Chapter 30: Camp

"Might not be the best but this might help the swelling,"

Remus looked up in time to see his 'bunkmate' throw him a soaked cloth. When he caught it, he realised it had been soaked with freezing water.

"Thanks," Remus grimaced he pressed the cold cloth the bruise on his face.

It has been days since Remus arrived at the camp. Apparently, Dumbledore was right; this was the camp Greyback seemed to spend the most time at, though the reasons remained a mystery to Remus. He had spent the last few days here getting treated no better than in the wizarding world; perhaps worst.

The werewolves regarded him with suspicion and shunned him. Greyback had granted Remus an audience only to stand by to watch the ritual in which they accept him into their pack once again; a brutal beating by any werewolf brave enough to do so. Remus found himself hardly able to stand after that horrible ordeal. He had escaped death with a broken rib and a twisted wrist. That was more than enough to show Remus exactly what kind of welcome he would have here among the wolves.

He had buried his wand close to the camp, to keep it within his reach and yet away from Greyback. He didn't want the Alpha to snap it; like what he had done to the others with wands.

From Remus' first war experience, he felt he should keep his wand on him but Greyback had done the routine check on him; stripping him down to the skin and having his werewolves check the fabric before returning it to him. Wolfsbane was forbidden. Any wolf who took it automatically becomes the Omega of the pack and apart from that, Greyback promised worst punishments for it.

When asked by the Alpha about it; knowing he owned a wand, Remus claimed he had lost it during the last fight with the wizards which had caused him to flee to the pack. Greyback seemed to believe his lie but remained cautious of him.

Remus had already got into a fight twice since the time he arrived, excluding his 'welcome ceremony'. Around the camp, with the approaching full moon, the werewolves were all jittery and easily enraged at the slightest annoyance; it being mainly Remus' presence.

The wolves viewed Remus as weak and despised him. Some looked upon him with suspicious eyes, some spat on the very ground he stood on and others pretended he didn't exist. The female of the pack acted oblivious to him mostly but Remus had had more curious than hateful glances from them. He knew he could find out much if he talked to them but Remus kept his distance, not wanting to provoke any hostile and possessive male.

The full moon was tonight and Remus winced at the thought of undergoing the transformation with his new wounds when his old ones have not yet healed, but he would live through it, just as he had all these years.

"Nasty wounds there,"

Remus looked up to find his young bunkmate flinching as Remus pressed the cloth to an ugly large bruise on his rib. It had just healed when a large bulky werewolf had aimed a good hard kick at it again. His bunkmate, Heiser, was only about 20 years old, no older than Tonks was. He had chestnut brown hair, his eyes a darker shade of brown, broad shoulders and a tall built.

Like the other werewolves, Heiser had many scars. During his time here, Remus had come to notice that the werewolves tended to band into cliques unknowingly during their free time in the day when they are not hunting. The teenagers in the pack banded together and compared their scars, boasting about who had the nastiest one of all. The older men sat around, hunting if they felt like it. The women mostly tended to the werewolf children.

It was the teenagers who Remus had his eyes set upon. They were ambitious and had hopes for the future, given their youth. Their loyalty towards Greyback and thus Voldemort seemed the most uncertain. The females of the pack, Remus considered but didn't want to risk his cover should one of them tell Greyback out of fear.

Remus was appalled to find that there were werewolf infants here as well. Remus could not, for the life of him, imagine how the little baby could survive the moon. He had attempted to get closer on more than one occasion but the females, perhaps governed by their wolf instincts absolutely disallowed unfamiliar males to get close to the babies; keeping them safe.

Remus kept his distance, respecting them. In the camp, a small but probably deep cave was set aside for the infants. It was here did he always found himself observing them from a distance. This was also the area where children normally played at, steering clear of Greyback; who always roamed around the other side of camp.

Remus liked children. He had had his share of teaching in Harry's third year and Remus was convinced he had finally found what he wouldn't mind doing for the rest of his life if he were given a chance to do so.

Eager to get close to the young man but not wanting to evoke any suspicion, Remus asked the question often asked amongst them, "When were you bitten, Heiser?"

