As the fog from her latest bout of omega sickness cleared, Hermione noticed two things.

She was no longer in the dark, magic-dampening cell she'd fallen asleep in.

The most alluring scent surrounded her.

A mixture of cedar, leather, and spices covered the heavy duvet that warmed her body. As she turned on her side, feeling the fabric slide against her bare legs, she breathed in a lungful of the aromatic combination that clung to the luxuriously soft pillow her head rested against. The scent was so rich, so different from the sterile air of her past, that it left her reeling, desperate for a hit right from the source.

Hermione felt the various aches and pains throughout her body as she moved into a sitting position. The years of beatings, deprivation, and starvation had taken their toll. Where her skin was once soft and supple now it held a landscape of puckered burn marks, raised skin where she'd been cut on, and scratch marks. Those were her own doing, though.

As Hermione's feet met the ground, her toes curled against the soft thickness of the carpet. It was pure luxury, a stark contrast to the cold tiled floors or unforgiving cement she had become accustomed to over the last eight years. She took extra care to soak in the feeling of the softness meeting her soles as her eyes shifted around the room, trying to decipher where she might be. There were no photographs on the walls, no documents to sift through, just a minimalistic, clean space. It looked spartan, and the lingering scent was masculine.

A small part of Hermione registered that she should probably be afraid, at least on some level, but she found herself more curious about her new surroundings than anything else. The scent was obviously an alpha.

Our alpha. The small voice in the back of her mind prodded her. The idea of finally having an alpha would take some getting used to, but she was accepting. The alternative was something she'd lived through for years, and Hermione was ready to meet her fated mate. The man who would finally take away the horrendous pain of living through a heat without their partner. Deprivation had been the special focus assigned to her, so she knew just how torturous the experience was.

She wasn't sure which was worse. Going through a heat with a partner you didn't choose or forever going through your heats alone. Forced to succumb to omega sickness while immoral fuck-heads recorded everything about your reactions in the name of science. With a sigh, she guessed she would soon find out, but she hoped she was compatible with her alpha.

If only she could remember how she ended up here. Flashes of a deep voice lulling her to sleep with its promise of safety. Strong arms enveloped her in their warmth, satisfying her omega in a way she'd never felt before. Something niggled at the back of her mind that she couldn't quite grasp. A familiarity unattached to anything in particular about the stranger but a sense of knowing that she couldn't name.

The tendons in Hermione's feet flexed as she transitioned from the warm carpet to the cold tile of the ensuite. An elegant vanity with double sinks and a large mirror beckoned her forward. It had been years since Hermione had looked at her own reflection. She'd caught glimpses of her faded form through windows but never had she been allowed to stare at herself and compile a list of the ways she had changed.

Seeing herself now brought on a mixture of emotions.

Her hand skated over her scalp, barely touching the prickly strands that had been cut severely close to her head. The loss of her curls that had been an identifying part of who she had been sent a rush of melancholy to her heart.

The feel of her skin stretched too tight over her cheekbones made her dizzy with anger.

The myriad of scars littered her body from beneath her hair, down her neck, and beneath the black shirt she knew hid the rest of her unwanted trophies. A fire burned in her belly as she remembered every scar and how it had been achieved.

Hermione's eyes glowed with the need for vengeance as she promised herself that every one of the fuckers that did this would burn, and she would dance on their ashes. Shoving off from the vanity, Hermione walked back into the bedroom and took a calming breath to center herself. She needed a plan. She needed to find out if any of the Order members were still alive.

Through her calming breaths she scented not only her alpha but another presence she wasn't familiar with. Another male that made her omega shy away. She also scented Pansy and Luna. So, the girls were here. Were they safe though? The thought brought Hermione some semblance of peace, but that didn't mean she could leave her guard down. Without knowing if the other male was a danger to her and her friends, she needed to be prepared. A quick glance around the room revealed no obvious weapons, so she'd have to do some digging.

The sound of footfalls too heavy to be female echoed outside the bedroom door, sending Hermione into action as she pulled a leather footstool in front of the large bay window that she'd spotted in front of a pleated high back chair in the room's corner. Standing atop the stool, she rose on her tiptoes and stretched her arms above her head until she was able to cling to the cold iron of the sturdy curtain rod. It took all of her strength to leverage her weight against the pole, shimmying and kicking until one of the bolted hooks finally came loose from the wall, sending Hermione and the rod tumbling to the floor.

"Fuck!" she exclaimed while rubbing the back of her elbow that had taken the brunt of her weight in the fall.

The heavy steps now echoed up the stairs, sending Hermione scrambling to position herself in front of the bedroom door. Without knowing if it was her alpha who would appear through the door or the other mysterious male, she had to prepare herself for the worst-case scenario.

So, as the door swung inward and a male clad in black stepped into the room, Hermione's instincts kicked in, and she swung with all her might until she felt her makeshift weapon connect with flesh and bone. The resounding thump echoed through the space as Hermione opened her eyes and took in the man before her.

