"Here?" he sounded like he was begging. I sighed and sat down in front of him. He began licking my wounds, again, and I shuddered, squeezing my knee to keep from running away.

"How long…" I managed, "has he been…"

"Since he turned seventeen, about two months ago," Zabini sighed. "He got sick, really sick, because he hadn't found his mate. The Dark Lord has been trying to find you, Granger, because Draco was useless. We finally had one of our contacts steal something of yours so he could smell it and function again." Malfoy was still adimately licking my shoulders.

"So Lucius is a werewolf?"

"Yeah, all Malfoy males are," Zabini admitted. Malfoy finally stopped licking my shoulders and I sat normally. His eyes were his usually shade of steel grey.

"We don't speak of it," Malfoy said coldly.

"Are you...alright?" I asked, scooting away from him. He smirked.

"Aw look, Blaise, she's afraid of me," Malfoy grinned. "No, I'm afraid you're stuck with me, Granger, forever."

"What?" I demanded.

"There are laws protecting werewolves and their mates," Blaise explained. "He needs you with him almost constantly to be able to function, and the Ministry has set up laws saying that mates must comply with the will of their werewolf counterparts."

"Meaning, if I say jump, you jump," Malfoy smirked. "I say get naked under me, you do it."

"You've got to be bloody joking!" I recoiled, turning to Zabini. "I will not be some slave!"

"That's cute, Blaise, she thinks she has a choice," Malfoy chuckled darkly. "No, you won't for me, but if my friend wants you to do something, he'll persuade you."

"Draco Malfoy, please tell me this is some sick and twisted joke you are playing on me, and this is not heading where I think it is," my throat closed at what I knew he was going to say next. Malfoy smirked at me.

"No, Princess, this is no joke. You are my mate, and legally, you have to be with me at all times. And that means, sweetheart, you get to join the Dark and say goodbye to the Light."

Not surprisingly, the little bookworm ditched me the second we got to school. That was okay though, she was the Head Girl, and I was Head Boy. We shared a dorm, as Snape knew the delicacy of our situation. I was still holding onto her cardigan, smelling it whenever I needed a fresh dose of her scent. I didn't mind being paired to her, she was attractive, smart, and unusually brave. Well… I grinned, remembering the smell of her fear. I scared her, and not because of my wolf. She was scared that I controlled her.

I wrapped my arms around her tightly from behind and drew her against my chest. She let out a mewl like a kitten and I growled in her ear. "Silly bookworm," I scraped my teeth against her ear, "you should know you can't get away from me." She shot me with her elbow, and I released her so she could face me. I pinned her against the wall then. "Are you afraid of me, Mate?" I growled. "Do I scare you?" I smelled the fear rolling off of her in waves.

"Malfoy, get off of me," she demanded.

"Are you scared of me?" I grinned.

"Yes, Malfoy, okay? I'm fucking terrified of you right now," her lip quivered. "I don't want to betray my friends, I don't want to be forced into this with you, I just…" I didn't expect it when she started crying.

"Granger," I said softly, being overwhelmed with the urge to protect her. "Hermione," I kissed her forehead and pulled her into my chest. "Come on, let's get you to the common room." I guided her there, until we got waylaid by three Gryffindork idiots.

"Where the hell do you think you're going with her?" Dean snarled.

"To our common rooms," I smirked. I whispered in Hermione's ear, "tell them everything is fine, or I will turn, right here, and bite Longbottom before killing the other two."

"Guys it's fine," she choked out.

"He's threatening you!" Seamus snarled.

"I'm a werewolf," I bared my fangs, "she's my mate. She isn't safe anywhere besides with me, and if you three try to take her from me, I can legally kill you. On that lovely note, come now, darling," I tugged her hand and dragged her to our quarters.

"I hate you."

"No you don't," I could sense her lie. "You want to, but you don't. You pity me, you fucking Gryffindor." She yanked away from me, snatched her cardigan from my hands, and stormed into her bedroom. I flinched at the slam of her bedroom door.

Two hours later, she hadn't come out and I began feeling dizzy. I sent a patronus to Blaise right before I passed out cold on the floor. "Granger!" I heard Blaise yell. "Get out here!"

"No!" she yelled back. "He can fucking die!" Cursing, I thought in my dazed, half-dead state. Blaise slapped me, trying to keep me awake.

"Granger! Get your ass out here or he will die!" I felt the wolf rise as the man fell to sleep. My eyes shot open and I stood up sharply. "Granger, be careful!" The man in front of me yelled the name of my mate. I bared my teeth at him and followed the scent of my beloved to an irritatingly closed door. It was locked, so I tore it off its hinges. My mate screamed, afraid of the door, so I growled at it.

"Malfoy," she said hesitantly. I closed the too-far distance between us and I breathed in her scent, trailing my hands across her petite body. She was still scared of the damn door, so I kissed her to make sure she was okay. I felt the man rising again inside me and I growled to keep him down as I snogged my mate. He, however, managed to clip a leash on me and drag me down. The man was back, and I pulled away from Hermione.

"Sorry," I sighed. "He doesn't like being away from you."

"I can tell from what you did to my bloody door," she shot. "Malfoy, keep a leash on that thing."

"It's not something I can turn off," I scowled. "Come on, Granger, what can you tell me about werewolves?"

"They can't control themselves when they turn, everyone and everything is unrecognizable to them."

"Ten points to Gryffindor," I taunted. "What can you tell me about their mates?" I specified.

"Within one month of reaching maturity or of being bitten, a werewolf has to find a mate, else they become sick and delusional. They have dreams called Awakenings, where they discover who their mate is. Once they discover their mate they must consuma… no, fuck no!" she wrenched away from me.

I smirked. "What was that last sentence?"

"I am not sleeping with you, Draco Malfoy!"

"You are," I nodded, "tonight, or else I will die."