"Don't." Rodolphus put a hand out to stop his brother from running after the witch at the same time that Dolohov stepped in front of Greyback. It would do neither of them any good to go after her now.

"Thor, go make sure she doesn't wander too far or hurt herself." Dolohov ordered, sending the hulking wizard rushing after Lilith.

"Get out of my way." Rab seethed, fighting against the hold his older brother now had on his bicep.

He needed to go after his angel, she was far more upset than he'd realized. The glass littering the living room was proof of that. He just wanted to wrap her up in his arms and confess all the promises he'd made to her in his mind.

"No, neither of you are to go anywhere near her. Thorfinn is neutral, you two are just going to upset her more and we have bigger worries than feelings right now." Antonin gave both men a stern look before settling back down into his armchair.

In the light of day it was easier for him to set aside the doubts that had taken hold of him in the night. And the intense burning emanating from his dark mark helped to solidify his thoughts, he was a DeathEater first and foremost. After a moment of indecision Fenrir sighed and dropped down on the couch heavily. He badly wanted to run after Lilith and comfort her. He wanted her to see what he was trying to do for them, that claiming her without consent had been partly for her safety. She needed to know that he had every intention of getting her to safety and that despite his history he would give her a good life. But he also needed to let the others think that he was still on board with returning to Voldemort and their old ways.

"We should return tomorrow, there's no reason for us to wait longer." Lucius told the others.

Whether they agreed to it or not however he and Draco would return. The dark lord was calling and he'd been gone far too long from his wife. Voldemort was calling more insistently than ever, the pain had woken him at the break of dawn, and he could only assume that meant he knew they'd escaped. If they didn't go back now the dark lord would assume they'd defected and order their deaths. No Malfoy was going out like that.

"Agreed." Dolohov nodded firmly, hands clasped over his chest. "To minimize our trail we shouldn't all apparate at the same time or go to the exact same place. If the ministry's watching they'll be looking for seven signals within short order or to one location."

Rabastan had been hoping for more time, hell he hadn't even had a chance to get close to Lilith let alone discuss a plan with her. It would have to be tonight then, ready or not.

"What are you proposing then? Where are we all apparating to?" Fenrir asked in a skeptical voice, all the while knowing that this could be the break he and his mate needed. He wanted the others to think that he was against splitting up.

"Easy enough." Rodolphus broke in before Dolohov could reply. "We look at this thing called a map and decide on semi-public areas within a reasonable distance." he hadn't thought terribly much of the werewolf beforehand but knowing he was standing between his brother and the woman who'd brought him out of a waking coma had pushed him into contempt. He still didn't much like Lilith either but there was no denying what she'd done for Rab.

Greyback simply raised one black brow in bored disdain at Rod's attitude. In the grand scheme of things the man was nothing.

"Glamoured, of course." Antonin added.

Draco, who normally just sat and observed silently, cleared his throat and pushed himself off the wall. All eyes shifted to the slim, pale young man as he crunched his way over the glass to the middle of the room.

"What happens to Lilith?" he cared for her, not in the way his father wanted him to though he was trying, but he genuinely cared. Her fate had been bothering him for days. The DeathEaters wouldn't hurt her but what about the dark lord?

"She'll apparate with me so that there's no fights." Antonin replied pointedly as both Rabastan and Fenrir struggled to remain silent.

Draco shook his head, highly uncomfortable beneath the eyes of the elder DeathEaters but unwilling to back down.

"I mean once we reach the manor." he took a deep, grounding breath. He was loathe to create more tension and have it aimed at him but his conscience was heavy.

Lucius sighed inwardly, one should never let their vulnerability show in a room full of lions.

"She has much potential, I assume the dark lord will want to take her on as a DeathEater." he replied, hoping that would satisfy Draco.

"And if that's not what she wants?"

"The dark lord can be very convincing." Dolohov offered wryly. He wasn't allowing himself to think about it anymore, Lilith would be fine.

"Lilith...Lillliiiiith...Lil stop!" Thorfinn called after the witch as she stomped across the yard at a swift pace.

