Hermione was running—fast—as though her life depended on it. She was being chased through the forest. Why did her wolf want her to run? Why not stop and confront the thing chasing her? There was no time to think. Her heart was ready to burst out of her chest, but she could not stop running. The creature was quickly gaining on her. Panting, she forged ahead, moving slower as she weaved a path between the trees, making it harder to track her by her scent alone.
The weather was warm despite the time of night. Why was it so warm, so hot? Moonlight filtered through the trees. It wasn't a full moon, not tonight, but it was beautiful nonetheless. She knew this forest, recognised the trees. She had run through them before but didn't remember them looking so lovely. She looked up and admired the forest canopy. The creatures of the night could be heard faintly in the distance. Then the creature growled, an inhuman sound that made her skin tingle and pulse sprint.
She chided herself for getting distracted by the scenery and ran faster, crashing into bushes and foliage in her mad dash to get away. Every instinct inside her demanded she run, not fight like her wolf would have usually wanted to. She barrelled into a small clearing, her momentum causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. She scrambled to get back up, wanting to avoid the vulnerability of a prone position, but she was barely on her knees when the beast caught up to her.
Hermione stayed rooted to the ground, her whole body trembling as she took in the sight of the fearsome creature coming to a halt before her.
The howls of Draco's pack permeated the darkened bows of the ancient forest, heralding their night charge through the columns of trees. No creature dared to challenge their advance, fearing these new two-legged predators in their forest; they did not know that the pack wasn't hunting, not tonight. Tonight was all about getting rid of the nervous energy built inside them in anticipation of the fight with Fenrir and his goons.
A whole day had passed since Draco first received news of the impending attack, but nothing had come of it so far. They were watching all the local spots used for international portkey travel, but there was no sign of Fenrir or any of the Death Eaters yet. The wait was making them all feel a little antsy.
Draco ran ahead of the pack, marking a trail for them when he heard a sound that caught his wolf's immediate attention. Oblivious to everything but the arrival of the new predator in their midst he transformed right away and tore through the forest.
One of the omegas caught a glimpse of the manner in which their alpha took off and grew alarmed. He called out to the others for help, believing their alpha would need back-up.
"Stop," said one of the betas.
The omega looked on confused.
"We need to help him. Fenrir must be here."
The rest had caught up by then. Some were grinning while others shook their heads and rolled their eyes at him.
"Can't you smell it, pup?" asked the beta with a snicker.
"Ah," exclaimed the omega, finally recognising what was different about their alpha's scent.
"Yup. Draco's gone to get himself some," said someone else.
The pack responded with hoots and howls of laughter as they turned around and made their way back to camp.
Without meaning to, Hermione reached out and stroked the silver-white fur on the chest of the beast before her. It was just as luxurious as she remembered it. The creature stood still, the only movement coming from its nostrils as they flared now and again.
She ran her hands all over his body, drawing a whine-like sound from him. She ignored it and continued her exploration of the wolf.
It was perfect that once again he should approach her as his wolf first. It may have been because her experiences with his human had not always been pleasant, but she did not feel as uncertain with his wolf.
The she-wolf, who had resisted returning to Draco so far, changed her tune the moment she caught wind of his tantalising scent. Her usually ferocious wolf turned unexpectedly playful, letting out a low whine to alert Draco to her presence before she dashed off. She had wanted him to chase and catch her, and now that he had, she was ready for him to claim his prize.
While her wolf restlessly waited to present herself to her mate, her human was not as easy. There was much they needed to discuss first. She needed to tell him about where she was all this time and what had happened to her, what Fenrir did to her...
...just not right now. Right now, she wanted to breathe in his delicious scent and run her hands all over him until she assured herself that he was real and really before her at long last. She wanted him to hold her, comfort her, make her feel safe and loved all over again.
She sat clinging to him with her arms wrapped around his neck and face buried in his scruff, swallowing deep breaths of his refreshing scent. The longer she breathed him in, the calmer and less anxious she felt.
"I've missed you," she said, kissing his muzzle. "Gods, I don't think I realised till now just how much I missed you." Hermione sighed, continuing to stroke his fur. She could feel her fears and concerns melt away.
Her wolf looked in approval at his well-muscled form and teasingly scraped her nails along his flank.
He continued to hold still, perhaps recognising her need to be in control, but let out another whine, echoing the impatience of her own wolf.
Hermione took in a deep breath and mustered her Gryffindor courage before she looked him in the eye and nodded.
...
At her go-ahead, Draco transformed and sat on his knees before her.
