His uncle Alphard had filled books with stories of the mischief he and Lyall Lupin got into during Hogwarts. But there had always been something about the way his uncle wrote about the other boy that made him wonder if friends were all they ever were. It had been weeks since Sirius Black had started trailing Remus Lupin. Not that he would call it that, no, he wasn’t following him. He was observing. Watching. Waiting. If he was honest with himself, he’d admit that the obsession started when he recognised his last name during the sorting ceremony in his first year.
At first, he kept his distance, making sure Remus only caught glimpses of him just enough to keep him wondering. A flicker of black hair in the corner of his eye. A presence hovering near the library doors. Footsteps that matched his own a little too perfectly in the quiet corridors during patrols. Sirius was careful. Subtle. He wanted to see how long it would take before Remus finally acknowledged it.
But Remus, stubborn as ever, had never.
Sirius knew it was driving him mad. He saw it in the way Remus' shoulders tensed when he entered a room. In the way his breath hitched ever so slightly when Sirius got too close. Most of all, he felt it in the way the omega reacted to his scent. How Remus' body betrayed him, heat flickering beneath his carefully constructed walls. And yet, he pretended not to notice.
That only made Sirius want to push further.
He’d always noticed Remus, of course. It was hard not to. Even tucked away in Hufflepuff’s shadows, hiding in the corners of the library, Remus stood out to him in a way that no one else did. Maybe it was the way he carried himself quiet but never weak, reserved but never blind to the things around him. Or maybe it was because, despite all the space Remus tried to put between himself and the rest of the world, Sirius had always felt like they were drawn to each other anyway.
Had spent nights picturing all the ways he and Remus would meld together, imagining Remus begging for him, for his knot, for his pups, for his bite.
Sirius had never been one for subtlety. He could have marched right up to Remus and said exactly what he wanted. He could have crowded him against a bookshelf and had his way with him. But no, Remus needed to come to him. Remus needed to realise that running wasn’t an option. That he was already his.
And finally, one night, fate handed him the perfect opportunity.
Remus had been wandering the halls alone, lost in thought, when he turned a corner and slammed straight into Sirius’ chest. For a moment, Remus froze, wide-eyed and startled.
"Black," he muttered, stepping back, but Sirius followed, closing the distance before he could slip away.
"You've been avoiding me," Sirius said, his voice low, deliberate. He could see the way Remus swallowed hard, his pulse jumping at his throat. "Why?"
Remus looked away, but Sirius didn’t let him escape.
"I'm not avoiding you," Remus whispered as if saying it quietly enough would make it true. "I'm just trying to get through the day."
"By pretending I don’t exist?" Sirius pressed, tilting his head. He dropped his voice even lower, letting it curl around the space between them. "What's going on with you, darling?"
He reached out, brushing back the curls that hid Remus’ face. The omega shivered under his touch but didn’t pull away, and Sirius knew that despite the fight Remus was putting up, despite the way he kept telling himself he could disappear into the background, his body wanted something else entirely.
"I don't know you," Remus finally said, shaking his head free. "Why are you following me?"
Sirius exhaled sharply, his voice softer now, expressing a mixture of amusement and frustration. "I'm not following you," he said, ”I’m trying to get to know you."
Remus' eyes flickered with something. Doubt, maybe. Hope. Sirius wasn’t sure. But when he said, "We've been in the same school for seven years, and you thought the best course of action was stalking me?" Sirius only smirked.
"Would you have noticed me otherwise?" he asked, reaching out again, his fingers just barely grazing Remus' arm. This time, he felt it, the warmth, the way Remus instinctively leaned in before catching himself.
"Look," Sirius murmured, his voice quieter now. "I know you think I'm an idiot. But you're not the only one who's been feeling this. I've always noticed you, but lately, I can’t stop thinking about you. And I want you to know I’m not going to hurt you."
Remus' breath stuttered, and Sirius saw the shift in him, the hesitation, the war between his instincts and his mind. He wanted to trust Sirius.
Sirius took a step closer, but this time, he was careful. No pressure. No pushing.
"I know you're pretending to be a beta," he said softly. "And I’m an alpha. That… complicates things, I know. But I can’t pretend I don’t want you." He hesitated, then admitted, "I’m trying to figure it out, too."
Remus stared at him, caught between disbelief and something Sirius couldn’t quite name.
"I don't know what to do," Remus confessed. "I thought I had convinced everyone of my designation."
