The members of the Order were extremely pleased with Fae and Remus' results. In a way, the both of them were rewarded with their successes with a promotion of sorts. No more trivial surveillance, thank Merlin. Instead, they were given the week to rest and get back to their day jobs, settle down and recover for a bit. Fae was happy to be back in her small town and to wear her cute little roller skates and to be greeted happily by the cooks and her regulars.
The week went by and then the Order got into contact again. And again. And again. It was as if they'd proved themselves or something, but it seemed like Fae or Remus or the both of them had a new assignment every other night. Sometimes they were on guard duty, helping with the transport of important people or families that needed protection. Other nights, they were tasked to locate, investigate, and then cast a tracking spell on a target. Or, just track them down outright and report back to the Order on their activities for whatever time period they'd been watching. It was exhausting and busy, but Fae felt extremely satisfied with being able to do some solid work.
James and Sirius congratulated her and were proud of her and Remus and she promised she'd be on their level soon enough - handling more dangerous assignments like infiltration, or spying, or capture and interrogation. She was already good at hunting and interrogation sounded like a blast. She hadn't been able to use any fun, vicious spells since graduation and nobody here even knew about them yet - knew how she'd spent her final term.
Overall, though, Fae felt like she was in a good place. All this extra work was only better informing her and adding to what knowledge she could use for her own plans. Information gathering was good and she liked those assignments. Mostly.
The best, and worst, assignment she'd gotten was probably when she and Remus were asked to get into disguises and pose as a couple on a date at the same restaurant as a suspected Death Eater making a shady deal with a politician. It was their job to listen in and not get caught. Sure, other wizards could do the same, but not so subtly and easily, damn her lycanthropy. For once, she wasn't super proud of her abilities. Okay, she was. She'd worked hard for enhanced hearing.
It was just. She and Remus had slipped back into their normal routine easily after returning home from the western pack where he'd been her loyal, lovely, faithful beta. But also, kind of not quite the same. They didn't cuddle or hold hands or anything like that all the time, but he certainly was happy to be as close to her as possible whenever they were in the same room. Sitting at Lucrecia's or the diner, he always sat right beside her instead of across from her. At dinner, he was always close and casually stealing food from her plate and offering food from his, which had Sirius giving her suspicious looks that made her very embarrassed and panicky. In the living room, he had taken to joining her on the couch again, taking opposite sides and letting their legs tangle in the middle over their notebooks and papers, or sitting side by side and leaning against each other. He'd started playing with her hair idly again, just reaching right out and adjusting her hair bows for work or tugging it to get her attention or brushing it out for her when she got out of the shower.
Fae couldn't help her racing heart and the happiness she felt as he did all of that so easily. But it scared her too. Scared her fucking shitless.
Tonight, he had darker brown hair, a little fuzz on his cheeks, and green eyes. He was still as beautiful as ever and it was unfair that he was wearing the bespoke suit, charmed to be a charcoal grey. It was a nicer restaurant, sophisticated and smooth and subtle. Fae was dressed in kind, long hair charmed to be shoulder-length and shiny red to compliment her long, flowing satin black dress. They had been here for a bit, already ordered and waiting for their food, keeping an eye out for their targets to enter. She put perhaps a bit too much effort into it, gazing around the room to avoid looking at Remus across the table.
Apparently, he wasn't having it. His hand found hers over the table cloth, sliding forward and linking their fingers together. "What's on your mind, love?" he asked.
"Huh?" she said, nearly jumping to be suddenly called out of her thoughts.
Their eyes met and although green, they were still as heart-rending and sincere as ever. The adoration was hard to handle. "You seem a million miles away tonight," he said, giving her hand a squeeze, playing the part of a concerned lover.
"Oh, sorry," she said. "Just thinking about something."
"Not another bloke I hope. I'd hate to have to compete for your attention," he said, smiling alluringly. His grin turned cheeky as a clear and obvious blush crossed over her cheeks. That fucking bastard.
"Of course not dear, you know you're the only one for me," she said back, as fake-sweet as she could.
He laughed lightly, unlinked their hands on the table, lifted hers up, and kissed her knuckles, dragging his teeth so lightly across bone and nipping. "As you are the only one for me, my love."
Thank fucking Merlin that their targets finally showed up. She and Remus kept up idle small talk about fake topics like his job as a banker and her rivalry with some girl in flower arranging classes, but they listened intently. And Remus committed to their little act, feeding her bits of food, playing footsie under the table, keeping their hands linked as often as he could. It was driving her fucking crazy and making it really hard to concentrate.
Still, they had at last definitely nailed this guy - this was one heck of a shady deal and now they had a time and location to bust it. Fae paid close attention, committed everything to memory. Their deal wrapped up as she and Remus paid the tab, got up, and left. His arm wrapped firmly around her waist all the way out of the restaurant. And then all the way to their rendezvous point.
"Job well done, huh?" he whispered in her ear as they entered an alley and prepared to apparate.
"Yeah," Fae said, fighting off shivers. Her waist was hot and tingly where his arm was still wrapped around her as he side-alonged her. He didn't let go as they relayed everything to Daedalus. He only finally let go when they made it home and dropped the magic glamour. His hand unwrapped from her waist, came up and caressed her cheek, pushed her properly long hair behind her ear.
"There you are," he said softly. Fae couldn't meet his gaze, cheeks red and heart racing and gut caving in. Fuck.
And of course, as soon as she'd planned to grab some extra shifts at work or maybe grab some more solo assignments from Moody so she could put some safe distance between herself and Remus, Moody decided it was time to go meet the northern wolf pack and see if she couldn't charm them too.
Which meant a six hour drive up to Whitehaven and then a day of hiking to the last place he'd seen them in Lake District National Park, which was empty of any scents or traces. Thus, a few more days of sharing a tent and a bed and being alone with each other as they searched the rest of the park and the North Pennines and the Yorkshire National Park. The woods were fantastic and the mountains were challenging. Gorgeous, but challenging and Remus was vocally grateful that she and the Marauders had convinced him to get out of the shack at Hogwarts, run around the forests and mountains in Scotland.