"Witch," he said, letting out a shaky breath. His voice was hoarse and uneven when he spoke. "You cannot even begin to imagine how much I've missed you."
Draco showed no uncertainty when he leaned forward to grab her by the shoulders and crush her against him before his lips caught hers in a heated kiss. He had wanted to do this since he found her sprawled on the forest floor, but having sensed her hesitation, he had patiently waited in his wolf form for her to signal that she was ready.
He could not believe they had been apart for less than three months. It felt like a lifetime had passed since they were last together.
One hand slid up the slender column of her neck to hold her head in place so he could deepen their kiss. Luna grant him control, he prayed, because she tasted even better than he remembered.
Hermione's hands greedily roamed his body, feeling the jut of every bone and testing the firmness of every muscle. She pulled his hips against hers, moulding her body to his, expressing her eagerness to have him inside her again. As good as it felt to kiss, their wolves would not be satisfied with just some petting.
"Slow down, witch," he said reproachfully, nipping at her jaw while his hands ran down her back to grab her bottom.
"It's my wolf," she explained breathlessly, tilting her head back to provide him better access to her neck.
"I realised. Quite the feisty minx," he noted with a teasing smirk, which earned him a seductive purr from Hermione's wolf.
"Draco-Draco, I need you," she pleaded, attempting to undress herself without letting go of him.
"I know, love. I know. But you need to slow down."
Draco was struggling to maintain control of the situation, but one of them needed to and it did not look like Hermione's wolf was going to help matters.
She whined and demanded to know why.
"Because of what would happen next. I won't stop, I won't be able to stop," he explained. "I want you so bad ... but you're not ready. I think this is just your wolf reacting," he said, vividly recalling his wolf's reactions the first time he caught his mate's scent.
...
Hermione was crestfallen. Her wolf whined even louder. Was he rejecting her?
Unintentionally, she had asked the question out loud.
"Never. I want you. You can feel how much"—he rolled his hips against hers so she could feel his erection throb against her belly—"I still want to mate with you, but I sense you're not quite ready yet. I don't understand what it is you're scared of, but I'm willing to wait till both, your human and wolf, are ready to be with me."
It was true, it was her wolf who had taken over and was responding to her mate. Her wolf just wanted to be with her mate, she did not care that her human wasn't ready to jump straight to sex when they had so much to discuss first. Fortunately, her mate was more considerate about her desires, reminding her just why it was she had fallen in love with him in the first place.
Hermione nodded and sank against Draco.
He pulled her into his lap and held her in a way that told her he never planned to let go. In response, she melted in his arms. She pressed herself to him in a way she hoped conveyed that she had no desire to ever part with him again.
...
Their wolves wanted to pounce on each other and rut until they passed out from exhaustion, knotted together, but their humans understood there was no need to rush.
They spend hours kissing and caressing, savouring each other while also silently cataloguing every new scar on their mate's body. Every now and then one of them would be tempted to sneak in a quick grope or fondle, but they never let it go too far, continuing to let their passions simmer instead of bubbling over.
The couple sighed contentedly. They would mate, there was no doubt anymore in either one of their minds of the eventuality of their mating, but for now, they were happy just to be reunited with their mate.
Hermione's pack had finally found Draco's and they sat together swapping stories about everything that had happened since the pack split. Everyone stopped suddenly and exchanged looks with each other.
"Wow, that's—"
"Something."
"Mmhmm."
"Now, that's special."
"Scent of an aroused alpha pair—I'd commit it to memory, except I believe this is going to be a regular occurrence from now on."
There were several snickers.
"Let's not forget, they're a pair of alpha true mates."
"Luna definitely favours them."
"And us. First children and now an alpha pair... Our pack is blessed."
There were many nods of agreement.
"Merlin! The kind of scent he's giving off, I'd be shocked if he didn't get her pregnant just looking at her."
There were a few nervous chuckles before everyone fell quiet. Even though they could not see their alphas, they were closely following the proceedings with their ears and nose.
"Too bad Will and Marty aren't here tonight," said someone out of nowhere.
"So they can hear their parents get ready to fuck?"
"No, you idiot. Would've been nice to have the whole pack together."
There were only a few quiet murmurs of agreement to avoid making too much noise. Everyone was straining their ears to hear every rustle and every sigh, to get an idea of how things were progressing between Draco and Hermione.
Eventually the scent and magical energy coming from the alphas got too much for many in the pack, who began to form pairs and leave in search of some privacy. Fucking, it turned out, was just as good as running when it came to getting rid of pent up energy.