Skyler decided, as she sat against his legs and he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, that she could stay there forever. Where she could be with him that way, and not have to worry about all the things that came with being Skyler Riddle and Draco Malfoy. None of that had a place in her blissful bubble that existed only when in his arms though, so she forcibly pushed those thought aside and simply basked in his affections, mind flowing with thoughts of their day and time spent in the forest.

This was all so different, and yet all so the same. The love she felt for him was still the same. It was total. It was complete. It was real. But it had changed. It was stronger now. More sure. And seemed to grow with every moment spent with the blonde. The sex had always been..well..mind blowing. But it was never just sex. There was never anything casual about it. It was just as passionate and amazing love making as it always was. But there were subtle changes in its dynamics. The way they gave into each other, moved together..it was like he could read her mind and vice versa. One thing was for sure. The wolf thing was different.

But it didn't bother the brunette at all. As she smiled against his neck at his words about how he couldn't say no to her, Sky was sure it was only fitting. Seeing as she couldn't say no to him either. More so now than ever, thanks to his wolf. The Slytherin grinned, eyes still closed. Personally, she didn't think he needed the wolf to end up dominating her so thoroughly, but the howling was a nice new touch to things. The teen found she quite liked it. And said as much too. "I like your howl. You know, when it's not angry.." The brunette trailed off, remembering just how they had ended up on the forest floor for the second time that day. It was a rather random thing to say at the moment, but she couldn't help it. She really did find it rather cute.

By this time, the blonde had them cleaned up and fully clothed again, which had her groaning softly. It was highly unfortunate, since she preferred him so much without a shirt. She was more than completely sexually sated, but Sky so did enjoy appreciating Draco's incredible form. But even with a shirt, his hard and strong body was just as inviting and she had no problems with simply leaning against him and letting him hold her as his hands rubbed her back, eliciting a contented purr from the brunette.

His words about pretending and the Ball and Harry and Leyton..they all just burst her lovely little bubble of nothing but him and her. Why did he have to go and mention such things then? Right. Because she didn't want to leave the forest or the shelter of his strong arms because of it all. But not really. Skyler didn't want to leave because she didn't know when she'd get to be in them again. And the Ball already seemed ages away to her already. Not that she was in any hurry to break things off with Harry and risk him hating her, but she didn't think she could go so long without the touch of her Alpha, especially when he spoke with such a pained tone that she knew it would be hard for him to go through with this as well.

He was right though, and she knew it. They couldn't risk it so close to their visit from her uncle, but she didn't like it either. The teen opened her eyes when he pulled her back, staring back into his grey gaze as he fingered the dragon pendant he had given her. That she never took off. Skyler covered his hand with one of her own and smiled softly at him. "Always, Alpha." She murmured to him, melting into the heartwarming slow and soft kiss he gave. It was always amazing to the teen how soft and gentle the blonde could be at times, but one would never hear her complaining about it. A rough demanding kiss was something she would always need, but there was definitely something to be said for these sweet, soft ones he also lavished on her.

Skyler couldn't help but laugh lightly when he said he didn't want to get attacked by anything else so they needed to get back before the sun set. The teen grinned in amusement at him. "Yea, we definitely don't want to get attacked, because Merlin forbid you use that wolf for anything other than dominating me." Her grin turned cheeky, eyes sparking with amusement and mischief as she teased him lightly. All playfulness came to a halt though when he mentioned a subject she would rather not talk about. However, the brunette was sure it probably should be dealt with.."I know, which is why I don't hold it against you Drake. You had better just tell me about things like being scared shitless about my uncle before doing anything so drastic again. Even if you do like it so much how Leyton makes you lose control."

The teen ended with bitterness, clearly disgruntled by the fact that the blonde she so loved got pleasure from someone else. She wrinkled her nose at him. It was obvious the brunette was jealous, and she was sure with good reason. Neither boy was ever quiet and Sky had heard enough pleasured screaming around the Snake Pit to last a lifetime. She really couldn't help it. She didn't want anyone to make Draco lose control but herself.

