Love Sees More 3: Greyback's Pack

Chapter 17 - Return to the Pack

Remus Apparated to the spot out in front of the werewolf compound - the place he always returned to after visiting number twelve, Grimmauld Place. He had hoped he would never see this godforsaken place again, and a part of him wanted nothing more than to just get the hell out there forever. To go home and put this entire place behind him once and for all.

But he knew he couldn't do that just yet. He had one last thing to do. He was going to convince Althea to leave this place with him, to show her that she could have some semblance of a normal life if she only wanted it. He was sure she was still angry with him, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Remus was pretty sure that her life might depend on it, because Greyback would certainly take his anger out on her, the one Remus had been closest to. It was the way Greyback was, the way he sought his revenge. The very reason why he chose to bite the children of those who had offended him.

Remus began to regret getting involved with Althea at all. It only now occurred to him that it would have been much safer for her if he had kept his distance. At the time, he had been trying his best to form contacts - part of the reason Dumbledore had sent him there at all, to try and get more people on their side. It had never crossed Remus's mind that he'd be endangering Althea's life by doing so, and that he would end up putting her in such an impossible situation.

This pack was all Althea knew, it had become her whole world. Remus knew it would be a challenge to convince her to leave it behind forever, but he also knew he had to try. He hated that she would be in danger by staying, that he had disrupted the only life she had known for so long. By leaving, she would be angering Greyback even further, and he wasn't sure if she'd be ready to do that. She hated Greyback, yes, but he had taken her in when she had nowhere else to go. But now she did have somewhere else to go, she had options, and Remus was going to try his best to convince her of that. Was her friendship with Remus strong enough to override any sense of duty she might feel toward Greyback?

The compound looked deserted as it usually did in the evenings after dinner. Most of the werewolves lazed around in the woods, hunting on and off throughout the night. Remus only hoped Althea hadn't gone too far.

Remus stalked purposefully down the center of the compound, pretending like he still absolutely belonged there. If Harry had been right, and Greyback hadn't returned yet, no one would know what had happened at Hogwarts or that Remus wasn't a part of the pack any longer.

The first sign of life Remus saw was at the mouth of the cave. A few of the epsilons were lounging around the entrance, looking very full and sated after dinner. They didn't seem to care one way or the other when they saw Remus, so he took that as a sign that Greyback was in fact still at Hogwarts.

"Phinx," Remus called out to the self-appointed leader of the epsilons as he approached, "have you seen Althea?"

The ginger-haired werewolf took a moment to finish picking at something in between his teeth, a habit he had certainly learned from Greyback. He licked his lips for a moment and then said, "She's where she usually is, I think - back behind the cave."

Good, Remus thought. Althea was indeed nearby, and Phinx didn't seem the least bit concerned about Remus's presence. Without another word, Remus quickly made his way around the outside of the cave and towards the back.

Althea was in her customary spot, sitting with her back up against the outside wall of the cave, staring off into the woods, lost in thought. Remus suspected she was thinking about the argument they had had earlier that day, and he wondered if she was concerned in the least that Remus hadn't been at dinner. Nor had Greyback, for that matter. Was she perhaps worried that something had happened, that Remus had maybe upset Greyback somehow and that he had gotten into trouble? Or was that wishful thinking, that she would even care about what had happened to him?

"Althea," Remus said when he was close enough.

She quickly turned her head, her eyebrows going up in surprise. "Remus. You weren't at dinner…I was wondering…"

"I don't have time to explain," he interrupted, stopping just front of her. He knew she was going to think him crazy, but he didn't exactly want to waste time here. Greyback could be back at any moment, and Remus wanted to be gone by then, so he figured the best way to go about that was to get right to the point. "I need you to come with me. Right now."

She blinked up at him. "What? Where?"

"Home."

"What?" she repeated, sounding absolutely baffled.

"I told you I don't have time to explain," Remus said. He glanced back towards the front of the compound for any sign that Greyback might be returning. "Greyback found out - that I'm not loyal to him, that I've been spying on him."

"Oh, Remus…"

"I was certain he was going to kill me," Remus said hurriedly. "He tried to, and if he catches me here, I'm sure he'll try to again. I shouldn't even be here, but…I had to come back to get you."

