Pack is Forever

Summary: Remus has heard something he wasn't meant to and runs off. Fenrir, taking advantage of the situation, reclaims Remus for his pack. Will it be the hell Remus thinks it will be, or will it be something entirely different?

Posting this on my birthday as a large uploading. Hoping this chapter is going to be alright. Not really certain of how this one's going to turn out as this one holds a fair bit of angst and sadness in it and that's not something that I write normally, though this fic seems to have a bit of it with overcoming challenges. Once again, fingers crossed that this will turn out okay.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Warning: mentions of child abuse.

The next day was a bit awkward. The sun rose high on the camp and on two sleepless werewolves. The moment the sun peaked through the leaves on the trees, Remus removed himself from the fireside and moved himself over to beside the tree, leaning against it and staring out into the forest. Fenrir chose not to disturb him and went hunting. When he had returned with their food for that day, having decided to hunt extra so he wouldn't have to out again later, Remus was still in the same position. He let him stay like that whilst he skinned the rabbits, when he gutted them and whilst he cooked them. When the smell of cooked rabbit was wafting through the camp and Remus still hadn't moved, Fenrir went over to his pup. He sat down next to him and tried to catch the amber gaze of the smaller werewolf. It took a few minutes before Remus was willing to make eye contact and, when he did, the amber had dulled to a dirty yellow, sadness prominent in the orbs. Fenrir rested a hand on his pup's shoulder and began to get up, bringing Remus to his feet with him. He led him back over to the fire and handed him a rabbit.

"Eat." He said as he sat down on the other side, giving his pup the space he knew he needed. "We'll talk afterwards." He noticed, after he said that, that his pup at as slowly as he could, trying to drag out the wait to the impending conversation as long as he possibly could. Fenrir waited patiently, knowing you couldn't rush someone to talk about something like this. He knew how to deal with this, and knew from experience that he had to be patient or things would only get worse. He's had this conversation with every other wolf he had turned, and this conversation with Remus was one that was long overdue. Finally, it seemed Remus couldn't drag it out any longer and finished. The wolf looked miserable, but Fenrir knew that they needed to have this talk. The wounds would hurt more before they healed but, without it, they would only get worse. It needed to be done. He took the remains of their meal and buried them outside the camp before returning and hoisting his pup to his feet.

"Let's take a walk." He said in a voice much softer than his usual one as he led his pup out of the camp and into the woods.

He led them deep into the forest, far further than they had gone before. Remus seemed to be paying only the slightest amount of attention to where they were going, keeping his head down and eyes focused on the ground. Fenrir led him further and further until they reached the very edge of the forest, at the edge of a ravine. The way up wasn't steep, Fenrir had barely registered that they had been going uphill at all, but the land in front of them dropped down steeply. It didn't seem to both the trees, though, as the tilted to stay flat on the surface and continued down, thinning out as they went. Fenrir sat down, his legs hanging over the rocky edge, and tugged Remus down with him. Fenrir let the silence continue for a while, keeping his eyes fixed on the horizon that was slowly turning orange, pink and yellow.

"Pup," He finally spoke, having given more than enough time. "Are we going to have this talk, or not?" Remus was in a similar position to his alpha, legs hanging over the edge, but whilst Fenrir had his eyes set on the horizon, Remus had his fixed on the bottom of the ravine.

"...You wouldn't understand..." He heard Remus mutter, their gazes still locked on anything but each other. Fenrir lifted one of his hands and set it down on Remus' head in a comforting gesture.

"I think I will pup." Remus turned his head towards him but didn't look at him, though it was obvious he was doubtful about Fenrir's words. Fenrir ran his hand through his pup's hair once before setting it back on. "You're not the only one like this." He saw Remus' head snap up to look at him, eyes wide with surprise, out of the corner of his own eyes. "The other children that i have turned and brought into my pack have been in the same position."

"Then can't we just move on?" Remus questioned, eyes showing how apprehensive he was about this.

"It's better for you to say it." Fenrir finally turned his head to look at his desolate pup. "I do not wish to harm you, to rip open old wounds, but often the hardest thing to do is admit, to yourself and to others, what happened. If you can admit it out loud, it'll help you more in the long run than ignoring it." Remus turned his head down again; Fenrir could see his knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping his knees through his trousers.