When he finally caught up with her just inside the tree line he was huffing like an old man. Lilith spun on him when he got too close, brandishing her stolen wand threateningly. But Thor just doubled over, putting his hands to his knees as he fought to catch his breath. In the last two days alone he'd exercised more than he had in all five years in Azkaban where their idea of vigorous exercise was a once a week shower. His muscles were atrophied and he was malnourished, not much of a viking anymore, he thought in dismay.

"What do you want?" she growled.

Lilith led with her heart, she wore it on her sleeve and Thorfinn could tell that she was hurting badly. It gave him an uncomfortable squishy feeling inside, the kind that he loathed.

"You know you can't just run off into the woods alone." the dark lord had an interest in seeing her live whereas many of the woodland creatures would rather see her dead just for encroaching on their territory.

"I have a wand that says otherwise." her hexes may not have worked on Fenrir but no one else was immune.

Angry didn't begin to describe how Lilith felt, there weren't enough cusses in existence to piece together a decent sentence. It made her blood boil to know that she was just a pawn to them, a little marionette that danced when they pulled her strings And now she was practically Fenrir's possession, at least that's how he seemed to think of her. Why else would he just make her "his" without so much as a hint that Lilith cared for him?

"Aw come now Mrs. Rowle." Thor flashed the angry witch his most charming smile. "You don't really want to hex me, do you?" though he wasn't nearly as confident as he let on. He was substantially weaker than her in that moment and they both felt it.

Truth be told she didn't want to hex him, she wanted to hex Fenrir but he was untouchable and Thorfinn was currently in the way.

"I want some real answers." Lilith replied evenly, not lowering the wand an inch. She hadn't been in any position to make demands before but with a wand in her hand and only one wizard to face, she felt strong. She was strong and she would get her answers.

To her surprise Thorfinn nodded in agreement, as he righted himself, without having to think about it at all.

"Spoken like a true Rowle." he grinned again, hand ruffling his long, sunny locks. They owed Lilith a lot more than any of them would ever admit, the least of which was the truth.

"What are you planning for me? And don't try to tell me there isn't a plan, you have all clearly been plotting for a while now." she accused, eyes narrowed, wand trained on his broad chest.

"We're returning to the dark lord and," here he paused, eyeing his wand warily, it didn't always take well to others using it and Lilith looked pretty keen on doing just that.

"And?"

"And try to recruit you as a DeathEater." Finn met her eyes as he said it, saw them flash in anger.

The witch took a deep, shuddering breath. She should have seen that coming, not that she'd had a whole lot of time to sit around and ponder.

"Rabastan too?" Lilith demanded. He had come into her mind instantly, their conversation as well as their kiss floating across her memory.

The wizard shook his head.

"No, he was adamantly against it." and the only one of them.

Despite everything Lilith's heart leapt. He hadn't been lying, he had wanted to protect her.

"Fenrir?"

Knowing these things wouldn't change anything but in her eyes it mattered. She'd actually begun to care for the ragged group of men and she'd put so much of herself into caring for them.

"Fen didn't think we could."

The breath actually caught in her chest hearing Thorfinn say those words, like maybe he did think highly of her...more than just a chew toy.

"And you?"

"I love the idea of dark Lilith." he replied in all honesty with a wicked grin.

She smiled in reply and it was a little dark and a little sexy, curls floating serenely around her face in the breeze and instead of alarm Thorfinn felt a large tug of desire.

"Petrificus totalus." Lilith whispered, wearing her dark smile, with a little flick of his wand. In the blink of an eye the giant wizard was lying on his back staring at the leafy canopy above, limbs tightly bound. He didn't even have time to utter a word before she closed her eyes, made a circle in the air with his wand and disapparated.

Fuck.

Lilith smiled, even as she landed very ungracefully and fell over onto her rump. She was home! She would have to leave right away of course, but she was out of their grasp and home! Her eyes popped open excitedly and she jumped up, relief flooding her body.

But the sight that greeted her wasn't her snug little cabin. There were trees...and nothing else…

"Oh fuck…" she whispered, heart thumping in fear.

What had she gotten herself into? Or rather, where?