Willow listened to the restless prowling of the imprisoned werewolf, safely locked in the book cage, with a heavy heart. 'Damn him,' she silently cursed as she listened to her love's mournful howl cutting through the quiet library. It was all that child's fault, one wayward bite and her soul mate was condemned to this 'existence', she thought with disgust. She wasn't kidding herself, the moment her lover had been bitten, the moment the werewolf curse took effect; both of their lives were forever changed. It broke her heart every time she had to lock away the other half of her soul, no matter how many times they told each other it was more than necessary. The lives of so many innocent people depended on the wolf not escaping and wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting town, the vampire population and other creatures of the night were more than enough.

Still, a part of her cried the entire night as she kept careful visual over the one person who ever saw her as more than the shy wallflower everyone else seemed to overlook. It just wasn't fair, all they wanted was to be happy with each other, to have a normal relationship. Wasn't it bad enough that they had to put up with Xander and his stupid jokes? If she had to hear one more 'mutt' or 'bitch' comment she was certain she would stake him herself, no matter how hard Giles tried to talk her out of it. The thought of the Watcher brought a smile to her face for the first time since the sun had gone down that day. Good old Giles, who had begun the search for the elusive cure to the whole werewolf curse, without either of them having to ask. Of course, that was just Giles being, well Giles. He saw the Slayer and her misfit band of helpers as being his kids. In the end all that really mattered was that two of his kids needed him to be there with all the answers and Giles was determined to get those answers, one way or another.

Another howl from the cage bro