Sirius finally gave him space, stepping back but not too far. "You have," he admitted. "I only know because I pay attention to you." His voice dropped into something almost reverent. "But it’s okay. We’ll figure it out."
Remus shook his head, looking away, the walls already rebuilding. "There is no 'we,'" he muttered.
But Sirius saw right through him. He saw the way Remus' fingers curled into fists like he was holding himself back. He saw the heat still lingering between them.
So Sirius just smiled, a slow, knowing thing. "Alright," he said, his voice a quiet promise. "If that’s what you want."
But they both knew this wasn’t over. Not even close.
No matter how hard he tried, Remus kept slipping away. Sirius had spent weeks pushing, nudging closer, watching for the moment when Remus would finally stop running. But every time he thought he’d closed the distance, Remus would withdraw, ducking out of sight, refusing to meet his gaze, pretending Sirius didn’t exist. It was infuriating.
And then there was Benjy Fenwick.
Sirius had noticed it immediately—the way Benjy hovered around Remus, always conveniently at his side. Always too close. Too familiar.
Sirius told himself it didn’t matter. That Remus could spend time with whoever he wanted. But then he’d catch Benjy touching him, just little things, a hand on Remus’ arm, a brush of fingers against his wrist and Sirius’ vision would go red.
The worst part? Remus let it happen. He let Benjy laugh with him, walk him to class, sit close enough in the library that their shoulders nearly touched. Remus, who had spent weeks avoiding Sirius as if his life depended on it, didn’t flinch when Benjy leaned in, didn’t tense at his touch. He had been patient with the omega and this was his reward.
It burned.
Sirius watched, simmering. The frustration coiled tight in his chest, bleeding into something darker. He wasn’t a patient person. He had never been. And watching Remus give his attention, his time, to someone else, to another alpha made something inside Sirius snap.
So, when he saw Remus leaving the library that evening, Sirius didn’t hesitate. He moved before he could think better of it, before he could remind himself that Remus had been avoiding him for a reason.
A flick of his wrist, a quick step forward, and his fingers closed around Remus’ wrist, dragging him into the shadows of an abandoned corridor.
Remus gasped, panic sparking in his wide, golden eyes as he twisted in Sirius’ grip. "Si-Sirius, please, le-let go," he stammered, his voice shaking. Merlin, he was gorgeous like this.
But Sirius didn’t let go. He tightened his hold, keeping Remus right where he wanted him. He wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. He didn’t care.
"Where do you think you're going?" His voice came out lower than he intended, rough with the anger he’d been swallowing for weeks.
Remus flinched, trying to pull away, but Sirius didn’t let him. His heart was hammering, his breath uneven as he stepped in closer, his body a solid, immovable force between Remus and any possible escape.
"I’ve been indulgent," Sirius growled, his fingers flexing against Remus’ skin. "I’ve been giving you space, waiting, letting you pretend like you don’t feel this." His breath ghosted over Remus’ face, warm, searing. "But I’m done waiting."
Remus’ back hit the cold stone wall, and Sirius felt the shudder roll through him, the way his chest rose and fell too fast. He was scared and it had blood rushing to fill his cock. It was revolting. Sirius knew that. But he couldn’t help how his body reacted when he could hear the frantic rhythm of his omega’s pulse, see the way his hands trembled. And yet, despite it all, he didn’t push Sirius away.
"Why are you avoiding me, Remus?" Sirius asked, softer now, but no less intense. He was close enough to feel the heat radiating off Remus’ skin, close enough that every shaky breath the omega took was caressing his neck.
"I’m not," Remus whispered, but the lie was weak.
Sirius scoffed. "Then why is it so easy for you to be with him?" His teeth clenched around the name. "Benjy Fenwick. Why can he touch you? Why does he get to be near you when I can’t?" Why can he act like he’s your alpha?
Remus inhaled sharply, the sound fragile. He looked away, refusing to meet Sirius’ eyes, and that only made the frustration in Sirius twist deeper, hotter.
"I… I don’t know what you want from me," Remus said, pressing himself harder against the wall like he could disappear into it like it could save him from Sirius’ unrelenting presence.
Sirius growled, the sound vibrating in his chest. "You’re mine, Remus," he snapped. The words tore from his throat before he could stop them, raw and possessive. "Not his. You don’t get to act like you can walk away from this." From me, he thought.
Remus sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes snapping back to Sirius, wide with something Sirius couldn’t quite name. Fear. Shock. Maybe something else, something Sirius didn’t dare hope for.
