Chapter 11
"Draco we are going in circles now. We passed that tree three hours ago." Hermione grabbed Draco's arm to get his attention, but his body stood rigid in alert. She tugged his arm again and this time happened to be graced by a flash of his eyes. The words died on her lips as she met a pair of golden irises.
"We're close." He voice cut sharp with finality. She just held her tongue and nodded silently, allowing him to drag her in the direction he wanted.
The longer the pair walked, which seemed to be aimlessly so to Hermione, the more alert she could feel her own senses. She could feel her very own magical essence stirring inside of her. A twig snapped in the direction of her periphery.
"Did you hear—", but her sentence was silenced by Draco's finger, informing her to be quiet.
Suddenly, Draco began to growl. Not just a low, warning growl that he let out when she irritated or annoyed him. Instead, he pulled Hermione behind him and barred his fangs threateningly. His grip on her made Hermione feel as if she may loose circulation to her hand. He pressed his entire body against hers, making Hermione's heart flutter over the amount of protection he gave her.
"Well hello again pup."
Hermione stood on her tippy toes to look over Draco's shoulder at their abrupt visitor. She nearly fell back from the sharp inhale of breath she took at who she saw. She reached to her holster to grab her want, however Draco quickly gripped her hand to her side. She glared at him for putting her in this situation.
"Hello alpha," Draco articulated venomously.
Fenrir clucked his lips with smug grin, "What, are you not happy to see you again Pup? Did you not just spend days searching for my pack."
"I didn't realize that this was your pack. As far as I was concerned you were far, far away from this place trying to escape the Aurors search," he spat out.
Hermione whipped her hand out of Draco's. "This is a trap Draco, we need to bring him to the Aurors now. I won't let you take me again and torture me."
"You and what army?" He gestured towards the area around him. For the first time since Greyback approached she looked around. She gulped. They were now completely surrounded. Men and women covered in fabric she would barely consider clothes. To her horror, there also stood children watching her with curious eyes.
"You really think you would trail any other pack pup? I created you cub, you belong to me. I think it's time you learned to respect your superiors," he boomed. Draco kept his fangs barred but lowered his head slightly in submission.
"Fenrir!" A woman shouted from the crowd. Hermione watched as a slim woman with short curly black hair pushed her way through the crowd and to the clearing with a stern expression on her face.
Greyback looked to the approaching figure, and Draco let himself feel amused at the spark of dread that struck Greyback's face. The lean woman walked up to Greyback and pulled on his ear, eliciting a whimper from him before he took her hand and kissed her palm.
"Maybe if you weren't being a menace they wouldn't feel the need to turn you in," she scolded him.
"I'm sorry Miss, but he is a wanted criminal. He captured me and brought me back to Voldemort's lair and watched me be tortured. He even seemed delighted when Bellatrix offered to give me up to him after she was finished." Hermione's face twisted in disgust at the memory invading her thoughts.
Draco felt repulsed when the stranger started laughing. Actually laughing. She looked at the pairs stony and deadly glares before coughing and trying to hide another smile.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but Fenrir would never be delighted in the taking of little skinny things. If I found out he did take such pleasures I would have ripped him limb from limb myself," she flashed a white, razor-sharp smile, "but he would never do such a thing because he is my mate."
Hermione could not keep the stunned look off her face as she watched someone who she's only seen as a monster look at another being almost affectionately. She knew she shouldn't be so shocked, but after years of listening to the drivel of Ron Weasley she must have had some things ingrained.
Such as Death Eaters could not love another human.
Which she could physically witness such complete rubbish before her very eyes.
"No," Draco shouted. "I watched him. I watched him torture people in my own home. I watched as he ripped out the throats of random muggles that were imprisoned in our dungeons."
Hermione looked at Draco as his voice quivered. She ran into him with tearful eyes and held on to him for dear life. Fearing that it may be the last time.
Greyback scoffed, "I never disagreed with you with that. I have tortured people, Pup. But do you honestly think you were the only one the Dark Lord used blackmail on?" he shook his head in disbelief at Draco's cold expression. "Sure, I willingly took his mark for the first war at 30 years old, but I had not yet found my mate and my pack could barely survive winters. They were my only family and I was desperate to help them by whatever means."
He sighed as the woman next to him gently ran her fingers through his untamed hair. "He promised me protection. He told me if he were in power, he would allow us more freedom and safety. So I did what I needed to do."
"One of the many muggle girls forced away from her home seemed to bring me back to life though. I could tell she was the one for me almost immediately." He gripped her hand, "I barely contained myself when I watched the others abuse her in front of me. I snapped and threatened everyone, saying she was mine. Even though they promised me protection, I was still a filthy halfbreed to them. Only good enough to do some of their dirty work. They probably assumed I wanted my go and would dispose of her after," his face grimace. "I never contacted them again after the first fall of the dark lord. I had my family and my mate, who not only helped me manage our pack, but mended us as well. She aided us in becoming a thriving and self sufficient pack." He gave a quick quip of the lips.
"But when The Dark Lord came back, it was different. He was different. He was more cold, and absolutely brutal. He didn't have the packs survival rate against me, but he found out the glue that kept us together and prospering. They dragged my Callie from us, forcing us all to watch her be repeatedly subjected to the crutatious. Even all of our cubs!" He pronounced exasperatedly. "Everything I've ever done, it's always been for the sake of my mate and my pack. The only family I have ever known."
Hermione could not help but to feel distraught over the injustice the war caused everyone. She could clearly see the sincerity in his face, but felt weary on trusting him. She felt a drip of water down her face and realized that it had started raining.
"We need to set up camp Draco," she told him quietly. He still had his eyes focused on Greyback and did not move a muscle. Not even a blink of the eyes.
She felt a sudden hand on her shoulder, and squeaked in shock. She looked up to see the olive toned woman she now knew as Callie, smiling softly at her.
"Stay with the pack tonight. You will be safer with us. I can even begin to teach you some of our customs if you'd like." She smirked as Hermione perked her head up at the suggestion of knowledge. She graciously accepted a blanket offered to her by a young teen girl with strawberry blonde hair and amber eyes.
She looked back at Draco again and heard him give a grunt towards her, never taking his eyes off Greyback. She wanted to stay by his side but knew he would not rest until he was absolutely positive that Greyback meant no harm. If what Greyback said was true, then he would understand the need to protect one's mate.
For now, she just needed to trust the rest of the pack a bit to take care of her. She didn't want to admit, however, how at ease her mind and magic seemed to be in the presence of the pack.
A/N: Hi lovelies! Sorry for the wait. I'm not sure if anyone has read the latest chapter of Captivation yet, but I will say again that I had to take a bit of absence again due to surgery. I got a breast reduction and it was the best decision of my life, even if it left me too tired to write.
But my inspiration for my stories is back! It may take me a while to finish editing To Be Yourself, since it is my longest story and probably has the most errors, but I eventually want to be on a regular posting schedule. I have the next chapters for this and Captivation already done and just waiting to be posted!
I'm also debating changing this title again. I don't know why, but I am so unsatisfied with the title. I'm now considering "A delicate bite" but I don't know if that's too different from this title.
As always, R&R, and thank you for all of the love.