Althea blinked in confusion. "But I don't-"

"I'm afraid," Remus went on before she could say anything more. He was sure she had about a million questions she wanted to ask, but they didn't have time for it. "As soon as Greyback comes back, he very well might take it out on you, because you're the one I was closest to here. He's going to think we were in on it together or something, and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for bringing any attention to you that you didn't want. I never meant to do anything to make you uncomfortable. Or anything that would make you hate me." Unable to hold her gaze any longer, he looked off into the woods. "Perhaps it would have been better if we never started speaking to begin with."

"Remus, I don't…" Althea began again, but then she paused. She turned and grabbed onto the wall of the cave, climbing to her feet. She took a step closer to him before she went on. "I don't hate you. Yes, I was angry that you got me a promotion that I didn't want, but…I was being honest when I said you're my friend. Friends fight sometimes. It doesn't mean they hate each other." Remus still wasn't looking at her, so she took a few more steps forward trying to get into his line of sight. "And even if Greyback does hate me for it, I'm still glad we became friends. I told you that you're the first person I've ever been able to talk to here, the first friend I've had in forever. You don't know how much more tolerable this place became once you joined."

Remus nodded at her. "Then come with me."

"What…?" She sounded so confused, like she didn't even know what question she wanted to ask first.

"Please," he cut her off yet again. There would be ample time to explain later. He was getting really uncomfortable being there, not knowing where in the hell Greyback might be at that point or when he would be returning. There were still several hours until the next meeting in the morning; if he could just get Althea out of there, he could thoroughly explain everything to her. If she still wanted to return to the pack, she'd have plenty of time to do so before Greyback would even miss her. "I don't have a lot of time," he said, reaching out and gently grabbing both of her arms. "I just need you to come with me."

She rested both of her hands on his arms in return, almost like doing so might make everything clearer to her. She opened and closed her mouth several times, looking completely lost for words.

"You wanted answers," Remus said, "and I'll give them to you. I'll tell you anything you want to know about me. We just need to get out of here right now. Before Greyback comes back."

"But…" Althea stopped, shaking her head. "I don't understand. Why…?"

"Althea," Remus said, squeezing her arms, like this might make the conversation much less confusing for her. "It's all true. All that stuff we talked about - about there being a place where we could live and be accepted as humans. I have a wonderful home with wonderful friends who do accept me as a human, and you can have that, too."

"But why would you…?"

Remus thought she knew what she wanted to ask. "This is one of the reasons I came here - to see if I could possibly get any werewolves out of here. To show them that they - that you don't have to settle for what Greyback provides you with. I'm not close enough with anyone else here; you're the only one I could possibly bring with me, and I've come to do just that. Althea, you can have a life, just like the one I have."

For a moment, Althea's eyes seemed to tear up before she blinked it away. "I'm sure you do…I'm sure you have a lovely home and a wonderful life. I can tell from the way you talk about it all the time, I know you love it there-"

"It can be your home, too!"

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I've been here too long. This has been my home for over two years. This is where I belong now."

"Doesn't it matter to you that Greyback might kill you if you stay? He's going to be angry with you because of me!"

"He'd be angry with me - he'd kill me if I left! Once you join his pack, he doesn't let you leave. You know that."

"We can keep you safe!" Remus said urgently. "Once I go back, I'm not going to be the least bit worried that Greyback wants me dead. All the Death Eaters have wanted me dead for years, but…I'm safe at home - there are charms, spells. We can give you the same protection, but is that something you'd be willing to risk? Greyback's anger for the rest of your life?"

"You know I don't care about that, either," Althea said, sounding on the verge of laughing. "I couldn't care less if Greyback hated me forever and wanted me dead, because believe me, the feeling is mutual, but…Remus, I haven't lived like a human for years!"

"I know," he said. "I know it'll be a big change. Hell, I've only been here for a few months and going home still feels so strange to me. I walk into my home, and I immediately feel like I'm going stir crazy. It'll take some time, but I know I can adjust, that I can get used to it again. I know you can, too."

She looked at him uncertainly, and then glanced back towards the woods almost longingly. She fidgeted for a moment, biting at her lip uncomfortably.

"Please," Remus repeated.

Althea exhaled hard, her blue eyes meeting his again. "I don't know…" She broke off, looking down at her shoes next. When she spoke again, Remus barely heard her. "Are they really your friends?"

"They love me, Althea," Remus said firmly. "They love me like family. They're waiting for me to come home right now, and they're ready to send out a search party if I'm not back soon. They could love you, too. If you just give them a chance."

"And…you said you have a home?"

"I do, but I live with my best friend at the moment."

She looked up at him in surprise. "He lets you live there?"

