Title: Wolf Pack

Chapter Title: The Battle

Author: Baby Blues

E-mail: purely_blissful@hotmail.com

Rated: NC-17

Disclaimer: Not mine, but the story is.

Summary: The night of the battle has come, and a few surprises come underway. Will the pack survive with their new leader? And will Buffy accept her fate?

Dedication: To Tom Cruise, my very first celebrity crush (Top Gun, baby!) Major hottie, especially at his age.

Excerpt:

~Angelus: I'm pack leader now . . . and you will be mine.

~Buffy: Don't be so sure.


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Buffy stood with Willow and Cordelia by a tree as the three of them watched their surroundings with silence.



Ethan had chosen the spot in the woods, completely secluded from the town and away from any humans. All the pack members were there, standing off to one side and sizing up the lone wolves who stood at their own spots beneath the glow of their Mother Moon and the darkness of their Shadow King.



"They all look strong," Willow commented worriedly, taking in the sight of very well built young strangers.



"But dumb," Cordy assured with a nod.



Buffy had seen Angelus the moment he arrived, still looking as dangerous and as beautiful as the last time she'd seen him. And she mentally cursed him for it.



"I can't believe you're not participating, Buffy," Willow said fearfully,



The blonde shrugged. "It's my choice," she said, tearing her eyes away from Angelus.



Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Right," she said skeptically, "And it's not because of that certain brown haired honey we ran into a few days ago . . . "



Buffy became silent.



Angelus' eyes stayed on her, not bothering to study and examine his other competition. He couldn't help it. He couldn't look away when she was looking so glorious with her blond hair up in a twists, dressed in a light yellow top that bared her neck and shoulder, a dark olive green skirt that went down past her knees, and a pair of vintage heels.



Angelus smiled.



Looking sexy for the battle, a trophy worth showing off to stimulate those who were fighting for the name as the Slayer Clan's pack leader.



And boy was it working.



He could tell from the numerous amount of looks the other males threw at her, except Gunn who has had his eyes on Buffy's brunette friend, that they would go to any lengths to win this particular battle for her.



"Attention!"



Everyone looked at Wesley  who stood on the middle of a circle fo white stones half dug into the ground. The old man was dressed in an old gray robe, a rope tied around his waist. He stared at the crowd, his blue eyes twinkling with an unknown force.



"It is time!" he shouted, and the gathered group of werewolves roared in cheer. Friends laughed and embraced each other, wishing them luck. The group quickly morphed into wolf form, barely waiting another second. The sounds of bone crunching and the sudden growls and howls of the changing animals permeated the air like a song in the night.



"Those who will fight for leadership, step forward," Wesley ordered, and the group obeyed as males of all different shades and sizes stepped into the circle.



"My prayers and wishes go out to all of you," Wesley said sincerely, "The last wolf standing will be named as the Slayer Clan's pack leader." He stepped away from the circle. "The battle begins . . . now!"



With a thunderous rumble of roars, male werewolves lunged at each other with feral attacks. Buffy watched on in fear and fascination as Angelus, notorious in his black coat, attacked the nearest male, biting him with his large and powerful jaws.



The male went down with a whimper as Wesley pulled him out of the circle before his companions, who chose not to fight, dragged him away from the crowd. Time seemed to go on as more of the males sauntered out of the circle with broken bones, bleeding wounds, and other major injuries.



And Buffy watched with complete enthrallment as Angelus took down every single male that came at him. He looked so powerful, a magnificent specimen of a werewolf. His eyes gleamed with animalistic passion as he bared his teeth, showing off his sharp canines with a growl. His dark eyes, now specked with amber and yellow, stared at the challengers with violence and fierceness.



The air became even more pungent, but this time, with blood and the small cries and whimpers of those who were wounded and hurt. Buffy moved closer to the circle, her silver eyes fixed on him as he continued to battle with passion.



Angelus was having a high as more power surged through his wolf form. He fought with viciousness. And through all this, his thoughts were on Buffy, who he knew was watching with keenness and acuteness.