"You don’t mean that," Remus whispered, his voice barely audible.
Sirius did. He did, and he hated how much.
He moved before he could think better of it, his hands framing Remus’ face, tilting it up, forcing Remus to look at him. His fingers trembled against Remus’ skin, not from hesitation but from restraint. It would be too easy for him to claim him, but he couldn’t do that to the other boy, no matter how much he longed for it.
"You don’t get to keep avoiding me," Sirius murmured, his voice low, ragged. "I’m not some fool you can just walk away from, Remus. I want you." He leaned in, his breath brushing against Remus’ cheek. "And I’ll have you."
Remus shuddered beneath him, every muscle in his body wound tight, his breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps.
Sirius could smell it, the fear, yes, but something else beneath it. Something warm. Something wanting.
"I-" Remus’ voice caught, his throat working around words that wouldn’t come. "I can’t."
Sirius hesitated. For just a second, the mask of control cracked. He swallowed hard, fingers twitching against Remus’ jaw. He could push. He could demand. But something in Remus’ voice stopped him.
His grip eased, just slightly, his forehead nearly brushing against Remus’ as he exhaled. "Doesn’t matter," he whispered, the words slipping out like a promise, like a threat. "You don’t get to run anymore, Remus. Not when I’m this close. I won’t let you."
Remus trembled beneath him, and Sirius felt it, the way he wasn’t sure whether to run or stay. Whether to fight or give in.
And Sirius? Sirius wasn’t going to let him make that choice alone.
Remus was trembling beneath him. Sirius could feel every small, shuddering breath, the barely restrained quiver in his limbs. But he wasn’t moving away. Not really. He could have fought harder, could have screamed for someone to help, but he didn’t. Instead, he stood there, caged between Sirius and the cold stone wall, looking up at him with wide, uncertain eyes.
"I don't want this," Remus whispered, his voice breaking. But Sirius didn’t believe him. He couldn’t. The omega had to be lying.
Sirius hovered close, breathing him in, pressing just enough so that Remus could feel the weight of him. His pulse thrummed against Sirius' fingertips, rapid and unsteady, betraying him more than his words ever could.
"You don’t want this?" Sirius echoed, his voice quiet, dangerous. His thumb brushed over Remus’ cheek, and the way Remus flinched sent something sharp and possessive curling in Sirius’ chest. "You’ve been running from me for weeks. Avoiding me. But I see you, Remus." His voice dropped lower, almost a growl. "You think I don’t notice the way you react? The way you shake when I get too close?"
Remus squeezed his eyes shut like it would make Sirius disappear, but Sirius wasn’t going anywhere. Not now. Not when he’d finally cornered him, finally had him where he couldn’t slip away.
"You think you can hide from me?" Sirius’ grip tightened not enough to hurt, but enough to make his point. "That you can run to Fenwick and pretend I don’t exist?" He leaned in, lips a breath away from Remus’ ear, voice dripping with frustration, with something darker. "I’ve watched you with him, you know. I’ve seen how he looks at you. Like he thinks he has a chance." He let out a humourless chuckle. "He doesn’t know you like I do, Remus. He doesn’t get to have you."
Remus' breath hitched, and Sirius felt the way his body tensed, the way he tried to sink further into the wall like he could will himself out of this moment. But he couldn’t.
"I'm not yours, Sirius," Remus breathed, his voice barely steady, yet defiant. "You can't make me feel something I don't."
Sirius' jaw clenched. It was a lie. It had to be. Everyone attracted to alphas felt something for him.
"You're mine," he bit out, the words leaving no room for argument. "You don’t get to decide. I decide."
Remus shook his head, eyes desperate, but Sirius didn’t let him pull away. Instead, he closed the last bit of distance, pressing against him fully, letting him feel everything Sirius had been holding back. The heat, the tension, the erection that was heavy between his legs, the thing between them that Remus kept pretending didn’t exist.
Sirius could hear Remus’ breath coming in short, panicked gasps. Could see the way his hands twitched at his sides, like he didn’t know whether to push him away or pull him closer.
"Don’t make me show you, Remus," Sirius whispered, voice rough, aching with need. "Don’t make me prove to you how much you belong to me."
Remus’ throat bobbed, his pulse fluttering against Sirius’ fingers where they still rested against his jaw.
"Please," he whispered, and Sirius stilled at the sound of it. It wasn’t just fear. It was something else, something Sirius couldn't place, something tangled and messy and real.
