I own nothing except my imagination and earn no money from its use. Everything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling. I am just playing here, therefore all standard disclaimers apply.

A/N: There will be no bestiality in this story. There will be frank discussions of knotting but I am still unsure if that will be used. I will not be using the werewolf form found in the movies. Instead, I will be using the descriptions provided in the books ie Werewolves can be easily distinguished from regular wolves by their shorter snout, more human-like eyes, and tufted tail. This will be a romance first and foremost so do not expect violence as that is reserved for the forest and the hunt, which I will not describe.

This story will be EWE and AU after 1998. All noted full moons were checked via farmers almanacs for the years 2000 through 2001. If my story runs longer timeline wise, the same will apply.

OK. On with the story. Please R&R!

He ran.

He pelted through the woods and the dark gray, green and black trees which refused to let the moonlight pierce the canopy. He tripped around roots and fallen branches that jutted and poked until he was scratched and limping. He flew past flowers, closed against the night's coolness, their white and purple buds like little heads swaying upon thin necks of brightest green.

He ran.

Well, he hadn't run, not at first. At first, he'd been bitten, savagely, but the wolf had released him with a whine almost as soon as it had happened. The biter had been a very pretty wolf, russet colored and solid with gleaming cinnamon eyes. So at first, he hadn't run. He'd yelped and THEN screamed, shrill and sharp. However, moments later, the Malfoy heir had spelled his ragged wound, to stop the bleeding, and then turned his attention to freeing the pained wolf from some stupid muggle trap that had been left there, hidden in the woods, near the manor.

It was the agonized howl that forced the young man to run.

Once Draco returned home, he'd cleaned the wound with a potion of Dittany and found his way to bed, a truly asshole move. He hadn't given any further thought to the bite until the next day when he noticed a faint shimmer on his left shoulder, there at the knob of bone. Wolf bites don't shimmer and he realized, with a start, that he'd been monumentally stupid. And drunk. His drunkenness had led to stupidity and now, at nineteen years of age and the last remaining free Malfoy, he had done the unthinkable.

He'd tainted the line.

Of course, the shimmer proved nothing but he knew. He knew. And when a young man with reddish brown hair and bright cinnamon shaded eyes accosted him at home a few days later, his knowledge was solidified. That young man, only seventeen and born of a witch mother and werewolf father, had been the one to bite him. His name? Tobias McLaughlin. The young man was another orphan of the War and scared, terrified, that he would be punished. So, Malfoy had taken him in and they became a pack. A small pack but pack, nonetheless.

Of course, they had to register with the Magical Creatures and Beings division but that was a mere formality as protocols had been tightened when Kingsley Shacklebolt had been sworn in as Minister. There had also been a law, sponsored by two-thirds of the Golden Trio, which allowed the pair to keep their status to themselves as long as they agreed to the wolfsbane potion. Tobias, being born that way, had not needed it. Draco had.

But it was fine.

The Manor was home~ imposing, large, somehow dark but home nonetheless~ and the woods and fields that surrounded it became the hunting grounds. The duo rarely left their small kingdom except to work; Tobias to his job as a researcher for the Department of Mysteries, Space division, and Malfoy to his offices at Malfoy Enterprises, multinational. It was a quiet life, a good life, boring but safe, sane. Because of their care, no one was hurt.

Ever.

The pair allowed no visitors, no parties. It made sense for the young men who lived, ate, and hunted together to keep the outside world away. They had solitude. Peace. Did they sometimes wish that it was different, that they were different? That they could live lives more suited to young single males? Yes. They understood, though, that the taint was dangerous, so they kept themselves separate and kept all of Wizarding London, safe.

Somehow, they avoided tensions between them but it wasn't until they'd made use of the Manor's vast library that they'd discovered why. Malfoy was Alpha, Tobias beta. There was no need to jockey for a position because their positions were solidified. They had found references to a type called Omega but it never stated whether or not that rare being was a wolf and it did not matter.

There was only the two of them and sometimes, there was Theo.

At least that was the case until she entered his office on a sunny Tuesday morning in May, right before his twentieth birthday, for an interview.

"Mr. Malfoy? Hermione Granger is here for her nine thirty appointment," his assistant stated, his voice the merest burr of sound.

"Send her in," was his brisk reply.

Within moments, a scent hit his nostrils~ peach, vanilla, musk, oak, and something other~ and then she was there. Slender with almond tinted skin, wide brown eyes and curls contained by a tight bun at the base of her nape which showed off rounded cheeks and the slender lines of her throat. At twenty, she'd grown into an understated prettiness that one could easily miss but it wasn't what made her unforgettable. It never had been. It was her smile.

"Hello, Malfoy," she said with a voice like warm velvet.

"Miss Granger? I thought you'd be with the Ministry by now."