Remus smirked. "He does."

"And you have a bed and stuff?" Althea's cheeks suddenly turned red, and she realized she might have sounded like a little child, but Remus understood her fears completely.

"Indeed, and I have my own room as well."

"An actual room and not a cell? With a real bed and not like the cots here?"

"Yes," Remus said, "all of that. I'm allowed to come and go as I please, and my bed has the most comfortable mattress and softest blankets you could ever imagine." Remus laughed breathlessly, the thought that he would be returning home forever very soon was so overwhelming. As hard as he knew returning home would be for him, as much of a change as it would be, crawling into his bed and burrowing under the covers sounded like the best thing in the world at the moment. "I miss it so much. And I have my own clothes-"

"Clean clothes?"

"Of course."

"A shower with soap and shampoo?"

"Yes."

"And you're allowed to shower everyday?"

"As much as I want."

"And food? Real food?" Althea sounded positively excited now.

"Yes, as much of that as you want, too. Eggs, bacon, cheeseburgers - Althea, whatever you want."

"Coffee? And chocolate? And doughnuts?"

"Always."

Althea got a very faraway look on her face, like she was remembering some distant memory. "I miss those things so much. But…you don't work, do you? How do you pay for those things?"

"They take care of me, Althea," Remus said reassuringly. "My friends do. They don't care if I have money or not. They have more than enough, and they're willing to share it with me." He sighed. "I'm not necessarily one to be taken care of, but I know they do it because they love me. Because they wouldn't stand for seeing me starving or homeless."

"And…you really think I could fit in there?"

"Yes, I do."

"What if I don't?"

"I promise you will. And I promise you'll love it as much as I do. If you just try."

Althea's eyes started to tear up again. She pressed her lips together tightly, and then took one last look around at the woods. Her breathing had become fast and heavy, and she was trembling the tiniest bit in Remus's arms. When she returned her gaze to Remus once more, she held his eyes for quite a while, almost like she was searching them. Finally, when she seemed to find what she was looking for, she nodded. "All right," she whispered, then she laughed, like she didn't believe what she was saying. "I'm scared to death, and I don't know what's going to happen…but I'll come with you."

Remus grinned, cupping one of her cheeks in his hand. "You won't regret it, I promise." He reached for her one of her hands next, grabbed it tightly, and started leading her towards the perimeter of the compound. "Can you Apparate?"

"Er…I learned, but that was years ago," she said apologetically, hurrying to keep up with him.

"It's all right," Remus replied. "I can Apparate us both, but we have to get outside of the compound."

"Why?" she asked.

"Anti-Apparition wards," he said. "When this place was a colony, they would have had them all over the place. It's just not very safe to attempt Apparition if any of them still remain. You could easily splinch yourself. Can you imagine if Greyback came back and found only half of us here?"

Althea giggled. "He'd probably eat whatever we left behind."

"Exactly, so I'd rather keep myself intact, thank you very much."

Remus had a sense of déjà vu as he led Althea towards the line of trees that surrounded Greyback's domain. Not so very long ago, he and Harry had been the ones running for the front gates of Hogwarts. Remus couldn't have asked for a better ending to that journey, and now he just needed for things would go just as well for him and Althea. Just one more bit of good luck, just another thirty seconds, and they'd be free of Greyback and his pack forever.

But it wasn't meant to be.

Remus wasn't even sure where he had come from. He seemed to come out nowhere like he did all the time. The way he always seemed to creep up on his prey unexpectedly. Remus didn't even think he was seeing him at first; he appeared so suddenly, it took Remus several seconds to comprehend it. But he was there, standing several paces in front of them, conveniently in between them and their destination.

Greyback.

Remus stopped short, and Althea ran into him. She began to ask why he had stopped, but then she saw. Her hand tightened around Remus's instinctively. Remus's heart began beating so hard and so fast, he was certain it would pound right out of his chest. He had taken too long, he had spent too much time trying to convince Althea. If only he had been a minute faster…

"Wellll," Greyback drawled, approaching them slowly. That grin that Remus hated was present on his lips, and his head was tilted at that angle that made Remus feel like nothing but a piece of meat. "The prodigal son has returned. And so soon. Remus, you're just full of surprises tonight. I knew you were stupid to try and cross me, but to come right back here like nothing even happened…Do you have a death wish?"

Remus didn't reply. He wouldn't give Greyback the satisfaction.

