Hey everyone. Sorry for the extended wait. I had a lot of stuff going on, and was having a bit of writers block on top of it. I find these parts of stories to be very difficult, and they tend to intimidate me into inactivity.

It should be clear after you read this that it is not the last chapter, and I am officially giving up on trying to guess how many more chapters it will take to finish. I am just going to keep writing until I am done.

I don't feel as strong about this chapter as I have with others, but I hope you still like it. I'm so afraid of disappointing everyone with the climax. Anyway, enough of my ramblings, lets get on with things.

***WARNINGS***

This chapter contains a lot of violence, sexual themes, and bad language, so please be aware of this if you are easily offended or disturbed.

Please review to let me know whether or no this is living up to your expectations.

They waited, knowing that Greyback had to see where they went in order to successfully lead him away from James and Peter. The windowless hallway was dark save for the strobe-like flashing of the alarm system, making the image of Greyback's seemingly enormous figure all the more terrifying. The blow to his head seemed to have knocked his equilibrium off and he shuffled slightly as he made his way toward them, the flashing lights causing his figure to jump a few feet closer to them every time they flared brightly.

Remus felt his heart begin to race as the man he'd felt tragically attached to for so many years neared them. He could almost feel the waves of anger that rolled down the hallway as he neared them, leaving him feeling rooted to the spot, his knees shaking just slightly. It was the feeling of the warm hand that slid into his own that drew him out of his terror stricken stupor. Sirius gave him an urgent tug, trying to lead him in the opposite direction taken by their friends, and Remus found the fear that had been gripping him a moment ago dissipate, and soon he was running, holding tightly to Sirius' hand.

"Remus!" Greyback growled at them, his voice seeming to vibrate the hallway where he was rapidly regaining his footing, finding it far easier to keep up with them. "Remus, you fucking tramp! How dare you betray me!"

It was clear that the Fenrir Greyback was losing his composure. The calm, calculating man who had so easily framed Remus, the man who had kept him emotionally enslaved, was degenerating into a wild animal, and they both felt as though they were being chased by a giant wolf, intent on ripping their bodies apart the moment he caught them. They were his prey, and like scared rabbits, all they could do was run.

Sirius could feel a cold sweat breaking out across his skin and was glad that the poor lighting and the darkness of his shirt hid the blood he felt saturating his clothing. His shoulder throbbed with every step he took, but he knew he could not let Remus see how much pain he was in. He was Remus' rock at that moment, and knew that any sign of weakness would leave Remus unable to stand up to Greyback. He had helped Remus recognize the emotional chains that had been tightly wrapped around him, but he was still so vulnerable, and knew that those chains could easily pull him back down.

Neither of the boys knew where they were going as they continued to run. All they knew was that they had to stay one step ahead of Greyback. In the distance they could hear the cacophonous sound of students and teachers as they worked at evacuating the building, and before long, they heard a collection of higher screams punctuating the distant sound of an explosion. Both of the boys felt strangely reassured by the destructive sound, knowing that it came from their friends, and that with each explosion, help was closer to arriving.

"Wait!" Remus suddenly gasped where he was being drug along behind Sirius. "Sirius, wait, Fenrir is gone!"

Remus was desperate for a pause in their running. His chest burned with every breath and there was a sharp stitch in his side that made him want to curl in on himself. He was relieved when he felt Sirius finally start to slow, looking behind them, then turning to look in the opposite direction, as though afraid that Greyback would suddenly appear behind them.

"Where's he gone?" Sirius asked quietly, sounding breathless as well.

"Dunno, we must have lost him." Remus said, bent over, one hand resting on his knee while the other held the painful spot in his side.

"I don't like this. We shouldn't have lost him so easily." Sirius said, feeling his stomach churn nervously.

He tried to listen for any sign on the other man's presence, but all he could hear was the low din of the other students.

"We have to find him again." Sirius suddenly said.

"What?" Remus stood up straight, staring at him in disbelief.

"Think about it, Rem. If the cops show up and it just looks like a couple of us went around blowing shit up, we're all going to end up in jail. They have to see what kind of monster he is." Sirius had a manic tinge to his voice.

"So you want us to set ourselves up as bait?" Remus said in disbelief.

"If that's what it takes, then yes, I'll make myself the bait. If he has to hurt me to put him behind bars, then I'm prepared for that." Sirius' voice had dropped slightly, his tone softer.

"Are you crazy? The whole point of this is to keep him from hurting us!" Remus said, frustrated that Sirius was, yet again, putting his own wellbeing aside for his sake.

