JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers. Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. If you are looking for strict Canon or even a slight deviation from Canon you won't find it here.

Summary: AU! Tonks finds herself increasingly curious about werewolves, and a certain werewolf in general. When she sets her sights on Remus Lupin, she gets more than she ever bargained for – and so does he.

Author's Note: For the Divine Diva Pennswoods at Snapecast who presented an opportunity I could not refuse – the chance to write some delish pr0n for her.

OK people – I'm going to need your help directing this ship LOL! PLEASE!

FEEDBACK HELPS THE STORY!

Hungry for the Wolf by NativeMoon

Chapter 004: Over the Edge

Every night for two weeks it was the same while they were in Devon. It didn't matter if it was at her place or Lupin's; Tonks would allow just enough without having full-on sex with him. He was aching to make love to her 'properly' he said over and over, but she just wasn't going to let him – yet.

It was too typical that the only way she could keep up with Scrimgeour was to work on her own time, not that she was appreciated for it. She knew that Remus was looking at her as she worked, observing her occasionally as he caught up with the daily and weekend editions of the Prophet. He had the perfect vantage point, reclined as he was on her sofa.

She knew he was still confused about how she could possibly be compatible with him. But really, looking at her wasn't going to tell him anything more than shagging her would. The fact was that he needed to know – and Tonks should tell him.

She told herself she would, just not yet.

It was cruel, no doubt unbelievably cruel – but this was a woman in the dominant role for the first time in her short life; and she found the sexual hold she had over him undeniably intoxicating. He had denied her for so long that she didn't see why he shouldn't have taste of what she had gone through for the past year or so.

Of course if he ever found out about Severus…

Tonks shuddered slightly as she hunched over the mound of paperwork that needed to be filed with the boss on her first day back.

Something about this situation bothered Remus, though he supposed he should be grateful. He'd never met a more confident woman in his life, and just looking at Tonks was enough to push his werewolf senses on overload since he'd unofficially chosen her as his mate. Even now, he couldn't wait for her to finish with her work so that they could enjoy each other. His body gave him away though and he felt himself getting hard. He crossed his legs and spread the throw from the back of the sofa across his abdomen and legs.

'Looks like we're in for another storm,' he said slowly as he cocked his head and listened to the gale-force winds outside.

'Good thing we're nice and cosy in here, eh?' Tonks answered with a faint smile, though she didn't look at him.

'Do you really need to work on that now?'

'If I get it done straight away then the more time I'll have for myself. I don't like it when I have to rush.'

'Do you have much left to do?'

'Enough.'

'Dora...' Lupin said huskily. 'Please...'

'What's that old saying about good things come to those who wait?'

'You do drive me mad woman...'

'You enjoy it too, you little sadist...'

'You've got me banged to rights...'

'Though you'd prefer it if I would just bang you...'

Both burst out laughing.

'Oh 'Dora, my precious 'Dora,' Lupin sighed. 'Where have you been all my life?'

'Besides being born and having to grow up and being how many years younger than you?'

'Point taken. Would you like some tea, my dearest?'

'Yes; but I need a little something else to help it go down...' Tonks said, rising.

xxxOOOxxx

Before she knew it Tonks was back at work and Lupin found himself out on another mission for the Order. The body count was unlike anything that had been seen from the first war. Every day brought new sights, new horrors. Ministry personnel who'd thought they'd seen everything were pushed to their limits, some far beyond – so far beyond that even the most skilled Healers at St. Mungo's couldn't help them. The Dai Llewellyn Ward for Severe Psychiatric Cases was pushed beyond capacity and couldn't take the strain.

Tonks held on as best she could for as long as possible, and it was only thinking of Lupin that kept her from tipping over the edge at first. The woman who had loved a Death Eater and who'd almost bore that man a son found strength and comfort from the thought of one of his most hated enemies. Her thoughts of their brief but shining moments of true intimacy and the deep love she had for him were the only things that kept her sane.

Maybe she was thinking too much of their brief time together all those months ago; maybe she wanted something that was just impossible with death staring her in the face; maybe she was deluding herself as much with the werewolf as she had with the Death Eater. Maybe, maybe and even more maybes – all of which tormented her traumatised soul.