Draco smiled a genuinely happy smile when his girl said she liked his howl. That was what Sky was, after all. She might be Potter’s girlfriend for the time being, but she was his girl, and no one could claim otherwise and not be lying. In reality they belonged to each other and always would, and if that made them ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ in some way, Draco didn’t give a damn. No one could tell him how to live anymore, and no one could ever tell him who to give his heart to.

Just knowing how good it felt to simply be near her made the blonde very aware of how hard he’d fallen for her, and in his heart he knew he’d never have another who he truly loved. This was the girl for him. For life. Some would say they were too young for such thoughts, but the wolf inside just made him more sure that this was a fact. His fail snake was the only person he would ever give himself completely to, and she was the only one he would ever want to spend forever with.

Draco let himself fall back to the forest floor then, resting his back while still keeping his knees up so Sky could lounge back on them. This way, he could look up at her beautiful face and keep staring into those vivid eyes that he loved so much. That enticing gaze haunted him in his sleep, and Draco was happy to be able to say he had the owner of those beautiful eyes back in his life where she belonged: as his alpha female. His mate. His partner.

Of course, he’d be pulled out of this happy place by thoughts of the one person he had no desire to think about, but he’d mentioned the boy, so it seemed only fair that she’d prod at the subject of him. Draco sighed and rested his hands on her thighs, trying to think of the best way to breach the subject. The truth was that they needed to have this conversation at some point. The blonde owed the girl an explanation of his actions, even if she wouldn’t demand it of him. He knew this, and yet it was so bloody difficult.

”Yeah, I guess you’re right. I did enjoy the loss of control, but… Baby, I’m pretty sure you could take away my control just as easily. Look what you just did to me. You dominated me. You put me in my place. That’s what I need. Maybe Leyton meant something to me, but nothing like you do. He…” Draco swallowed thickly and looked away before focusing on her gaze again, his silver orbs full of mixed emotions. ”He was pretty much the only family member I had that treated me like an actual person. When we were kids I mean… we had fun. And my mum always wanted some princess daughter she could dress in fancy gowns and parade about to luncheons and such, so all she did was force me into dress robes and out to meet her lady friends with pureblood daughters.”

That was the closest thing to love any of the adults in his family had showed him, but Draco didn’t say that. ”Lucius was always trying to make me stronger for my ‘purpose’ in life. I was never good enough for him. I never was allowed to be any sort of a kid…” He shook his head and swallowed rather thickly. ”When Leyton came around, that all disappeared. He was being groomed just the same for the Death Eater bullshit, so we didn’t even have to say what was bothering us. We just avoided those topics and talked about stuff like quidditch and Hogwarts. Our dreams. He… He was my best friend. And then he disappeared. And it killed me.”

Draco could feel tears trying to fall, but he fought them back. No. He would not cry over that idiot! Leyton had hurt him so many times it wasn’t even funny to think about. He wouldn’t give the older Slytherin the satisfaction of making him cry. ”Maybe I thought that if I showed him that I cared about him, if I gave him what he wanted, then maybe we could have what we once did. But that didn’t happen. It didn’t work. He’s changed so much, and I don’t love him. Not like that at least. I miss the boy that he was, and I loved him like he was my damn brother, but… you are my world, baby. And you would never do the things he’s done to me. You would never leave me, even when you probably should have. You have been the one constant through everything, and you have loved me for everything I’ve ever been. That’s… that’s more than I could ever really ask for. More than I’ll ever deserve, but I’m never, ever giving it up.”

Skyler found herself leaning back against Draco's knees and gazing down into the one pair of eyes she never wanted to look away from or ever be without. Every emotion that flitted through his grey gaze was crystal clear to her, so open was he being. That alone stole her breath in a way that nothing else ever had. The simple action of the blonde being so completely honest and open with her had the brunette feeling her heart caught in her throat. It wasn't that she was surprised by it. On the contrary, it was one thing that the teen had come to expect of him, because she couldn't remember a moment since they had met that he hadn't been honest with her, present subject aside.