Alpha!

Alpha, please! her omega sang.

A wave of shock shot through Hermione's brain as she watched Draco Malfoy bring his hand up to his injured cheek and peer at the gathered blood on his fingertips.

He's our alpha?she questioned.

Such a good alpha. He saved us. Took care of us. Killed them, the omega cooed in a lovesick voice.

Huh? Well, Hermione trusted the omega's instincts, and if Draco Malfoy were her fated mate, then they would just have to sort through everything that came with it.

"So, you're my alpha?" Hermione asked as she noticed the differences between the man before her now and the boy he had once been. His platinum locks were shorn close to his scalp on the sides but left longer on the top, and his gray eyes held a hardness she'd not seen when they were kids. He'd always been a prick, but he'd always had a glint of mischief about him. A slight blonde stubble grew around his cupid's bow lips; she was certain that was the only soft thing about the alpha before her, and in the next breath, he confirmed that for her.

"I'm nobody's alpha, especially not yours," Malfoy said, his voice devoid of emotion as he shoved past her before making his way to the bathroom.

Hermione followed him into the ensuite, uncaring of the fact that he was disrobing before her as she perched herself atop the cold marble of the vanity counter. Malfoy's response didn't necessarily surprise her, but it did frustrate her. He had never made anything easy when they'd been children and then teenagers. Why start now?

"I see the only thing that has changed about you is the size of your body. Pity your perspective couldn't have followed suit," Hermione challenged with a tone that suggested boredom.

Malfoy remained silent as he shucked his boots and fighting leathers aside, leaving him standing in his tight black pants that left little to the imagination. He removed the last of his clothing, revealing a toned backside with a fine dusting of blonde hair on his long legs. The muscles of his back flexed as he reached forward and turned the shower handle to its hottest setting.

"This is going to be a rather boring conversation if you continue to ignore me," Hermione continued in an attempt to goad him into talking as she continued her thoroughly exhilarating examination of his physique.

"This isn't a conversation, Granger," Malfoy responded without looking at her.

Hermione's temper exploded as she shoved off the countertop and marched over to the big blonde idiot. Gripping his shoulder as hard as she could, she pulled him around to face her.

"Why the fuck did you bring me here then?" Hermione asked as she poked his chest firmly.

His gray eyes flashed with emotion for a moment before they hardened again. "You just happened to be in the right place at the right time, Granger. We were there for Lovegood and Pansy. You should be thanking me," Malfoy's voice remained cold, but she wasn't buying it.

Hermione threw her head back and laughed as the reality of the situation settled over her. "You're right, Malfoy. Thank you. Thank you for getting me out of that hellhole. Now that pleasantries are out of the way, I will be fucking off to any other place but here."

"You're not going anywhere,"

"Oh, and who is going to stop me? You? The man who can't even stand up for himself wants to stand up to me?" Hermione said as she released a giggle and shook her head in the most patronizing manner she could muster up. She would do everything in her power to force her alpha forward.

"Yes, Granger. Me. If you hadn't noticed, I have a distinct size advantage over you, and you have nowhere else to go," Malfoy bit out in obvious annoyance as pink stained his cheeks.

"I'm a smart girl. I'll figure it out, I'm sure there is an alpha out there willing to take care of me," Hermione's finger tapped her chin in feigned contemplation as she taunted Malfoy.

Malfoy's hand shot forth to grip the soft skin of her throat, his large hands encasing the thin column as he applied gentle pressure and crowded her body with his own. The naked length of his cock pressed against her abdomen, the thin t-shirt a laughable barrier between herself and the threatened alpha.

"The fuck you will. Look at you; you can't fend me off, let alone every other alpha that would come sniffing around once your heat starts. You are going to be a good little omega and plant your ass back on my bed while I shower. Once I finish, we will discuss what to do with you," Draco ordered and the heat of his breath skated across her cheeks, sending a shiver down her spine.

Hermione settled her expression into the best example of a simpering omega that she could manage as she skated her hands over his scar-riddled arms, teasing the ridges of his shoulders before rising to her tiptoes and bringing her lips as close to his ear as she could.

"Is that what you want? A good little omega?" Hermione's tongue slipped past her lips and teased the sensitive flesh of Malfoy's lobe, eliciting a full-body shudder from the hardened alpha. "Because I have to tell you something," Hermione continued. "I'm not just an omega, and I'm not a very good girl anymore," Hermione snapped before her knee connected with Malfoy's sac, effectively dropping the alpha to his knees as he cursed loudly.

"Fucking bitch."

"Talk dirty to me, baby," Hermione teased as she flounced out of the bathroom, leaving Malfoy to pick himself up after his attempted display of dominance.

Our alpha doesn't want us?her omega questioned with a whimper.

He does, babe, but we need to teach him first, Hermione responded.