•••

Fred followed Xander up the mountainside. She couldn’t see him; between the heavy ground cover and his stripes, vision was a nearly useless sense. He was also staying near enough to water that smell didn’t serve much purpose. And with all the bugs and animals and water sounds, she couldn’t hear that well either. Somehow, though, she managed to stay on his trail, at least for a while.

Unfortunately, the Raphe had better stamina than Fred did. She wasn’t worn out by any stretch, but Xander could run up the mountainside without slowing down at all. Fred could still tell where he’d crossed the Parkway, but beyond that, she was out of luck. He’d vanished in the wilderness. Sighing, she turned around to find Wil and, hopefully, Gunn.

Sure enough, Wil had captured Gunn. He glared as Fred joined the vampire. Apparently he didn't like being captured.

“So, what now?” Fred asked Wil. “One down, two to go.”

Wil pushed Gunn ahead, making sure the werewolf didn’t try anything funny. “We’ve got maybe six hours until sunrise. I’d say that Oz and Wesley have gotten at least Cordelia and maybe Angel, since they didn’t come for these two.”

“So it’s back towards the cabin?” Fred inquired.

“Until we pick up a trail, yeah,” Wil replied.

In the meantime, Oz was keeping hold of Angel while Wesley led them south, staying away from the cabin. Angel just marched along, biding his time. “Wes,” Oz called out a few minutes later. “Go east.”

Wesley stopped and turned. Oz must have heard something. The threesome wound their way through the trees, Oz on the lookout for Xander. He’d heard the Raphe run by a moment before.

All of a sudden, a dark flash sped by Oz and jumped on Wesley’s back. At the same time, Angel twisted and reversed his and Oz’s positions. When Oz got a chance to look over, he saw Wesley restrained by a half-changed Cordelia. She smirked at his look of shock. “What? So I’ve been taking stealth lessons.”

“News to me,” Oz murmured. He couldn’t believe he’d been had.

“Don’t feel bad, Oz,” Wesley said. “After all, she had Angel to do the planning.” The werewolf nodded. Angel did have centuries on them, and had spent a lot of it perfecting his fighting.

Now that their roles were reversed, Oz spent his time while marching trying to think of ways to get free. He soon realized that the only time Angel would be weak enough was when he was distracted… either when they got attacked or when they ran into someone else. They’d completely circled the cabin and were heading towards the Parkway when that needed distraction appeared in the form of Xander.

The Raphe saw them coming and took for the trees, doing his now-patented ricochet. Angel’s head swiveled reflexively, trying to gain a visual hold on the Raphe. Oz wolfed out and took off, hoping that Wesley got loose as well. He headed for Xander, knowing that he was the only one with any real chance of stopping the Raphe when he was off the ground like he was.

Cordelia also wolfed out and ran off, trailing Wesley. He took a path parallel to the Parkway, heading up the mountain. Cordelia and Angel followed behind, tracking him with difficulty. They finally got a good bead on him and were gaining when Wil, Fred and Gunn spotted them in pursuit.

“Fred!” Will called out, sending her after someone. Anyone, it didn’t matter. Wil kept hold of Gunn and sped up. The vampire was having a ball, even though the game was nearly impossible. How were two people supposed to keep hold of three? Well, he knew it could be done, but half the fun was its difficulty. The challenge was appealing.

Wesley went back into the forest, looping around and changing from a horizontal path to a more vertical one. The elevation changed more rapidly and the air got a bit thinner as he ran. Cordelia was right on his heels, and he heard more footsteps behind him. Had he picked up even more adversaries?

Wil growled at Gunn, trying to keep him under control. It wasn’t easy while running, and Gunn was trying to change. When Wil jumped over a large rock, the werewolf found an opening, letting himself slip to one side. He overbalanced the vampire and fell, changing at the same time. Then he too joined the chase, knowing that Wil wouldn’t try to recapture him immediately—not with easier prey in front of him.

Wesley glanced up, trying to figure out where he was. That was when he noticed the change in weather. The sky was black, yes, but the moon and stars were gone. Heavy clouds had rolled in, blocking the evening’s glow. A cool wind blew on his face, bringing moisture. Fog and rain were moving into the area. Ignoring the coming storm, he continued to flee.

Xander knew who was behind him. Only Oz could keep up with him like this. Finally the Raphe dropped out of the trees, only to set course right up the mountain. Higher and higher he climbed, hoping that the rocks would slow the werewolf down. The first drops of rain nearly knocked him down, they were so startling. He recovered and ran on, hoping to find cover somewhere, even if he got captured while hovering in safety.