Greyback didn't seem to care. His eyes went to Althea, who was standing just behind Remus. "You two wouldn't be leaving, would you?"

Remus swallowed hard. What was there to say? Hell yes, they had been leaving, getting the hell away from all of the nutcase werewolves, but he didn't think that would a good thing to tell Greyback.

"Jameson," Greyback said, drawing ever closer to them, "perhaps you're not aware of the events that have transpired tonight, so allow me to enlighten you."

Behind him, Remus heard Althea take a breath to respond, but he squeezed her hand tightly, hoping that it would be enough to keep her quiet. Greyback didn't know yet that Althea was in the process of betraying him as well, that she was planning on deserting the pack, and as long as he didn't, it would be safest for her. Greyback was probably upset at her regardless, but the less there was for him to be angry about, the better. Plus, Greyback liked to hear himself talk. If he took the time to explain things to Althea, that would postpone whatever physical action he was planning on taking against them. It would also give Remus time to look for a way out.

It worked. Althea didn't say anything, and Greyback began to speak. "It would seem," he said, "that Remus isn't loyal to me after all. That he isn't loyal to this pack. I took him on a mission with me tonight, because I trusted him above all others here. Do you know how he repaid me? By embarrassing me and betraying me right in front of the Death Eaters. I ordered him to do something, and he defied me." Greyback paused in his steps, crossing his arms over his chest, and regarding them in interest. "Where is he now, Remus? The Boy Who Lived, what did you do with him?"

Remus wanted to laugh. If Greyback thought Remus would bring Harry here, or would actually leave him somewhere where the Death Eaters could get to him, he was even stupider than Remus thought. "None of your business," Remus said coolly. Of course, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to be talking back to Greyback, but Remus was really past the point of caring. Besides, this was about Harry, and Remus wanted to make it clear that he wasn't any of Greyback's concern.

"Oh, Remus," Greyback hummed sweetly, almost like he was talking to a child. One that he didn't want to devour. "How quickly they fall." He laughed, a sound that bordered on a growl. "If someone had told me just this morning what was to become of you, I would have told them they were crazy. Whatever made you think that you could come here, pledge your loyalty to me, and then leave?!" Greyback yelled, his tone quickly turning into one of anger. "I told you when you first came here that once you joined, I never let you leave. Did I not?"

"Yes, sir, you did."

"Yet, here you are," Greyback replied in disbelief, motioning behind him towards the forest. "Waltzing right out of here, and with another member of the pack with you." He focused on Althea again, taking a few steps to the side so he could see her better. "I know that you weren't aware of what Remus has done, Jameson. I understand that, and I'm not angry with you for any reason. This is between me and Remus. He needs to be taught a lesson. He needs to see what happens to young insubordinate werewolves who cross me. Just step away from him, Jameson, and return to your business. And don't look back."

Remus wasn't so sure about that - that Greyback wasn't the least bit angry with Althea. He would say that now, but Remus knew by now that that wasn't how Greyback was. Of course he was angry at Althea. He had no reason not to be, but if he made that clear, she might very well run and never look back. Right now, Greyback's priority was Remus, and he wanted the option to deal with Althea later. Remus only hoped that Althea would be able to see through his lies, that she wouldn't return to the pack in the hopes that everything would go back to the way it had been.

They were way past that point now. Nothing would ever be the same.

Althea might have sensed Remus's apprehension, because she placed her other hand on his as well, holding it in between both of hers reassuringly. "I'm not going to leave him," she said firmly. "If you want to punish Remus, you're going to have to punish me, too."

Greyback's eyes widened in anger, his teeth clenching tightly. His hands drew into fists at his sides, and for a moment, Remus almost thought that he just might explode from the fury he was apparently holding in.

As much as Remus was relieved that Althea wasn't buying into Greyback's lies, he wished that she wouldn't have just come right out and told him that she was turning on him. What Greyback didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and she'd be safer for now if she lied. Then again, Remus was sure Greyback would have forced her to leave the area in that case, and Althea obviously wasn't prepared to do that. She had clearly made her decision, and she was prepared to stick by it. As scared as Remus was for her, a tiny part of him was comforted by the fact that he wasn't in this alone anymore. That they were in this together.

"How dare you, Lupin!" Greyback snarled. "Coming here and conspiring against me on your own is one thing, but when you lead another pack member astray right along with you…" Greyback threw his head back and laughed, although it was a very humorless sound. "I really have underestimated you, haven't I? How many others have you gotten to? How many others in my pack have you brainwashed?!"

