Chapter 70: The Beast Within

Unknown Location, Uncharted Forest, Unknown World...

The fresh taste of copper had been on the massive beast's lengthy black tongue as it continued to devour the brutalized carcass of an unfortunate deer. The hulking mass of ebony fur and rippled muscle had been much too superior in the ways of the hunt for the likes of the fear struck creature to gracefully evade. A deep and low toned growl emitted from the throat of the werewolf as it gorged on the bountiful flesh of it's kill. The growl had been in reaction to the slowly approaching form of what appeared to be a female tucked well within the shadows. Her scent had been quite familiar and intoxicating to say the least as the were-beast began to whimper as it's massive blood engorged cock became erect as a result of her approach.

"So strong." said the voice of an admiring female as she emerged from the shadows. "So powerful...and yet so cruelly bound to such an inferior piece of mortal flesh when you can truly be free to sample all the goods this glorious gift of Hircine has to offer."

Were-Snape growled in warning as the strange female approached him swaying her hips despite being in the presence of a hulking ebony beast. The were found her to be quite enticing as she moved toward him unafraid despite her low position of status. His massive snout had come down sniffing her small breasts as she stood allowing him to become familiar with her scent.

"I could give you so much more." she said through hooded eyes and harsh breath.

The werewolf had not been much for talk as it began to salivate due to the effects of her apparently pungent aroma. The almost painful bulging of it's massive erection had seen to it being controlled by increasingly oppressive lust as it lunged forward knocking the foolish young woman to the ground and stripping her of her seemingly mundane mortal attire. The fabrics and fibers yielded to his strength and sharp claws like butter to a hot knife as he pinned the girl to the blood slick forest floor amid damp leaves and freshly plucked earth.

A whimper had caught his ear despite her forwardness before hand and the familiar scent of arousal and fear filled his flaring black nostrils. She dared come to him during his hunt and taunt him with the promise of bedding her unaware that an Alpha was as much a danger to it's own kind as it had been to any "mortal human flesh sack" as she so callously described them.

In the wake of his rampant urges and the boiling of his beast blood, Severus Snape had not been thinking of the idiotic were girl's age or that his taking her in this form could possibly lead to her death given her young age and lack of experience. Only Hermione had been able to withstand his brutal assault on her body due to his unchecked sexual aggression and frequent need.

It seemed the foolish girl would no doubt pay a heavy price for approaching the unstable Alpha werewolf during his feeding. Maneuvering rather quickly, the aggressive werewolf had mounted the poor girl and had been poised to plunge into her very depths when a he heard the low and commanding tone of none other than Remus Lupin as he proceeded to hold down the now sobbing girl.

The beast attempted to ignore it choosing instead to bite down on the neck of the whimpering female foolish enough to entice his lust. She gasped as he pinned her harder to the forest floor one thrust away from entering her unexplored depths.

"N-No please." she pleaded reeking of fear once more and enticing him all the more.

Her cries fell on deaf ears however Lupin's voice was becoming quite a nuisance.

"SEVERUS!" shouted the elder werewolf. "SEVERUS STOP THIS YOU'LL KILL HER SHE'S MUCH TOO YOUNG!"

The ebony werewolf proceeded to ignore the other were intent on having his way with the whimpering girl.

"SEVERUS...DON'T!" shouted Lupin drawing his wand.

Were-Snape once more turned his attention to the pitiful looking wizard before biting back down on the young female's neck.

"YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE"! warned Lupin swishing his wand in his hand. "LEVICORPUS!"

The ebony werewolf turned his attention to the female only to find that he had been floating in mid-air. All at once anger filled the beast as it thrashed in vain to get free of the wizard's spell...his spell.

A rage induced roar filled the air as Were-Snape struggled to get at Lupin whom kept his wand trained on the thrashing beast as he inspected the bleeding young woman. She could not have been no more than sixteen and had clearly bitten off more than she could chew in terms of whom she had chosen to pursue in a sexual sense. He knew form experience that she was in heat and it caused a bit of a stir in his own loins as he caught a whiff of her pungent arousal as well but did his best to attend to matters at hand.

He sighed looking down in pity of the foolish were-girl.

It was abundantly clear that her thirst for power had lead her down a path where she would have been brutally ravaged by the beast while still a mortal and then viciously mutilated following the couplings end. A gruesome end for any if one truly thought about it. It was a wonder that Hermione could withstand the were-wizard's brutality in bed but she had been protected by the pact made between Dumbledore and Hircine. This girl would not have been so fortunate.

She was however fortunate in the fact that Hermione had informed him of Severus going missing and that he and Draco had set out almost immediately to track the wayward wolf. Going from experience, Lupin came to the conclusion that Snape might have been out in the woods hunting as he had been yet to do so since arriving at Wolfsback Summit.

His experience paid off as he happened upon a crimson blood trail and later the ebony were-beast that had been Severus Snape, only instead of him being hunched over a lifeless carcass of recently bloodied animal he had been mounting a foolish girl with visions of becoming a tribal queen if she had been fortunate in becoming the mate of the Alpha Were, an honor dating back centuries that had become something of a lost title given the lack of ascended male wolves.

"Severus." said Lupin looking at the thrashing beast as it snarled and it's eyes glowed with murder as it attempted to swipe at him.

The Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor sighed.

