Later that day, around two o’clock in the afternoon, Giles walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair off with a towel. He had just arrived back from his mid-day jog and had almost completely forgotten about the visitors in his house. He turned the corner into the kitchen, only to walk in to find the refrigerator open. He wrinkled his brow, moving to shut the door. A small man stood up, making Giles jump.

“Good God man!” He shouted. “Who are you?”

The man pulled a loaf of bread out of his mouth. “Sorry,” he extended a hand. “I’m Amsel, the dark gray wolf.” He held out an arm.

“Oh!” Giles smiled, shaking the man’s extended hand. He looked the man up and down. He wore dark brown breaches, black riding boots, and a white shirt. His long hair was pulled back and Giles could see a dark gray streak in his otherwise brown hair. “What are you doing down here? I though you all were upstairs resting with Rose?”

He nodded. “Yes, we were but then we got hungry. So we joined together and they sent me down.”

“Ah,” Giles said. “Your relationship together inside that body is highly confusing.”

“Oh I know,” Amsel smiled. “It took us thirty years to figure it out.” He looked down at the food in his arms. “Erm, do you mind if I take this much food? I am feeding six.”

Giles nodded. “Of course. Take what you need. Now do you eat anything special? Like blood or whatnot?”

Amsel shook his head. “No, we do eat a lot of meat, but we all went hunting before we got into town. Wulf took down a ten-point buck and we ate well. But then again, that was two days ago.”

Giles nodded. “I take it that Wulf is the alpha male of your pack?”

“Yes,” Amsel said. “He is the largest, so that’s how it traditionally goes. He’s also the oldest, so that’s part of it too.”

Giles nodded again. “Well, do you mind telling me a bit more about your curse and your origins? It might help me to break the curse easier.” Amsel nodded and walked with Giles into the living room.

Up in the bedroom, Rose still lay sleeping on her cot. She could feel that the six wolves had left her, but wasn’t aware of when. She rolled over and continued to dream of that day so long ago.

September 1706,

Rose stood in front of the village council of elders, their cold eyes staring back at her. “Little Red Riding Hood,” Herr Miller, the chairman of the council, said. “Why did you save the wolf charged with swallowing you and your grandmother?” Rose said nothing. “Fine,” He sighed, turning and looking at a few of the village men. “Bring the wolf.”

Rose’s eyes went wide. They had Wulf. The three villagers returned with Wulf, his hands bound together, his shirt in tatters and blood running down his back, there was also a red gash going down his chest and stomach, from where the woodcutter had sliced him open. He looked up at her, his left eye blackened. Rose gasped, trying to run to Wulf, but being held back by three more men. “What have you done to him!” She shouted.

“Only what he deserved, fifty lashes.” Herr Miller said coldly. “Make sure he doesn’t get free.” The men holding onto him nodded. “Now,” he said, looking at Rose. “I shall ask again, why did you save this wolf?”

Rose looked Herr Miller in the eyes; her own eyes cold with the furry of seeing her Wulf beaten and bloody. “I saved him because I love him.” A gasp came from everyone. “Yes, Herr Miller, you heard me. I love him!” She turned and looked at Wulf. “I’ve loved him since the first time I laid eyes on him.” She turned back to the council. “And I will keep loving him until the end of time!”

She broke through the three men who were trying to hold her, and then through the three holding on to Wulf. She wrapped her arms around Wulf’s neck and kissed him as hard as she could. “I won’t let them hurt you again.” She whispered. “I love you,”

“I love you too, Rosie,” he whispered back, hugging her tightly. When the men Rose had pushed away ran over to them again, Wulf gather Rose in his arms and growled at them, taking on a defensive stance. “Touch her and die!” He growled, baring his long canine teeth.

There was suddenly a loud clunking sound and Rose felt Wulf’s body go limp. She looked over his shoulder and saw a man standing there with a large club. Before she could do anything else, Wulf fell to the ground, Rose still in his arms. She struggled to get up from under him. When she was almost free, the club hit her on the back of the head as well. She fell back onto the ground, but just before she passed out, she saw Herr Miller talking to a woman. The woman looked at Rose, and Rose recognized her as the woman from last night, the one sitting next to the dark-haired man. Before she could say anything, Rose passed out.

~

Rose woke with a start. “Shush,” Vogel said, sitting down on the cot. “It’s alright.”

Rose wrapped her arms around the man’s neck. “How did you know I needed you?” She sniffed.

“Wulf could sense it.” The man said. He ran a hand through Rose’s hair. “He told us, Amsel bolted up stairs and switched me out.” Rose nodded. “Are you going to be okay?”

She nodded again. “Yes, I’ll be fine. But I think I just found out who cursed us.”

Vogel gave her a confused look. “But, I thought Herr Miller cursed us.” Rose shook her head. “Who was it then?”

“Anyanka.” Rose said.