"None," Remus said. "And I haven't brainwashed anyone."

Greyback waved his hand dismissively. "Call it whatever you like. The fact remains that Jameson never would have failed to follow a direct order from me before you arrived here. She's always been a good pup. Not worthy of much, but she's never caused any problems, and she's never talked back to me before."

Remus had the insane urge to laugh in return. Greyback certainly wasn't going to gain any sympathy from Althea by saying she wasn't worthy of much. If Remus had learned anything about her in his time there, it was that she didn't like to be underestimated.

"He hasn't brainwashed me," Althea told Greyback. "Maybe I've always wanted to stand up to you, but I've never had the courage to do so until now."

Greyback narrowed his eyes. "One more word from you, and neither one of you are going to live through the night," he snapped. He began pacing, walking back and forth in the very center of their path to the woods. Greyback knew very well that they were trapped as long as they were inside the compound. He was watching them closely, his expression very cold and calculating. "Have you forgotten that I took you in when no one else wanted you? That you were grateful to me for giving you a place to belong? Whatever happened to that appreciation?" He gestured to Remus in an offhand sort of way, one that made Remus feel like nothing but an afterthought. "Just because he's here now, you've suddenly forgotten everything I've ever done for you?"

"I haven't forgotten," Althea said quietly. She kept shifting around behind Remus, trying to keep him in between her and Greyback. Remus didn't blame her. "I am grateful that you gave me a place when I didn't have anywhere else to go, but…I don't have to settle for this."

"You had nowhere else to go!" Greyback yelled. He sounded positively furious now. "Your parents threw you out, and werewolves can't find jobs to save their lives. I gave you a place to sleep and a steady supply of food when no one else would. Is that 'settling' to you?! Besides, I didn't hear you complaining about it at the time! In fact, I've never heard you complain about it!"

Suddenly, Greyback started stalking closer to them, and both Remus and Althea backed up. Remus almost had the urge to turn and run in the opposite direction, but he knew they'd never make it. Greyback had been living as an animal for a lot longer than either of them; he was fast, and they'd have no hope of getting outside the compound before Greyback caught up to them. Not to mention, if Greyback chose to call for help, there were plenty of other werewolves nearby who could head them off.

"Not until this upstart little werewolf started putting ideas in your head," Greyback said. "He feeds you some lies, and all of a sudden, what I have to offer you isn't good enough anymore?"

"They're not lies," Althea whispered, shrinking down behind Remus and bowing her head.

Greyback laughed again, loudly and cruelly. "Lupin has been doing nothing but lying since the day he arrived here! I didn't see it at first. I'm rather embarrassed about that now. How could I not see it?" He looked over Remus carefully, like he might have been reading an interesting novel. "I should have known you were too good to be true. Should have known that no one is as perfect as you were pretending to be. But I see it now. Everything out of your mouth was a lie!

"What has he been telling you, Jameson? That you can leave this place and live somewhere as a human?" he asked incredulously. "You are an animal. We are all animals. We are by nature. You think you can return to the human world and live among them? You think they'll ever accept you for what you are? Don't fool yourself. They'll try to tame you, but it'll never work. You'll never be happy. You'll be nothing but a caged animal. They'll deny you prey! They'll deny you blood!"

"I don't want blood!" Althea exclaimed. "I go after it here, because that's what you expect of us. But the whole time I've been here, I've wanted nothing but human food."

Greyback shook his head, and when he spoke again, he sounded patronizing. "That's what you think now. You always want what you can't have. You'd miss what you have here. Of course, if you'd like to fool yourself, if you'd like to gamble away everything you have now, that's your choice." When neither Remus nor Althea replied, Greyback added, "I'm not going to tell you again, Jameson. If you turn and walk away from Lupin now, I might let you live. Not without being punished for your insubordination, of course, but I'd consider going easy on you bearing in mind this is your first offense. And considering that Lupin's brainwashed you."

"Did it ever occur to you," Remus asked, "that you're the one doing the brainwashing?"

"I'm not talking to you!" Greyback snapped, then he clicked his tongue. "My my, how quickly we forget. You know very well not to speak out of turn. You'll have your chance, believe me, but right now, I'm talking to Jameson." He gave Remus a scathing glance before turning to Althea one last time. "So what'll it be? You can choose to stay with Lupin and die, or you can be a good little pup, do as I say, and run along."