"I'm not going to argue with you about this, Remus." Sirius said sternly. "If you want I can take you out to where the other students are and go back after Greyback on my own."

"No! I already said that I was coming with you!" Remus nearly shouted, reaching over and taking hold of his uninjured arm tightly.

"Alright, then." Sirius said with a grin, as though he had known all along that Remus would answer that way. "Lets go find him."

Going against everything that their instincts told them, they turned back and began walking in the direction they'd come from. They held tightly to each others' hand, and could feel the other jump at every noise they heard. It was comforting to know they were equally terrified. Somewhere deep in his mind, Sirius knew that going back wasn't a good idea, but he thought that it was a risk that was worth taking. He felt that way until a chill ran up his spine just as an arm darted from a shadowed doorway, catching Remus by his hair and yanking him out of Sirius' grip before he had time to react.

Remus began to scream as his hair was pulled so brutally, but his voice quieted as he felt the sharp edge of a blade press against his now taught neck. Sirius instantly regretted the decision as he turned in time to see Remus pulled back against Greyback's broad chest. The brown-haired boy, who seemed so small in comparison to the other man, was on his toes in an attempt to loosen the tight pull on his hair, and to avoid the edge of the blade.

"Don't try anything stupid." Greyback said in a low voice, his mouth stretching into a hateful smile. "Can't believe you actually came back looking for me." He said with a slow shake of his head. "Ah-ah."

Sirius stopped in his tracks as Greyback, seeing his body twitch with the need to act, tutted him. Remus' chest was rising and falling quickly as he held onto Greyback's arm that was pressing the blade to his throat. He could feel little droplets of blood slide down into the hallow at the bottom of his neck, only to be soaked up by his t-shirt.

"I think the three of us need to find somewhere private to work out these misunderstandings." Greyback said grimly. "Get walking, Black. That way." He said with a jerk of his head. "And don't think about trying anything chivalrous, or Remus will be getting more than just another scar."

Sirius' instincts told him to fight back, but the whimper he heard from Remus as the blade pushed harder against him told him otherwise, and so, grudgingly, he turned and began down the hall, walking quietly in the direction Greyback had identified. He continued to look back at them as he walked, his body shaking with anger at the site of Remus in the other man's clutches. Before long he began to get an inkling of where they were being taken. Sliding one by one between the fence and the wall, they made their way toward the break in the outer fencing that lead to the clearing where the puppies had been kept. Behind them, coming from the opposite side of the building Sirius could hear the sounds of the evacuated students, and just as they made it to the back fence they all heard another explosion coming from inside the school.

Panic was building up inside of Sirius very quickly. Even though he could now hear the faintest trill of a siren coming from far off, he did not feel the comfort he thought he would. The police were coming, just as they'd planned, but how would they find them in the forest. James and Peter didn't know they were being taken off the grounds, and they would likely be more worried about the fire and the safety of the other students to go looking for them. Remus may be dead by then.

No, Sirius told himself. Greyback wont kill Remus. He'll kill me and keep Remus for himself.

The thought was not comforting. He knew immediately that he would lay down his own life if it meant saving Remus', but a small part of him thought that the torture of years at the mercy of a beast like Greyback would be far worse than the quick and sudden stop he would meet in death. He was shocked to think that he would rather see Remus dead than in Greyback's clutches.

"That's far enough." Greyback ordered as they entered the clearing. "Go fetch that rope." He tilted his head toward the shelter that had been built for the mother dog.

The bodies of the dogs were gone, though Sirius was unsure if they'd been cleaned up, or merely drug off by other animals. He could still see a few dark stains on the ground where they'd been, and a subtle smell of decay rose from the leaves as they were shuffled under his feet. On the ground by the shelter, Sirius found a few pieces of rope that looked as though they were left over from where a tarp had been stretched between tree trunks. Begrudgingly gathering them up, he brought them over to Greyback, who seemed sickly amused by the look of pure hatred that the black haired boy was giving him.

"Take the ropes from him, Remus." he said quietly, bending forward to plant his order against the shell of his hear.

Sirius felt himself shake with anger as he saw Greyback's tongue slide from between his lips to touch Remus' ear. He knew that he was purposefully trying to infuriate him, and so he tried his best to keep calm, though the tremor was apparent as he held the rope out for Remus. Two sets of shaking fingers brushed together as Remus reached for the rope. As his eyes met with Sirius' he saw the determination behind the immediate fear they both shared. Sirius seemed to be telling him that he would make things alright, though it was clear that he didn't know how to. His eyes told him to be brave, though, and so he felt a subtle steeling inside himself and gave Sirius a discrete nod.

