Wogan was no fool; he knew that he couldn't possibly take over the country with a simple pack of wolves. He'd needed an army, power, and as much as he loathed it, he would also need help. That was what had brought him to the magical realms, inside a rotting cave, and standing before a figure more creature than man.

  "You were a fool to leave the boy behind," The figure croaked. 

It stepped into the luminous light emitting from the countless glowing mushrooms that littered the caves walls. The thing looked as if it had creeped out of a nightmare, it was bone thin, and had shriveled gray skin. There were bandages wrapped around its limbs and torso, giving it the appearance of an ancient forgotten mummy.  "Go, fetch him."

"Need I remind you that you are not to give me orders, you bag of bones. This is a partnership; I'm not your servant."

Wogan gritted his teeth, he hated coming to this place. It stunk of death and bile. Not to mention every time he conversed with this thing it felt like he was making a deal with the devil, which he probably was. The tales of the husk of the man before him were the kind of tales that made even Wogan shiver with unease.

"Don't get impatient, the boy is ripening just fine. You yourself said that he needs to cross into the realms of his own free will. Remember? I knew Devin would bring him over eventually, thinking that he'd be safer hidden in the Realms."

The mummy just stared back blankly, its eyes were the same color of snot, and they bulged slightly out of their sockets. "Right... Right, I did say that... The hunger, it clouds my mind."

With a flick of its hand, a plump rat was snatched out of hiding. The poor creature wiggled and screeched as it floated in the air towards the mummy, snapping its fingers the rat was suddenly twisted.

The sounds of its bones popping like bubble wrap filled the small enclosure. Excrement and guts poured out of the rat's body and into the mummies waiting mouth.

Wogan shifted slightly, "That seemed... unnecessarily revolting." Even though the figure before him was physically weak, Wogan knew the creature could just as easily disembowel him as it did to the rat. At full strength, the man this creature used to be was a true force of nature, a man who became a god; one with the Loa.

The mummy closed its eyes in pleasure as it continued to chew the rat's body, only opening them again once it gulped the thing down. "This is how I've survived, Wogan. After the High Court betrayed me... becoming sub-human was my only way to continue living... Because I knew that one day I'll be able to take it all back... Make them fear me again as I rule over them." It's laugh was like a door with rusty hinges being opened and shut repeatedly. "My mind is clear now."

"Whatever, just don't forget what you've promised me." Wogan growled.

"But of course... but you still have a few things to do for me until the boy is ready for the transference" The thing beckoned Wogan away with a wave of its hand. "They will fear Lucious Kincaid again; see to it that the preparations are made... I must build my strength."

*****

After leaving the desolate cave, Wogan could finally relax and breathe. Something about that ancient warlock made his skin crawl, but it was something he'd have to suffer through. Besides it was because of that warlock that he had become so powerful in such a short amount of time.

When he finally reached the trail leading to the docks, a flame haired woman approached him. The woman only came to about his shoulder, a petite thing. She had a fierce look in her brown eyes, though she seemed to avoid looking him in the eye. Which was probably a good idea because if she did look him in the eye, he'd take it as a challenge and would have to rip her apart. Maybe I'll do it anyway, haven't bedded a red head in a while, he thought to himself.

"Sir, I've just received word from one of our men from within Hakan's pack. We-"

Wogan closed in on the small woman, pressing himself on her while pinning her against a tree. Lifting her up, so he could look directly into her chocolate colored eyes. "I haven't seen you before. Tell me your name"

Though his voice came out calm and smooth, his hand closed around the red heads throat. He didn't tighten his grip yet, but already he could see the intense fright in her eyes.

"H-he...Helen, sir" she bit her lower lip, struggling to keep her eyes locked on the ground.

"Mmm, Helen" As he said her name he could feel her heart beat go frantic, he chuckled. A sound like ice cubes in a glass cup. "You have a nice scent, Helen. Continue the report"

"B-but sir, your hand is-ACK!"

