Severus leapt out of bed, grabbing his wand and rushing across the hall to Kinsey's room. Fear rushed through him until the moment he saw her sitting at the edge of her bed, wearing nothing but a tank top and her knickers.

"Severus," She gasped, getting to her feet. Her concern for him overpowered her modesty. To his surprise, she threw her arms around his shoulders, pressing her body against his. He hesitated, his arousal twitching in response. He was still hard after the dream they'd just shared.

"Are you alright?" He asked, pushing her back just far enough for him to study her. "You're shaking."

"I'm fine," Kinsey assured him, gripping his arms. "I just..."

He lifted an eyebrow, "Just?"

Before she could lose her nerve, Kinsey quickly pressed her lips to his. Severus froze in shock for a moment before his body responded to hers. He tangled his fingers in her hair, using his other hand to grip her hip and pulling her into him. Kinsey gasped as his erection pressed hard against her, and Severus took advantage of the opportunity by slipping his tongue into her mouth and caressing hers. She moaned against him and Severus pushed her back towards the bed, tugging at her tank top.

Before he could pull it over her head, Scabior appeared at the door of her room, clearing his throat loudly to announce his presence. Severus quickly turned on his heel, shielding her body with his.

"what do you want?" He snarled, furious at being interrupted with her for the third time now.

Scabior quickly raised his hands. "I'm 'ere at your request. I only wanted to see if she was ready to go get 'er things."

"Does she look ready?" Severus snapped at him.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Scabior insisted.

"It's alright," Kinsey cut in. "I can go. Just let me get dressed."

Severus met her gaze. His expression was vacant again, but she could almost feel the disappointment radiating from him. "As you wish," He replied simply. "Scabior will meet you in the parlor."

"Severus," She attempted, but he'd already disappeared from the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Severus, I apologize," Scabior said quickly, almost having to run to keep up with his friend's long strides.

"Don't you ever stop to think?" Severus snarled at him without pausing.

"You asked me to take her," Scabior pointed out.

"Not while I was attempting to take her." Severus snapped, "Did it not occur to you that you could have simply shut the door and returned at a later time? No part of my request implied that it had to be first thing in the morning."

"I said I was sorry. I shouldn't 'ave interrupted." Scabior repeated sharply.

Severus finally stopped to glare at him, only then realizing he was still in his pajamas.

"Was that your first time with 'er?" Scabior asked with a light teasing to his tone.

"That's none of your concern, and you haven't exactly left me in a sharing mood." Severus pointed out.

"So it was," Scabior observed with a grin. He hesitated before adding, "Or it should have been, but no worries. I'm sure she'll 'ave 'er way with you later on."

"I doubt that. Apparently there is a difference between fantasy and reality." Severus sighed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Trust me. What I saw was very much in reality." Scabior assured him. "Clearly your pet can't resist you. The witch fancies you, Severus."

Severus hesitated, not daring to hope. "You think?"

"Based on what I saw, I know so. There was no 'esitance with 'er. Bloody 'ell, the witch was letting you undress 'er. 'Ow could you doubt it?"

Severus finally smirked. "I should get dressed for the day. Summon me if you have any issues with her."

"You still don't expect 'er to want to return, even after this morning?" Scabior asks in surprise.

"In your experience, how many women return after that first night?" Severus pointed out teasingly.

"Ouch," Scabior replied, pressing a hand over his heart. " You wound me."

"After this morning, you deserve it." Severus threw at him, turning around and heading back to his chambers.

Scabior rolled his eyes and made his way to the parlor. It wasn't long before Kinsey appeared, ready to go. He gave her a knowing look and heat crept up into her cheeks. She shrugged. "You did tell me to work my magic," She pointed out.

"That I did," Scabior laughed, "Are you ready?"

She nodded and Scabior wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her in close so that they could apparate together. An unpleasant shock went through her, and she barely had time to register how wrong it felt to be this close to someone other than Severus. Severus had held her just that morning and nothing had felt more right. Scabior wasn't holding her much differently, but it made her skin crawl and sent a bolt of despair through her that she couldn't explain.

They apparated and Scabior quickly released her. "Shall we?" He said, motioning for her to lead the way into the house.

She hesitated at the door, meeting Scabior's gaze. "Can you wait here? I don't know how to explain you to my mother." She asked hesitantly.

"I'm under strict order to make sure you return to Severus', Love." Scabior objected, "I really shouldn't leave your side."

"I chose to stay willingly. I'm not going to run off." She insisted. "If you want me to trust you, you have to show a little trust in return."

Scabior hesitated, "You won't leave the house without me?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kinsey promised, "Thank you!"

Before Scabior could reply, she had slipped into the house and shut the door on him.