"...My parents didn't like me." He heard it start, soft and quiet, frightened of what he wanted to say. "They didn't want me to begin with. And they always made sure that I knew that. They only took care of me because they had no choice to otherwise. The neighbours would have raised a fuss at the slightest indication of them doing something wrong, they weren't very popular. When I was...Turned." He saw his pup shift his shoulders, moving his scarred shoulder on instinct, but Fenrir didn't call out on it, knowing it was very difficult to start again after being interrupted when speaking about something like this. "They stepped it up. They told everyone that I had an illness which kept me inside. No one saw me anymore. And with no one around, nothing stopped them." Fenrir watched a couple of tears spilled over his pup's cheeks, but no sound of crying was made. He listened carefully as Remus continued. "They favoured silver weapons and keeping me in a small room with no light. If I hadn't gone to Hogwarts, I probably wouldn't have ever seen the sun again." He saw his pup give a weak smile. "Dumbledore didn't even realise he saved me. They couldn't argue against his protections, it was either undermine him and his abilities or admit the truth about what they were doing, and they didn't like the thought of either. They made sure I knew it when I was home, but most of the year I was safe. I never returned at the end of seventh year, it gave me my chance of escape."

He heard Remus finish, voice going back to a whisper from where it had risen up the longer he spoke. He took the hand that was resting on Remus' head and wrapped it around his pup, drawing him closer.

"Pup," He felt the younger werewolf nod. "Did they ever take a fair amount of your blood? Put it in a container and take it away?" He could sense Remus trying to remember.

"Once, I think. I'm not sure. I was blacking out, but they had a bucket one time. I was never sure why..." Fenrir leant back a bit, eyes fixed on the sky ahead once more.

"That's it then." He felt Remus' confused stare on his face. "I was searching for you, pup. After I turned you, I tried to find you and bring you back to the pack. But I found a lot of you blood instead. It convinced everyone in the pack that you were dead. I only realised I had been fooled when I saw you at Hogwarts one evening. By then, you had been convinced I was a monster. You didn't wish to see me..." he felt Remus move closer to him, watching as the sun set.

"Pup," He heard a confirmation. "What explanation did your...Jailers give you for why I attacked you?" He felt Remus shuffle against him.

"They told me that you had an argument with John," he took note of how his pup referred to the ones who were meant to be his parents by their given names. "And took your revenge on me."

"Well, it was a half-truth." He admitted to the tawny pup. "I did have an argument with him, but I didn't take revenge on you." He looked down at his pup's curious eyes. "He got drunk with some friends of his...and he bragged about what he and that bint of a wife were doing to you. Pups are precious; none should be treated like that. I got so angry at him, that I shouted at him and threatened him. I threatened to take you away to a better life and leave those two for the dead. I guess he couldn't take the thought of you being happy..." Remus shuffled around a bit before settling again.

"Why did you say others in the pack had been in this spot?" Fenrir could see the stars coming out in the sky, sparkling before them.

"Because they have. A wolf can smell fear; a less known fact is that one can also smell sadness and hopelessness. I lost my mate and our child to people who didn't like werewolves, since that day I couldn't stand seeing wizards mistreating their children. I followed the scent and turned them, the ministry wanted nothing to do with werewolf pups; so no one cared until the pups were already removed and safely back at the camp." He turned back to his tawny pup. "If I hadn't been convinced you were dead, you would have grown up with us."

"You had a child?" He heard the small whisper from Remus soon after, the trademark curiosity shining through.

"One, a little girl. She was six months old. When wizards killed her mother, they stole her. I decided to help as many children as I could after that. If they couldn't treat their pups correctly, do they really deserve to have them?" The sun had completely set now, only the slightest hints of red and pink in the sky below the dark blue. "Pup," He heard another confirmation, not so much word as sound. "I need you to say something for me." The curious eyes were back.

"What?" He ran another hand through his pup's hair before letting go and holding onto his pup's shoulders, keeping eye contact with him.

"Say to me 'It was not my fault. I did not deserve it.' You may not believe it, believing will come later, but you need to say it." He could see the cogs in his pup's head turning as he mulled over what he said. He finally nodded and opened his mouth to repeat.

"It was not my fault. I did not deserve it." He smiled and ruffled his pup's hair.

"Good pup." He pulled his pup back into a one-armed hug as they looked back at the sky, the half-moon having started its journey across the sky. "Soon, pup, we shall be with the pack, soon..."

And it's done. Just in time too. This was the last of my mass uploading that I had to complete before the due date and it's done. I'm very happy and excited. I can't wait for the day, well, it's the day now when you read this. Review please?

NightWhisper