Chapter 29: A Cure

I return to the library to the loving embrace of Belle and the others.

"Sorry..." I say. "I needed to cool down."

"We understand," David says.

"Plus I think the baby hormones are getting to her, " Alisa smirks

I glare at her. "Can we finish the memory?"

"Absolutely..." Gold says, his mood more positive than I've ever seen it.

He waves his hand over the dream catcher and over Mason's head again.

The memory picks up where it left off.

"The master no longer thinks that the Lord of the Underworld will have use of her powers, we, however, can benefit greatly from her abilities."

"How?" Mason asks. "Her powers come from the mortal enemy of the pack."

"That is true, however, the master has been brewing a great curse. A curse that will turn the tides on the world from which we came, where we can end all humanity and allow the Shadow Clan to dominate. Something that will be so powerful. There are various ingredients we need, but the major one is the power from a dark bloodline. There is, of course, a sacrifice to be made, mainly a life of the bloodline..."

"You can't have her!" Mason growls. "I won't let you near her!"

"How can you be near her if you are in wolf form? I'm sure she would flee willingly from you to us if she knew what you are."

"That's a lie!" Mason barks into the phone.

"Is it?" the voice crackles over the static. "See you for the monster you really are?"

"Shut up!" Mason yells.

"You are aware that the alpha controls the shifting of the pack?"

"Not when you've broken the bond!" Mason yells. "I have control of my changing."

"Not quite you see since the alpha is the one that changed you, once he tasted your blood, you are under his control, the same applies to all of the pack. Filtiarn is the one who controls everything. As easily as he can change to a human, he can change you back just as fast..."

"What are you implying?"

"You may be able to protect your girlfriend, but only in wolf form. You forget that Filt can gain control of you through any means necessary"

Mason is silent.

"What do you want?"

"You have the next twenty-four hours to decide. You either do as the brotherhood wants you to do or remain a wolf for the remainder of your life, which will not be long as the pack can easily find you."

The memory shows Mason giving me the final text for good-bye before he flees into the woods. His vision begins to shake as he shifts into wolf form.

I'm tearing up slightly. I reach over and hug Mason, which interrupts the memory.

"You did all this to save me?" I ask.

Mason nods.

"I think I love you even more," I say and I really mean it. He sacrificed everything so that I would be safe, he turned against his own kind.

The next few memories are flashes of his journey to Storybrooke. He swam most of the way to Maine to keep the dogs off his scent. There's an image of him arriving at Storybrooke and staring upon the town. He watches everyday life, hunting in the shadows and seeing life unfold without him. There are the moments of when he saw me again. I can feel the pain and sadness he felt when he couldn't tell me who he was. I see the risk he took when he leaped out of hiding to protect me from Rumple.

The dreamcatcher fades to black and we sit in silence.

David breaks the silence. "So the alpha controls his shifting..."

"Which leaves us with little hope of finding a cure..." I mutter, my heart sinking in my chest. Mason nuzzles me and whines what I think is an apology.

Belle begins looking through the shelves again. It's nice that she care so much about me not to give up so easily.

"There has to be something in this place about werewolf cures," she says.

Rumple gets up to join her. "Don't hurt yourself, sweetheart," he mutters.

"Can't Henry just write a cure?" Emma suggests.

"I don't know if I can," Henry shrugs. "There are some limits to what I can do, like writing to bring someone back to life."

Belle brings a book from one of the shelves, the title reads, Slaying Savage Beasts.

"What are your weaknesses anyways?" I ask Ruby and Granny.

"Silver mostly," is the answer.

"So the silver bullet thing really does work?" Alisa asks.

"For the most part, yes, and there are a few plants that we cannot stand. The trouble is I can't remember which ones," Granny nods.

Belle immediately marks her place in one section of the Savage beast book and goes back to the bookshelf. She finds a book about Botany and puts it on the table. She scrolls through the pages and finds what she needs.

"Apparently wolfsbane, mistletoe, ash leaves and rye grains are used to repel werewolves. Apparently they can't stand "

"That would explain my gluten intolerance," Ruby jokes.

"Silver is the surefire way of killing them. Also for some wolves, religious symbols are a weakness." Belle says.

"Like vampires?" Alisa asks.

Belle shrugs. "The problem is, these things only repel wolves or kill them, they don't cure."

"I don't think anyone has ever tried to cure a werewolf before..." Granny says.

"So...I might have to invent one...?" I ask.

"Is that possible?" Emma asks turning to Rumple.

Rumple shrugs. "I've never tried it myself... to invent something beneficial that is."

"Can it be done?" I ask.

"Hook invented one once..." Henry points out.

I consider it carefully. "Well if these things repel wolves, could it repel the alpha's control?"

Everyone is silent

"Well..." I say, getting up. "Let's get started."

...