"Oh I wanted to but I asked for the Beings and Creatures division and they wanted me for the DMLE. That was for Ron and Harry, not me, so I am searching further afield," she replied.

"What is your interest here?"

"Research, potions, and charms," a concise statement, a lift of one dark eyebrow.

"Well, I know your N.E.W.T. grades were impeccable and I also know you are a dab hand with both of your interests but what could we offer you that would match both your intellect and interests?"

"No more than what I've applied for, Mr. Malfoy. Your holdings are diverse and since you've taken over, your business has only gained in monetary value. Your last few quarterly reports show a marked movement away from dark artifacts and you lead the field for Beings and Creatures employed. Since that is my first love, I have an interest in developing both potions and charms toward helping with further integration of those people into the wizarding world." The brunette leaned forward, her wide eyes gleaming. "I have both practical knowledge and a workable idea for an improved wolfsbane potion which would be less expensive to develop as well as background experimentation for a charm to help with the pain of the change. I feel that either of these things would equal my initial requirements for hire."

Draco arched an eyebrow as his right forefinger rose to tap his slightly pointed chin. Both ideas had merit and had been part of his initial thrust into the marketing and development of new potions. His charms division was not geared toward invention but that department could be of more use than it currently was. Her thoughts would be more than helpful and even with the initial outlay of funds, they would be well worth the effort.

"Would you be interested in heading the research and development for the potion? I would be more than willing to shift you to charms or further upward into management after a year."

Hermione nodded and answered with a smile, "Of course, though a lateral move into charms would be more in tune with my leanings."

"And would the hours needed for either department interfere with your home life?"

That question was merely for his information, as her scent was slowly permeating the large airy space and driving him to the point of distraction. He had to know if the Weasel was still in the picture. He had no idea WHY he had to know, only that he did with something akin to desperation.

"No. I am free to dedicate as much of my time as possible to this," she murmured and he could hear the note of pain underlying her words. "There is nothing worth mentioning at home."

He smiled. "Then welcome aboard. You have a starting salary of a thousand Galleons a month (or roughly sixty thousand pounds a year) as well as a small apartment located in Diagon Alley which is connected via the Floo network to our main floor. Your immediate supervisor will be Theodore Nott, do you remember him?" At Hermione's nod, he continued on. "And your start date will be next Monday. You should report directly to the potions lab, located in the basement, level B via lift."

Hermione smiled, her eyes alight with glee. "That amount of money sounds excessive but the rest is absolutely brilliant. Thank you, Malfoy. You won't be disappointed."

With that, the pair rose and shook hands. At that touch, a zing of heat tangled through them and only stopped when the handshake ended. Hermione found herself short of breath and Draco had the overwhelming urge to ravish her on top of his desk. He fought it down with a slight frown. Hermione noticed that small change of expression but said nothing to draw attention, neither to her own reaction nor his.

"I will make the move and be here next Monday. Thanks again."

With that, the young woman left, taking her scent and presence with her. Draco finally returned to his seat and allowed himself a moment to think before turning his attention to the mountain of paperwork which lay in a small pile on the gleaming expanse of his desk. His thoughts, however, repeatedly returned to the young woman who had just left, a woman he'd offered an apartment to (a perk that did NOT actually go with the job), a woman who, even now, beckoned him into stupid little rhapsodies about things that could not be.

He did not know why.

There was just something about her.

As for Hermione? She headed to her old apartment located in the center of Muggle London and settled in for a nice cuppa and a good think. Malfoy had changed in some inexplicable way. She knew, of course, that he had been bitten. She was one of the very few outside of the Ministry that had been made aware of his circumstances. She'd also met Tobias and he had shared a bit of his story at her urging. He was a sweet young man, filled with a bright cheerfulness that seemed to light up the space around him.

However, Malfoy was the exact opposite. He carried an aura of authority and danger that Tobias lacked. Her knowledge of werewolf physiology and mentality had already assigned him the role of Alpha because that made sense and was easily understood. What she did not understand was the way she had felt drawn to him during their meeting, like something inside wanted him to see her. The only thing that came close to that was how she'd felt from the second year at Hogwarts onward (until the end of the war) when it came to Ronald Weasley.

It was oddly invigorating and strange.

Of course, not being part of pack dynamics or a werewolf herself, she hadn't ever heard of Betas or Omegas and the knowledge would have come in handy. For the nonce, though, she was confused by the feelings he'd aroused as she'd never imagined herself as inherently submissive to anybody, and yet, there was a bit of it there. The very thought that she could not pinpoint why gave her the chills. Why would that feeling of completion roll over her in his presence? What was it about him? It wasn't like that when they were in school. What made it different now? Two years of absence did not make that much of a difference!

The brunette did not sleep well that night.

And in Wiltshire, in an old and imposing home, a certain former Slytherin found himself with the exact same problem.