Fae became Athena and Remus became Romulus and she focused herself on hunting. And then actually got really into it because these guys were good. Nile had been her informant to this group - unwittingly giving her information about them in return for her tips on increasing his abilities. Apparently, the northern pack was small, exclusive, secretive, and prioritized strong members. Nile must've gotten in, because he'd stopped writing shortly after thanking her for guiding him to tapping into his awareness for the first time.
As they got deeper into the woods, Fae could feel them close, around her, and far at the same time. She made sure that she and Remus referred to each other only as Athena and Romulus from that point on, curious to see if Nile had made it or not and would help them. Or hurt them.
Fae found a scent on the third day and followed it to a completely empty area where it just stopped. No trace of any pack or any werewolf. But then she'd consulted the map and followed the nearby river up to a small lake and got a hint of a scent again. This time, when she followed it, it led her in actual circles for half a day. On her third catch of a werewolf scent, she let it lead her to several dead ends again, before catching on.
Fae found them in the caves behind the waterfalls. This pack had been traveling on the water, letting the current sweep away their scents while they had been watching her and Remus very carefully. So she and Remus had followed the trails, smirking and silently communicating, before abruptly apparating away, killing off their own scents. They had apparated straight up, landing almost near the very top of a tree, silent and waiting. As suspected, a woman appeared not long later, searching the area they'd just been.
The dark-haired girl grinned and shucked off her t-shirt, handing it to Remus so he could head back down, unseen, and re-scent the area, creating a trail that seemingly had both of them for the other werewolf to follow. Meanwhile, Fae doubled back on the way the woman had come. She found a grand waterfall and knew that had to be it. With a grin, she dove in, swam deep beneath the crashing water, and resurfaced behind it to find a brown-haired werewolf smiling brightly down at her from the edge, eyes seeing him easily in the dimly lit cavern.
He was young, 17 if she remembered right, and had the energy to prove it. "You did it! I knew you'd figure it out!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out easily.
"Nile, I'm guessing?" she said, laughing as he pulled her into a tight hug. It reminded her of her own puppy-like eagerness at 14 when she'd met Remus.
"I'm so happy to meet you finally! You're as amazing as I'd always imagined!"
"Well thank you, thank you, feel free to applaud," she joked, pulling apart from him and flicking his nose.
And then, there was actual applause as someone off to the side clapped while a few others laughed. Fae turned and met the gazes of four other werewolves, all smiling kindly, and curiously at her.
The one who had clapped, a forty-something man with a big nose and a bigger grin, walked forward to greet her. "Welcome, Athena. Nile has told us much about you. I am Ulysses," he said, offering his hand to shake.
"Thank you, it's good to meet you too," Fae said easily. And then grinned as Romulus surfaced from the pool too.
"Oh, so you were right," he said, grinning as he pulled himself out of the water and took his place beside her.
"I always am," she teased. "Romulus, this is Ulysses and this is Nile. And you all are?"
Introductions were passed around with the remaining few. Nile was the youngest and newest member of their pack. Also the most excitable and, he bragged, the best tracker which is how he'd found them and earned his place. Closer to Fae and Remus' age was Joy, who came spluttering out of the water five minutes after Remus, pissed off that he'd shook her. There was Milo, 28, and his older brother Ollie. Curly-haired and smiling mischievously, they reminded her of Brandon and Brock Klein. Mina was next, a shy, soft-spoken woman with long hair in a million little braids and freckles. With Ulysses, that made 6. 6 pack members.
"And your alpha, watching from that tunnel over there? May I have the pleasure of meeting you too?" Fae called out, sending her gaze into the deep darkness of a hole off to her side. There was no scent, no sound, no movement. None until Fae had called her out. Very skilled.
And incredible, Fae observed, as a small, built woman with wavy blonde hair, healthy tan skin covered in a myriad of fascinating scars, dark intense eyes, a sharp smile, and the stride of a powerful leader came forward. A gliding, silent, purposeful gait, like a predator hunting prey. She had a strong nose, thin lips, and eyebrows that were completely on point. Pointed nails and tough, bare feet, and amazingly defined abs. Fae met her gaze head on and kept her breathing even, her shoulders squared, Remus behind her.
"Very astute. I am Celeste and the pleasure is all mine," the werewolf said, smiling sharply. It was only when she got within arms distance of Fae did she finally catch her scent. Tantalizing green apples, cinnamon, clove, fiery warmth. Literally, she smelt like warm apple pie right out of the oven, oh yum, how the fuck, she could suppress her scent? Werewolves could do that?
She was only an inch or two taller than Fae herself, but wider in the hips and shoulders, and noticeably bigger in the biceps. Wow, those were some impressive muscles. Her presence was encompassing and Fae couldn't look away as they came face-to-face and shook hands.
"Call me Athena."
Celeste nodded and kissed her hand. "Athena. A beautiful and powerful name. It suits you."
And OKAY WOW. "Thank you. I could say the same about you, you don't hear a name like Celeste very often," Fae replied, preening and grinning under the other alpha's attention.
Celeste's eyes crinkled with her delighted smile, and woah, long eyelashes, so blonde. "Thank you. And this is?" she asked, glancing behind Fae.
"Oh, this is-"
"I'm Romulus, Athena's be-"
Fae cut him off. "Best friend and pack member. My second in command of sorts," she explained quickly. Which was 100% true so Remus had no business pouting behind her, she could smell the spiciness on him, little shit better calm down before he alarmed any of their new friends. Celeste wasn't threatened by her at all, Fae could tell. They saw each other immediately for what they were - equals. Powerful alphas. Powerful women.
"Very well. Welcome to both of you. You've done well, finding us."
Fae laughed. "You didn't make it easy. I think I'm as impressed as you are," she said with a wink.
"Perhaps," Celeste said, settling a hand on Fae's back to guide her into the cave. "Nile has told us much about you."
Joy spat to the side and snarled. "More like the little shit hasn't shut up since we saw you a few days back. I don't see what the big idea is, you don't look very strong."
Fae fixed her with a bright, toothy, fae-like grin. "Oh, it's a common misconception. Allow me to explain. Or demonstrate."
Celeste was totally into her. Fae knew she was awesome - headstrong, powerful, magnetically confident, fairly charismatic, charmingly funny, refreshingly honest, and decently attractive. But still, Celeste was a prime specimen, an absolute bombshell of an alpha. It was extremely surprising and even more flattering to have her attention. And her respect.