"It's time to get you back to Hermione." he said before waving his wand once more. "STUPEFY!"

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The Alpha's Hut, Wolfsback Summit, Unknown World...

Aches like one wouldn't believe greeted a rather groggy Severus Snape as his familiar eyes of obsidian opened to find that he had been once more returned to the hut he shared with his mate and lover Hermione Granger. He shifted the animals skins that covered his surprisingly weak and aching body as his vision focused upon the weary witch sitting up in a chair with her head rested on the side of the bed. He took a relatively simple guess that she had been watching him rather closely as he slept.

The weary wizard attempted to move causing himself to groan in agony due to his aching muscles. His apparent groan had gotten the attention of his sleeping witch as she immediately jolted from her sleep in a bid to offer him comfort.

"I-I'm fine witch." he said leaning back against the straw pillows that lined the make-shift bed.

"You're hurt." said Hermione almost immediately running her warm delicate fingers along the ache in his muscle rippled pale chest.

Snape seemed to purr in reaction to her touch almost melting into it.

"I can't seem to recall anything about the previous night since awakening." he said making her aware that he had known about the passage of time. "W-What happened this time?"

Hermione did her best to come up with a slightly less upsetting version of events but was at a loss when his obsidian gaze fell upon a scar his antics had left upon her wrists in the wake of his brutal tirade.

"D-Did I hurt you?" he asked his voice carrying the all too familiar note of worry as he looked her over.

"I-It was an accident." said Hermione a little too quickly. "You weren't in your right mind."

Snape immediately sat up ignoring his own pain as he reached for his witch and pulled her close to him in a desperate embrace.

"I'm sorry." he apologized. "I didn't...what happened to the pact between Dumbledore and Hircine...I thought you couldn't be harmed by me...especially in that state of mind?"

"You were rebelling." she replied. "And besides...it was merely an accident...no real harm done..."

Snape's eyes widened as he pulled away from her.

"No real harm done?" he asked as if disgusted by her phrasing. "I could have killed you."

"Severus." said Hermione knowing all too well that he was becoming angry at himself and the circumstances of his affliction.

"I could have fucking killed you and I wouldn't have even known it..." he said bitterly as the panic began to take root.

"Severus please...calm down." she quietly urged him. "I'm alright...you didn't hurt me...honest you were simply trying to restrain me after I attempted to follow you...it was just difficult not to cause a few minor scrapes given you were on the verge of shifting."

"I have to go." he said attempting to get to his feet only to be stopped by Hermione throwing herself into his arms and pinning him to the make-shift bed.

Snape winced in reaction to her added weight against his aching muscles and joints.

"I'm sorry." she said quickly kissing his pale lips in a bid to convey her sympathies despite not moving an inch.

"Let me go witch." he urged her. "If I am becoming a danger even to you there is no telling what I could be capable of with anyone else."

"No." replied the determined witch.

Snape again struggled against his rising anxiety.

"I don't understand what's happening to me." he said with a hint of genuine fear behind his obsidian eyes. "I want my life back...but you and I both know that's not going to happen with this curse...being with you has made being damned bearable but this...I can't...I won't live out the rest of my life as some unruly mindless fiend bound to the will of another monster."

"That's not going to happen." said Hermione in a bid to reassure her saddened lover.

"Hermione." said Snape in his usual potions Professor tone.

"I love you Severus." she said matter-of-factly. "I know that you would never intentionally harm me in any way no matter how long you've been under the influence of beast blood...the shaman said there is a way to ensure I remain protected from your aggression and it involves returning to Hogwarts."

The weary wizard sighed.

Hermione noted just how exhausted he had been given what occurred the past few days, his eyes were developing dark circles beneath them from the lack of rest.

"I'm all ears if you think you've got a lasting solution witch." he replied much too tired to argue with her persistence.

"The Rivermist Plant." she said getting his full attention at last.

"I beg your pardon." said Snape a bit caught off guard.

"The plant you and I know to have been identified as The Rivermist Plant was actually an ancient flora gifted to an Alpha and his mate via Hircine to keep the Alpha from completely losing himself to the beast blood so long as his chosen mate remained alive." said Hermione informing her lover of what she learned from the shaman. "Don't you see Severus...the answers was in our hands this entire time...we won't have to worry about you harming me anymore...you won't have to live in fear of loosing control."

Snape sighed taking this into consideration.

"It may seem witch, that we have yet another reason to return to Hogwarts." he said meeting her hopeful amber gaze.

"Indeed it does wizard." she replied.

Unable to hold back their affections for one another very long, Severus Snape pressed his pale lips against her soft pink ones in a very grateful and needy kiss. He had so missed the simple comfort of her beating heart resting against his own and the spread of her inner warmth to his notoriously cold heart. Losing her in any way would deviate him beyond repair and it was all that kept him going despite his increasingly dark thoughts and rage induced blackouts.

He couldn't lose her.

Not now when they had gotten to be so close.

Not when he so desperately needed her in his life.

This flora of hers had to be the answer for there was no living without the witch whom had become his entire world, the dark lord, Hircine, and Dumbledore be damned he was only invested in this war to see his witch and the Malfoy clan safe. Nothing else mattered to him anymore aside from his being cursed he had no plans to survive the impending battle ahead, but Hermione had given him a reason...a reason to hope...a reason to see his efforts through to the end even if it meant his dying breath.