Wesley almost ran into Xander as the two men headed straight for each other. They glanced backwards, seeing that they were in the same boat. Temporarily setting aside game rivalries, the two men took off together, Xander helping to find an easier path for the faun. There was no way Wesley was going to keep up this pace if the terrain got any worse. Part goat he may have been, but there were limits to his abilities.

Wil shifted into gameface, knowing that his vision would be less impaired by the rain. He caught sight of Oz as the werewolf joined the pack now pursuing Xander and Wesley. Lightening cracked overhead, making the blonde jump. He debated peeling off the chase and finding shelter from the storm.

Angel knew someone had to give. They were running along the mountaintop now and were at serious risk for lightening. The storm was hellish; wind and lightening and cold rain pounded at them all. He was about to call out for a ceasefire when Oz beat him to it.

Oz saw lightening strike not a hundred yards from Xander. As soon as the thunder passed, he tipped his head back and howled. The response was immediate; pursuers changed course and began to look for shelter. Wesley and Xander slowed and turned around. Less than a minute later, Fred howled a response.

Everyone oriented on Fred. She was standing at the mouth of a largish cave a few yards down the west face of the mountain. The storm was worse on that side, but the shelter would protect them. Xander and Gunn ran in first, followed by Fred, Wesley and Cordelia. Oz trailed behind. The last two were Wil and Angel.

“Damn, I wish I’d known that was coming,” Xander muttered to no one in particular. He shivered reflexively, chilled to the bone. His clothes afforded him no protection now that he’d been caught in the rain. Oz sidled up next to him and began to pull at his sodden clothes. Xander helped him, knowing that he’d only freeze if he left them on. Naked he stood a chance of drying off.

Wesley saw the logic in Xander’s disrobing and followed suit. By the time he was stripped down, Fred had joined him. They curled up in the back of the cave, huddled together for warmth. Adrenalin kept their hearts pounding; while they may have been seeking shelter from the storm to their bodies they were still on the hunt.

“How long is this gonna last?” Wil asked Angel as they watched the light show outside. He pulled off his shirt as he talked. While he wouldn’t die of hypothermia, cold wet clothes were uncomfortable.

“Usually only a few minutes, but this one has the looks of a long-distance runner,” Angel replied. He watched with hooded eyes as more and more of Wil’s alabaster skin came into view. The dark vampire knew all to well the proximity between the thrill of the chase and desire. In fact, he’d be damned surprised if nothing happened in their shelter that night. Already the others were warming up, both literally and figuratively. He just hoped that no one chose that night to develop severe hang-ups regarding sex. Aside from the normal reactions to the hormones flooding their bodies, stress and anxiety urged them on. Working like they did was living in a pressure cooker; the chase was one very necessary type of release. This was entirely another.

“Great, trapped here all night,” Cordelia murmured. Gunn rubbed his hands along her arms, both soothing and warming. She snuggled closer to him, enjoying the contact. Both werewolves watched as Angel studied Wil. Eventually the blonde noticed and canted his head, issuing an obvious invitation. Angel spared a brief glance at the others before moving forward.

Wesley was entranced by the unexpected, but not unappreciated, show he was witnessing. Angel and Wil were circling each other, like supernatural panthers on the hunt. Pale hands reached out, caressing and drawing back, taunting and stroking. Closer and closer they drew, uncaring of their audience. The vampires’ arousal was contagious; Fred’s hands moved with more purpose as she watched along with her lover. Wesley joined her, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to resist for long.

Angel played along with Wil for several minutes before striking. The blonde reached for him one more time, but Angel was ready. He grabbed that elusive arm and brought Wil flush against him, capturing his mouth in a brutal kiss. Wil wrapped one arm around Angel’s waist, digging his fingers into the muscles of the dark vampire’s back. The pleasure/pain made Angel growl and he bent forward, making Wil rest his weight on one of Angel’s arms. Soon he had the blonde completely off the floor. Wil pulled his legs around Angel’s body, clinging to the larger vampire like a limpet.

“God,” Xander moaned. More than once he’d pictured Angel and Wil together; who wouldn’t? Two classic beauties twined together. It was a nice, innocent jack-off picture. The reality, though, was amazing. The few, fleeting glimpses of them together he’d gotten in the past were nothing compared to this deliberate display. Oz must have agreed, since he reached for the Raphe with shaking hands. Xander willingly went into his arms, letting Oz kiss him stupid.

