A spoonful of dish soap, cold water, a cloth to wipe away any residue, and then dry. That's the trick to cleaning up fresh blood off of hard wood floors, though Nala told the maid to go over it again with a floor scrubber.

"I don't want a stain left over from that dirt bag, not a single drop. You understand?"

"Yes madam" the maid said with a poilte bow.

The maid's name was Wilma; Mason had met her after the fight. She and her family lived on the sanctuary grounds, as did other members of the pack.

Mason sat rigidly still inside of Hakan's office, it was still suffering from the aftermath of the fight. The same could be said for Mason, he couldn't wrap his mind around what had just happened. He had gouged a man's eyes out, sure Sven was strangling him, but he'd never done anything like that before, had never thought he was capable of doing something like that. Was it basic survival instinct?

No, deep down Mason wanted that man to hurt, craved it. Even as Sven's body was being hauled off, Mason could barely keep himself from tearing the body into shreds.

With a sigh, he rested his head in his hands, slumping down in the cushy office chair. A shard of glass lay in between his legs; there he saw a tiny reflection of himself. "Who are you" His reflection whispered

"You holding up alright, pup?" Devin's voice sliced into Mason's gloomy thoughts. "Want a cup of water? Heck, maybe a shot of whiskey? Wouldn't blame you, that was... quite the ordeal"

"No, I'm fine. I j-just... needed some air"

"What you need is a reward" Hakan stepped into the office; he had changed into fresh clothes, though Mason could still see him as before, covered in Sven's blood. His claws dripping with brain matter, and skull fragments. A beast made to slaughter those beneath him.

"You got my wife and son away from further harm, thank you" his face shifted into an expression of pure gratitude.

"Just a thank you? I think he deserves a lot more than a-" Devin muttered.

"Oh, shut up Devin! Let me finish" Hakan moved to the other side of his large desk, dropping tiredly into a chair. "As a token of my appreciation, I grant you full membership into the pack. Welcome to the family"

Mason's entire mood flipped upside down, and before he knew it, a smile was creeping onto his face. "No more test?"

"No more test. Actually, we could probably begin the Pack Initiation Ritual later on tonight. Devin, could you go ask Wilma if we have any sage for the-"

"Might want to wait on that" a voice cut Hakan off, a woman stood in the doorway of the office. "That boy is radiating some serious bad juju, there's no telling what might happen if you leave him in this condition"

"Ah, Bonita Rose. How lovely to have let yourself in" Hakan said with gritted teeth.

"Well seeing as I'm the one who molded the magical barrier around your little dog sanctuary I think I can let myself in as I please" she waved her hand, as if dismissing him. Mason could nearly hear the muscles in Hakan's jaw clench.

She crept in close to Mason, kneeling in front of him. Leering into his eyes, Mason had to focus his eyes on her face to keep them from travelling downward. "Now you, I find very interesting" the woman looked like she belonged on a fashion magazine, all high cheek bones and curves.

"U-uh, huh" Mason stuttered as heat rushed into his face, he looked over to Devin for help.

Devin tugged her back, "Oh stop teasing him. Mason, this is Bonita Rose, she's a witch. We called her in to help us identify that mark. Take off your shirt"

"My shirt, but I-"

"Don't worry, we won't let her take your innocence" Hakan chortled.

With some reluctance, Mason tugged off his shirt. The mark had gotten considerably worse; the skin around it had grown feverish red. The others in the room gasped at the clear signs of infection, Devin was the first to react. He moved in closer, reaching his hand out gingerly but it was quickly swatted away by Bonita.

"Don't touch it" she snapped. "You should've told me that it was in this state"

"It wasn't like this a few hours ago..." Mason said, completely stupefied by the festering mark.

"What has happened in the last hour to agitate it so much?" Bonita analyzed the mark, tracing over the veins without touching Mason.

Hakan and Devin looked at each other briefly. "Well, there was a confrontation with a Wogan loyalist" Devin said in a way that made it seem like no big deal.

"A Wogan loyalist? Explain" Bonita said in a crisp tone.

And so they did, Devin told just about all that happened, Wogan's out lash, how Mason stumbled upon them, and how he was bitten, plus what Wogan said in his dream, all leading up to the chaotic brawl with Sven. Having it all laid out before them, Mason could barely believe it himself, there was no way this woman would believe such a tale.