They'd talked through the first night, no surprise there. Both Athena and Romulus conveying their stories, talking about training and trial and error and becoming powerful enough to use their wolf abilities as humans. And mentally strong enough to maintain human thought and control during transformation. Nile had only managed it that one time, and had used it to find them with his senses in peak performance. The other alpha had asked several questions, engrossed in their knowledge and eager to learn. So different than Christian had been, it was excellent and not what Fae had expected at all. Celeste was genuinely inquisitive, interested in power, and was happy to let Fae teach them all her secrets.
Fae was absolutely thrilled. Honored. Glowing. She threw herself into training over the next week, determined to be helpful to Celeste's pack. Most of them were already incredibly strong and fast, having tapped into that long ago. They were nomadic and lived solely off the forest's bounty. It was amazing. Nile had already gotten to work teaching them to hear, smell, and sense better. However, few of them bothered with howling, meditating, or controlling their magic. In fact, many of them didn't use magic anymore as it was too unpredictable. Remus, so like Euphemia in his dedication to education, wasn't about to have that. So Fae got sensory training, he got magic practice and control, and they both handled theory and learning wolf characteristics.
Pack dynamics were very good though. They worked as a unit to hunt, more often than not. It was good to see the way they played to each other's strengths and weaknesses. That being said, Fae would see them each strong enough individually to take down a bear before she was done here. And to avoid magical hunters who had been using the same tricks for years and were annoyingly prevalent in these dark parts of the woods.
And then there was the praise.
"You have a brilliant mind, to have discovered all of this," Celeste had told her the first night, fascinated by how many werewolves in history Fae was able to reference off the top of her head.
"It is impressive, the way in which you carry yourself," she told her, watching her with delighted eyes as Fae directed Milo and Ollie in a race to hunt her conjured birds blindfolded. "Proud and elegant."
They were three miles into a wonderful midnight run through the forest when Celeste caught up to her and told her, "With such strong, beautiful legs, it is no wonder you are so fast. It is extremely difficult for even me to keep up with you."
"Your passion and sincere devotion is breathtaking. We are very blessed that you have come to give us your wisdom, Athena," Celeste said, partially serious and partially teasing, standing at her side as Fae commanded her pack to do yet another round of shuttle runs up and down the mountain, cheering them on as much as she sassed them.
Fae wanted to drown in her praise. Over the week, she'd come to find that Celeste was a tough leader, firm and strict with her pack, constantly pushing them past their limits and even those that Fae had initially set for their training. Her pack members rose to meet her expectations every time and she would smile. A smile, and a sweet, simple 'well done'. From the reactions she saw, her praise was actually rare. Clearly it was enough to keep them coming back for more challenges, and well, Fae could certainly understand. She still had no clue what made her so special as to receive such praise, but it made her feel really good.
And then things got really interesting. Second week was, like last time, hide and hunt. Practicing what they'd learned and begun to tap into. However, instead of Fae and Remus leading teams for elimination-tag, Fae challenged Celeste to lead half of her pack, dying to know exactly how well this alpha could hunt.
Conclusion - better than any other werewolf Fae had ever met. Fae had found herself pinned for the first time and in awe. The awe subsided quickly in favor of sheer determination to get her back and the chase had been on. Fae returned the favor when the teams switched sides in the next round. She'd pinned Celeste in ten minutes. It would've been five, but the other woman played dirty, having actually used magic to trick Fae's sense of smell and lead her into a mud pit. When Fae had pinned her, she'd leaned in and nuzzled her skin fiercely, dragging mud all over her and making them both giggle uncontrollably.
The second week ended up being a lot of Fae and Celeste continually challenging each other. Fae was faster and could outrun her any day. Celeste was stronger and could beat her in arm wrestling in seconds. Fae could see in the dark better, often trying to sneak up on the blonde woman while she patrolled around her pack at night, making sure nobody was nearby for miles to disturb them. Celeste could smell better and always sensed her coming, hiding herself and suppressing her scent so it would actually take Fae a bit to locate her.
They played more than they trained, but it was rough, hard, fast, always trying to beat the other, so it might as well have been training.
They flirted and danced around each other too, always toeing the line of being openly romantic or sexual with each other. But as much as Fae was drawn to Celeste, she couldn't cross that line. Sure, it might've made convincing her to join the war easier, but Fae respected her too much to be anything but honest. And honestly, as much as Fae loved Celeste's attention, she also deviously loved Remus' growing jealousy.
Celeste's attraction to her clearly agitated him. He was glued to her side at every opportunity, constantly brushing up against her and nuzzling her and displaying clear submissive behavior to her in front of Celeste and her pack. At night, he would wrap himself around her, burying his face in her collarbone and rubbing his scent all over her, claiming he was cold, duh, it was almost December. Insisting she wear his sweaters during the day. Literally presenting kills to her when they all went hunting and making sure she ate her fill first. It was so damn cute. She soaked up his attention like a sponge and even though he wasn't supposed to be playing her beta this time, she indulged in this behaviour because they were Athena and Romulus right now and that somehow made it okay.
It was a dangerous thing Fae was doing, balancing the two. It was an inevitability that it couldn't last, but it was a big surprise that Remus got aggressive and violent first.
It had started with Celeste asking about her tattoos and tracing her fingers lightly over them while Fae told stories of the sword, the flowers, and of a secret world she used to know. Then it had progressed to hands smoothed over her rib cage while Fae removed her shirt and happily told them all about the sensitive rat, the bold and loving deer, the playful dog, the wise owl, the protective bear, the badger who was a symbol of a home and a people that Fae would belong to forever. Celeste moved her hand sensually over the ink, Remus growled low in his throat, and Fae settled a hand over his leg to calm him while she fought shivers. And then flinched - because ow. That was one nasty bruise and sore hip the other alpha had given her during their chasing that day.
"You're hurt," Remus fussed, leaning over Fae and wrapping her up while he inspected her bruise.
"I'm fi-" she tried to say, but Remus was already softly grazing his fingers over the bruise, subtly knocking away Celeste's hand, and making Fae freeze up in heart-racing pleasure. His touch on her bare skin felt far too good, this was getting to be ridiculous.
"Did you do this?" he growled, turning his sharp gaze on Celeste.
