Chapter 19

"So this is where you live?" Lucius asked Sira as they entered the empty Snatcher camp. "In this squalor?" The look on his face was one of total disgust and repulsion as he examined the small camp. He wasn't impressed, it was easy to tell.

"Yep," she said quickly as she looked at the coals of the campfire. They were growing cold, meaning that the others should be back soon. She went over to a small pile of firewood and picked up a few logs along with some twigs and some dry grass. Lucius watched her as she knelt beside the coals and started making a nest out of grass to put a coal on in hopes that an ember or two would catch fire. "It's not too bad," she stated as she placed a coal in the next, spreading a few embers onto the grass. "You get used to it after a while, living like this." She blew on the embers, causing them to glow orange and release wisps of smoke.

"I doubt it," he mumbled as he glanced around the camp, causing her to roll her eyes as she blew on the embers again. "So why are you rebuilding a fire when you could just use magic to start a new one?" Again, she blew on the embers, this time receiving a lick of flame, so she sat the burning nest down on the old coals and started placing twigs on it, making sure they caught and she wasn't just smothering it.

"It's just something we do," she gently placed a log down on the burning twigs, "but we mainly use the fire as a time keeper. When the coals grow cold and the fire is almost dead, the Snatchers should be arriving back within a few minutes."

"But that's impossible," he drawled as she stood, causing their eyes to lock with each other's, "there's no way that a normal fire could tell time or the return of the Snatchers." Her eyes fixed on movement just over his right shoulder; it brought a smile to her face.

"Hello, Fenrir," she said loudly as he entered the campsite, "how was it tonight?" Lucius' eyes filled with shock and bafflement as he turned to see the werewolf.

"Slow," he growled, anger flickering in his eyes. Great, she thought, he's still mad. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy, I wasn't expecting you to come here tonight, so why are you here?" His voice held disgust, rage, and irritation, but Sira felt it was mostly towards her.

"I offered to escort her here," Lucius stated, putting no emotion into his voice, "and she accepted."

"How nice," Fenrir snarled, Sira shivering at the last word for he made it sound painful and unpleasant. She didn't want to find out what he was thinking, his face and his eyes told her enough. Silence filled the campsite, putting her on edge as Fenrir continued to glare at her. Lucius obviously noticed the tension for he was looking between them. No one said a word.

"I better go," Lucius said rapidly, glancing at Sira nervously. "Goodbye, Sira. Fenrir." Lucius gave him a curt nod and left the site as quick as he could, fearing for his well-being. With a crack, he was gone and Sira took a long breath. He was still staring at her, snarling a bit, as he walked straight to his tent. Once he was gone, she sighed, she could finally relax. She turned and entered her tent, hoping Scabior would come back soon.

Her head rested on her forearm as she lay in her bed, gazing at the door, wishing it would open. She was completely relaxed, feeling nothing at all other than her desire for the door to open and for Scabior to walk into the room with a smile and a "'ello, beautiful," on his lips. Oh, how she wanted him back. It was already morning; he should've been home.

Then, the door opened slowly and a smile lit her face. "'ello, beautiful," he said sweetly as he walked over to the bed, "I'm sorry I kept you waiting. We 'ad a busy night and Greyback left us in the middle of it." He sat down on the edge, looking at her questioningly as her smile grew wider on her face. "What?"

"I just missed you," she whispered, causing him to chuckle as he pulled off his boots.

"It was only a few 'ours," he stated with a playful smile, making her giggle. "I missed you too, Sira." He laid down in the bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "Is there anything that happened at the meeting that you want to talk about?" She shook her head quickly, trying not to think about her rage the night before.

"Nope."

"Good, 'cause they 'ave nothing you need. You're better off 'ere." Her smiler grew warmer as she cuddled up to him, wanting to feel his body next to hers. She rested her chin on his chest when he shifted to lay on his back and gazed into his eyes. Her blue eyes sparkled with her joy and her love. She was just happy with him. She didn't have to think. She didn't have to feel.

