Willow Rosenberg stared at him in fear. She blinked once, then twice, the fear rolling off her body in waves. <Damn it, I'm gonna die. I hate Spike. I can't BELIEVE he is back again! I mean, ok, so the LAST time he was here, he kidnapped me and Xander, threatened me with a broken bottle, then I kissed Xander and Cordelia got hurt, and now me and Oz aren't together anymore...> She swallowed. "Spike, don't you have a vampire bitch to torture?"

Spike lit a cigarette, watching the red head intently. She was crafty, and he wouldn't be surprised if she tried to run. "Dru's yesterday's news. She wanted to stay with the Chaos demon. Besides, I couldn't get my mind off that red hair of yours..." He leaned forward and ran his fingers through her hair.

She cringed. "Spike, damn it, you've ruined my Senior Year as it is. Do you have to go and kill me too?"

He laughed. "Pet, I am planning on changing you. You'll be by my side always."

"Oh, so not a good idea," Willow said, her mind flashing to the Vamp Willow the Scoobies had encountered a few weeks before. "I'm skanky as a vamp."

He looked at her funny. "Huh?"

"There was an alternate universe. I was a vampire. I was definitely a handful." She sighed. "You wouldn't live, I'd kill you, I'm sure."

"You can't talk me out of this, Red. You are going to be mine." He gripped her hair and slammed her head into the wall, knocking her out. His laughter echoed through the alley. "Too easy."

----

"Oz..." Buffy said softly, "do you love Willow?"

"I do." The young man looked up at Buffy, his ex-girlfriend's best friend, who had been trying to get the two back together since they had broken up.

"They why can't you forgive her? She's hurting so much, you know. She loves you more than anything in the world, and I just want the two of you to get back together and have happies and smoochies again."

Oz closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Buffy, you just don't understand. There's more to this than that."

"It was just a kiss. Granted, it was Xander, which in itself is icky, but it WAS a kiss, and they thought they were going to die. Can't you forgive them?"

Oz looked at her, his face filled with pain.

Angel gently touched his girlfriend's arm. "Buffy..."

"Angel, I don't understand why he can't forgive!" Buffy cried. "Willow's aching without him!"

"Imagine, Buffy, that you walked in on me, and I was kissing, say....Darla. Or even Drucilla. How would that make you feel?" Angel asked softly.

Buffy blanched. "Oh, god, Oz, I'm so sorry!" Buffy hugged him, understanding his pain better.

"Thanks, Angel," Oz said, nodding.

---

Spike was down the hall in the living room of the apartment he had confiscated. He'd stripped Willow and placed her in the bed, securely tying her up. He had been listening to her heart, waiting to see when she'd wake up.

He was planning on turning her, there was no question about that. However, he wanted her to be awake when he did. He wanted to savor her screams, her fear. He wanted the essence of Willow.

He perked up. She was starting to wake up. However, instead of her heart pounding in fear...she was calm. He could almost sense a feeling of curiosity.

Spike walked in on the girl and stared down at her. She was beautiful naked, there was no question about that. She looked up at him with big green curious eyes. She smiled softly. "Hey," she said.

He frowned. "Hello."

"You are my lover, aren't you?" she asked, shifting the best she could to get comfortable.

His frown deepened. "Huh?"

"You've got to be," she said, licking her lips. "I'm here, on the bed, tied up...completely naked. When you walked in, I could feel the tingling starting..." She closed her eyes. "I can't get the image out of my head....the image of staring up into your beautiful face while you pound into me...."

Spike cleared his throat. "Red, you have lost your mind. We are not lovers. I am going to kill you."

"Kill me?" she asked. She studied him curiously. "Why? What did I do to you?"

"YOU EXIST!" he cried. "Bloody hell, Red, you are dinner, don't you know that?"

She laughed seductively. "You just want to eat me," she purred.

He closed his eyes and ignored the lust running through his body. "No, Pet. I am going to drain your body of its blood and then you will drink mine, and you will become a creature of the night. Like me."

"Vampire," she whispered. "Like you."

"Right. Finally, you are making some sense, you daft chit."

"For eternity?"

"Until the Slayer stakes you," he smirked.

"You DO have feelings for me!" she grinned.

"WHAT?" he cried.

"You would choose to keep me with you always." She laughed. "You are my lover. You just haven't admitted it yet."

Spike could smell the arousal in the air. "Willow Rosenberg, you deal with death in the most bizarre ways."

"Willow Rosenberg. That's my name."

"Right, Pet."

"Doesn't ring a bell. Who are you?"

Spike's mouth hit the ground.