The blonde werewolf frowned. "I must've earlier today. My apologies."
Shaking herself out of her stupor, Fae grinned. "For what? I do believe I got you back. And this is nothing, it'll be gone in a day or two."
"Still. There are some hot springs with curative properties which would help, I'm sure. Come, I'll take you there."
Hot springs with an attractive, naked, beautiful, strong, blonde alpha? Oh hell yeah. Remus wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't really happy with him for growling at Celeste over nothing. So.
It was just them and the hot water. It was wonderful and relaxing and a little steamy because Celeste insisted on washing her back and rubbing out whatever sores and aches she had. She was thorough and teasing, but her hands never strayed anywhere too inappropriate and Fae was grateful for that. When all the rubbing was done and Fae had not acted on her advances or subtle offerings to take this to the next level, the two women leaned against the rocks and simply just relaxed.
Sharing about their lives and how Celeste had come here and built her pack and what Fae hoped to do with her abilities in the future. Chatting about whether big game or small game tasted better and joking about the logistics of making sushi out here. It was nice. Soothing. An excellent break. And so relaxing that she became completely boneless and nearly fell asleep. Fae teasingly asked Celeste to carry her back and the blonde grinned and scooped her up without question. Deciding to just roll with it, Fae leaned against her strong shoulders, let herself be pampered, and fell asleep. She woke up to Remus yelling.
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing, she is simply asleep," Celeste said, voice quiet and firm, lips brushing the shell of Fae's ear. It made her squirm pleasantly.
"Bullshit, Athena wouldn't just pass out alone with a stranger!" Remus said, voice getting louder and more gravelly. Shit, he sounded so hot like that.
"But we are not strangers. We are friends," Celeste said. Then her voice turned coy. Sly. "I might even say more than."
Remus' scent went from slightly displeased to insanely pissed off in a millisecond. "You-"
"And she was clearly exhausted from our activities today. After all her hard work lately, she deserved to be cared for and now she needs her rest," she said, voice still quiet, but now taking on an angry and growly quality of its own.
Fae opened her eyes and saw Remus towering over Celeste, eyes blazing, big hands reaching for her, teeth barred. Shit this was getting bad fast. "Give her to me. Now."
Celeste turned abruptly, keeping Fae out of his grip and she squeaked in surprise. Neither noticed she was awake. "No. You'll wake her with your careless rage. She can stay with me tonight."
"The hell she will! Give her to me or I will take her."
"Are you challenging me, beta?" Celeste asked, beginning to bare her own teeth in a predatory, dangerous display of sharpness.
Fae abruptly pushed herself out of her arms, stumbled to the ground, and let go as soon as she was steady. "Okay, I'm up! I'm up. No need to fight. I'm awake, I'm perfectly fine, calm down," she commanded, coming to stand between them.
"See? You disturbed her!" Celeste hissed.
Remus was not having it and only pushed in closer. "I-"
Before he could make it worse, she shoved him back and made eye contact. "Romulus!"
He paused at that, finally turning his attentions back on her and frowning deeply at her angry tone.
"I apologize Celeste. Romulus and I have been pack and have only had each other for a very long time. We tend to get protective," Fae said, turning back towards the alpha.
"I see."
"However, that is no excuse for his aggression towards you, especially when you have been so kind and hospitable to us. Romulus, apologize," she commanded.
"What?!"
"Now," Fae said, turning back towards him and inching her hand up so her fingers could wrap just slightly around his neck and curl. He looked sufficiently cowed only a moment later. Slumped and flicked his gaze off to the side despite the anger still coming off him in waves.
"….sorry."
"I accept your apology," Celeste said, not even looking at him, her clever eyes on Fae, seeing far more than Fae was comfortable with her seeing.
"Good then. All better. Now you were right, I really do need some rest, so Romulus and I will retire for the night."
"Okay. Rest well."
Wanting to smooth things over, Fae wrapped her arms softly around Celeste's waist in a little hug, arched up, and pressed a cute kiss to her cheek. "Thank you for tonight. It was lovely."
Fae felt pretty good to see the alpha woman blush even just slightly. And then Remus was grabbing her hand and dragging her off to their tent. He flung open the flaps and paced a second before throwing himself down on the bed.
Drama queen. She rolled her eyes and began her nightly bedtime routine. "Romulus, cool off. If you keep acting like that, we're going to get chased out of here," she warned him.
He was quiet for a good three minutes and then exhaled sharply. "Why can't I be your beta here too? It worked well with Christian," he said, sitting up abruptly and fixing her with a sharp look.
Fae hid her blush, keeping her back to him as she took off her t-shirt and sports bra so she could slip on her bed t-shirt. Ironically, it was one of Remus' t-shirts, soaked in his scent and long enough to cover her bottom as she kicked off her panties and shorts to swap out for a clean pair.
"That's because Christian wanted to make sure I wouldn't come onto his beta, Willis, remember?" she said. "And it's a little different here, if you haven't noticed."
She turned back around to see him pouting and nearly gave up trying to be stern with him. So cute. And so sweet that he wanted to be her's. It was really hard not to read too much into that. Then he said, "Yeah the alpha here wants you which makes no sense."
And suddenly it was easy to be angry with him again. "Why would it not make sense? Because we're both women?" she asked, crossing her arms.
He frowned. "You know I have no problems with that kind of thing."
"Then what? Am I not attractive enough for her?" she asked, because let's face it, Celeste could bed Victoria's Secret models with a cool look. Easy.
"No, that's not-" he said, flinging himself back down on the bed and waving his hands in the air frustratedly as he tried to find words. "It's- It's because you're both alphas!"
She sighed and sat down beside him, crossing her legs and beginning to finger out the tangles in her hair. She hoped they stopped fighting soon, she didn't feel like brushing her own hair tonight. "Yeah, okay, I admit that's a little strange. But we have different styles of leading and so far, it seems to be working. She's been very respectful and lenient of us teaching," Fae said.
His scent became distinctly spicy and fired up and Gods, he just wasn't giving it a rest, was he? "You say that like you're considering accepting her advances or something."
She barked a laugh. "There's no way I could, I can't stay here."
