The clearing was large enough that Harry and both of the teams could stand in it comfortably. However, in the darkness, it felt like the woods hedged them close from every side. There was little light pollution to cut into the darkness. Any buildings here relied on kerosene or magic since electricity had been never routed here.

Yet, the moon was almost full and gave more than enough light to pick through the sparse trees. At least for Teddy.

Collins and Jones, the other team Harry had brought along, were looking uneasily around. Jones was a quiet guy, not mousy but content to mostly just observe things. Collins was one of the two females in Teddy's Auror class. She was confident and competent and Teddy probably would have liked her if she had liked him. However, she held him in contempt for being his godfather's 'pet Auror.'

Collins glanced fearfully up at the sky, only patches of starlight visible through the shadows of tree boughs. "Is it safe?" she asked. She stepped closer to Hasan, as if seeking his protection.

Collins could take care of herself just fine as long as she had a wand in her hand. She was barking up the wrong tree anyway. Teddy had never seen Hasan notice a woman's advances, let alone return them.

"Isn't it a full moon?" Collins asked Hasan when he hadn't said anything.

Teddy snorted, impatient. "That was last night." When everyone looked at him, he realized his mistake and scrambled for an excuse. "Er, lunar cycles are important to a lot of potions, don't you lot pay attention?"

Collins shook her head and said with her usual scorn, "None of the rest of us are related to a Potions Master."

Teddy sighed in relief and then realized that 'ever-vigilant' Harry had been present for his slip. He glanced towards his godfather for his reaction, but Harry was distracted. Following Harry's attention, Teddy saw that the Alpha had materialized out of the woods.

Although not conscious of it, Teddy had already registered the Alpha's scent and had assumed he was close by. So while the Alpha's presence was not a surprise, it still tightened Teddy's body into wary readiness.

As he neared them, the Alpha seemed to emerge out of nothing. Even when he was out of the deeper shadows, the moon only backlit him to emphasize his hulking figure. Between that and his shadowed face, he had an eerie, almost unearthly, presence.

Teddy thought the Alpha achieved this by paying close attention to light sources but the effect was still quite a feat to pull off without any magic. Teddy supposed that the Alpha resorted to these tricks to keep the upper hand over a pack of wizard werewolves. The Alpha had been a Muggle before he was changed, and now experienced the double stigma of being both a werewolf and a Muggle. He needed his mystique and intimidation to make up for his lack of magic.

As the Alpha stepped forward to join them in the clearing, the moon highlighted bulging muscles and the plethora of scars that crossed over his skin. He tilted his head so that his dirty-blond hair fell away from his face and gave the group a blank stare. The rest of the group stared back, caught in the Alpha's spell.

Teddy crossed his arms so as not to give away his unease by fingering his wand. If he had been alone he would have pretended not to notice the Alpha's posturing and jumped straight to the point. But he didn't want to drawn attention to himself. He also wasn't quite sure what the Alpha would do once he recognized Teddy in the group.

Harry caught his balance quickly enough and abruptly started into explanations. The Alpha had agreed to let the Aurors on the grounds for the investigation, but only if they had a werewolf guide at all times. Tonight the Alpha had chosen to escort them.

Harry then introduced the Aurors. Hasan seemed to have gained his footing quickly enough to give the Alpha a polite greeting, but the other two Aurors were stiff and awkward. The Alpha responded to each introduction with an impassive once over and a nod of acknowledgment. When it came to Teddy, the Alpha gave no indication that he recognized him, and instead gave the same sardonic nod he had given the others. On the one hand, Teddy was grateful that the Alpha, despite being a Muggle and mostly flippant to the wizarding world's taboos, was respecting his desire for secrecy.

On the other, Teddy did not know the Alpha well enough to read any body language that might indicate who the victim was. Teddy had never enjoyed being part of the pack and had never bothered to play by the rules required to fit in. Now he cursed himself for it because it had made him blind to anything he could have picked up now from the Alpha. It also had blinded him to whatever dangers had come into their pack and forest.

If Lilith was the victim, would the Alpha care? She and the Alpha had never been close. In fact, the Alpha had been irritated by Lilith in the past couple of months as she became more and more obsessed with the deaths of her parents. If the victim was Lilith, maybe he would be glad to be finally rid of the annoyance. Teddy couldn't tell. The Alpha was way too good at maintaining his blank stoic expression, no matter what was happening around him.

After the introductions, the Alpha led them down the path that led to where most of the werewolves lived. The farther they moved from the clearing, the darker the forest became. Everyone quickly illuminated their wands and the Alpha looked back with a hint of what might have been irritation. Hasan switched his to a firelight charm, but everyone else didn't seem to notice the look. They were probably too mesmerized by being so close to an actual werewolf.