~

The phone rang in Xander’s basement. He climbed out of the bed and picked up the phone. “Hello?” Xander said. “Oh hey, Giles! What do you need?” Xander’s eyes went wide and he turned towards the bed, looking at the sleeping Anya. “Are you sure?” Xander sighed. “Alright, we’ll be over in a little bit. Bye Giles.” He hung up the phone and walked over to the bed. Xander laid a hand on Anya’s shoulder and shook her awake.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Why’d you wake me? Do you want more sex?” Anya asked hopefully.

Xander shook his head, “Giles just called, he needs us down there, now.”

Half an hour later, the two arrived at Giles’ apartment. Xander opened the door and they walked inside. “Hey, G-man.” He smiled.

Giles just rolled his eyes. “How many times have I asked you not to call me that?”

“Sorry,” Xander smirked. “So, what did you need Anya for?”

“Well, we need her to help us lift the curse on Rose and Wulf.” Giles said.

“Why do you need me?” Anya asked.

“Because you’re the one who cursed us.” Rose said. Everyone turned and saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs, six wolves sitting at her feet. “Isn’t that right, Anyanka?”

Anya shook her head. “I think you’re mistaken. I didn’t curse you, I only curse men.” She pointed to the wolves. “I might of cursed them, but it’s unlikely since I remember every curse I’ve ever laid on a man.”

Rose shook her head, taking a few steps towards Anya, the wolves following her. “No, I think you’re mistaken. I remember you; you were in my village the day we were cursed. I saw you conversing with Herr Miller. Now I know for a fact that the town elders didn’t have enough power to make a time pocket to keep us in forever, so I always figured that they used some outside source of power. But I never, not even in my wildest dreams, thought that I’d ever meet the person who cursed me and my Wulf.” Hisch, the light gray wolf, barked. Rose looked down at them. “Hey, you five got yourselves into this.” Hisch whined, backing down immediately. Rose turned back to Anya. “So now that I know you cursed us, you can undo it. That’s why you’re here, now let’s get to it.”

Anya shook her head. “I do remember Herr Miller, but I can’t remove the curse. I was robbed of my powers last year, I’m mortal now.”

A look of pure rage flashed across Rose’s face, and all six wolves, including Wulf, backed away and started to whimper. Suddenly, Rose was on the other side of the room, pinning Anya to the wall. “Listen, I don’t care if you have your powers or not, I have been living in a time fold for three hundred years. In that time, not only have I been apart from my mate, but my child has gone unborn. Now you will find away to get rid of this curse, and you will do it soon. Do you understand?”

Anya nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

“Good,” Rose growled, backing away.

Anya looked at Giles. “But I’ll need some books and supplies. That book that Willow mentioned last night. I’ll write down the list of supplies I need.”

Giles nodded. “I’ll call Willow.” He turned away and walked to the phone.

Rose turned away from Anya and walked back over to the wolves, who were still cowering by the stairs. “Hey,” she cooed, kneeling down in front of them. “I’m sorry I scared you. It was all for you though, you know that?” Wulf barked and walked up to her, his tail wagging. Rose wrapped her arms around him and kissed his snout. She patted his side and stood up. “I’m going to go get some sleep, why don’t you all go outside for a bit?”

The wolves all barked or yipped and Rose smiled. She leaned down and gave each of them a kiss on the head, then went back upstairs. When she was gone, they all lined up. There was a bright glow, then a tall man stood there, a man that they hadn’t seen before. He had long black hair tied back in a red ribbon, sharp blue eyes, and wore black breaches with no shoes. There was a large, white scar extending from his sternum to just below his belly button. He turned around, looking longingly up the stairs at the closed bedroom door.

“Eh-hem,” Giles coughed, clearing his throat to get the man’s attention.

He whirled around, looking at the other people in the room. “Sorry,” he sniffed, whipping the tears from his eyes. “I’m Wulf.”

Giles nodded, extending a hand. “Nice to meet you. Are you alright?”

Wulf nodded. “Yes, I’m alright.” He turned and looked back up the stairs. “You just have no idea how it feels to be this close to her. This is the closest I’ve been since 1889. I thought it would kill me, to know where she is, to be so close, but not able to touch her or see her. But right now I’m happy that I’m here.” He turned back to Giles. “I’m going to go outside for a bit, is that alright?”

Giles nodded. “Yes, of course.”

Wulf nodded and walked past the people in the room. When he opened the door, the two redheads met him. He sniffed the air; he could tell that the woman was a witch. He sniffed again and backed away, instantly starting to growl. “Werewolf,” he growled.

Oz backed up, holding his hands in front of him. “Hey man, I’m not looking for a fight.”

“You destroyed my kind,” Wulf growled again.

“Oz,” Giles said, walking between the two men. “When wolf demons were at their height of population in Europe, there was a sudden rise in the werewolf population. They were killing each other off and clearly the werewolves were winning.”