No, it wasn't shock, or surprise at his honesty that had her breath hitch and heart skipping it's normal beats. It was the way his honesty made her feel like some incredible gift had been bestowed upon her. Sky knew enough about Draco to know he had never completely opened up to anyone. Had never trusted anyone so much as to show his true self and feelings as much as he did with her. To be faced with the amount of trust he placed in her had the brunette completely floored, even as his words filled her with a myriad of emotions that played in her own violet gaze as she watched his face, hanging on his every word with bated breath.

Her hands easily laid themselves atop of his, which were placed on her thighs, and the brunette rubbed the top of his hands soothingly with her thumbs in her unconscious and silent show of support as conflicting emotions burned through her. While it pleased her to hear that she could provide him with that same loss of control she herself craved, the teen knew there would always be a part of her that would be jealous of the fact that he had sought that with someone else before her. At that point, it didn't matter so much who it had been. It was the fact that it was someone that wasn't her. But she wasn't going to harp on that, especially when she knew without a doubt that any future losses of control would be with her. And her alone.

As he continued speaking, Sky could clearly hear the thickness of his voice, and see the glossy sheen to his silver eyes that was the tell tale sign of how close he was to tears. And still, every word had her mind and eyes swirling with conflicting emotions, even as she continued to stare into his own grey ones, not willing to look away. On the one hand there was a pain that made her heart ache for him at the obvious lack of love and affection he had had. At the same time, that very same fact had a slow burning rage building up inside her. To the brunette, it was just unfathomable that anyone could neglect a child so. The fact that it had been her Draco that had been treated as such only further fueled the rage burning inside her to the point Sky wanted nothing more than to make those who had hurt her Alpha pay twice over.

As that was going on, a sudden sense of thankfulness towards Leyton appeared, which might have seemed odd, but what else could she feel? When he was the one person in the blonde's childhood who had treated him with any kind of care and love? And yet, at the very same time a borderline hatred reared it's ugly head for the same boy as Draco revealed Leyton had just disappeared on him and turned his back on him. By this time, Skyler had taken ahold of the older boy's hands, entwining their fingers together, but continued to stroke the tops of his hands with her thumbs all the same. At that point, the contact was just as much for her as it was for him, because he was expressing just how much she meant to him, and once again, he stole her breath.

Skyler seemed to teeter on some precipice for a moment, caught between wanting to be the child she really was and the woman she was growing to be. It occurred to the teen that such serious and heavy moments belonged not between a pair of teenagers, but a pair of adults. The brunette was steadily facing more and more of these kinds of moments in her life, and there were times when she simply wanted to run from them and just be the kid she was inside. Merlin, how she wanted to just take him away and just be free of everything together. At the same time, running was not an option for either of them, and as the world continued to spin on its axis and throw the impossible situations they faced at them, not growing up to deal with them was not an option. The world had decided that they weren't children anymore, and if nothing else, Skyler would fight and defend at Draco's side through anything. So whether or not anyone believed they were old enough to having such conversations, or feeling such ways, it didn't matter. The brunette knew exactly how she felt, and who she felt it for. And for once in her life, she knew exactly where she belonged.

The Slytherin took a few moments to ground herself, and to try to find the words to express what she wanted to convey to the blonde she sat atop of. Her gaze never looked away from his as she considered what exactly she wanted to say. "I want to say that I hate your family," she started out softly and slowly, for once trying to be careful to not say the wrong thing before she could get her point across, "and partly, I do. It may be childish, but I could never feel much more for anyone who treated you with such disregard. Who didn't cherish you like you should have been, and the way that I do."