The young man flinched; they were rarely addressed by their names in the camp but Remus felt it was appropriate for the question. Heiser eventually replying, hesitantly, "last year," Heiser gazed at the forest floor that their tent was set upon before looking up, "You?"

"Bitten at 5," Remus smiled bitterly.

Heiser whistled, "Then it's safe to say you're one of oldest amongst us lot. Does it get any easier?"

Remus was quiet for a while, wondering what would be the most diplomatic answer. With a sigh, he lowered the cloth, "No, it doesn't," Remus stood stiffly and walked out of their tent.

The camp was quiet for obvious reasons. Everyone, even the poor children, was worn out by the approaching moon. Remus glanced around and saw only a few werewolves up and about, most of them on watch duty. Then he caught sight of that small worn house. At the entrance, about 4 werewolves stood at attention and 2 more were constantly circling the house, checking its windows.

Remus sighed, frustrated. He had been planning to sneak into it but the high security Greyback placed around it made it almost impossible for anyone to stand within a metre radius of the place. More than once a day, Remus saw Greyback entering the house and coming out of it only about an hour later.

Sometimes, he left with a smirk on his face. Other time, he looked ready to kill and once, Remus saw Greyback grimacing, as if in pain as he limped to his tent.

What he saw only made Remus more impatient to find out what was in that house. As far as Remus knew, apart from Greyback, no one entered the house and no one else left it either. Although, Remus often saw the guards entering with some food which made him feel that there may be prisoners but he couldn't be sure.

"Lupin!" Remus, his instincts at its peak, spun around so quickly that he thought he heard his rib crack a little. Wincing, he brought up a hand to soothe his bruised rib as he looked up to see Greyback walking towards him. The Alpha was wearing black robe with a worn shirt and tattered jeans.

"Greyback," Remus inclined his chin in acknowledgement and watched as Greyback studied him with narrowed and suspicious eyes.

"Full moon tonight," He smirked to reveal rows of yellowed teeth. Remus only nodded cautiously, "I'd expect you to know this but I doubt you would still remember, mixing around with the wizards like you're one of them," Greyback spat. Remus frowned, puzzled, "Mating season, Lupin,"

Remus froze. He felt a lump in his throat and swallowed to get rid of it but to no avail. The last time Remus had been in this camp as Beta, during mating season, the wolves who do not have one would instinctively seek out a mate. The Alpha had made it such that they were all allowed, and encouraged, to mate, as opposed to what their instincts told them; that only the Alpha was allowed to mate. During this time, Greyback allowed them more freedom in the sense that they are free to find a mate outside of the pack. However, by morning, they were all required to return.

"Under normal circumstances, outcast, such as yourself, aren't allowed to mate," Greyback sneered. Remus bit his tongue as he very nearly retorted that he didn't want a mate but that would only get himself into more trouble than he already was in, "But I will allow you a mate," Greyback's lips twisted into something similar to a smile.

Remus didn't nod but stood there numbly. He knew he would never get a mate tonight. In his heart; as well as the wolf's, he already had one. The wolf saved her once on an impulse of unexplained possessiveness over her from another wolf but the bloodlust proved overwhelming. The wolf spent the night waiting for his chance to have her after she had scrambled up a tree. Afterwards, his human heart fell in love with her; the wolf thus regarding her as his mate and wolves mate for life.

Remus watched as Greyback strode away, smirking. Having known Greyback for a while, Remus knew the Alpha was not granting him a mercy by giving him the rights to a mate; he was nailing Remus down to the pack forever by the bond between mates. If he mated with a female from this pack, he would be subconsciously obliged to be wherever she was and would never betray Greyback and the pack.

How Remus was going to get out of this situation, he didn't know.

Remus knew that mated werewolves can't have children. But still, every time at mating season, the werewolves take a mate. Greyback encouraged fostering such bonds; it strengthens his pack.

"Lucky there, Lupin,"

Remus spun around quickly. Behind Remus stood a lanky man, dressed in what the others in the camp wore; rags. He had long blond hair which was tied back in a ponytail. His face, hair and bare torso were coated in mud. Remus recognised him to be one of the men guarding the mysterious house.