Cordelia simply closed her eyes and pounced on Gunn. She could be horrified by having semi-public sex later. How often did one get a floorshow by two gods?

Angel gently lowered Wil to the ground, laying him on top of one of their coats. Wil’s arms went down to steady himself. Once he was flat on his back, though, those hands kept moving. Angel watched curiously until Wil found his own coat. The blonde dug around in the pockets for a moment, and then extracted a tube of lubricant. Angel leapt on him, burying his face in the blonde’s neck. They rolled on the outspread clothes, fangs and eyes flashing. While the first kiss had been for show, this was very much real. Awareness of the others faded as the two vampires indulged, tasting each other as only vampires would. Blood mixed with saliva and semen as they licked and sucked, teasing and torturing.

Oz had just swallowed Xander whole, the Raphe’s hands tightening reflexively in his hair, when something hit him on the back of his head. He pulled back, much to Xander’s chagrin, to see what it was. The werewolf was rather surprised to find lube. He glanced over at the vampires. Angel had Wil’s legs canted and spread and was sucking him off as he stretched the blonde wide open. Wil was wide-eyed, thrashing and moaning. Angel certainly seemed to know what he was doing. Oz took the thoughtfully provided lube and returned to his enthralled lover. Xander saw the lube and gaped. “Where?” The werewolf just glanced back at the vampires. Who else would’ve brought lube? Xander began to shake his head. “Noise,” Xander whispered. The Raphe was never quiet, as shown by the joyous moaning he’d done earlier. However, he was never louder than when Oz was buried deep inside him, fucking him through the floor. Oz just grinned and opened the tube.

“I don’t think they’ll care,” He said as he slicked up his fingers. Xander, still watching Angel and Wil, shuddered. The entire situation was surreal; his ex-girlfriend was… /Wow, Cordy’s really hot like that, riding Gunn for all he’s worth./ Wesley and Fred seemed to be having a good time as well. Soon, though, Xander’s attention was right back where it should have been, somewhere very near his prostate.

Gunn braced Cordelia’s hips as he thrust up, watching sweat trickle down her body. Drops clung to her nipples briefly before falling onto him. He wanted to reach up, to kiss them away, but she was moving so fast, like a thing possessed. Her nails scratched his chest, raising welts. Suddenly, her eyes flashed open. The heat he saw there was overwhelming and he gasped as she bent down further and sealed their mouths together.

“Harder,” Fred demanded as Wesley slid into her. “More, Wes. Now!” Wesley swallowed hard and tried his best to comply. Her body was hot and tight and clinging to him like silk. The sounds of sex surrounded him, pressing in like nothing he’d ever felt before. Fred was intoxicating, wild and demanding as she drove him on. His mind was scattered, thoughts fleeing like birds on the wing. The faun did manage to briefly consider whether Fred’s enthusiasm was partly to do with the cave setting; she did seem to like small, closed-in places for sex.

Angel lifted his mouth from Wil’s erection, taking in the effects of his ministrations. The blonde was blindly mewling for release, driven there by Angel’s mouth and hands. The dark vampire leaned over his lover, drawing the blonde’s arms up over his head and holding them there. Wil lay motionless as Angel pushed into him, merging their bodies. Lightening flashed outside, momentarily illuminating the cave. Wil arched up, trying to get more of Angel inside him. Angel laughed and bore down, his hands keeping Wil from doing anything besides lay there and take it.

The storm raged outside, rain battering the land. Wind picked up force; the locals would call it the storm of the decade. Lightening brought down tree after tree and started a forest fire that the rains quickly extinguished. Inside the cave, no one noticed. Outside, rivers flooded, creeks outgrew their beds, and a quarter mile of the Blue Ridge Parkway washed down the mountain. Inside, sex filled the air; pheromones and the scent of completion easily overpowered the damp odor of rain. If lightening struck nearby, no one noticed; thunder couldn’t possibly compete with eight ecstatic lovers screaming out in lust, love and relief.

And if most of those in the cave would normally be appalled at the idea of sex around others, it didn’t matter now. If before that night all they’d ever done was joke about it to peeve their vampire friends, well… that didn’t matter either. When two warm bodies piled against each other in a post-coital haze became four, because the warm of two bodies and two bodies was less than four together, no one commented. And no one said a word when two more joined them in a tangle of warm, smooth skin. The organic knot of sleepy flesh didn’t even stir when two cold forms joined it, lured there by the promise of heat and softness and comfort.

Finally the storm had its say and raged on unchecked, once again allowed to roar into the cave and overwhelm the night. They let it; after all it couldn’t touch them.