"But would you?" he asked, fixing her with a kicked-puppy look that she could not meet head-on. And great, now she was back to reading too much into things. He couldn't possibly be jealous. Just territorial. She got that way about coffee mugs at home or like the chair in the Hufflepuff common room. That's all it was. Werewolf thing.
"That's besides the point. Look, it's better if we all get along and I need you to be sweet."
"Sweet?"
"Kind. Polite. Your usual self."
He did not answer and she fought down the urge to tell him to go fuck himself and just head off to spend the night with the most likely far less complicated Celeste after all. She was tired and her hair was all tangly and they had so much planned to do tomorrow.
Deciding to play the sweet card against him herself, she turned and ran her fingers through his hair, the way he liked. Let her fingers slide against his ear and his cheek until his eyes fluttered closed and he relaxed. Rubbed his collarbones and his biceps and his shoulders. "Look, we won't be here for too much longer. Just take it easy and I'll see if I can't get her to back off a little bit, okay?" she said, deciding to compromise.
He still didn't answer so she leaned over and nipped his nose. His eyes snapped open and she gave him a sweet nuzzle. "Do you understand?"
He sighed deeply. The rage and frustration dissipated. He relaxed beneath her touch and obeyed. "Okay. I understand."
"That's my darling."
And finally, there was that beautiful smile.
After that, Fae played it smarter. She spent equal time with Celeste and with the whole pack, returning to help Remus properly teach them all. When Remus got handsy with her, she allowed herself to be handsy back, keeping a possessive arm around him or lying her head in his lap so he could play with her hair. The flirting with Celeste died down and their interactions became mostly strategy and planning based, analyzing the growth of her pack members and how they were more versatile and would continue to grow that way, provided she keep up what Athena and Romulus had taught them - and keep pushing boundaries herself.
Their time ended as December arrived and the first snow fell.
"You are leaving?" Celeste asked.
"Yeah, we're needed back home," Fae said with a small, what-can-you-do shrug and smile.
"Without asking us what you came here for?"
Fae's eyes widened in shock. "How-?" Celeste was sharp and Fae was glad they weren't enemies. She hoped it stayed that way after she revealed this whole business about the war.
"Instinct And the ID on your back," the blonde said, smiling playfully and smoothing a hand over Fae's back, over the tattoo and casually tucking the dark-haired girl under her strong arm.
She blushed. "Ah. That. Well. I don't suppose it'll help if I say that the reason we're here has nothing to do with the Ministry of Magic?"
"It's a good start. Come for a walk with me and tell me your secrets," Celeste said, guiding her through the tunnel out into the woods.
"O-okay."
It went about as well as could be expected. Explaining the war, the sides, why it was important for werewolves to fight. Why it was important to Fae to fight. Asking if she might have Celeste and her pack as allies. Asking them to leave their home and their safety and fight with her
"So what do you think?"
Celeste stopped them, turned so they were facing each other. There were no sweet touches or smiles as she said, "Me and mine will have nothing to do with the battles of purebloods."
Fae frowned. "So that's a no?"
"It's a no."
"I see. And there's no way I could convince you otherwise?" Fae asked, winking and sliding a playful hand down Celeste's bicep. She gave it a flirty squeeze for good measure.
They both knew she didn't mean it and the two alphas chuckled. "No, I do not believe so."
Fae shrugged and they shared a smile. "Well, that's too bad. But I understand. I hope we can remain friends?"
Because once the war was over, she would love to visit. Often. This area was gorgeous and fun and they had a really good thing coming. That, and Fae thrived on the challenge. She was leaving here stronger than when she came for sure, and that was plenty for her.
Celeste's smile turned sly as she stroked Fae's cheek tenderly. "You are always welcome to come find us. And to stay, when you realize they do not deserve you and the war is pointless," she said before leaning in and placing a very slow, sensual, skilled kiss on Fae's lips.
Fae squeaked and blushed when she pulled back. It took her most of the walk home to properly articulate why she would never give up on the war, but thank you, that's very sweet.
As she and Remus left, it was a quiet trek to Whitehaven. Failure wasn't great, but Fae had kind of known it would end that way. Celeste liked power. But, she also valued control above all else, just like Fae. This was her territory and her pack where she had complete control. She'd be a fool to give it all up for people she didn't care about. She'd also be a fool to give up the chance to become stronger, learning from Athena. Thus, the compliments and flirting and temporarily relinquishing of her pack. Not to say it was all a farce - they definitely had a good sexual chemistry. But their personalities would eventually clash with time. No, they'd never make it as lovers. Friends though? Powerful allies to her, but not the Order? She was happy with that and Moody would just have to deal.
As for Remus, he'd been practically skipping and walking on air since they'd left, playfully challenging her to little races or lacing their fingers together and swinging their arms widely as they walked. Humming and pulling her into waltzes. It was adorable and exasperating and sweet. Gods, what was she going to do with him?
Get him drunk and even more cute and happy, was the answer, evidently. Halfway through their hike back, they got caught in a snowstorm. They took shelter in a tavern, rented a room upstairs for the night, and then played pool downstairs to burn time. Halfway through their fourth game, Fae had made the dumb decision to take a drink everytime they sank one more than the other. Which led to some very hilarious games and poor drunken attempts at trick shots, and then devolved into singing and dancing on the pool table. And then dancing and madly swaying on the floor, because the bartender thought they were cute and funny, but would probably break the table if they kept jumping on it like that.
He could barely stand and was leaning on her heavily as they giggled and swayed back and forth. Then he slowed down, collapsing more firmly onto her and burying his face in her neck and looping his arms snuggly around her waist. He hummed to the music and they moved only slightly, shifting back and forth to the guitar. Fae smiled, breathed in his perfect scent, held him tight, laid her head over his and enjoyed this blissful moment. But then the little fucker had to go and ruin it.
"Are you going to go join Celeste's pack after the war?"
"I don't know, maybe. She's reeeeeally sexy," Fae teased, hoping that was a joking question and not a serious one.
Going by the sniffles suddenly coming from him as he rubbed his face against her collarbone, it was serious. Damn.
"But what about me?" he asked, voice muffled and sad.
"Oh, Remus.. what's all this?"
He struggled to stand, but eventually straightened his spine to look at her. And then abruptly fell forward, slamming their foreheads together unpleasantly and holding on tightly for balance. Fae yelped and he just gave her forehead a quick kiss before setting his head against her's more gently this time. "You said we would go to college and travel together," he warbled, alcoholic breath fanning over her face.
