Stricken

Part Six

The low howl coming from the cage raised the hair on the back of Angel’s neck and he slumped farther down in the chair, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fingers. He could feel the frustration and betrayal coming from the wolf’s mind as Xander paced and snarled, snapping at the bars of the cage.

He hadn’t expected to feel guilty for locking him up; it was what the boy had wanted, after all. The misery he was getting from the wolf, though, made him feel like a total bastard and he had to actually stop himself from releasing him.

Angelus was pacing restlessly in his mind, growling something about ‘knowing how it felt to be caged when nature dictated you should be free to act on the primal desires in your blood’ and Angel had a feeling the demon hadn’t expected that he would feel the ties to the wolf, too. It served him right for getting them into this mess.

The beginning of the evening had gone smoothly, Xander plodding sleepily downstairs only minutes after he himself had woken up and had his first cup of blood. The sight of the young man’s mussed hair and sleep flushed face had made him smile and he had pulled him unconsciously into a slight hug, Xander only stiffening a moment before relaxing against him and yawning against his chest.

It had only lasted a moment before the startled looks from Gunn and Cordy had caused them to step apart uncomfortably. He didn’t know why he kept having the urge to stroke and touch the boy and he had the feeling that Xander didn’t know why he always leaned into the touches before someone else made them realize what they were doing, either.

After Xander had gone through the cabinets, making faces at the scant selection of food and causing Angel to make a mental note to send someone grocery shopping, the boy had scrounged up some kind of over sugary, bright cereal and downed it quickly, before asking hesitantly to use the phone.

Knowing how hard the call would be on the younger man, Angel had led him to the privacy of his office, wanting to make it as painless as possible for the boy. After handing him the phone, he had turned and started towards the door, but stopped at the sudden hard grip of Xander’s hand wrapped around his wrist.

“Can you stay.. please?” Xander looked down, then back up, making a face as he quietly admitted, “I probably won’t do it if it’s left up to me.”

Angel nodded, propping a hip against the desk and picking up one of the many folders on it. He flipped through it absently as Xander dialed, giving him the illusion of privacy. When the young man started speaking, Angel glanced back up, the forced cheerfulness in his voice sending a strange pang to his heart.

“Hey, G-Man! What? No, I won’t be coming tonight. Ah, yeah. Something came up. Look, there was.. no! I mean.. that’s okay, I don’t need to talk to one of..”

The sudden pallor and shaking of Xander’s hands had Angel standing up and moving over to the chair before he realized he had gotten up, a large hand brushing back the tousled black hair from the boy’s forehead. He sighed silently as Xander leaned against his hand, soaking up that small comfort. This close, he could hear Willow’s confused voice on the other end, repeating the boy’s name, solving the mystery of the young man’s reaction.

“Y-yeah.. Hey, Wills. Look, I don’t have long to talk. I know… I miss you, too, I’m sorry I haven’t been around much.” Puppy brown eyes closed tightly as the boy swallowed hard before speaking again.

“No, I won’t be at home after. Look.. Wills.. Willow! I’m in LA.”

Even Angel winced at the surprised shriek coming from the phone, Xander holding it away from his ear and looking at it before warily bringing it back to his ear. “Because I didn’t have time to tell anyone. Yeah.. Mom. You know how she’s been lately. It was too late at night to bother any of you and I … just wanted to get away, you know?”

As Xander’s shoulders got tighter, Angel dropped his hand to the boy’s nape, massaging lightly, and a soft sigh came from the boy’s chest. “No, Wills, not from you guys. Just everything. Last time I talked to Cordy, she had mentioned working for Angel in LA and that I could stop by anytime. So I decided to stop by for a visit for a few weeks.”

Another surprised question, thankfully not as shrill as the other, and Xander peeked up at his face with a chagrined expression. “Oh come on, hate is such a strong word. I never.. well I didn’t Mean it! We get along okay.. really. Hey, I have to go. Yeah, I love you, too. Tell the others ‘hey’ for me, okay? Yeah, I’ll call in a few days. You too. Bye, Wills.”

There had been an uncomfortable silence for a minute after Xander had hung up, Angel quickly snatching his hand back when he realized it was still stroking the boy’s nape and Xander standing up quickly, looking at the floor. They had started speaking at the same time, then stopped and looked sideways at each other, smiling hesitantly.

After that, the night had gone well, quietly, until the moon started to rise and Xander’s skin had gotten itchy, his temper flaring a little off and on until he resignedly went into the bedroom and stripped, walking back out wrapped toga-like in a sheet. Angel had swallowed hard, overtly watching the boy step into the cage.

Another long, haunting howl broke the silence and Angel started, glancing over at the black wolf pressed against the bars of the cage. “Stop that. I’m only keeping you in there to keep you from eating somebody.”

It froze, looking at him, tilting its head to the side and he could see the intelligence in those eerie eyes. “Xander?”

Whining low, the wolf dropped down to a crouch, sliding its muzzle out between the bars and staring at him. Knowing that he was probably going to regret it for more than one reason, Angel stood and walked over slowly, hearing the low rumble coming from the wolf’s chest as he got closer.

Sinking down into a crouch himself, he waited until the sharp, wary look was gone from its eyes before sliding a hand closer, letting it catch his scent. A cool nose pressed lightly against his hand as the wolf snuffed along his skin, a warm tongue brushing hesitantly as its tail thumped the floor once, before it pulled away.

“Yeah.. You know me, don’t you? You understand.”

Standing up again, he stared down at the werewolf consideringly. “Go stand over on the sheet,” he ordered, trying to see exactly how much the animal comprehended. The wolf cocked its head and stared at him, snorting.

“Come on, Xander. You do it and I’ll let you out,” Angel cajoled, and its ears perked up. He watched as it walked over to the discarded sheet and paused, looking over its shoulder at him.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let you out down here. There’s not a lot you could get into,” he mused, then laughed when the wolf loped back over to tilt its head with an expectant look on its face and he could feel its anticipation in his mind.

“Yeah, okay, give me a second, here,” Angel said, reaching for the keys.