She began to cough and twist as he tightened his grip, " What about my hand, Helen? Now, continue the report"

Helen continued to cough and twist, but she didn't fight back or shout for him to stop. She knew that resistance was futile against an alpha. Wogan gently placed her hair behind her ear, seemingly pleased with her complete surrender.

He released his grip just enough for her to draw in a breath. "Continue"

"Sven is dead" she said in a rush, fearing he'd crush her throat. When he didn't tighten his grip, she plowed through the rest of the report. "He tried to snatch the boy, but was stopped. Hakkan has begun to investigate for any other loyalist, he's- GAK!" The grip tightened again.

"The boy, Helen. What news of the boy do you have?"

The grip loosened ever so slightly, allowing her to gulp in a breath. "H-he's alive. Was last seen stepping through a portal with some witch. That's all sir, please don't kill me"

Wogan released her, letting her drop in a heap at his feet.

A witch? Wogan thought to himself, he had thought that Devin would've taken him through the veil. What could Devin be planning that would involve a witch? Are they trying to remove the mark? At this, Wogan couldn't help but grin.

"Those damned fools." No matter what coven the witch belonged to, the magic infused in that curse mark was too powerful to be removed. The mummified warlock had crafted the curse himself, there's no way a run of the mill witch could even dream to understand it. 

Everything was falling right into place, the boy was in the magical realms now. They were basically delivering the boy straight to him, but he'd be a fool to underestimate them. Especially Devin, if he'd sent the boy off then he must've had complete faith in whatever it was they were planning.

"Helen, get up." Wogan turned back towards the docks.

At his order, the red headed woman scrambled to her feet. "Yes, sir?"

"Come along, my dear" He gestured to her with a flick of his hand. She obediently jogged to his side, ever ready to please.

When they finally reached the docks, the rest of his pack greeted him. There had to be just about half a hundred men and women setting up camp on the shore, with at least a few dozen on the ships.

Wogan had decided to use the warlocks island as his base of operations, it was perfectly covered by a cloud of fog that hid it away from any prying eyes. The recruiting was difficult at first, but Wogan knew exactly how to  pull at a persons strings. All of these werewolves were angry, either at their own social status, how the witches treated them, or the vampires elitist attitude, and some just wanted a reason to let their inner beast out.

They all turned to Wogan as he approached, all more than ready to kill or bleed for their alpha.

"My friends" he called to them. "Rejoice, for our time on the top of the totem pole is soon approaching"

The crowd went wild. Well, wilder than they already were.

"The High Court's army will not see us coming! Even if they do, I'm sure we can come up with some imaginative greetings" Wogan said this as he glanced down at his clawed hands. He thought of all the blood he had spilled, and all the pain he'd inflicted.

He looked back up at his pack, a wide sinister grin plastered on his face. "When I return, be ready my comrades. Be ready to make our ancestors proud!"

Shouts, cheers, and howls embraced Wogan's ears. This is only the beginning, he thought to himself. Just a few more steps and...

"Sir?" Helen flinched inwardly as Wogan glanced over to her. "I was just wondering, if we had to be gentle with the boy or maybe... I don't know, just in case we need to use force. If we could make him bleed..."

"Ah, Helen. Calm down, if the boy puts up a fight- and I seriously hope he does. We will deal with him accordingly, as long as he's in one piece. You aren't afraid of a little blood shed are you? You don't look the type."

"No, sir." Her cheeks reddened as a strange light ignited in her eyes, a wicked smile spreading across her face. "No, I don't mind blood at all. Inflicting pain on others is all that gets me up in the morning, seeing as the fear begins to grip them just as they realize that they are about to die... Nearly orgasmic."

"Helen," Wogan placed his hand on her shoulder. This small, fragile looking woman seemed to be  holding onto some wickedly large baggage, what could have happened to her to let her say something so twisted like that with a smile on her face? Whatever the reason, Wogan was starting to really like this girl and her wicked streak. "You are seriously fucked up, my dear."

The woman just smiled in response.

"Now let's go and see if we can find you something to sate that blood thirst of yours."