"Now have a seat." Greyback ordered, oblivious to the silent conversation that was going on between the two boys. "Tie him up, Remus."

Following Greyback's directions, Sirius found himself sitting with his arms pulled back around the trunk of a small tree where they were bound by Remus. As Remus finished Sirius managed to catch his fingers in his own and squeeze them reassuringly. The touch only lasted a moment, but it left them both feeling a little more secure.

"Now you sit here." Greyback ordered, quickly getting Remus bound in a similar fashion at a nearby tree.

The boys sat across from each other now, though they were too far away to touch each other, even if they both straightened their legs. Greyback stood between them, admiring his handiwork for a while before leaning against the dog shelter.

"You two have caused quite a bit of trouble for me." He said casually, using the tip of the blade in his hand to dig something out from under his fingernail. "Though I have to give you credit for blowing the school up. That was either the dumbest or smartest thing I've ever seen. But like I said earlier, the game's over." He lowered his knife and looked at Remus. "You've been very, very bad."

Remus felt a cold chill lock up all his joints. Greyback had spoken the words quietly, but they left him trembling in fear. He suddenly recalled every bold thing he'd said to the man in the past few days, and knew that he was about to feel full retribution for them.

"You leave him alone!" Sirius suddenly interrupted Remus' thoughts. "Everything that's happened has been because of me. So take it out on me, and leave him alone."

"Oh?" Greyback looked between the two, then grinned, standing up again. "If you insist."

In a motion that was faster than his bulky frame would have suggested possible, Greyback turned, bringing his hand down hard on Sirius' wounded shoulder, his thumb digging hard into the bloody hole under his collarbone. Sirius howled in pain as he felt the thumb push hard enough into the wound to open it wider, feeling the skin stretch and tear slightly. Through his own screams of pain, Sirius could make out Remus mirrored shouting.

"It's a shame that I missed all your vitals." Greyback said with a sick grin, leaning in close over Sirius, who was shaking and trying to twist out from under the other man's painful finger. "I really should have just gotten rid of you right away, but I suppose that things have been a bit more exciting thanks to you. Though, now I'm going to have to get rid of all those silly thoughts you planted in my little pet's brain."

"He's not your pet, you sick fuck!" Sirius shouted, punctuating his sentence by spitting in his face.

Greyback grew dangerously still and even Sirius could hear the sharp breath that Remus took in, clearly terrified of the repercussions that Sirius now faced. The clearing was still for a long time, though Sirius realized that he could hear the sirens more clearly now and felt steadied by the thought that the police would be arriving soon, or may already be on the school's grounds.

"I see where the misunderstanding may have occurred." Greyback said coolly as he wiped the spit from his face. "So please allow me to make my point."

With that he brought the tip of his knife to the hole in Sirius' shirt. With a flick of his wrist he tore the shirt open, revealing the deep wound.

"It really is amazing that I missed all the important stuff." Greyback said, sliding the tip of the knife over his skin, nearing the still oozing wound. "I really wonder how I managed."

Ignoring the screams of protest he started to steadily push the tip of the blade back into the wound, trying to follow deep path of torn flesh. Sirius was screaming, but trying to hold still all at once, knowing that any serious thrashing would cause more damage to his injury. He could feel his body break out into a sweat and his eyes begin to cross. Distantly he could hear Remus screaming for Greyback to stop, going between threats and begging.

"Oh, woops, is that bone I'm hitting, so sorry." Greyback teased, a grin spreading across his face, obviously enjoying the pain he was causing the boy, though he stilled as Remus' words finally made it through his bloodlust.

"Fenrir! Please stop! Please! I'll do anything, just stop hurting him!"

Remus begged so rarely, especially with tears staining his adorable face, and Greyback felt it go straight to his dick. Hearing Remus cry and sputter his pleading words made him hunger for the boy's body, wanting to make that shaking helpless thing bend to his every desire. He thought he could still get some amusement from the situation.

"Anything?" Greyback asked, turning to look at him as he twisted the knife slightly, making Sirius scream as he hit his head back against the bark of the tree.

"Yes! Please stop it!" Remus was sobbing, his feet planted in the leaves as he attempted to writhe and buck his way out of his bonds.

Greyback seemed to consider his options for a moment before pulling the knife from his wound and walking over to Remus who was still trying to reign in his tears. Leaning forward he brought the blade to Remus' cheek, wiping a line of Sirius' blood against his skin.

"I'm going to make sure you regret this." He said quietly to him.