"Is that what you want?" she asked, frowning and searching his unfocused gaze.
"Do you want Celeste?" he asked back.
"I asked you first.""
"I asked you second," he said, snickering.
"Remus."
"Mm-mm," he hummed, smiling cutely and dopely as he swayed them hard and nearly sent the both of them falling to the ground.
"Remus, don't fuck with me," Fae said, unable to keep laughter from falling out of her mouth.
"Fae, why are you so far away? I just want it to be like it was," he whined, falling forward and shoving his face in her collarbone again, mouth wet as he spoke into her skin. It sent her mind spiraling into both fantasies and memories.
"Like when?" she asked, voice breathless and shuddering, automatically arching her neck to the side so he'd have more to taste. And then remembering where she was. Don't read into it, you dumb bitch, don't do this to yourself. He's a cuddly drunk.
"Like this. Like just you and me. Remus and Fae. Together," he said.
She sighed deeply. Ran her fingers through his soft, pretty hair. "We are, darling, and we always will be."
"Forever?" he asked, voice becoming joyful again.
"Forever."
"You promise? Promise to always be my Fae?"
She held him as tight as she could, burying her face in his hair and trying not to cry. "Promise."
Fae couldn't do it again. She couldn't let herself be completely and openly in love with him again. Not after last time. She thought about it for the entire drive home while he slept off his hangover. And, maybe a little bit of sleeping draught that she'd put in his morning tea. She just couldn't deal with all of his affection right now.
Was she strong enough to push him away when being with him made her so happy? It was overwhelming her, being caught between wanting to run screaming from him and also never leave his side for even a second. It really fucking sucked.
The solution to Fae's problem came out of left field in a totally unexpected, but extremely welcome way.
Following reporting into the Order about their failure with the northern pack, Fae had pulled Moody to the side after and played up a 'guilty for failing' act. She hadn't been convincing enough, despite the alpha's interest in her, and it was her fault the mission failed and they were out recruits. She really wanted to make up for it, so any mission or assignment he had, no matter how mundane or dangerous or anywhere in between, she'd be happy to do. Solo. She was fine and well-rested, but Remus had done most of the training this time and definitely needed a break. Moody wasn't really buying her bullshit, but put her to work anyways.
Fae, stupidly, pushed herself and took assignments every night. She came back every time, successful and eager for more, which made the Prewetts laugh and tell stories of the days she spent training the Gryffindor Quidditch team. As relentless and brutal as ever, Fae. And she was, proudly. But she was also at least partly human and the late nights and extra shifts at the diner and irregular sleeping hours and lack of proper meal times eventually backfired on her.
It was guard duty and the first time she'd seen Remus for more than five minutes all week. She blamed him for being so beautiful and happy to see her. That's why she'd been distracted and hadn't smelled or heard the ambush. To be fair, she stunned and decently injured at least two of them before taking a nasty curse to the chest while defending her charge.
She woke up in the hospital the next day to Sirius and Remus bickering while James paced incessantly and Lily sat quietly and calmly beside Fae's bed. And it was Lily who noticed when Fae finally opened her eyes. Lily who gave her water so Fae could wet her parched, sore throat, and then tell the boys to shut the fuck up.
"Fae!"
Remus nearly shoved Sirius through the wall as they both reached for her, but James got there first, crying and screaming and hugging his baby sister- who was incidentally in serious pain from the sudden movement- close to his chest.
"James, let her go, you're going to hurt her!" Remus growled, yanking James off her. Fae fell back with a whumpf. Sirius had transformed into Padfoot and was jumping all over her legs, accidentally stepping on her burning stomach, and making her shout as his cold noise snuffled her arm and neck for kisses.
"Everybody out," she demanded. Oh, she hurt far too much to deal with this shit.
"Wha-"
"Fae-"
"But-"
"OUT," she commanded. "Except Lily." Quiet, collected, smug Lily who escorted them all forcefully from the room, called a doctor, and began to softly explain what happened, how it ended, who was hurt and who was safe, and finally, how she'd been hurt. Fae's sister-in-law knew her and her priorities so well.
The Death Eaters had gotten away except for some twiggy boy, far too young to be more than cannon fodder and likely pressured by his family to join. He had cracked like an egg during interrogation, but a curse on his tongue killed him before he could say anything. Fae's charge had made it out without so much as a scratch and was safely in hiding. Ivy, another guard from that night, had broken her hand punching some Death Eater in the face, badass. Remus had received a nasty slash across his left shoulder that would leave him with a limited range of motion for a bit, but would heal up fine.
Fae had been on the end of a particularly savage entrail-expelling curse. Auror armor and thick-ass werewolf skin kept it from being too bad, but some of her guts had made an unfortunate appearance, thus the hospital. She'd been stitched up just fine though and would likely be released later that day - because Lily knew she hated hospitals and was an absolute angel. Fae really should've made an attempt to woo her and marry her. They would've made the most badass lesbian power couple.
"Those must be some real good painkillers," Lily said, struggling to restrain her laughter.
It occurred to Fae that she'd repeated those thoughts out loud. She gave the red-haired girl a saucy wink that was probably actually super sloppy and awkward. Then fell asleep again.
When she woke up for a second time, it wasn't surprising that Remus was sitting at her side, leaning over the side of the bed and staring intently at her hand. His big hands were encased around her much smaller hand and they were shaking pretty bad.
"Heya nerd. Lookin' a little depressed there. Alright?" she asked, voice painfully raspy. Ugh. That was a gross taste.
"Fae!"
She grinned. "The one and only."
He stared at her for a solid minute before his eyes welled up with tears and he began to shake his head frantically. "No! No, I'm not alright. I was so scared. I thought I'd lost you," he said, voice breaking as he cried.
"Oh come on, you know it'll take a lot more than that to do me in," she said, trying to cheer him up and wipe away his tears.
"Don't joke!"
Fae smiled tenderly at him, petted his hair, smoothed her palm onto his cheek and tried to thumb the tears away. "I'm not joking. It would take an army to keep me away from you, darling."
"The Dark Lord has an army," he said.
She shrugged and kissed his forehead, giving him a quick nuzzle while she was at it. "Only a little one."