"I know I am because I have you. I never have to be away from you and you never have to be away from me," she stated proudly, like a child who knew the answer to the teacher's question. "Of course, some things about all of this could be better but you make it all wonderful, you make me forget about the less desirable things." A mischievous smile lit his face, shinning in his eyes.

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" He asked, chuckling a little and making her giggle.

After a while of laughing, she sighed and fell silent, leaning her head onto his chest. His heartbeat filled her ears and made her smile grow wider. The sound always made her calm. She listened to it, savoring its rhythm. As her eyes shut, his arms tightened around her, making her heart flutter in her chest. "Scabior," she said softly as her eyes opened and looked up into his face, "I love you. I really do but I don't think I say it enough." He stroked her hair, his smile leaving his face.

"I love you too, but you shouldn't feel that way. I know you love me and, lately, we've been so busy we 'aven't been able to spend much time together like this. Its not your fault." She nodded slowly, agreeing with him.

"Do you remember when we first met?" She asked, her eyes turning soft with the memory.

"Of course I do, beautiful." A smile formed on his lips. "It 'ad to be one of the best days of my life. I thought you were the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and I knew that I loved you from that point forward. You 'ad a 'auting grace about you and I knew that I just 'ad to see you again, no matter what." His smile grew a bit wider. "I'm really glad that I was determined then 'cause if I wasn't, I'd probably not be 'ere with you now." She smiled.

"I'm really glad too."

Sira lay with her legs crossed and resting on an arm of the sofa as her head lulled to the side, looking at Scabior playfully as Robbie rolled his eyes. She tried to be seductive, but she couldn't help that she laughed hard at the looks on Scabior's face. Robbie never watched her. If he did, it was only briefly and automatically followed by a scoff or a roll of his eyes. Right now, she was just watching Scabior with a smirk on her lips and an eyebrow raised, trying to be silly. He kept a straight face, knowing that she just wanted him to laugh. A long while of silence passed before laughter broke out from her, causing him to laugh too. She brought her knees up to her chest as her laughing continued.

"Can ya two please stop!?" Robbie asked in a hiss as he turned to face them. Irritation glittered in his eyes and both of their gazes shifted to him, looking appalled.

"We're not doing anything," Scabior said slowly.

"Then what do ya call all of this?" He questioned as he moved his body like she had been doing. Her eyes widened, completely stunned.

"Then go be bored somewhere else!" He barked. "Get a room!" There was a soft tapping sound coming from the entrance of the tent and he hissed before storming off to see who was there. Sira looked at Scabior, tilting her head a little to the side, and he shrugged. After a few seconds, Robbie came back, glaring at her. "Greyback wants to talk to you."

Her heart skipped a beat as she sat up gradually, almost shaking with her sudden fear. Scabior's gaze fell heavy on her as she stood, but she tried to ignore it. She walked to the tent's entrance and stepped out with a sigh. The cool air hit her face, chilling her. "Hello, girly," he hissed as her blue eyes looked at his face.

"Fenrir," she breathed as she noticed how calm he was, how emotionless he was. It chilled her worse than the air.

"I need to speak with you in private." He placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel the power in his touch, it made the hair on the back her neck stand up. Slowly, she nodded her head and started walking with him to his tent. She stood up a little straighter, putting her chin a bit higher in the air. Her heart hammered in her chest, she wondered if he could sense her stress.

Finally, they reached his tent and he ushered her in before stepping past her, his stride starting to show signs of anger and rage. Carefully, she followed him, waiting to see what he would do. She sat down on a small sofa as he paced the room, his eyes fixed on her as his fury grew more obvious.

She drew a long breath, trying hard to calm down. It wasn't working.

A smile, cruel, dark, and evil, twisted his face as his pacing stopped for a brief moment. "How was the meeting?" His voice was a snarl as he started again. Her eyes flashed to him, showing her stress, but he didn't notice. "Were you mocked? Were you humiliated? Did the Dark Lord hurt your wittle feelings?"