"No newcomer in the camp is ever granted rights to mate till after a year," He grunted, his beady eyes running a quick assessment over Remus, "but you're not new, are you?"

Remus frowned but didn't say much.

He jerked his chin in the general direction of the tents, "heard from the others you used to be Beta,"

"That was a long time ago," Remus replied calmly, shoving his hands in his pocket to keep them warm, "were you here long?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Nuh uh," The man shook his head, sending filthy stray stands of blonde hair into his face, "been here for years. Not Beta yet, but Greyback trusts me," He gloated.

Remus nodded, appearing to be listening intently, "I can tell," He smirked and Remus knew this was his opportunity, "He got you guarding the house," Remus let his hoarse voice drop to a whisper.

The man turned his torso to face Remus, watching him with a different eye now and Remus knew he had stepped over an invisible line, "everyone gets curious eventually Lupin but you caught on fast, don't you?"

Remus shrugged, "It's right there. Could never have missed it," He gestured casually and the man grunted in acknowledgement.

"Probably, many are too scared to ask about it. Greyback keep close tabs,"

"What is there?" Remus wondered, "Gold?"

The man let out raucous laughter before smoothing back his hair, still smirking, "gold," He snorted, muttering to himself, "something much more valuable than that,"

Remus' interest was peaked but he was careful not to abuse this golden opportunity, "what could be more valuable than money?"

The man leaned towards Remus and whispered, "Greyback has given us specific instructions to keep it to ourselves. So I suggest you keep your head down and your tail between your legs at the moment." He backed away, "wouldn't want to be getting into trouble again, would you?" He grinned, revealing rows of decayed teeth.

Remus sighed, letting out a huff as he went back to his tent. A glance at the house told him that it was still guarded.

He trudged through ankle high mud before reaching his tent. Heiser was cuddled up on his cot, asleep. Remus quietly made his way to his own, lying gingerly on his back. He carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out the photograph.

Remus didn't know why but he brought it with him to the camp. His eyes fixed on the girl's face. It was the only thing that resembled Nymphadora to look at. Her high cheek bones and that haughty look that seem born into the girl's face made his heart ache.

He missed her dearly and there was a hollow space in his heart that was impossible to ignore. They hadn't had any word from her in nearly months. Remus dreaded to think about her possible capture, along with Mad-Eye Moody, under the mercy of Lord Voldemort.

The day went in a blur and before Remus knew it, the moon was drawing closer. He had long since slipped out of the tent along with his bunkmate. Heiser looked ill and Remus thought he didn't look any better either.

The werewolves in the camp were tired but some seemed extremely eager for the night to come. They talked, joked and even laughed around the fire they had going. Remus didn't even try to join in as Heiser did. Instead, Remus wandered off closer to the mysterious house.

He watched with narrowed eyes as a man he recognised from camp lumbered towards the door of the house with plate of mash that looked less than appetizing, even from a distance. Remus frowned as the man knelt by the door and unlocked a small hatch at the bottom of the door with a key. The moment it was opened, he slid the plate of food in quickly, almost frantic, before slamming it shut and locking it once more.

If this display of obvious fear did anything, it intrigued Remus even more; close to the point where he would just recklessly charge his way in to find out. He yearned to find out something of use to the Order. At the moment, Remus could not provide anything far from their daily habits around the camp for Greyback's little trips out of camp still remained a mystery to Remus.

Remus watched as the guards at the house slipped away; they too had to transform for the night after all.

At that moment, Remus cursed himself. It hadn't occurred to him that the most information he was most probable to gather was when the others; including Greyback, was distracted by wolf instincts such as to hunt or in this case, to mate on the Alpha's order. However, as Remus had neglected to consume Wolfsbane, he would be in control as much as the other werewolves that night. Furthermore, upon transformation back to human, Remus would most probably forget most of what happened that night.

The ache in his bones pulled him from his reverie abruptly and Remus jogged towards the fire to await instructions or cue from the others.

He had left the photo safely tucked away among his other belongings in the tent; not wanting it ripped to shreds.