I spend the next few days in my dad's shop stewing tirelessly to mix all the werewolf weakening ingredients that could bring Mason back to his human form. I know that without the alpha being dead, there's no way Mason can return to human form on his own, but I'm hoping that this amulet I'm making and repel the alpha's control and allow Mason to be human again. I acquire all the ingredients and begin boiling them in a thick black cauldron my dad found for me. It's taken me what feels like a thousand tries to get the amount of ingredients right. Also, creating the shape of the necklace and chain with my magic in mid-air, which took a lot of practice. I've tried testing them on Mason, but nothing has happened. I am basically inventing something to cure werewolves which, as far as I know, has never been done before.

Emma comes into the store to see me.

"How's it going?" she asks, leaning over the counter.

"Trying to create an amulet from scratch that could quite possibly kill my boyfriend or free him from the alpha's control... How do you think it's going?!"

Emma steps back in surprise.

I look up at her. "Sorry, the stress is getting to me."

"You shouldn't stress too much, it's bad for the baby."

"I know," I mutter angrily, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. The cauldron sits in front of me, boiling under a fire my father set. "The things we do for love."

Emma nods.

"What are you using?" Emma asks.

"Well, wolfsbane and mistletoe, ground up rye grains and ash leaves. All these are meant to repel a werewolf so maybe, this can help repel the alpha's control... I'm putting this mixture in the centre," I sigh. "I just want him to be human again."

Emma nods and leaves the store as Henry comes in with the storybook. He opens it and begins asking me questions about what I was doing and how I was making it, recording it the book for future reference.

"I just hope this is the only wolf I have to cure," I mutter. The fumes and heat, plus morning sickness and hormones are seriously messing with my head. I add the last ingredient, a sample of my father's blood and a bit of my own. I assume that the magical properties of each can enhance the effects.

Finally, I use my magic to mould the amulet in mid-air, chain, and centre. Soon it is in the shape of a cross, with a red crystal in the centre containing the blood and other repellents. I hold it in the air for a few moments and then I hang it on a nearby hook to let it cool. I clean up everything and put the fire out.

"You think it will work?" Henry asks.

I shrug and pull my hair back up. "A thousandth time's the charm."

I drink some water and wait until the necklace cools.

"Can I watch?" Henry asks.

I shrug, "You can, but he might be naked when he shifts back. If this is anything like Twilight."

"Maybe I'll sit this one out..." Henry says quickly. "I'll just write about it in the book anyways."

I nod and give a small smirk. If this does work, I'd like a little private reunion anyways.

Once the necklace is cooled, I grab it.

"Good luck," Henry calls to me.

"I need more than luck" I mutter.

Mason is waiting outside. He's pacing outside the store, I assume that he's protecting me, even though there is no imminent danger. He stops when I approach. I hold up the amulet.

"Let's walk," I whisper.

Mason and I walk side by side towards the toll bridge together. He keeps his head down the entire way. I really don't want to instill false hope in either of us again. We've tried this so many times already, only to be disappointed. The last few times, a small cloud of smoke formed around him, causing his fur to shed a bit and his body almost go back to a human shape for awhile, before the smoke vanished and we were back at square one. That's when I decided to add my father and my blood to the mixture, I assume the repellents needed more power to work.

"Nervous huh?" I ask.

He nods and whines.

"A thousandth time's the charm," I say.

We make it to a wooded area and I stand in front of him. I begin to pray as Mason kneels down so I can put the necklace on his furry chest.

He winces as the thing is placed around his neck. I can understand as this stuff is meant to repel his species.

I put the amulet around his neck and then wave my hand to activate the centre.

I stand back.

At first, nothing happens. I begin to get anxious and worried. I start running through the different ingredients, did I put enough in? Is it powerful enough?

A white/red cloud of smoke begins around his body. It thickens to the point where he vanishes. I panic at first, thinking I've done something wrong, but then I remember this is how Ruby and Granny change back. The smoke swirls in an unusual pattern. I just hold my breath and pray for the best.

The cloud dissipates.

Mason stands up, fully human again and naked. I run to him and embrace him. We kiss so hard, I swear we're going to fall over into the grass.

"I missed you so much!" I cry, holding him, not caring that he is nude.

"I missed you too," he murmurs.

His voice! His beautiful British voice is back. Something I missed so much. I cry harder, so happy to see him in human form again. I don't' think I ever want to let go of him.

"So as long as I wear this, I'm free of the alpha's control," Mason breathes. I can hear the relief in his voice.

"Yes!" I say. I notice the red marks appearing on his chest, where the silver touches his skin. "I'm sorry if it burns you."

"It's worth it for me to hold you in my arms again," Mason mumbles softly

I'm so overwhelmed with happiness that I just hold him for a long time, never wanting this moment to end.

"You don't know how long I've waited to hug you again," I say through the tears.

"I'm so sorry I lied to you, but if you saw what I was..."

I turn his face toward me so we lock eyes. "It's in the past, let's focus on the future. Besides, if you could love me as a monster, I could love you. Also, have you met my dad? We're also having a kid, so we'll be one big family of monsters..."

He laughs and kisses me on the forehead.

"We have so much to do..." I say.

Mason puts his hand on my abdomen.

"We're having a baby!" he says, so excited.

"Yes, we are..."

We kiss one more time before I lean back. Reality begins to set in again.

"Let's get you some clothes and you really need a shower,"