He had been feeling her eyes on him the whole time . . .



And by the end, it was only him and Spike left standing.



The two circled each other, scrutinizing and looking for any sort of weakness. And Angelus found his. The other wolf had been wounded badly on his left shoulder. And Spike soon found the other male's as well, and with a grim smirk, sauntered off towards Buffy, looking shocked as he licked her face.



And from pure instinct, she nuzzled Spike's neck, not really knowing what she was doing as she kept her eyes on Angelus.



Instead of getting weakened by the act of affection between the bleached blonde ass and the mate he wanted, Angelus got angered, causing more power and strength to flow into him.



He lunged at Spike, catching the male off guard.



Spike struggled beneath the feral wolf. He opened his jaws, twisting his neck to bite at his shoulder.



Angelus almost laughed. It was bad move. The werewolf's neck was open and vulnerable, and Angelus took that to his advantage. With one fierce snarl, he bit into the neck, causing his opponent to whimper in pain.



Buffy watched, wide eyed as Angelus won the battle. Wesley pulled him away from the injured Spike.



"The Blood Moon Battle has ended. Angelus will take his place as pack leader for the Slayer Clan. The Moon has called it!" Wesley shouted.



The whole crowd was stunned into silence, amazed and shocked at the turn of events. A stranger, a lone wolf for that matter, had won The Blood Moon Battle, and against a Slayer Clan member.



Buffy howled . . . and the others soon followed, praising their respect towards the new leader.



Angelus licked his lip, his glowing eyes still on Buffy as the whole entire group of wolves howled their call. He was now the Slayer Clan's pack leader.



Faith was the first to attack, knocking Willow down on the ground before biting the girl's shoulder. A pitiful whimper escaped from her the auburn haired werewolf.



Buffy took a step forward, face fallen from utter horror as Oz pulled Willow from the circle she had been thrown into. What the hell was Faith doing?



Cordelia snarled and lunged after her . . . but Faith reacted quickly and slammed against her. The sound of bones breaking echoed through the air.



Kendra entered the fight as soon as Cordelia went down, but she was quickly disabled when Faith clawed at her. The girl slid across the ground in helpless whimpers.



Buffy watched as Anya came forward, but was quickly injured with an angry bite to her shoulder.



And then her mother came into the circle as the two circled one another. With a howl, Buffy jumped inside to protect her mother, but was too late. Faith quickly nipped at the older woman's neck, and Buffy watched helplessly as her mother fell to the ground.



With a ferocious roar, Buffy tackled Faith to the ground, completely blinded by fury. She bit, she growled, she stomped, and she clawed. No one touched her mother. She may be no reigning queen any longer, but no one dared touch her. But her attack on the werewolf was interrupted when she was roughly pulled away.



She looked at Wesley and growled at him in warning.



"The Moon Dance has ended. Buffy will take her place as Angelus' mate for the Slayer Clan. The Moon has called it!" Wesley presented.



The whole crowd roared and howled, growled and barked. But Buffy shook her head and stepped away from all of them, denying the fact that she had just won herself the Bitch's Dance. And by accident!



Her eyes landed on Angelus, who stared at her with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He changed his form, and Buffy watched in fascination as his human features took the place of his wolf form. Blood and bruises covered his body, but he paid no heed to them.



Buffy morphed back as well, not caring that she was naked. That didn't matter, not when she had just won herself as his mate.



Angelus stared at her frightened expression and brought up a hand to caress her face. He smiled when she didn't pull away as she continued to stare at him in utter shock. Angelus took that moment to bring his lips down to hers, amused when she pulled away to glare at him.



He grinned. "I'm pack leader now . . . and you will be mine," he promised her.



Buffy gazed at him defiantly. "Don't be so sure," she said and morphed back into wolf form before she turned and ran deeper into the woods.



Angelus chuckled lightly before changing as well to follow her into the night, the sounds of howls flooding the night air.




Continued to Chapter 8: The Following
Back to Chapter 6: The Warning