He trailed after the other males quietly as they walked into the forest and away from he tents. With an unseen signal, the group of male spreaded out to go to their own preferred spot for the transformation. Remus walked further away from the others. He was the stranger within the pack now. The last thing he wanted was to be mauled by the wolves when they recognise a scent of an unfamiliar wolf.

He approached a boulder overran with moss that was situated by a short and twisted tree. There, he gingerly removed his clothes, leaving them on the boulder. He crouched down, hugging his knees, the cold biting into his bare skin. When he was settled, trying not to touch his bruises, Remus waited sullenly for the moon to grasp him and twist him into a monster he loathed.

He thought of Nymphadora. Remus smiled at his first thought; her brightly coloured ever-changing hair. He loved it, whatever colour it took, even bright green which she wore sometimes to express disgust. The thought of her pale heart shaped face made his hands tremble with yearning to hold it with a tenderness he never thought a monster like him was capable of. Her bright grey eyes; an exact replica of Sirius' and how it would shift ever so slightly to portray fury or contentment. Her button nose which made him chuckle as he recalled the feeling of it against his neck when she nuzzled her face into his skin in her sleep.

And her lips-

Remus felt the pull of the moon from his chest. It knocked the wind out of him. He grunted in pain as he tried to get to his feet.

Her soft lips. She would press them to the soft spot below his ear.

He hunched over, clutching his stomach as the pain intensified. Remus bit his lips, refusing to cry out as bones in his legs snapped with a sickening sound. It stretched and reformed in the blink of an eye.

Then her lips parted, releasing sweet warm breath onto his skin and Remus shivered.

Remus could feel his face changing, his body sprouting fur, instantly keeping out the cold. His hands stretched forward to cushion his fall as his legs backed out under him. The moment his hands hit the mud, they were paws.

Her tongue would lash out between her teeth and Remus could feel the tip of it just skimming across his skin. I love you, she would say and Remus would fall in love with her all over again.

The wolf whimpered. It was wounded. It limped, feeling pain tear apart what was left of its senses. It needed to settle. The wolf settled by the tree, waiting for the pain to subside a little. It sniffed at the queer soft object draped over the boulder it slightly leant on and snorted.

In a distance, a howl tore apart the night. Its ears pricked at the sound that was almost foreign to it. The wolf couldn't recall the last time it had heard such a beautiful sound; that could only be coming from another of its kind. Pain forgotten, it leaped to its feet, sniffing the air.

There were more than one, it realised with barely concealed delight. It threw back its head and howled with all its heart; howling to the moon, howling to its kind, howling for the queer emptiness it felt.

It was cautious as it began to stalk forward, towards the scent of its kind. Its padded paws barely made a sound against the forest floor for it knew where to tread upon that would ensure its presence was not known.

Just as it approached a part in the bushes, the wolf hesitated. It glimpsed out with one dark greenish eye from amongst the thick bush. There were 3 wolves; all sniffing each other curiously but not attacking. The wolf knew they recognised each other for they would not act as such if otherwise. It felt loneliness strike it in the middle, almost painfully.

Always cautious but yearning for company, the wolf slipped through the narrow part in the bushes, its skinny body barely brushing against the bush. Twigs rub at its fur coat but it hardly bothered itself with them; its attention trained upon the three wolves that, likewise, had turned their attention on it.

The wolf let out a half bark, half whimper. The three wolves growled, revealing fangs that when together, could maul the lone wolf easily.

The wolf was torn. It was uncomfortable and truly disturbed when having dominance flaunted over it but survival instinct soon worn over and the wolf backed off, eyeing each of the three wolves.

Suddenly, there was a loud bark and all four of the wolves jumped, turning towards the noise just in time to see a large dark grey wolf leaped out of the trees and landed amidst them, sitting back on its haunches, its body erect and proud.

The wolf felt the Alpha dominance instantly and even as it loathed doing so, it lowered itself to the ground, flattening its ears. The other wolves chuffed and approached the Alpha, crouching so close to the ground that their belly rubbed against the forest floor. They began licking the Alpha below its muzzle.

However, the wolf lack of participation in the demonstration of its dominance didn't go unnoticed by the Alpha. Without warning, the Alpha bounded over to the wolf. It backed away, wary but not daring to attack or attempt to intimidate the Alpha. The Alpha growled, approaching it, almost tauntingly before finally clamping painfully on the wolf's muzzle; teeth bared.