The teen paused, taking a breath to steady herself and her words as they flowed freely now as the girl managed to turn her emotions and thoughts into coherent words and complete sentences. "But I also pity them. Because they never got to see or know the boy I have seen and known. Nor have they been there to see you become the incredible man I've seen you become. As strong as anyone was trying to force you to be Drake, you're stronger than that just for being you and not everything they were trying to force you to be. As little as they made you feel, you're ten times the person any of them will ever be. And no matter how much anyone says you're not good enough, I'm telling you now that you have always been more than good enough, and that you deserve everything good and special life can offer."

Skyler's voice was a soft tone of earnestness, each word she spoke ringing with absolute conviction because she believed them so much herself. The teen was determined to undo all the pain and damage the people who should have cared for and loved him before her had done, starting with making him see her through her eyes. "You're the strongest person I know Drake, and the greatest man in my life. For so many reasons I can't even begin to list them all. You stand up for what you believe, and you fight for what you love. That alone would make any real father proud Drake, and I'm sorry that yours doesn't realize just how lucky he is to have the perfect son you are. But for what it's worth, I am proud of you. I always have been, and I always will be."

The brunette continued to stare steadily into his eyes, her gaze full of the complete love, devotion, and fierce pride she honestly did feel towards him. Her words never faltered, and even as her eyes blazed with emotions, her tone remained a soft caress of voice as she tried to convey just how amazing he really was. "Drake you..you're so much more than I could ever describe. You pull through and persevere when others would give up. You're loyal, and considerate, when you want to be. You can command a room just by walking into it. You're confident, and proud, and you're not afraid to say what you think without sugarcoating it. Your strength shows in everything you do and say, and if that isn't enough to convince you of how wrong everyone else was about you, then your wolf should be. Not just anyone can be an alpha. And I can guarantee not just anyone could be my Alpha."

She continued to gaze into his eyes for moment, but with the knowledge that it was now her turn to give him an explanation she owed, she couldn't meet his eyes, and her gaze fell to his chest in an ashamed manner. "You're wrong about how I would never leave you, because I did." Skyler admitted, voice full of shame at herself and self loathing for hurting him. The brunette knew she owed him an explanation, but she wasn't looking forward to speaking the words out loud now that the puzzle pieces had finally come together for her. She took a deep breath, and brought her eyes back to his. She wouldn't do him the injustice of not meeting his gaze for this. "And I would say I would regret it, but I don't, and I won't lie to you."

Skyler took another steadying breath, willing herself to get it out before she lost her grip on it. "I never wanted to hurt you Drake, and you'll never know how much it killed me, those few days where you wouldn't so much as look at me. But I deserved that for what I did to you. You'll never convince me otherwise. You had asked for a second chance, and I left you when you needed me the most. I am the one undeserving here Drake, not you. You will always be more than I ever deserve." Her honest voice cracked as her throat constricted with emotion, and she swallowed thickly, fighting back the tears pricking at her eyes. "I didn't do it because I didn't love you Draco. You have to know..the love I feel for you runs deeper than any ocean or river. I did it because I do love Harry. And I had to..I had to find out.."

Skyler trailed off, voice breaking again. Merlin, she was a terrible person. "I had to know what it was I felt for him. I couldn't push my feelings for him aside and not explore them, and even it's wrong of me to say, I'm glad I didn't. Because now I know exactly what I feel for him, and exactly what I feel for you. And I know I've made a mess of everything figuring it out, and I can't apologize enough for that. But it won't change the fact that I'm glad I did what I did, because now I know..I know for sure.."

The teen trailed off slightly, taking a moment to take a breath, willing herself to push through it, no matter how hard it was, or how terrible it made her feel, or how revoltingly corny it all sounded in her head. "I do love Harry. He is and always be special and dear to me. And I will always love him. But what I found was that whatever I feel for him, at any given time, will always pale significantly to what I feel for you Drake. There isn't any comparison for it, because they don't even come close to matching. And as terrible as it  is for me to say this, as horrible of a person I am to admit it, I have to. Because you deserve to know Alpha..."