"Hmm, seems about right" Bonita said with a sigh of annoyance; she rubbed her temples as if trying to massage away a sudden migraine. "The boy has been marked. It looks to be a sort of parasitic curse mark, meaning Wogan will be able to trace him to nearly anywhere. He'll have to come with me, to Roxelt's. Otherwise, Wogan will come here and if I'm reading the aura from this curse mark right, and I am. Then he's gonna come tearing through the barrier around this place, then tearing through your pack, just to get to him" she tugged down Mason's shirt, covering the mark. "At Roxelt's, we'll give him proper treatment and help him develop this magical aura"

Devin scoffed, "Parasitic curse mark? I've never heard of any such thing!"

"Who is the specialist here?" Bonita questioned, looking from Devin to Hakan. "Oh, that's right. I am. Me. If I wanted your opinion I'd-"

"I'll go" Mason rose from his chair, his voice full of hollow determination.

"Hold just a minute Pup, you'll be plenty safe sitting here. Surrounded by your brethren" Devin glanced at Hakan, who nodded in agreement.

"No! I won't have your family put in danger because of me. I'm through with being some sort of damsel in distress" Mason huffed. "If Wogan wants my life, he's going to have to fight me for it"

                       🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

Leaving Sanctuary was surprisingly tougher than Mason had thought. Just as he thought he had finally found a place he could call home, it was tarnished by Wogan and his influence. There was no telling what other members of the pack that might do. Another loyalist could decide to turn on Hakan and offer Mason to Wogan. Mason convinced himself that this was for the best, he had to believe it was.

Saying goodbye was even more difficult, even though he had just met these people. Mason felt a strong bond binding them together, was this some sort of werewolf pack thing? he thought to himself.

"I.. I just want to say thank you" Finn said while he grudgingly whipped away a tear, "For saving my mom... even though it's your fault that it happened"

"Finn!" Nala shouted, flicking the boys ear. Already she had healed from most of her extent injuries, though she did have some slight bruising on her face. "Say a proper goodbye"

With a grunt and pouty face Finn shoved a small package towards Mason, "Here" he placed it into his hand. "I-its not like I like you or anything, stupid!" he then turned and ran into the mansion.

With a sigh Nala said her goodbyes as well, then followed Finn inside. Even Pavel came by, with his massive shoulders slouched, he shook Mason's hand. "Sorry... should've seen it coming" he mumbled before letting Mason reply.

The only ones left to say goodbye to were Hakan and Devin. Hakan grasped mason in a hug, Mason could hear his back crack twice. "May the moon always guide you forward my boy, stay true to yourself and the ones you care for" he let Mason drop back to the ground, giving his hair a ruffle before turning to Devin. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Devin leveled his eyes with Mason, "You really don't have to go, we could keep you safe"

"Now Devin, the boy has made his decision." Hakan said.

"I..I know..."

For the first time since meeting him, Devin seemed lonely. His cool blue eyes looking off to the side, with a slight pained expression as he bit his bottom lip. He resembled a pouty teen in that moment.

"Are you going to be okay?" Mason rested a hand on Devin's shoulder.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine, I'm freaking fantastic" he said with a sly smile. In a quick motion he grabbed Mason into a one armed hug, their foreheads resting against eachothers. "You stay safe out there pup, you hear me?"

"I usually play it safe... 65 percent of the time." Mason said with a chuckle.

"I'm being serious, Macy-"

"I told you not to call me that."

"Are you two done smooching over there?" Bonita said with an eye roll.

"I have a schedule to follow. Come now Mason, Roxelt's waits for no man... or wolf". She had drawn some sort of strange symbol onto the ground with chalk, the symbol was now letting off a warm bluish glow.

Mason broke away from Devin, "Gotta go learn some anti-Wogan magic tricks, I guess."

Devin shoved a cell phone into Mason's hand, "My number has already been saved into this device, you call me as soon as you get there"

"Yes mom!" Mason said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Here take this too" Devin raised his middle finger.

"How mature, all of you wolves are barbaric." Bonita scoffed.

As Mason stepped into the glowing symbol, he was conpletely oblivious to pain and heartache that awaited him on the other side.

>>>>> *sniff* what a sad goodbye. How will Mason cope with veing fully meshed into the magical realms on the other side of the Veil? Why is Bonita soo damn impatient? What was Pavel referring to? Find out next time! Btw don't for get to ☆ and commet! <<<<<