For a long moment, the air between them was thick, crackling with everything unspoken, everything Sirius wanted, needed to claim.
Then, slowly, painfully, he loosened his grip.
"You’ll come to me," Sirius murmured the words, a quiet promise. "Whether you want to or not, you will."
He could see the uncertainty flicker in Remus’ gaze, the way he was struggling, caught between fear and something he refused to name.
Sirius stepped back, just enough to let him breathe, but not enough to give him space. He turned, walking away, but he didn’t have to look back to know.
He spent the rest of the night working himself raw to the day’s events.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.
Sirius had never been one to wait.
Not really. Not when it came to things he wanted. And Remus was something he wanted more than anything. He could feel it like an ache beneath his skin, a gnawing, restless hunger that only grew the more Remus tried to run from him.
Because that’s exactly what he was doing. Running.
Sirius saw it in the way he lingered in the library, how he suddenly found excuses to spend time in the greenhouses, how he slipped away before curfew when he thought no one was watching. But Sirius was always watching. He saw the way Remus tensed whenever he entered the room, how his scent would spike with nerves before he could smother it down.
And Sirius wasn’t stupid.
He knew what Remus was. What they were.
He knew the way Remus' body responded when they were close, no matter how much he tried to deny it.
So when Sirius caught the familiar scent of him drifting down the corridor one evening—sharp and sweet, laced with something anxious he followed.
He didn’t have to rush.
Remus would come to him eventually.
He always did in his dreams.
Sirius waited until the shadows stretched long across the stone floors before stepping into view, letting the dim torchlight catch his smirk. Remus froze like a startled deer, the barest shiver rippling down his spine as his body locked in place.
"Running again?" Sirius drawled, voice low, taunting.
Remus' lips parted, but he hesitated before answering. He was caught now, and he knew it.
"I wasn’t running," he said, too stiff, too forced. "I just have things to do."
Sirius hummed, pushing off the wall, tilting his head as he stalked forward. Slowly. Deliberately.
"Is that so?"
Remus backed up a step, then another, but the corridor behind him was empty. No escape.
"You’ve been sidestepping me," Sirius continued, gaze heavy as he took another step closer, then another. "Do you think I wouldn’t notice? That I wouldn’t follow?"
Remus swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. Oh, how he wished he was swallowing something else. Sirius could hear his heartbeat, wild and uneven, a frantic rhythm beneath the surface.
"I’m not avoiding you," Remus whispered, but the way his fingers clenched at his sides, the way his scent spiked, betrayed him.
Sirius smirked.
"Liar."
Remus flinched as Sirius reached for him, but he didn’t pull away fast enough. Sirius' fingers curled around his jaw, tilting his chin up, forcing him to look, really look, at him. His thumb brushed over the sharp angle of Remus’ cheekbone, and he felt it then, the way Remus trembled under his touch.
"You don’t get to run from me," Sirius murmured, his voice dipping into something darker, something thick with certainty. "Not anymore."
Remus' breath hitched. Sirius felt it, felt the way his pulse stuttered beneath his fingertips, felt the shudder that rolled through him. It was almost erotic.
"Please," Remus gasped, barely more than a breath, his voice cracking on the word. "Don’t… don’t do this."
But Sirius wasn’t listening. Not when Remus smelled like this, like something intoxicating, something meant to be his.
He leaned in, pressing close, until his lips brushed the sensitive skin of Remus’ throat, just above his mating gland. He could feel the way Remus shuddered against him, the way his body locked up, caught between instinct and fear.
Sirius inhaled, slow and deep, letting the scent of him fill his lungs, and something in his chest tightened.
"You don’t get to hide from me," he whispered, voice rough with something almost desperate. "Not when you smell so fucking good. Not when every part of me wants to mark you, to claim you, to make sure no one else ever—"
Sirius exhaled sharply, cutting himself off before he lost the last shred of control he was holding onto. Thoughts of Remus heavy with his child, of Remus with his claim displayed proudly on his neck, made his gums hurt. It would be so easy to just bite him now and tie them together forever. He leaned into the omega’s neck, his mouth open and-
Remus whimpered. He actually whimpered, and it sent something raw and electric down Sirius’ spine. It was addicting.
He bared his teeth against Remus' throat, just enough for him to feel the scrape of canines against sensitive skin. Just enough to remind him what Sirius had contemplated doing, on what he could do if he wanted to.
And oh, he wanted to.
"You're mine," Sirius whispered, the words burning with the weight of an unshakable truth. "You don’t have a choice in this, Remus. You never did."