Skyler paused again, looking directly into his silver eyes. "You're the one I can't live without. I could live without him. I could go on in life, and function, and continue to be, without Harry. It would hurt, but I could do it. But I couldn't do that without you. You are my reason for being. Without you, there is no me. No one else comes before you. Not even before today." Admitting this made her feel wretched. Not because she didn't want to be so completely in love with Draco, but because she had turned him away only to make things worse by discovering what she had already knew to be true. Sky had made a huge mess with all of this, and she had no one to blame but herself. She didn't deserve either male for what she was putting them through, even if Harry was oblivious to it and Draco willing to suffer through it.

When she said she wanted to hate his family, he understood. He wanted to hate his family, and yet he couldn’t, but he didn’t pity them. No, it wasn’t like he saw things the way his little fail snake did. Draco didn’t see his own worth most of the time, especially when it came to the way his father told him he was worthless. It was so hard for Draco to ever see anything more than what he was fed his whole life: That he wasn’t good enough, that he’d never be good enough. He wasn’t what was wanted or what was needed and so he had no worth at all.

The thing was, he did see himself with some sort of worth now. It was because of the stunning witch before him that he saw that spark of something worthwhile, and it seemed like she had no idea just how much she’d given him. Just hearing those words from her, knowing that she thought something of him, so much more than anyone else ever had… It made him so happy he couldn’t even describe it with words. It was a reason for the blonde to exist. To make her happy, and to fill those violet eyes with that pride that she spoke of. He could see the emotions dancing there before him as his silver orbs stared into hers so full of love.

Sky told him such wonderful things, and made him feel so strong. She was his, willingly and always. That was all that mattered to Draco, and he smiled happily at her until she spoke about her leaving him. His smile immediately faltered, and the blonde tried to stop her from speaking, only to fail and fall silent. ”Fail snake, you…” His attempt didn’t make any sort of dent in the tirade she was on against herself, so he simply listened, hearing all she had to say and feeling himself swell with pride even as she seemed to beat herself up.

She’d never meant to hurt him, she’d never stopped loving him. That was what he’d wanted, no needed to hear. And really, he understood what she’d done. He could fully understand how she felt and why she’d needed to figure out exactly what her feelings were for the two boys she cared about. Hadn’t he done basically the same thing with Leyton? He thought so, but it didn’t seem likely that the fail snake would see things the same way. He wasn’t exactly sure how he could convince her that it wasn’t only her who had things to apologize for, but soon she was speaking of Potter more and he was having some issues keeping himself from growling.

When she confessed to loving Potter, Draco felt his heart sink, but the words that followed made him feel infinitely better. She cared about Potter, and that was okay, but she couldn’t survive without Draco. The boy was so happy, so satisfied with everything, that he couldn’t even find any anger toward the one boy he’d hated since first year. He’d hug Potter if he could right now, simply because he helped his fail snake figure out how much she really loved him, and not the ‘chosen one’.

”Baby, you don’t have to apologize. Don’t you think I did basically the same thing with Leyton? I mean, we both did things that might have hurt each other, without meaning to hurt each other. The thing that matters is that we never meant to hurt each other. That we do love each other so much… Baby, I love you. So much. You don’t even know how much you mean to me.”

Draco looked her deep in the eyes and ran a hand over her cheek, slipping his fingers through her long, beautiful hair. ”We had to figure things out to know exactly where we stood, fail snake. And now it’s clear. You have my heart, and I have yours. No one will ever come between us again. Ever. Because you give my life reason.”