--

Buffy paced. She glanced over at Faith, the other Slayer. Faith was sitting on the table, examining her fingernails. She sighed. Xander was moping around the library. Giles was reading through a book. Something was wrong...Willow was no where to be found. "Where is Willow?" she asked.

"Willow?" Giles asked, looking up. "She's not here?" He glanced over at the computer. "No, she isn't. Where is Willow?"

"I haven't been able to find her," a deep voice said from the stacks.

Everyone looked up to see Angel standing by a bookshelf. "No where?" Buffy asked.

"Willow is...gone," Angel said, looking down at his hands.

"Did she run away?" Xander asked softly.

"I don't know. We need to search her room. Maybe she left a note," Faith suggested.

Buffy looked up at Angel, who had since moved to his girlfriend's side. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I knew she was upset, but I didn't think she'd be THIS upset."

"We will find her," Angel promised.

--

"Now, pet, I don't know much about your life, but I do know some things. And I'm not going to lie to you either. Not sure why, but I'm not." Spike sighed, sitting next to Willow. She was sitting up, having been untied. She had a sheet wrapped around her body.

"You are a witch," he continued. "That's why I kidnapped you last time. I wanted a love spell for Dru. Your best friend is the Slayer, whom I hate more than anything in the world. She's dating my sire, who has a soul now, and hates me. Um...Chubs is your best friend since you were little. I don't know what his name is, but he's annoying. He was with you when I kidnapped you. The two of you kissed, and the werewolf you were dating walked in on you. You two broke up, and you've been pretty upset since then. I've been following you for the last week or so...you've been really upset. All of your friends have been concerned, but not utterly. You were alone tonight, and no one even cared."

Willow frowned, looking upset. "They don't care?"

"Red, you are the smartest one of all of them, and you are the witch, but they take advantage of you. They never tell you thank you, or anything. Even though I kidnapped you, they blamed you. It was all your fault because you were kissing Chubs."

She hugged herself. "I don't want to be a vampire. But I don't want to go back to them."

Spike started laughing.

She frowned at him. "What?" she hissed.

"I will keep you, and I will keep you as a human, and it will kill the Slayer that her little pet couldn't resist me."

Willow smiled. "Might be fun."

---

Two months had passed with no word from Willow. The two stayed low, not wanting to emerge until the time was right. They had grown into lovers during their time together. Willow occasionally would have flashes of her life, but nothing serious. She was still unsure of who she used to be.

In Spike's care, she had become Lady Red, his mate. All the vampires respected her...they were even scared of her upon occasion. The fiery red head had a temper and wasn't scared to use it.

The lovers had discovered a few spells and delved deep into the black magicks. All Spike was really concerned about was that she could sense other vampires, and that she was strong and that she could defend herself if she got into a fight. She had become strong in the magicks. For some reason they called to her, and she excelled.

That night, as she slept, Willow was lost in a dream world. She was remembering the time when she was little mousy Willow Rosenberg. She sat up in bed, screaming out into the night. Her body trembled in fear.

Spike slowly woke up, realizing there was something wrong with his mate. She wasn't the scared type....Spike made sure she was secure in herself. "Red? Red, are you ok?"

Willow looked over at Spike. "Spike," she whispered, "I dreamed about the Slayer. About Xander and Giles and everyone...and...." Willow's lip trembled as she tried to fight back the tears. "Spike, I was mousy and helpless and they didn't care. They didn't have faith that I could protect myself. I was just their research girl. I AM MORE THAN THAT! I AM LADY RED! I rule all of this...I am the mate to William the Bloody!"

He stroked her cheek. "That you are, pet. That you are."

---

Buffy sat the tombstone and stared into the distance. She was deep in thought, chewing on her bottom lip. "Buffy?"

She turned slightly. "Angel, hey. How are you?"

"Good," he said softly. "And you?"

"Today was a bad day. Everything was making me think of Will."

Angel sighed and gathered his girlfriend in his arms. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"Where could she be? It's been two months... she could be seriously hurt in a hospital somewhere...or dead...."

"I don't know, baby. I don't know." He sighed, then frowned. He glanced up, sniffing at the air.

"Angel?"

"I smell...smell something....familiar. I smell Spike," he hissed.

"Damn it," Buffy exclaimed. "I SO do not want to deal with Peroxide Blonde tonight."

There was a soft laughter on the breeze. "Not him, but his mate."

Angel and Buffy gasped. Willow had stepped out from the trees. "Willow!" Buffy cried, jumping down from the tombstone. "Are you...." She glanced at Angel. "Is she...?"

"Human," Angel whispered. "Radiating Spike's smell....she's his mate."

Willow placed her hands on her hips, her stance imposing. "My name is NOT Willow anymore. I am NOT that weak girl you once knew! My name is Lady Red."