They stayed close, heads leaned against each other as his shoulders shook with his sobs. Oh, her sweet, sensitive, adorable darling.
"Alright then, come here," she said, leaning back and scooching over to one side of the narrow hospital bed. Ugh. Hospitals. At least having Remus curled up with her would distract her til it was over.
"What?"
"Did I stutter? Come hold me," she demanded, pushing back the blankets and opening her arms wide for him.
There was a flicker of consideration and the ghost of a thought behind his eyes that this wasn't a good idea. But he caved. He nodded slowly and crawled in beside her. "Okay…"
"See? I'm alive. I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," she promised him, wrapping her arms tight around him as they adjusted to lie down and not agitate any of her injuries while getting as close as possible. She was in some pain, but the drugs had her pretty high so it was fine. Well, she was calling it the drugs.
"….better not," he said miserably.
Sirius came in with good food not too long later because he was the best brother.
Although, he was giving Fae shifty looks again, eyeing the way Remus was lying in bed with her, completely wrapped around her and looking like he would not be moving anytime soon. She did not have the energy to explain to Sirius what was happening with them, nor did she even understand either, so she just shrugged. Sirius mouthed something to her and Fae rolled her eyes. They'd talk about it Sunday.
And then a tall, attractive man with short, gelled back dark blonde hair and piercing light blue eyes behind a pair of smart wire-framed glasses entered her room. He met Fae's gaze immediately and she couldn't help feeling that he was really familiar.
"Excuse me, I'm Assistant Healer Delacroix and I'm here to examine Ms. Potter."
Ooh. French accent. Fancy. Smooth. Nice. Still somehow familiar. Hmm.
"Is everything okay?" Remus asked, beginning to get fussy again. Fae smoothed her lips over his head and shushed him.
Delacroix didn't even bat an eyelash. "Of course, it's just a standard check-over, make sure everything is healing correctly."
"Alright, check away," Fae agreed easily. Then sniffed the air more thoroughly and frowned. He smells like...sandalwood and peanut butter?
"I'm going to have to ask you gentlemen to please leave the room," he said, giving both Remus and Sirius a stern look.
"What? No. I'm not go-"
"Come on Moony, let the man do his job," Sirius said, hauling Remus off the bed and dragging him towards the door.
Fae giggled as Remus twisted and turned and tried to get back to her. "But-"
"I'll see you guys in a bit," she said, waving. If she was good, maybe she could convince this guy to let her out of here. Like ASAP.
Assistant Healer Delacroix got right to work, helping her sit up, beginning a routine check-up on her vitals and inspecting the charts on her bed. It was so normal and expected that she jumped when, between announcing her vitals, he casually said, "I see you're still sweet on that pathetic nerd even though he's clearly useless at looking after you."
Her mouth dropped and then flopped for a few seconds. "Excuse me? The fuck did you just say?"
"Romilly and I would do so much better than him," the healer said, rolling his eyes.
She gasped. There was no fucking way. But that smell! That drawl! "…..Regulus?" she asked, mouth tilting up into a blinding smile.
He finally met her gaze and although the color was all wrong, the soul was all right. "Hey Fae."
She shrieked, reached for him, pulled him into a hug and probably opened a stitch. He collapsed into her arms with a giant breath of relief. Then she shoved him back, palmed his cheeks and turned his foreign face this way and that. "What-! What are you doing here? Why do you look like that?"
He gave her an awkward smile, letting her do as she pleased, just like him. Just like her Regulus. "I needed to see you and I couldn't exactly just walk in here normally. Sirius would rip me apart. ….and the Dark Lord is watching. Too risky to just go as I am."
She pulled him into a fierce hug once more. "Well, you're not wrong. It's so good to see you Regulus," she said, nearly crying with relief. He was alive. He was okay. He'd come to her. She'd told him he could, and he did, instead of going after the Horcrux alone and dying alone. He was okay. Thank Merlin.
That hug was a good five minutes long, just basking in the feeling of being together and alive. Then she pulled back and grinned at his new body. "So what is this? Glamour?"
"Please, I'm above that sort of easy trick."
"Polyjuice."
"Nope," he said smugly.
She eyed him fiercely. "Old-fashioned wig and make-up?"
He laughed. "You sound far too excited about that idea. No it's this-" And then he removed his glasses. The illusion faded away like a shimmer on glass. And there he was. Regulus. Fae caressed his cheek and ran her fingers through his gorgeous, silky black hair. He shuffled bashfully and put the glasses back on, explaining how they were a Black Family antique that he'd found and spruced up. A damn pain to charm into the form he wanted, but better than polyjuice for sure. Of course, that explained why his scent was the same and his general build. The feel of him. How cool.
"Oh like Superman! Can I call you Kent?" she asked playfully.
"Yeah, why not."
They shared a grin and then Fae began to call him out. "How have you been Regulus?"
"...fine."
"Fine is a dirty four-letter word that starts with f," she said.
He snickered and she punched his arm. "Really. You didn't risk coming to see me for no reason."
There was a moment of him trying to be strong, but it crumbled quickly under her gaze. "….I was in that battle. Last night. I saw you get hurt and I was worried," he said quickly, doing that cute thing where he did his best to weasel out of a confrontation, but being so obvious and failing adorably.
"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine and I'm sure your buddy is much worse off than I am, bastard."
"Oh he is. I think your boyfriend almost ripped his throat out," Regulus said, scoffing.
Fae couldn't help her blush. "Not my boyfriend."
"Coulda fooled me - the way he clings to you," Regulus teased.
She flicked him between the eyes. "You're deflecting."
His defenses fell and he smiled sadly. "You got me. I…. I'm not okay. I need help, Fae. I don't know what to do."
She grinned. "Okay! Tell me everything." Yesssss. Finally. Yes, yes, yes. Utter perfection. So easy.
"Just like that?" He blinked slowly, multiple times, stunned.
"That's what Romilly and I said back then right? Just like that."
Eventually, his shocked expression faded into fond exasperation, a look she was so used to seeing on his face. It felt good to see it again. "Alright. Not here though. It's kind of a long story."
She nodded, already three steps ahead, mind racing and raring to go. "I bet. How about Friday? You know that nice steak house in London on Commercial street?"