The wolf refused to whimper or cower, instead, waiting stonily for the Alpha to bark its satisfaction before sauntering off, the other wolves obediently at its heel. At the Alpha's sharp bark of command towards it, the wolf jolted to its feet and followed reluctantly.

The wolf was elated and curious to find more wolves around. They were getting playful and energetic, unlike their normal selves; the wolf, although stranger to them, knew this for it too felt the effects that the mating seasons brought. However, none of the she-wolves it glimpsed caught its interest. Deep down, the wolf felt strange yearning but it didn't fall to any of those here. It felt a tugging, of the bond that already existed, at its heart; a bond between mates.

The wolf didn't have an image of its mate, as all wolves didn't of their mates, but it had a memory of a sweet scent that will lead it.

The wolf threw its head back, sniffing the air subtly as the other male wolves started choosing their mates.

It felt a warm touch of another's muzzle at its side and yelped, startled. The wolf withdrew, loping away. It adopted a wide offensive stance, baring its teeth, a low and intimidating growl emitting from deep within its throat. By his side was a young she-wolf. At its hostile response, the she-wolf backed away cautiously. It was slender and had shaggy black hair. Curious, the wolf sniffed and snarled instantly, drawing away upon registering the unfamiliar musky scent of mud and grass that filled its nostrils. The scent was not one that pleased the wolf; it wasn't the scent of its mate.

The she-wolf snorted, as if annoyed and stalked away. The wolf was not disheartened; it didn't care for that she-wolf. The wind changed direction and the wolf sniffed the air. It brought a scent of sweat, mud, smoke and blood. However, all these fail to distract the wolf from distinguishing one faint scent of vanilla mixed with lilac.

Joy almost led it to leap high into the air and take flight but it was not in its nature to act as such; but the human's, whom the emotion it shared. It snorted in annoyance but nonetheless, it felt the exhilaration the scent brought. The wolf allowed its snout to lead the way, sniffing the air and following the direction of its source.

It stalked through the pack of wolves, oblivious to mating wolves around him or the gestures of courtship extended to it by she-wolves. It ignored the watchful stares of its Alpha upon its pack. The wolf knew the Alpha noticed its queer behaviour among others; however, the Alpha didn't give chase, occupied with its own mate.

The wolf left the pack eventually, treading carefully among the mud and dried leaves. It limped for a long time, reluctant to break into a run despite its eagerness due to its wounds that stabbed at its body at every step.

The wolf glanced to its side as it glimpsed two stray wolves nibbling at each others' coats in the bushes. A strange despair filled it. The wolf chuffed, taking wider strides. It will mate if its current mate had perished; however, the wolf knew it was acting upon the insistence of the human that its mate was not dead. Thus the wolf didn't felt the impulse to find a new mate; it will not do so.

As long as its mate remained alive, it will remain loyal. The wolf barked fiercely, breaking into a painful but steady race; straining against its bruised muscles on its thighs. Its paws digging crudely into the mud to propel it forward; racing faster with each passing second.

Upon registering an overpowering odour of smoke and sweat, it halted; trying to digest the queer sight.

It had come upon a small clearing where the floor was stepped on so often that grass hardly grew here anymore. Furthermore, there were many white structures everywhere, its tips fluttering in the wind; one of them making the wolf yelped and leap aside as it brushed against its coat.

Curious, it leaped forward in one quick movement and caught the tip of the fabric between its teeth and jerked back. With a loud ripping sound, the fabric fell apart. The wolf cocked its head to one side before dropping the limp fabric between its teeth. The wind blew again and it caught the scent again, stronger this time.

It abandoned all curiosity and raced towards its source, eager. Unknowingly, it approached a house by its solid wooden side, almost colliding into it.

The wolf was puzzled. It sniffed the air, brought his snout closer to the wood and sniffed subtly. The scent was strong.

It cautiously brought up a paw and upon contact with the hard wood, the wolf leaped back as if scalded. All was quiet.

