Within two days Carina had passed her test with perfect scores and was practicing wielding her new wand on the Parkinson grounds. It was much stronger than she was used to and had a mind of its own. She barely had to think of something she wanted before the wand was ready to cast what ever magic she chose. But the more she used the cold metal, the more it tuned to her. It truly became an extension of herself. An unforeseen bonus of the wand was that it conducted magic two ways. Not only could Carina cast with it, but she could also use energy from the earth, and the magic of another against an enemy.

Carina had also set up the Parkinson grounds to host a training camp for the wolves. With Lucifer's help, she transformed the massive space into several obstacle courses designed to test the body, the mind, skill and instinct. The pack did very well, and Carina found that very little restructuring was actually necessary. Even Dante took part in the training and proved to be a magnificent hell hound. Draco trained with Cainus, who gave Draco high praise for his sheer determination and ability to stay calm and focused. All in all, things were going as planned.

That was, until Severus was called to Voldemort's side and ordered to bring in Draco for his induction ceremony that coming Saturday. Carina was having a panic attack as she heard the news.

"Hun, what is the matter, we knew this would happen, it's what he signed up for!" Pansy said, trying to reason with her sister.

"It's going to hurt him, isn't it?" Carina demanded from her father. Severus nodded and Carina clung to Draco as he laughed.

"Look, Carina, everyone else got through it, didn't they? Have a little faith! I'll be fine. Besides, I get my very own wolf before then, don't forget. And I'll have your dad with me, and also let's not forget," He grabbed on to her shoulders and forced her to look him in the eye. "I am the great grandson of an angel."

Carina sighed. "I suppose out of everyone else, you do have the advantage." She looked back to her father. "What is it exactly that makes the mark hurt so much?" She asked him.

"I'm not sure I want to say." He answered slowly. "But you should know the truth. The purpose of the ceremony is to gather a crowd to witness someone do something absolutely horrid. Then the dark mark uses magic to force that unmentionable act into the background of your every thought and action. It forces you to turn into a dark person. So that you never want to betray Voldemort."

Carina looked from her father to Draco in terror. "What will he have to do?"

"What ever must be done. And don't worry. Lucifer has been adamant in interfering. I promise you, there will be no stains on Draco's soul, and no one will be the wiser. I can also promise that since what ever Draco must do will not be real, the dark mark will have no power over him."

A sigh was heard from Draco and all eyes turned on him. "What?" He asked. "I was a little worried about it, so what?"

Three days passed and Severus and Draco were standing outside the gate of an old house. It was so worn down that everything seemed to be broken and some shade of gray.

"Remember what I said, Draco. No matter what you are asked to do, you must follow through without hesitation. Take comfort knowing that none of it is real. But above all, follow through." Severus said in a whisper with a heavy hand on Draco's shoulder.

Draco swallowed the lump in his throat and summoned all the determination he'd been praised for in his training. The inside of the house was no different from the outside. They walked into a large living room. Chunks of the wall were missing where stray spells had made contact what looked like decades ago. The sofa had stuffing and springs bulging from various slashes in the fabric, and the fireplaces was missing a few bricks. They walked through a door at the far end and stepped through to the dining room. Everything was just as gray, except for one polished black walnut throne with dark purple upholstery. It sat at the head of a long oak table which was surrounded by men in cloaks and masks. Sitting in the throne was the madman, Voldemort.

Hand still on Draco's shoulder, Severus pushed him to the front of the room to stand beside the throne.

"You know," the pale man hissed, "I half expected you to turn to that old fool." He spat at the floor, then held his hands up with a smile that looked more like a snarl. "But here you are in your rightful place. Your father served me very well. When I find who took him from us, I will make them pay dearly for it, you can be sure of that." He laughed and Draco bowed.

"I only wish to be as much use, My Lord." Draco said.

"Good. You will prove yourself very useful, I'm sure." Voldemort responded. With a flick of his wand, Three people were levitated into the room, tied up in the fetal position. They were a man, a woman, and a little girl. They were covered in dirt. As they were made to sit on the table in the center of the death eaters, Draco thought that they were covered in so much grime, even the whites of their eyes seemed black.

Draco blinked and looked closer without drawing attention to himself or the strangers that were now laid out on the table. As he squinted, the little girl's face went blank, then she winked at him. Both of her eyes were completely black. As were the eyes of the man and woman. He knew then that they weren't real. They were sent in place of the real hostages by Lucifer. With a new surge of confidence, Draco straightened his spine and waited for the crime Voldemort would force him to commit.

Later that night Carina and Severus looked after Draco as he fought the pain in his arm as bravely as he could. "I thought the mark wouldn't affect him, why is he in so much pain?" Carina asked.

"The evil in the mark is trying to take hold. There's nothing for it to hold on too, but that won't stop it from trying."

"How long does this last?"

"Until it's driven you to darkness." Severus answered.

"Does that mean he'll be in pain forever?" Carina gasped.

"No. Once a wolf takes him, there will be nothing left of that magic but a tracking spell and an ugly mark."

"We need to take him down to the caves as soon as possible then." Severus nodded and gave the order to the rest of the pack that it was time to welcome Draco into its ranks.