AN: This is set after Sirius is arrested for murdering Peter Pettigrew, but it doesn't have a particular time. The characters may be OOC, but I really don't care. The usual disclaimers apply; if I was J.K. Rowling I wouldn't need to write fan-fiction. The rating is for some cursing and a fight scene. Please review!
Damn it! Fenrir Greyback cursed as he looked up towards the sky. The full moon was close to setting, and he still hadn't found his wayward pup! He stalked foreword, white fur shining in the moonlight, giving him an almost ethereal glow. His keen nose tracked fruitlessly for the scent of his missing pack member, the only one to have fled the family fold. 'Lupin,' he mentally snarled. The pup had ignored his pack for too long. Not only that, he denied his wolf! The idea was still foreign to Fenrir. 'Ah, Lupin.' Fenrir still mourned the mistakes he had made with him. Lupin—no, Remus—was one of Fenrir's chosen. The chosen were the werewolves that he chose from a young age to be part of his pack. Fenrir scoffed to himself as he thought about the rumors that had sprung from that practice. Pedophile indeed! Maybe that was what had driven Remus away from him; because on the full moon after the bite, Fenrir had not been able to find Remus. There had been no dominance struggle, no submission, no surrender. 'A wolf needs a pack,' he thought, 'and Remus has suffered from a lack of one.' No more, he vowed. It was time to welcome Remus Lupin home.
He finally caught scent of the wayward wolf by the river. Fenrir felt his tail lift as he finally caught scent of his pack-mate. Now, if only he could find that blasted pup before moonset! Not only was it hard to track in human form, but a dominance struggle in their human skin felt off. His beta had likened it to scuba diving—logically you knew you were breathing oxygen, but breathing air underwater felt like it was going against everything natural. Fenrir raced on, fighting the urge to howl to his pup, tracking, tracking… there! By a rocky outcrop of the river stood a second wolf. Fenrir would have gaped if it was possible in wolf form. Lupin was, for want of a better word… scrawny! The wolf was undersized, lanky instead of sleek, scruffy and mattered. His coat was almost the colour of mud with flecks of ash grey instead of the rich auburn that it should have been, and his amber eyes had lost all light and sparkle. Fenrir cursed again. Once the dominance struggle was over, he would speak severely to his pup about the dangers of drugging himself in order to deny his nature! Fenrir looked at the moon again, calculating the amount of time left until moonset. Less than an hour; this was going to be close. Fenrir released the howl that he had been holding back since he had begun the hunt for the werewolf, and stepped into the moonlight.
It must look amazing, Fenrir thought. The pounding river, the full moon, the two wolves… like a story. Remus tried to find the easy way out at first. He backed away from Fenrir, searching for some cover to hide in. But each time he tried to turn away, Fenrir was there. A snarl ripped from Remus' throat. Fenrir mentally smirked. It seems like his pup had guts after all! Fenrir answered with a growl of his own, and the pair began to circle. Then, as if by some ancient signal, the wolves spun to attack. This was no shoving play charge. They had lunged in same fashion both wolves and dogs did; the swift rush that curved just slightly, their forelegs coming off the ground at the very last second as they tried to gain height on their foe. They met chest to chest, Fenrir's solid, heavier, healthier build rocking Remus back on his heels. He recovered and their heads began to twist like snakes, teeth flashing, each seeking the vulnerable flesh of the other's neck. They hit almost in perfect unison, teeth closing in the thick fur and folds of skin that protected their throats. It was contest of pure strength, and there would be no doubt as to the winner.
Sure enough, a flick of Fenrir's powerful head tore Remus free. Fenrir's teeth ripped into Remus' sholder as the younger werewolf slid across the stones. There was no chance for recovery. Remus tried to roll away, but Fenrir reared up on his hind legs and dropped the full weight of his body onto the werewolf. He'd made sure to do it at a slight angle as well, so the wolf's legs slid out from under him and he went over onto his back. Fenrir came down on top of him, pinning him to the rock as his teeth closed around Remus' throat.
Remus went still instantly. Fenrir's teeth rested almost threateningly close to the jugular vein, and the weight of the alpha stopped Remus from squirming away. Then Fenrir felt the most annoying thing possible. Moonset! Fenrir growled at the setting moon, moved his fang from Remus' neck, and waited to turn human. For him, the change from wolf to human was swift and painless. But his pup…Remus struggled through the change, body contorting and writhing in pain. If Fenrir had been any lighter, Remus would have thrown him off. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pup was human again. His body was soaked in sweat and mud. Remus hopefully struggled, but Fenrir's teeth were back at his throat. Fenrir watched his boy think, puzzle… and then realize what Fenrir wanted him to do. It was a breathless minute as Fenrir watched his pup dance between humiliation, fear, and rage, but finally, Remus' head tipped back to bare his throat. In response, Fenrir got off of him and tugged him over to a rocky outcrop. Fenrir sat, and pulled his pup down beside him so that Remus was half sitting in his lap, with his head on Fenrir's shoulder. Remus tried to squirm away, but a warning growl stopped him. For the next few minutes, the pair sat together under the rocks, listening to the night and to the words that neither of them had the courage to say.
"Why now?" It was the first time in over 3 decades that Fenrir had heard his packmate's voice, and he winced at the age in it. "Mostly because I thought you were okay," he began. "You had made a new pack with the prey and you had found a mate. And part of it was that I was offended. For a pup to abandon his pack…" Remus laughed. "You must be joking! I'm not a pup—I'm almost 39 years old!" Fenrir snarled at him. "You may be older than most pups, and you've been a wolf for 3 decades, but that does not make you a full-grown wolf!" Remus went to interrupt, but Fenrir continued. "You drug your wolf to compliancy, you run side-by-side with a deer, you allow the world to run you over… you may be old, but you have no experience!" "I'm sorry… alpha." That last word silenced Fenrir more than the apology. "I grew up hearing that werewolves are evil, so being bitten was the worst possible fate. And when I went to Hogwarts, I felt like the only way I would be accepted was if I ignored my callings. So I built a pack out of whoever would accept me, and kept my wolf away from the world. Now my pack is dead, my mate is in prison, and the world knows what I am… I need help, alpha!" Fenrir nuzzled the face of the younger man, brushing away his tears. "Here is what will happen," he began, his voice leaving no room for questions. "We will spend today resting. I know of a cave that should be safe to use. I will take you back to our pack. You will stop suppressing your wolf with magic. You will stop trying to conform to the wizarding world's expectations. For at least the next 6 months, your only job will be to try to find your place in pack life. After that, we'll talk. Okay?" Remus nodded, but he was shaking with suppressed sobs. Fenrir held him close as he calmed. "We missed you," he murmured. "Don't leave again." About half an hour later, the two men began a slow walk away from the stream. As Remus wearily moved alongside his alpha for the first time, he smiled. It felt nice to have a pack again.