, sounding annoyed.

He turned his head and blinked at the vampire, relieved and sort of… insulted. “You don’t? Why not? You could only be so lucky as to have a sex slave like me! Not that I would ever be one and the fact that I even said that is really freaking me out right now. But are you sure? Cause I gotta say, you? With all this touching?” he remarked dryly, jerking his foot that Angel still had gripped in his hand, the thumb slowly moving in light circles along his ankle that were sending flickers of pleasure up and down his spine. “Not very convincing.”

Angel frowned and glanced down at his hand before abruptly releasing him and Xander pulled his leg up underneath him, huddling against the arm of the couch. He tried to ignore his still-tingling ankle and looked back over at Wesley when the ex-Watcher sighed, shaking his head at them.

“As amusing as this is, the bond isn’t anything remotely… sexual. So you can stop the outraged virgin routine, Xander,” Wesley said, arching an eyebrow at him and he flushed, wondering when the shy, bumbling Watcher had turned into more. He saw Angel smirk out of the corner of his eye and glared back, but when the Watcher’s calm, blue gaze went to the vampire suspiciously, Angel’s face sobered quickly.

“What’s worrying me is that vampires used to use this bond to control the wolves, sometimes creating small armies of them to hunt with or use as guards, especially in the middle ages. The carnage they could cause together was truly impressive, much more than either could create alone, the vampire giving direction to the feral impulses of the wolves. Why would you want a werewolf under your control, Angel?” Wesley asked calmly, eyes cool.

Angel sighed and slumped against the couch, closing his eyes briefly. “I’m not Angelus, if that’s what you’re implying, Wes. I didn’t know what it would do.”

“Great. So now he’s got some sorta spell over me? And what do you mean, ‘under his control’? I don’t want to turn into some mindless Renfield running around eating bugs!” Xander protested and when Wesley and Angel both looked at him strangely, he mumbled, “What? I saw the movie. Just because I’m not so good at the sitting down and reading doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the classics!”

Wesley gave him a look and said, “The only way you would scar is if your wolf accepts the vampire’s domination over you. It could have refused. Either way, you won’t be mindless, Angel will just be able to direct your animal energies. It’s almost a Sire/childe bond but more dangerous pet than family.”

Xander gave him a disgusted look, not commenting on the ‘pet’ comparison. “Yeah, just go blame the victim. Like I knew what was going on!”

At that, Wesley turned his questioning eyes back to Angel. “No, but I’m truly surprised that Angel didn’t. Surely Angelus ran into some vampires who had some wolves of their own in his time?”

“I don’t automatically know everything Angelus ever ran across. There are a lot of really foggy memories, the deaths are the only really vivid ones,” Angel replied, looking faintly sulky.

“Why would you think that biting him would calm him down, then?”

“I didn’t. My demon told me to,” the vampire said, before going still and wincing, like he had just realized something.

“And do you always do what the bloodsucking, evil, killer of a demon tells you to do?” Xander snapped out, before a cool look from those dark eyes made him hunch down and be quiet. Which really annoyed him.

“Angel?” Wesley asked, both eyebrows raised in question, but Angel held up a hand and said, “Give me a minute,” before turning his attention inward. Xander looked over at him in confusion after a moment, but then a chill skittered down his spine as he realized what the vampire was doing.

Angel was talking to Angelus.

***

What the fuck did you do now? he demanded, hearing the mocking laughter in his mind.

I didn’t do anythin’. You did, came the amused reply.

Only because you told me to!

More laughter.

Oh, and when did yeh start listenin’ to me, Soulboy?

He sighed, wondering that exact same thing.

Not that he’d never listened to the demon before, he almost always did in the midst of a fight, trusting the demon’s instincts over his own. While he might feel a martyr and sometimes have a slight death wish, he could always count on Angelus wanting to survive.

But that didn’t mean he listened to the demon when he insisted that he bite someone.

What exactly are you hoping to gain by tying Xander Harris, of all people, to us? he asked finally, head aching with trying to figure out the demon’s motivation.

What makes yeh think I’m trying to gain anythin’? Could be I just like watchin’ yeh squirm by bondin’ you to the boy that sent yeh to Hell. It’ll be amusin’, to be sure, to watch you try to control a young wolf, Angelus replied derisively.

You never do anything for no reason.

Maybe I miss family, ever thought o’ that? Just because your lilywhite soul sees me as evil incarnate doesn’t mean I don’ have some feelings of me own. Yeh drove off my childer and I know you won’t be makin’ more, so it’s the next best thing. Besides, he stood up to me. It’s about time he was shown his place.

It had a grain of honesty in it but it just didn’t ring true.

You really expect me to believe that sappy shit from you?

Laughter, though this time he wasn’t sure what the demon was laughing about. That he didn’t believe him or that he slightly did.

Maybe it’ll help if I told you I’ll spend my nights trapped in here dreamin’ up ways to use him the next time your slippery soul flies away.

Shuddering at that thought, Angel sighed. Strangely, that did comfort him in a way, Angelus’ bloodthirstyness being a familiar burden.

Opening his eyes, Angel blinked at the two sets of suspicious eyes staring back at him.

“Angelus knew what he was doing. He wants me to welcome you to the family.” And didn’t Xander’s huge frantic eyes and speechless gaping mouth almost make the whole debacle worth it?