Remus sucked in a ragged breath, and for a moment, Sirius thought he might break. Thought he might finally let himself give in.
But then, hesitation.
A flicker of something in those wide, terrified eyes. A plea.
Sirius swallowed, his jaw tightening, something sharp twisting in his chest.
With a shaky breath, he pulled back. Just barely.
Not far enough for Remus to escape. Not far enough to let him think he’d won.
"You’ll come to me," Sirius murmured, his voice quieter now, rough around the edges. "It’s just a matter of whether you’ll come willingly."
His fingers lingered against Remus' cheek, thumb dragging over soft skin, memorizing the way he felt. The way he fit so perfectly beneath his touch.
"You don’t have to be afraid of me," Sirius murmured, voice softer, though he knew it sounded more like a warning than reassurance. "Not unless you keep pushing me away."
Remus just stood there, silent, trembling, his eyes still too wide, his lips parted like he wanted to say something but he didn’t.
And Sirius smirked because he knew that what he felt couldn’t possibly be unrequited.
He left the omega alone for a while but Sirius had never been good at staying away.
He’d tried. Really, he had. He'd given Remus space, let him slip away into the quiet of the countryside, let him believe that distance would change anything between them.
It hadn’t.
Because even miles away, Sirius could still feel him. Could still smell him in the worn fabric of his sheets, could still hear the way his breath hitched when Sirius got too close. Had worked himself raw to those memories and felt guilt for letting his cum go to waste instead of inside his omega.
He could still taste the sharp, lingering ache of rejection.
That was something he had never been good at; accepting rejection.
So he followed. It had been easy to cast a tracking spell on Remus during the term. He hated not knowing his every move, and his map was restricted to the Hogwarts grounds. With a flick of his wand, he was gone.
The apparition cracked through the stillness of the house like thunder, the warm scent of burning wood and tea curling through the air. For a moment, all was silent. Then, slowly, carefully, he stepped forward.
The house was small. Cozy. Fitting, in a way. The kind of place Sirius had never belonged in, never known. But it smelled like Remus.
And that meant it was home. He hoped Grimmauld would smell like it one day.
He heard the creak of floorboards before he saw him.
Remus.
He stood just beyond the doorway, half-hidden in shadow, his body rigid with tension. His scent, something woodsy and warm beneath the sharp tang of alarm, hit Sirius like a wave. He could drown in this scent, but then he realized that the base note was fear. He’d startled him.
Good.
At least he still got a reaction.
"You're here." Remus' voice was barely a whisper, but the accusation in it was clear. His eyes were wide, wary, like an animal backed into a corner.
Sirius held his gaze, stepping forward until he was just inside the threshold. "I followed you," he admitted, voice rough, edged with something raw. "I couldn’t stay away. I've tried, but I can’t."
Remus stared at him, frozen.
Sirius took another step, watching the way Remus flinched but didn't run.
"You shouldn't be here," Remus said, but his voice wavered, uncertain. "This is my home."
"I know," Sirius murmured. "And I know I shouldn’t have come. But I had to. I can't let you push me away anymore."
He saw the way Remus’ throat bobbed as he swallowed, the way his hands curled into fists at his sides as if trying to ground himself.
And yet, he hadn’t told Sirius to leave.
Hadn’t slammed the door in his face.
Sirius took another step.
Remus took one back.
Sirius grinned.
"You're frightening me," Remus whispered. But there was something in his voice that didn’t quite match the words.
Sirius tilted his head, eyes dark. "Am I?"
Remus’ breathing was shallow, his chest rising and falling too fast, his pulse pounding at his throat.
Sirius could smell it, his hesitation, his fear, but beneath it… something else.
Something almost like arousal.
Sirius reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair from Remus’ face, watching the way he shivered under his touch. He leaned in, his breath ghosting over Remus' cheek.
"I don't care if I am," Sirius murmured. "I can’t stop wanting you. I won’t."
Remus’ lips parted, a sharp inhale, but no words came.
Because he wanted this.
Sirius could feel it in the way he didn’t move away, in the way his scent shifted, betraying him.
"Let me in," Sirius whispered. "Let me stay."
For a long moment, Remus just stood there, trembling, caught between fear and something deeper.
Sirius could feel the moment he stopped fighting.
And he knew, this time, Remus wasn’t going to run.
He knew he was impulsive and reckless, he always had been. But this was different. This was something that had been gnawing at him for so long that he felt like he might go mad from the wanting of it. From needing it.