Draco knew he sounded utterly unmanly at the moment, but he didn’t care. Sometimes he just had to be honest with the girl he so loved. And he truly did love her. ”I’m never going to let anyone take you from me, baby. Not your uncle, not the pug, not any jealous idiot or even Potter. You’re mine. You will always be mine. And you will always know that.” He kissed her then, hard, before pulling them both to their feet. Draco broke the kiss with a nip to her bottom lip and stared into those beautiful eyes again. ”We should head back. It’s starting to get dark…”

Skyler had opened her mouth to interrupt him when he said she didn't need to apologize. Of course she did. She had only made mistake after mistake, and failed to realize she wasn't the only one who would pay for them. But the brunette wasn't given the chance to say any of that, because the blonde plowed on with his own words, and the teen furrowed her brows as she cocked her head at him. Had it really been the same thing? Considering it now, after what Draco had confessed, she supposed it did sound much the same. But at the same time, it had been she who had left him. After agreeing to give him that second chance, she had turned around and snatched it back. There was no excuse for something so cruel, and it would weigh on her for a good while to come, she was sure.

But it didn't stop the Slytherin from leaning into his touch, eyes closing for a moment as she allowed his words of love to wash over her. Merlin, it felt so ridiculously right to hear those words come from his lips, and the brunette couldn't keep the soft and incredibly happy from curling her own lips as her eyelids fluttered open again to reveal violet eyes that burned with her all encompassing love for him as they stared back into his silver ones that seemed to reflect that same love. How was it possible to feel so much and so strongly for another person? Sky didn't know, and she didn't really care how it was possible. But she was sure glad it was.

It was in that moment that the teen knew she would face anything to always feel it. Whether it be her uncle, or Parkinson, or another blade carving into her skin. Skyler would do anything, and suffer through anything, just to always find her way back to that place in Draco's arms. It was where she belonged, and it had her on cloud nine to realize it to its full extent, and to experience it so fully. The brunette felt like her heart had just expanded in her chest with the pure force of it, and with his words. She filled with pride and utter devotion at the promise in them. He had made many promises to her before, but this one she knew he wouldn't break. He wouldn't ever let her go, and that was all she had needed to hear.

Skyler was ready to put the rest behind them. She no longer cares about the mistake they had made previously. Those were in the past, and between the two of them, she was sure there would be enough in the future without harping on ones already made, done, and dealt with. Hopefully any future ones wouldn't be on so large a scale, but the teen trusted Draco completely. Whatever little bit of fear she had still had about him hurting him was gone now with his promising words. And he replaced it with his love instead, and that feeling of being completely whole again swept over her until a beaming smile spread across her lips. "I can live with that." She barely had time for the cheeky reply.

Because his lips were on hers again, and the Slytherin submitted to the hard kiss without a second thought, sighing softly into his mouth as she lost herself in the love they shared for each other. At some point he had gotten them both to her feet, but Sky was too busy enjoying the way he stole her breath and made her knees weak to the point she leaned heavily against him to really notice until he was biting her lip and saying it was time to go. The teen whimpered softly but nodded even as she stared into that grey gaze that ignited a spark in her own purple one. "I suppose you're right.." She replied, trailing off softly, clearly not happy with the idea.

But in a flash a devious little grin worked it's way onto her lips, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Race you back!!" She challenged playfully, and before another word could be said the brunette sprung away from him, shifting as she did to run the rest of the way through the forest as the panther that lurked inside her. But she didn't stop there. Oh no. The teen shifted as she broke through the treeline of the forest and continued the race on foot, darting toward the castle knowing the blonde wasn't far behind. She didn't bother slowing even as she entered the castle, sprinting through the entrance hall and the dungeons until finally, she reached the common room and could claim victory.

Panting heavily and winded, but with an ear-to-ear grin on her face, Sky had just reached the staircase that led to the girl's dorms when Draco came clambering in, huffing and puffing. The brunette laughed at the look on his face as he realized he had, indeed, lost the race, and shot him a cheeky grin. "Night, loser!!" She called to him, though there was no heat or venom to her words, but instead a playful tone that she knew he would recognize and not take offense. She flashed him a secretive smirk before finally heading up to her dorm for a shower. Besides, they both knew he was the real winner that day.