Body, Mind, and Soul

Miles away from civilization was a large forest. It was home to many creatures—deer, rabbits, and other woodland animals as well as centaurs, werewolves, and the occasional hippogriff. They all had their territories and all obeyed those boundaries, save for one of the species, of course, the more hostile of all of them.

Sitting in a small clearing was a young lady with pale skin and dark hair. Her face was littered with freckles and scars, and her lips, though lovely, resembled that of a dying woman’s.

She sat with her legs crossed, eyes closed, as she listened to all the sounds that nature provided her with. The birds still chirped here, the sun still shined. She had heard that it wasn’t like this in the city. A darkness had taken over with the rise of the Dark Lord. The girl had never come across him personally, but she knew of him very well.

The rustling of the leaves and swaying of the long grass soothed her, soothed the animal that was always inside of her, but it didn’t last long.

Picking up on an unfamiliar scent, the brunette opened her eyes and stood quickly. In the distance was a figure walking toward her. She could make out a man carrying a bag and as he came closer, she saw that he was tall and thin with honey hair and a sickly looking tinge to his skin that mirrored her own.

It was another wolf.

She didn’t know whether to approach him or not and didn’t have time to think hard on it as she heard her name being called—“Amaryllis!”

It was her father. She knew that she needed to see what he wanted, but there was a stranger who was walking straight into her pack’s territory.

He came closer and closer, and the girl stood, rooted to the spot. Then, she decided to take the lead. She wasn’t just going to let this wolf waltz in.

Putting on her most threatening expression, Amaryllis began to walk forward, her bare feet making little noise on the ground. The stranger stopped, obviously watching her, and held up his hands.

“I’m not a hunter,” she heard him call out.

She stopped a few yards away, taking in his worn clothing. He was a werewolf who still possessed all of his human traits. There were many in the pack who did not, taking on dog-like faces the longer they ran wild.

“What do you want?” She asked, taking a few tentative steps forward. She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him, though the girl doubted she was intimidating considering he was over six feet tall.

“My name is Lupin, Remus Lupin. I was hoping to stay with your pack for a while.”

“Why?” She responded immediately.

Raising his free hand, Remus Lupin scratched the back of his head. “Well, things are looking pretty bad out there. It’s dangerous. I don’t exactly want to be in the middle of it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. There was a kind look about him, soft eyes and a hopeful little smile. Amaryllis wouldn’t have even guessed he was part wolf had she not picked up on the scent.

“I can’t make the decision, but I can take you to my father. He’s the pack leader.”

Lupin nodded and took two long strides to stand in front of the girl, holding out his hand. “Thank you…”

“Amaryllis,” she said, not shaking taking the outstretched hand. “You can call me Lis.”

She turned and began walking toward the trees and could hear the stranger following her. They didn’t say anything as they easily navigated the small bit of woods, but Remus was too engaged in the wilderness to hold a conversation anyway.

There was something about the forest that spoke to him—touched his inner wolf. It screamed home to him despite the fact that he had spent his entire life around humans. He yearned to run through the trees, human or beast, to explore, to hunt.

Part of it was exciting while another part was nauseating.

Eventually, the two emerged into another, much larger clearing. It was also much busier, people walking around and talking, a few fires burning with animals roasting over them.

Every one of them seemed to look up, the newcomer sparking their attention, but Remus did his best to ignore all of them, even though his skin prickled from the contact with so many others of his kind. It wasn’t anything he experienced during his school years or any of his many jobs. His eyes stayed fixed on Lis until she called for her father, and all fascination was lost, a cold sweat breaking out over Remus’ entire body when an all too familiar figure stood up and approached them.

If the lycan could have gotten any paler, he would have.

None other than Fenrir Greyback spoke to the girl who was dwarfed by his size. He was terrifying as ever, hairy with long, yellow nails and feral, black eyes. It took the beast no time to notice him, and when he grinned, Remus’ stomach dropped. He’d had no idea that he was walking right into Greyback’s pack.

“Remus Lupin,” he smiled, walking forward. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yes,” he faked a smile and a small laugh, knowing well that they still came off as nervous. “Last time was actually—“

“When I bit you!” Greyback laughed heartily and slapped Remus on the back, like it was some kind of fond memory of his while the grown man still woke up shaking from nightmares of the attack.

Just looking at the wolf man made Remus’ stomach churn. He briefly looked past him to see the girl who had led him here, Amaryllis, somehow surprised that she was perfectly calm. Everyone was. They obviously didn’t see Greyback as a monster at all. He was just one of them.

“So, tired of living the human life, are you?” Fenrir continued, crossing his large arms over his broad chest.

“Uh, yes. It’s getting pretty bad in the cities now that Voldemort’s back. I figured it would be a good time to lay low.” Greyback raised an eyebrow and Remus quickly continued. “And what better place to do that then among my own kind?” It hurt him just to say it. He knew well that Greyback was a Death Eater—could see the tattoo of the Dark Mark on his forearm as they spoke, and that meant that there were probably others within the pack.

Remus had a mission, though: infiltrate and change their minds. Convince them that they were more than just weapons in a war.

Fenrir grinned again, showing his blood stained teeth. “Right, well, what kind of sire would I be if I didn’t let you stay? Of course you’re welcome. I’ll introduce you to the pack during dinner.”

If the werewolf had any idea that Remus had ulterior motives, he wasn’t showing it.

“Of course, you’ve already met my daughter,” he motioned to Amaryllis, and Remus smiled at her again, though she only lifted an eyebrow and walked away.

Greyback put an arm around his shoulders and began walking. The weight of it made him want to throw up. “I’ll see if anyone has room in their cabins.”

“Cabins?”

“What, you don’t think we just sleep on the ground all month long, do you? You’ve got a lot to learn about wolf life, Remus. A lot to learn.”