Remus was standing before him, his body rigid, his breath uneven, his robe coming undone to show the slightest sliver of sexy tan skin. Sirius could see it in his eyes—the fear, the hesitation. The war between instinct and resistance. It sent a thrill through him, dark and deep, knowing how close Remus was to surrendering, how easily he could tip him over the edge. He could feel himself hardening, and he resisted the urge to push Remus against the counter and rut against him like some common alpha.
His hand lingered just below Remus’ jaw, his thumb brushing over the soft skin of his throat. He could feel the rapid pulse beneath his fingertips, the delicate tremble of an omega caught in the space between fight and flight. Sirius exhaled, his voice rough as he said, "I know you're scared. But you don’t have to be. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you to stop running. Let me in."
Remus shook his head, his lips parting as if to protest, but the words never came. Sirius could see the conflict in him, the way his body betrayed him despite the fear in his eyes. It was intoxicating.
Sirius stepped closer, close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from Remus, close enough that their breaths mingled in the space between them. "I've wanted this for so long," Sirius murmured, voice laced with something raw and desperate. "I can't keep pretending that I don't."
He reached out without thinking, hands cradling Remus’ face as he gently, insistently, pulled him in. Remus gasped, instinctively recoiling, but Sirius didn’t let go. His grip tightened just enough to keep him there, to remind him of what was happening, of what had always been there between them.
A low growl rumbled in Sirius’ chest, and he felt the way Remus shuddered at the sound. He wasn’t threatening him, no, this was something else. A promise. A claim. An unspoken truth that had existed between them for far too long.
"Sirius, please," Remus whispered, his voice shaking. His fingers curled into the fabric of Sirius' shirt, as though he couldn’t decide whether to pull him closer or push him away. "I don’t want this. I don’t want you."
Sirius' breath hitched, but he didn’t back away. It couldn’t be. His grip softened, but his resolve didn’t waver. "But I want you," he said, his voice low, insistent. "And you can learn to want me back with time. I've always wanted you. But you keep pushing me away, and I don't know how much longer I can take it."
His lips brushed against Remus’ neck, lingering over the sensitive skin there. Close to the spot where a mating bond would take root. He felt the way Remus’ body reacted, the way his pulse betrayed him, the way his breath stuttered in his throat.
He wanted to hear Remus say it. Wanted to hear him admit what they both knew was inevitable. But he didn’t. Instead, he trembled, whispering, "I can't be what you want. I'm not like other omegas. I'm different. I can't handle it."
Sirius closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling the scent of him, feeling the way Remus’ presence pulled at something deep inside him, something he couldn’t ignore. "You don’t have to be like anyone else. You’re not like anyone else, Remus," he murmured. "I just want you to see that I'm here. I'm not leaving. I've never wanted anything more than I want you."
And then, before he could stop himself before he could think about the consequences, he leaned in and let his lips press against the tender skin of Remus' neck. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was a claim. A mark.
Sirius felt the sharp edge of his canines graze the skin there, felt the way Remus’ entire body went still, caught between terror and anticipation. His mind screamed at him to stop, to pull away before he did something irreversible. But the pull was too strong. The need was too much.
His fangs sank in.
Remus froze. For a moment, there was silence, nothing but the sound of their breathing and the crackling of the fire in the distance. Then Sirius felt the bond flare to life between them, settle into his bones like something that had always been meant to be there.
He didn’t pull away immediately. He held Remus there, feeling the way the tension in his body wavered, feeling the way he fought against the instinct that clawed at him from within.
"Sirius," Remus gasped, his hands twisting in Sirius’ clothes. His body trembled against him, caught in something he couldn’t escape. "Please… stop. I don’t…"
Sirius finally pulled back, his breath unsteady, his chest heaving as he looked at Remus. He could see the shock in his eyes, the way his fingers hesitantly brushed over the fresh bite on his neck.
A mark. A claim.
His mark.
Something inside Sirius settled, even as guilt threatened to claw its way into his chest. He hadn’t meant for it to happen like this. He hadn’t meant to lose control. But now it was done.
"I didn’t mean to hurt you," he said, his voice rough, raw. "I just couldn’t stop myself."
Remus swallowed hard, his breath uneven, his body trembling from the weight of what had just happened. He looked at Sirius, his expression unreadable, but there was something there that Sirius couldn’t quite place.
A line had been crossed. An unspoken truth had been made real. And there was no going back now.