Prologue
It's good to be me again. I've missed being
in charge.
You have no idea what it feels like
to be trapped inside a body and have no control. You're a bystander. All
you can do is wait and watch and seethe.
Having to sit idly by while that
souled idiot brooded and pondered and made a general nuisance of himself.
He destroyed the Gem of Amarra! The vampire equivalent of the Holy Grail.
He just threw all of that power away.
Of all the stupid, shortsighted
things he could have done, there was no beating that. Or so I thought.
Because just a few months later, he gave up being human again to help save
the world. Though I'm not complaining about that one.
If he hadn't been so self-sacrificing,
I wouldn't be here right now.
Yes, I'm back in charge. In the
driver's seat of both this body and this delightful automobile. I must
commend his taste in cars. Driving along the highway with the top rolled
down is quite a pleasurable experience. A song on the radio. And a song
in my heart.
Just another hour to go.
Destination: Sunnydale.
Chapter One
Angelus was on the hunt.
He was quite good at it. Stalking his prey.
Skulking in shadows. And then, at the last possible moment, leaping in for the
kill.
Of course, two centuries of practice didn't
hurt. All those years as the Scourge of Europe had helped to hone his deadly
skills. Time spent under the expert tutelage of vampires such as Darla and The
Master. It certainly helped to form him but no instruction in the world could
be completely responsible for the monster Angelus was today.
A true predator is born, not made.
You can teach someone how to hunt. They can
practice the skills you've taught them. Perhaps someday, they can even excel
at being a hunter. But they'll never be a predator.
The hunter is a role that one assumes. You
slip it on like a mantle and do the job. Go on the hunt. Make the kill. Then,
the moment passes and you return to your life. It's what you do, not who you
are.
The predator lives to hunt. It's innate. It's
inescapable.
As inescapable as the fate of the young person
Angelus now hunted.
Angelus had driven like a madman to reach
Sunnydale. To reach his destination. His goal. His obsession.
He stood outside Rupert Giles' building, watching.
The door finally opened and a couple stepped outside. Angelus' grin flashed
in the darkness as he followed his prey down the street.
The sight of the man and the woman strolling
along, holding hands, seemingly oblivious to the world around them, had Angelus
growling softly. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and shred away that
polite veneer of normalcy. He hated the pretense. He despised the insipid sweetness
of it all.
But most all, he was furious because half
of that couple was his. The fact that someone would dare to encroach upon Angelus'
territory filled him with a dark rage. He mentally added another name to his
list of victims to visit while here in Sunnydale.
The couple walked up a darkened path and paused
at a closed door. There were soft words, a brief embrace and then a quiet farewell.
Under Angelus' watchful eye, they said goodnight and parted ways.
To the victor go the spoils. And Angelus was
ready to claim his bounty.
He followed closely behind as the object of
his obsession headed towards home. But the air was charged now in a way it hadn't
been before. It was as though his subject knew his stalker was near. The faltering
steps. The uncertain glances. Jumping at shadows.
Angelus grinned with delight as he picked
up the distinctive scent of fear on the breeze. He decided that he had waited
long enough. It was time to make his move. Swoop in and claim what was rightfully
his.
Angelus stepped out from under the cover of
darkness and moved toward the lone figure standing on the deserted street. His
quarry froze and turned quickly at the sound of someone approaching.
Angelus' felt a triumphant roar build inside
him as he was spotted for the first time. He caught the widening of the eyes
and the gasp that escaped from between those delightful lips.
"Angel? What are you doing here? Is there
danger-"
He strode forward purposefully. His eyes on
his prize. It made it all worth the trip.
"No."
"No danger?"
"No Angel."
"Oh my god! Angelus?"
Angelus grinned down. "Oh yeah. It's me. I'm
back and better than ever."
Angelus waited for a long moment, enjoying
the emotions that flitted across the unguarded face as he studied it. Finally,
the trembling figure moved. One
step. Then another.
Suddenly, Angelus felt those arms slide up
around his neck, surprisingly strong, pulling his head down. Warm, full lips
pressed urgently against his. Angelus growled low in his throat as he deepened
the kiss. His tongue roughly invaded the soft, hot, wet mouth that he'd thought
about all the way from Los Angeles.
His hands fisted in silky hair as he savagely
plundered that mouth. He ground himself against the smaller form, reveling in
the arousal he could smell on his partner. The violent sensuality of the moment
held them both firmly in its grasp.
Their mouths broke apart and a face was buried
in the crook of Angelus' neck as arms clutched at him desperately. The ragged
sound of breathing was all Angelus could hear for a long moment. Until the tentative
whisper, so full of disbelief and wonder.
"Is it really you, Angelus?"
"Oh, it's me. How quickly they forget." He
pulled away roughly and grabbed his former lover by the shoulders, sneering
in his face. "Didn't you miss me, Xander?"
Xander shuddered at the hauntingly familiar
touch that he never thought he'd experience again. He licked his lips and met
Angelus' fiery gaze as he nodded solemnly.
"I missed you."