Oz nodded. “Oh, well I’m not that kind of wolf. I’m more placid.”

Wulf stopped growling, but still kept his distance from Oz. “So you’re not going to attack me?”

“Yeah, I can definitely say no to that.” Oz said.

The other man nodded, standing up out of the fighting stance that he had instinctively fallen into. “Okay,” Wulf said quietly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going outside.” He walked past Oz and Willow out into the night.

Oz looked at Giles. “You thinkin’ I should be out there with him? Have a little wolf-to-wolf talk? Try to get more info out of him?”

“That would be most helpful.” Giles said.

Oz nodded. “Got it,” he turned, grabbing Rose’s cloak from the back of the couch before going outside. Instantly, he saw Wulf standing in the fountain in the middle of the courtyard of Giles’ building. He was scrubbing his arms and chest with the water. “You know,” Oz said, making Wulf jump in surprise. “I’m pretty sure Giles has a shower in there. But then again that’s just a guess.”

Wulf shrugged. “I don’t know how to use all these modern things. Besides, that would get my clothes wet. And these are the clothes I’m cursed to stay in for the rest of eternity. I have to be very careful not to get them wet, or dirty.”

“Sorry,” Oz said. “Then I’m guessing that’s the only dress Rose has?”  He held up her cloak. “This is her’s too.”

Wulf’s eyes went wide. He ran over to Oz and pulled the cloak from his hands, rubbing the material against his face. “My God,” he whispered. “I’ve missed her smell so much.”

Oz nodded. “Yeah, I get that. When my band goes away for a gig, I miss the way Willow smells so much.”

Wulf chuckled. “You’re pretty nice, you know, for a werewolf.”

“Well I’ll take that as a compliment.” Oz said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the fountain. Wulf walked over and sat down next to him, Rose’s cloak still clutched in his hands. “So, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“You just did, but alright.” Wulf said.

“Okay,” Oz said. “You love Rose, right?” Wulf nodded. “Then why did you eat her?”

Wulf shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Oz just shrugged. “Try me.”

“Alright,” Wulf said, taking a deep breath. “Rose told me to. She knew it was the only way for her to escape her village without everyone coming to look for her. She knew it was the only way for our cub to be safe.”

“Cub?”

Wulf nodded. “Yes, Rose had just told me that she was pregnant. It’s a boy too, I could tell by her smell. She knew that if the village found out about her pregnancy, they would kill her and me. She knew that the only way to get her out of the village was to have me eat her, and carry her in my stomach. I ate her grandmother as well because she was Rose’s midwife. She didn’t like the fact that it was my cub growing inside of Rose, but she loved her granddaughter and agreed to come with us.”

“Then why didn’t she stand up for you guys when you were on trial?” Oz asked.

“Because she was dead.” Wulf sighed. “When the woodcutter freed them from my stomach, his axe had accidentally hit her, killing her instantly. But it was blamed on me.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would happen.” Oz said.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, and then Wulf spoke again. “I don’t know what I’d do if I never saw her again. In 1889, I was so desperate to feel any part of her, I begged my brother to sleep with her, just so I could feel her through him.”

“That is desperate.” Oz said softly. “Wolves mate for life, right?” Wulf nodded. “That must have taken a lot of trust, for you to have your brother do that.”

Wulf nodded again. “Even though it killed me to ask him for it, I always feel like it was worth it, just because I got to feel some small part of her.” Wulf suddenly got quiet, as his eyes traveled up to the sky. “You know, in 1754, the others and I found shelter from rain in this abandoned library. We found a book that said a cursed wolf can be freed if he looks upon a full, blood red moon. I’ve been looking at the skies for about two hundred and fifty years since then, and I have yet to see a full moon that bleeds as red as a man. And I doubt that I ever will.”

Oz shrugged. “Well, you never know. I’ve seen a red full moon once or twice. It’s the only night I didn’t change into the wolf. And who knows? There might be hope for you too.”

“Maybe,” Wulf said. “I just want my son to be born. Since we’ve all been stuck in perpetually the same time as we were cursed, the baby hasn’t grown any. I’m wondering if he even lives now.”

Oz just shrugged. Another few minutes passed in silence. The silence was broken by Willow. “Oz,” she called, walking outside. Oz looked up at her. “We’d better get going, I’ve got class in a few hours.”

Oz nodded standing up. “It was nice talking to you,” he said to Wulf.

Wulf just nodded. Oz turned and walked towards Willow. When they were gone, Wulf sat by himself for a while, before standing up. There was a bright light and the six wolves appeared again, the black wolf holding Rose’s cloak in his mouth. They all went inside and up to Giles’ bedroom, where Rose was resting. They all settled down beside her, silently comforting Wulf, whose eyes reflected a sadness that they had never seen in him.

To Be Continued…