Tonks just wanted to be wherever it is that Lupin was.

xxxOOOxxx

The Daily Prophet and its associated publications were openly baying for Minister Fudge's blood. It was easy to do so given that he was to be forced from office within a fortnight and their reports were being dictated by his successor. Rufus Scrimgeour was to be the new Minister of Magic, and Cornelius Fudge a mere footnote in ministerial history. But Scrimgeour would find himself beset with crises that were legion in the aftermath of one of the greatest tragedies to ever befall the Ministry.

xxxOOOxxx

It was nothing less than a siege and it was uniquely confined to mainland Britain and mostly in Northern England and Scotland. That siege brought with it nothing less than wholesale carnage. Of the Ministry's security forces, 72 Aurors were dead, 41 were in the care of St. Mungo's and 35 were missing. Those were the official figures; the world on the street put the true counts much higher; more than half the force had been decimated in just a few short months.

It was becoming more and more difficult to have full Order meetings. Many of those that Dumbledore relied on were Ministry employees and had been pressed into service to fill roles they were ill-equipped for. With so little time to prepare and to train properly, even more lives were being lost.

And try as they may, no word was forthcoming to the Order about Nymphadora Tonks and her fate. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst was the best that Dumbledore could offer any of them. But for Lupin it wasn't enough. He needed to do something, but his hands were tied spying on the werewolves for Dumbledore.

xxxOOOxxx

It was as though a spectre had floated through the door when Tonks finally returned to Grimmauld Place nearly five months to the day that she'd last left it. She could see it in Sirius's eyes as she floated past him with nary a sound uttered and locked herself away in one of the unused bedrooms. She slept too much and ate too little. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick and even Madam Pomfrey with whom she'd always had a rapport of sorts – none of them could bring her back to the land of the living.

The one person who had been a beacon of light and hope in such dark times was not there for her. Through bits and pieces of snatched conversation, Tonks began to understand that Lupin appeared to have gotten caught up in the latest melee with the werewolf packs in the Outer Hebrides.

She supposed she'd fought to save herself for him, and now the man who had kept her alive might never make it back.

xxxOOOxxx

The last thing she needed was Snape turning up when no one but Sirius was home; Sirius who had taken to locking himself away in his own room with Buckbeak the Hippogriff on whom he'd escaped from Hogwarts almost three years ago. Security had been forgotten since the werewolf had not been in residence for some time and so Snape took the opportunity presented to him.

The Death Eater looked at her with 'I told you so, you stupid woman' glittering in his obsidian eyes. He knew what had happened to her, what had been done to her and by which Death Eaters (one of which was him, ironically enough) when the wheel of fortune turned counter-clockwise against her. And so he stood in the doorway to the bedroom she'd collapsed in with his black eyes mocking her, condemning her for her stupidity – ridiculing her for not going into hiding when she'd had the chance and bearing his son.

He had always been good at punishing her when he'd decided that she was bad, but even she would have refused to believe that he wouldn't have done something so that they might spare her. She was certain he had been the mastermind behind it all; and of course the convenient excuse was that he had to do what it took to stay in the Dark Lord's good graces so that he could continue with the game he was playing for Dumbledore.

'Since you pride yourself on being a bit intelligent,' he said tonelessly, 'I suggest you take the blessing of life bestowed upon you and disappear. And before you conjure feeble objections, which frankly I don't care about and which will only serve to make you look more incompetent than you have been, I propose that you listen.

You, Nymphadora Tonks, are the spawn of a Blood Traitor. Rumour has it that you've enjoyed the company of a few Muggle suitors here and there – which only seems to emphasise your Traitor status. That is how they view you and no one cares about your lineage as a so-called Half-Blood of the House of Black... a House which hasn't been Noble in nearly a century. I know what you are thinking about me and you are wrong. You need look no further than your dear Auntie Bella to place blame. It was she who devised your "punishment" and she put together the detail. Be thankful that it was I who was charged with administering the Cruciatus. You should have noted that you gave the appearance of feeling it far more than you actually did. That was a loyalty test which I could not fail under any circumstances!

Though you consider yourself proficient in your chosen field, it would appear that others have a somewhat different opinion of you. Word has it that Scrimgeour has dismissed his replacement as Security Head and those who were so careless as to have been caught by the Dark Lord. That, Dear Lady, will include you when you finally show your face again. You were never particularly useful in his eyes and it seems his predecessor yielded to pressures on the part of the Wizengamot in accepting you and certain others when you were all sworn in.

Given the circumstances surrounding your capture, it would seem his assessment is correct. You are a liability to the Ministry, to the Order and even to yourself! Run away and hide like a good little girl with some sense! Keep your head down and that pretty little nose out of things that you are ill-equipped to cope with and you just might survive this war!'

There was no response.

She wouldn't waste her breath on him. There was nothing left between them and therefore nothing that needed to be said. What he thought of her no longer mattered.

The death knell had finally sounded and the only thing Tonks felt was...

Empty.