Althea didn't reply right away, but when she did speak again, her tone had grown oddly playful. "I don't know, sir. Are you sure you want me to leave? Two against one are much better odds. And it's been so long since I've had a human meal." She released Remus's hand and instead grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn and face her. Her eyes went furtively to Greyback before she returned them to Remus, licking her lips the way Greyback always did. Like she was hungry. "You like to share, don't you?"

Just beyond her, that large, toothy grin had swallowed Greyback's face again. "Indeed I do. I won't deny you blood if that's what you'd like. I like to take care of my pack, after all."

Remus's heart did a somersault in his chest, and then it felt like it had leapt up into his throat. He jerked away from Althea, his eyes going back and forth between the two.

"Sorry," Althea said snidely. "Didn't mean to startle you." She pressed the fingers of one hand against her lips, staring at him curiously. "Did you really think I was going to leave with you?"

Greyback looked very pleased. He had clasped his hands behind his back and was leisurely strolling even closer towards them. "You see, Remus? I told you she was a loyal pup. Unlike you. She's not stupid enough to betray me." When he got close enough, he placed a hand on Althea's shoulder, standing just behind her. "She's been with me for far too long. Over two years. She's not going to run off with some upstart who's been here for two months."

Althea looked back over her shoulder at Greyback. "Forgive me, sir, for stepping out of line. Thank you for reminding me of my place."

"Not at all," Greyback said absently. That expression had come over his face again, the one that Remus had seen twice before now - the one that meant he was starving and ready to devour his prey. "I like to think I'm a forgiving werewolf, and we all lose our minds sometimes."

Remus shut his eyes against the sight of them standing so closer together, like they were lovers instead of just an alpha wolf and his subordinate. This didn't make any sense to him. Althea had been so nice to him his entire time here. Had that all been an act? Had she been spying on him the entire time for Greyback? Remus didn't think that likely. After all, if Greyback had had the slightest inkling that Remus wasn't being truthful with him, he never would taken Remus to Hogwarts tonight. He never would risked being humiliated in front of the rest of the Death Eaters. Up until a few minutes ago, Althea had seemed positively excited about the possibility of leaving this place with Remus. She promised Remus that she was his friend. She couldn't have just changed her mind again so quickly based on the few lies that Greyback had given her. Could she?

When Remus opened his eyes again, he gave Althea a pleading look, causing a very intense wave of déjà vu swept over him once more. He had just been in a similar situation with Harry, only the roles had been reversed. But this time, Remus wasn't so sure that he was being lied to.

"All those things you said…" Remus began helplessly, but he couldn't go on. The silly thing was, he still liked Althea, and he still cared about what happened to her. He didn't want to say anything that could possibly get her into trouble with Greyback, anything that would make him want to hurt her. And that seemed to be Remus's downfall. He always cared too much about other people, he always put them first even when he should think about himself instead. He didn't have to come here. He could have stayed at home with Sirius and Harry and let Althea worry about herself. But Remus had chosen to try and be the hero once again, and this was where he ended up. Had he come back here, had his risked his life to save Althea only to be betrayed by her? Only to be killed by her?

"You see," Althea said, "I'm really good at acting, too, just like you've been this entire time. You understand, don't you? Neither one of us was really being truthful with each other, so that makes us about even, I'd guess."

"So how would you like to play this, Remus?" Greyback asked in amusement. "We can quickly put you out of your misery now, or we can let you run and see how far you can get. It's been a while since we've had a good chase. You won't get very far, believe me, but it would be good fun while it lasts."

Remus swallowed hard, his eyes looking around wildly for a way out. This was not good. The cave was directly behind him with quite a few werewolves still hanging around in and near it. Althea and Greyback were directly in front of him, conveniently blocking Remus's escape to the woods beyond. Not to mention, Remus was sure that quite a few of the werewolves were probably in the woods, hidden by the trees and brush. All it would take was one call from Greyback for those who were close to come running, and Remus would be vastly outnumbered.

Remus thought back to his and Harry's escape from Hogwarts, and he supposed he could do wandless magic again. But when his mind scrambled for an appropriate spell, none of them seemed good enough. There wasn't anything close enough to be blown up, not like he had with the ceiling at Hogwarts. If he tried to attack either Althea or Greyback, that would certainly give the other more than enough time to attack him in return or to call for reinforcements.

Ever since Remus had come to live with the werewolves, he had known that his luck would eventually run out one day. It seemed as if that day had finally come.

To be continued…