Nina's eyes opened and she let out a groan. She sat up slowly and looked down before wrapping ehr arms around her bare chest.
"Oh God."
She grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly, looking up when Angel entered the cage.
"What - who are you?" she questioned.
"It's ok," Angel said reassuringly. "My name's Angel. You're safe now."
"Safe?" Nina asked disbelievingly. "Oh. Well... great. That's..."
She made a move to run, but Angel grabbed her shoulder.
"Get off me!" she yelped. "Let go of me! Help me, somebody!"
"What I'm trying to do, Nina, is help you," Angel said softly.
"Said the psycho rapist," Nina retorted. "How do you know my name? What do you want with me?"
"I just want you to see something."
~*~*~*~
Nina's arms were folded over her chest as she watched the video footage in Angel's office.
"I don't - what am I supposed to be looking - God, what is that?"
"You don't remember?" Angel asked her.
"Remember?"
"Two nights ago... you were attacked... in the woods. You were jogging."
"Jogging. Wait... yeah. I remember that I... that thing attacked me." Recognition dawned on Nina's face.
"Not exactly. I was in the area, I heard screams, but by the time I got there..." Angel shrugged.
"That was you. Yeah, I remember you... you saved me."
"I was too late."
Nina's eyes returned to the video and her mouth fell open in shock.
"Oh my God."
"It was a werewolf, Nina. And you were bitten," Angel said as gently as he could.
"No... this is... insane!" Nina protested.
"The bite already started a process. You may have already started to feel the effects... distorted vision, heightened senses."
"Blood. Jill, my sister, she was cooking meat. Oh my God. I... I smelled the blood, it was making me... oh, God, Amanda, my niece!" Nina's tone was panicked.
"She's ok, and so is your sister," Angel assured her.
"No, you don't get it!"
"Nina, it's ok."
"No, it's not!"
"You didn't - "
"I wanted to rip her throat out!" Nina exclaimed, her voice shaking.
"It wasn't you. It was the thing inside," Angel said.
"Oh, like there's a difference?" A tear slipped down Nina's cheek.
"There is, a big one," Angel replied. "I know this is a lot to - "
"Don't tell me what you know. You didn't wake up and find out you're a... monster. You don't know anything."
Angel almost smiled. "I'm not a werewolf like you, but I... I know what it's like. I'm a monster too."
"So... what? You're like a Frankenstein?" Nina asked.
"What? No! I'm... I'm a vampire."
"Vampire," Nina repeated.
"But I have a soul," Angel added. "I'm not either. And neither are you."
"But vampires kill people, and they - "
"Can control themselves if they want to. I do it every day. So can you. I'll help."
"Can you... cure me?" Nina asked.
"No." Angel looked down. "But I can keep you safe."