"Mom!" She called out, moving through the house. No one answered and the home seemed empty. Maybe she had gotten called in to work. Kinsey sighed. She hadn't wanted to leave again without saying something to her mother, but if she had gotten called in to the ministry, there was no telling when she would be back.

Kinsey made her way up to her room, pulled a small bag out of her closet, and began packing her things. Suddenly the door to her room slammed shut. Kinsey flinched, dropping the top she was holding as she quickly turned to see who it was.

"Liam!" She gasped. His blonde hair was sticking up in all directions, as though he hadn't brushed it in days. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and his hand gripped his wand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, taking a step back away from him and slipping her hand in her pocket to grip her wand.

"I came to bring you home," Liam said, moving towards her.

Kinsey quickly pointed her wand at him. "Don't take another step closer" She demanded, "I'm not going home with you, Liam. We're finished."

"We're not finished until I say we are!" Liam snarled at her.

"I'm warning you," Kinsey snapped back. "Get out of my house!"

"Or what? He demanded.

"Expelliarmus! Kinsey shouted.

Liam blocked the spell and sent a stunning spell at her. Kinsey just barely ducked out of the way. She tried to disarm him again, but her wand flew out of her hand and into his outstretched fingers. He threw her wand aside and charged her, catching her around the waist and sending her sprawling to the floor.

"No!" She screamed, bashing her fists against him. She grabbed his hair and pulled hard, trying to get him off of her. He wrenched her hand from his hair and slammed her wrist on the floor. If she'd thought being held by Scabior felt wrong, this was torture. Everywhere he touched her made her skin burn. The sudden sense of despair and dread made her desperate and frantic. "Get off of me!" She shouted, punching him in the nose.

"Bitch!" He grunted in pain, "I'll show you who's in charge!"He snarled, jerking her pants down to her knees. He straddled her waist, pinning her to the floor and quickly unfastening his belt. He tugged it off and threw it to the side.

"No!" She cried, still hitting and scratching at him, "Get off of me!"

He pulled his pants down just as the door flew open. A bolt of red light erupted from Scabior's wand, hitting Liam directly in the back of the head. His eyes rolled back into his head and he started falling forward onto her when another blast threw him off of her. Severus quickly rushed to her side.

"Don't touch me!" Kinsey snapped at him, tears streaming down her face as he reached out to help her to her feet. Kinsey shoved his hands away from her, terrified that his touch would burn her, too. "Don't touch me!"

"Kinsey, breathe," Severus urged her, hurt flashing in his eyes at her rejection. Kinsey's hands shook as she tugged her jeans back up, her cheeks red from embarrassment. She couldn't bring herself to meet their gazes. Instead she backed up into the corner of her room and sank to the floor, struggling to compose herself. She clenched her fists in an attempt to get her hands to stop shaking.

"It burned," Kinsey said shakily, "It burned when he touched me."

Severus crouched down next to her, meeting her gaze. "Do you trust me?" He asked gently.

Kinsey hesitated, her heart still racing and hands still shaking, but when she looked into his eyes a sense of calm fell over her. She nodded, tensing as he reached out his hand and stroked her cheek. His hand was cool to the touch and soothed her. "Why can you touch me when no one else can?" She asked in confusion.

"Scabior," Severus said, motioning for Scabior to try to touch her as well.

"Are you certain?" Scabior asked hesitantly, frowning at Severus.

"Just try," Severus insisted.

Scabior reached out his hand and touched hers. This time there was no sense of dread or despair. There was just Scabior and Severus. "I don't understand. Earlier, when we apparated together, it felt...wrong."

"I think I'll test a theory," Scabior said, and before either of them could reply, he leaned in and kissed her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Severus snarled, shoving him back away from her. Kinsey's fingers went to her lips, staring at Scabior in shock.

Scabior grinned, getting to his feet and backing away from them. "Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Severus demanded, glancing between them.

"It's intimacy," Kinsey murmured, meeting Severus' gaze, "I can't be intimate with anyone except for you."

"She's your lifemate," Scabior declared.

"There hasn't been a record of lifemates in centuries." Severus objected.

"Do you have another explanation? You've had visions of her for months, you share dreams, and she gets ill when intimate with someone else. She is your lifemate, Severus."

Severus turned his glare onto Liam. "Who is he? Did you come here to meet with him?"

"No. His name is Liam. He's my ex. I moved in with my mother hoping he wouldn't be able to find me. I don't want him near me." Kinsey explained quickly. She wasn't certain how she felt about being someone's lifemate, but the last thing she wanted him to think was that she had come here to meet with Liam.

"Throw him out and erase his memory," Severus instructed, looking back at Scabior

"With pleasure," Scabior agreed, waving his wand at Liam and levitating him into the air.