"The really expensive one?"
"That's the one. Wear your best suit and tie and I'll wear my pearls," she told him, batting her eyelashes playfully.
"You make it sound like a date," he said dryly.
"Because that's what it will be as far as everybody else knows, right?"
He huffed and nodded. "Right. Okay. I'll see you at 7."
"See you at 7. And you're buying."
Fae was quite unable to stop grinning as he left and Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus made their reappearances. When asked why she seemed so happy, she just replied that it was because they were clearly getting her out of there, like now, right?
Remus refused to leave her home alone during recovery while he and Sirius were at work so she was carried off to Lucrecia' and spent a few days at her booth spot, reading a million books, beginning some planning now that she likely had Regulus back, and frequently telling Remus to quit his incessant fussing or she'd hex him silent and chain him to the back kitchen to properly do his damn job. It was cute and charming, how worried he was about her, but she wasn't about to reward him for stressing himself out over nothing.
By Thursday, she was allowed to stay home by herself. 'Allowed'. Pft. And then on Friday, she was back to running and causing trouble. And having Lily help her with her make-up while she slid on a gorgeous blue bodycon dress that fell to the floor and flared out in a slight train.
"And where are you going?" Sirius asked curiously as she entered the living room.
"On a daaaaate," she sang happily, dropping a kiss on Sirius' head as she passed him.
Remus sat up and frowned deeply at her, fussy as ever. "A date? Should you even be going out? You just got out of the hospital."
"Please, I'm fine, that was days ago," she said, waving him off. "And besides, I think my date is more than equipped to take care of me if something happens."
"What, are you seeing that nurse?"
"The cute blonde guy? See, I knew he liked you! Tell me, did the hot nurse give you a sponge bath?" Sirius asked, eyebrows bouncing playfully. She hexed the armchair he was in to suddenly spring open and nearly swallow him as he fell back.
"Kent isn't a nurse so no sponge bath, he's studying to be a Healer," she informed him with a cheeky smile, reciting the fun backstory she'd come up with.
"He's from France and is fulfilling his residency here. Pretty cool, huh? Anyways, I'll be back later! Don't wait up," she said, dropping a kiss on Remus' head as well and then heading for the door. It shut him up before he could argue again, thankfully.
"Have fun, do all the things that I would do!" Sirius yelled.
Regulus, blonde with his magic glasses, was waiting by the front doors with a nervous smile and a bouquet of hyacinths and orchids. She accepted them happily, gave him a kiss on the cheek in greeting, and took his arm to be led into the restaurant. Although awkward and reticent at first, Fae kicked him under the table and ordered the most expensive items to piss him off and teased him until he remembered that they were best friends. After that, they talked about everything.
He couldn't stand the other Death Eaters, all haughty and cold and arrogant and boring. They were cruel. It made him sick to see the way they tortured people. It made him sick to do the torturing. The cursing. For the most part, Regulus was good at staying quiet, laying low, and pulling through when he was needed. Reliable, but easily overlooked. At least until Voldemort needed Kreacher to hide some magical whatsit and left his house elf, his only companion for the past few months, and for years actually in the Black household, to die.
He'd gone to see it, witnessed the dark magic, and done some research. It was a Horcrux, he was sure, Voldemort had split his soul to ensure his immortality. It was unspeakably dark and sickening. And it didn't stop there - the way that young Death Eater had been left behind to the Order and then killed off so easily. Not much younger than Regulus, not much different. How easily the Killing Curse was uttered when they encountered any sort of opposition. No honor. No regard for life.
With every word Regulus confessed to her, Fae felt more and more exhilarated.
He couldn't live like this, couldn't stand by and see him hurt people anymore. He didn't believe in it, not really, that only purebloods deserved to live freely. That only purebloods deserved to live. He'd never believed in it, although he tried to. He'd tried so hard, but Fae and Romilly had been right, he was far too gentle. He gave a shit about life, human, creature, inbetween.
And he missed them desperately. Missed their quirks and smiles and welcome and mischievousness. Missed their teasing, their honesty, their bluntness, their love. Acceptance. Support. Comfort.
"Everything is going to be okay, Regulus. We're going to figure this out"
"How?"
"It'll be hard. But I think I know how we can end this war."
They'd talked for hours and hours, Fae switching topics around midnight to better things and life updates on herself and Romilly because he deserved a mental break. They agreed to meet again soon, a breakfast date in a few days. He could come surprise her at work - he'd get a kick out of that for sure. From there, Kent Delacroix would become the besotted boyfriend of Fae Potter and the world would be none the wiser that they were rapidly and thoroughly planning to overthrow a dark lord.
Fae came home at 3 in the morning, happy as fuck, humming, and flitting around the kitchen while she put her leftovers from the Midnight Bakery away - a special surprise from Regulus. Sometimes, it astounded her how similar Romilly and Regulus were. She hadn't revealed her whole plan, not even close. Mostly just a general idea and specifically what she needed him to do. And he'd just. Accepted it. Agreed. No questions asked. Her wonderful, lovely Regulus was still there and now she could actively keep him safe.
A moment later, she jumped and squeaked as Remus came in through the back door, panting and sweaty.
"Oh hey! Where were you?" she asked, shamelessly taking in a whole eyeful of his long, lean, sweaty body.
"Couldn't sleep. Went for a jog," he said.
"Aaahhhh. Good night for one. Just beautiful," she hummed.
He was looking at her rather intently for a few seconds and she was about to ask, but then he turned and got a glass of water instead. "Yeah. You just get home?"
"Mhmmm.."
"How was it?"
"It was completely wonderful," she answered, giddy. And then she headed off to her room, eager to remove all the make-up and hair product.
"Good night Remus," she said, sliding a hand over his shoulders and patting his back softly as she passed by.
Fae skipped off to her room, twirling her gorgeous dress a few more times, unable to wipe the smile off her face. As she spun, her smile went from sweet to sharp enough to cut-glass. Things were finally starting to come together and this war would be over soon.
And things only got better the next day when James and Lily showed up unexpectedly for dinner, grinning from ear to ear and bursting with good news. Lily was pregnant.
A/N: Hope everyone is having an amazing weekend! Things are about to get fun. Also, to echo many of you - I love you, Remus. But go fuck yourself.