When safety was established, the wolf approached the wall again. It sniffed. Its mate was so close now. The wolf pressed its side against the wall, pushing with all its might but the wood hardly creaked.

Abandoning the attempt, the wolf left the wall, padding around the house. When it came to the door, which looked different from the rest of the house, it pressed the top of its head against it, willing it to collapse with brute strength but to no avail. Racing back to the portion of the wall which held the most concentrated scent, the wolf pressed itself as close to it as possible, pawing away the sand. To its dismay, the house had a base, enclosing it completely with not even a gap between its walls and the floor.

In a moment of desperation, the wolf reared back on its hind legs, ignoring the pain shooting up its thighs. Resting its paws on the wooden wall of the house, it clawed frantically at the wood, all the while yapping in frustration. Apart from a few deep scratches, it remained intact.

The wolf fell back on all fours, pressing its head on the wall and pushing. It was puzzled. It could smell its mate but why wouldn't she return these gestures? Could she not pick up its scent?

Suddenly, there was a dull knocking from the inside. The wolf jumped away from the wall, startled.

Thump!

Thump!

Silence.

The wolf stood by the wall, unmoving as it pricked its ears. It could hear movement within. Then more sounds before silence fell on the cold night. The wolf could smell its mate's scent, so close, it could almost taste it.

Frustrated and with the scent still burning in his nostril, the wolf threw its head back for the second time that night and let loose a howl; so full of yearning and misery, it made the ones who listened shiver.

It barked, throwing its body against the solid wall, balking at the jarring impact. It leaped back nimbly and threw itself against the wall again. Again. Again, and again. Finally, it yelped and collapsed on the dirt by the wall. Its chest heaving from the effort, noisy ragged breathing filled the silent night. Its shoulder was bruised and its eye bloody, as a splinter caught it above the eye.

The darkest time of the night found the wolf cuddled up by the side of the house, its head rested on its right paw, with the tip of its snout almost touching the mud. Its shoulder throbbed constantly but its left paw still dug languidly at the small trench it already made at the base of the house. Its eyes remained wide open, its ears always listening. It blinked away the blood that dribbled down to its eye, letting it dye its fur a dark crimson.

Its side was pressed up firmly against the wall of the house. Where its mate's scent was strongest, the wolf situated its head; taking in the euphoric dose of the never-ending sweet scent occasionally.

It whimpered, hearing joyful yapping of wolves in courtship as the wind blew towards the house.

Resting its head on the side of the house, the wolf closed its eyes and slept, feeling unnatural cold cut right through its thick two layer of fur and chilled its bones.

It howled.

To be continued…

A/N: Hello! This chapter was all Remus and practically no Tonks but I hope you enjoyed it all the same! I deliberated, as a few of you might have noticed the awkwardness, between using 'he' or 'it' to address the wolf but went with 'it' eventually. I felt it defined the differences between Remus and the wolf, and yet…they are both very much the same! (That does not make any sense but it's the only I can think up to explain it)

I apologise in advance if there were some confusion in terms of the way I address wolf-Remus. Feel free to ask and I will clear up that particular portion for you and post it in the following chapter under A/N!

Regarding the late update, I apologise! I was recently addicted on reading 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and watching 'Game of Thrones'! If you haven't checked it out, please do! It's amazing!

And to my awesome reviewers, you guys inspire every chapter here! Thank you for your words and smiles! (: My thanks go out to Professor Pang, Naina15, , tt crews, MAD4moony7, HammersNStrings, LoopyLuna13, Furionknight, my smiley reviewer who did not leave a name (:, Tonks23, Lupinesence, Sarah15, paardenlaura and my first reviewer for chapter 29 who didn't leave a name!

Naina15: Thank you so much! I'm so so glad they aren't OOC! Hehe, no spoilers for you! Sorry!

Tt crews: No action yet but plenty of abuse for Lupin! Haha! Sorry if it disappoints! Just in case you were a bit turned around, Lupin was sent to send back information about the wolves' movement and recruit werewolves, not sent after Moody (they have no idea where Moody and Tonks are). Haha, yeah, Severus would once again come up with a dead end!

Please review this chapter! Once again, for the readers short on time, smileys are welcomed! :)