She stayed silent, not ever moving an inch.

"ANSWER ME, GIRL!" he roared as she closed her eyes and wished that none of this was happening.

"Yes," she exhaled, causing her heart to pound harder.

"What did he say?" Each word he said sounded like a threat for a punishment.

He told me that, since I have became a Snatcher, I have let myself go and I dress like my fiance," she stated flatly as she opened her eyes. He let out a dark cackle of laughter that sent a shiver down her spine.

"I think you're as beautiful as ever," he mumbled as she realized what he had just said.

"Then he asked if I still love Scabior, or if I was in love with you and would marry you for he heard you desire for me. He also asked if- if I was going to mother some pups." Her tears rimmed her eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks.

"That makes two of us who think that." Her hand covered her mouth as her tears started to streak down her face.

"He told me that I have a bark to match my bite, and- and that you'd enjoy that." Fenrir chuckled lightly but didn't make a comment. "Then, he asked if I would ever obey him and I said I wouldn't and he called me an alcoholic. I think he might have said 'he, or in this case, she, who lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.'" He fell silent, no sound was made for the longest time.

"Have you learned, girl? Have you learned not to defy me?" He questioned, there was no anger in his voice. All rage was gone. He stopped pacing and faced her; she nodded her head slowly as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "That's a good thing, Sira," he said slowly, in a rough, raspy voice that grew softer with each word he spoke. "I didn't want to have to hurt you." He stepped closer to her slowly; she never looked at him. "You just needed to know your place." Her eyes flashed up to him, he towered over her. She focused on the hunger in his eyes, the hunger that was always present when he looked at her.

"What made you stop that day?" He asked, his voice snarling the word 'stop.' "You wanted me, I know you did by the way you acted. What made you stop?" Her tears started to roll down her cheeks again and she let out a little whimper. She had to answer his question.

"I was caught off-guard," she whispered, dropping her eyes to her lap. "I wasn't ready for it, and I'll never be ready for it." She drew in a sharp breath as a sob rattled her body. "I couldn't do that to Scabior. I've already made him suffer too much as it is."

"Engagement means nothing in the eyes of the werewolves ," he stated, causing her to look up into his face with a spark of fear in her eyes. "We claim mates, no more, no less. We don't have to be committed to them for a lifetime if we don't want to. At least, that's how it is in my pack." She closed her eyes tightly as a shiver ran down her spine. Her stomach turned violently from her stress. She wondered if he could tell her stress, if he could tell how sick he was making her.

"Fenrir," she panted, clutching her stomach as the chills running down her spine got worse, "what do you want from me?" She felt that she knew the answer, but she had to ask. He sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him. His body was so warm, but it brought her little warmth or comfort. His breath hit her cheek, causing her heart to hammer in her chest. She wished she hadn't asked.

"I wish to have you, girl," he snarled gently into her ear, his lips brushing against her skin. "Didn't I make that clear?" She nodded slowly as her feral longing flared in her chest, mixing with everything else she was feeling. Oh how she wished she could just run away from all of this. His mouth started to kiss her neck, causing the animal within her to fight away her repulsion and her stress, leaving only what it wanted her to feel within her.

"Such sweet skin," he whispered in between kisses as she moved into him. He was finally making her feel warm, which she loved. A little snarl broke from his throat, causing her to giggle as his touch became greedier on her. There was something about him that thrilled her and that erased all apprehension she felt towards him. He always made her want him, want the danger in him.

All of the sudden, he stopped and pulled away from her, not even looking at her, but something seemed satisfied about him. "You may go, Sira," he said clearly and she stood. "I will call for you later." She turned and quickly left the tent, no longer feeling anything, which concerned her. She knew Fenrir was going to be a force to be reckoned with. She didn't know if she was up to the challenge, if she had the strength to fight back. She knew she shouldn't even be thinking about him in that way, for she had too much to lose, but that feral feeling within her had a hold on her. It was in control.