The pain searing across Draco's arm was intense, and until now he'd been able to bear it with dignity. But as he lay in the caves cradling his arm, he couldn't stop the screams from tearing through his clenched teeth. He could feel the magic of the mark gripping at his bones, trying to find some bit of darkness to hold onto. He was blinded by pain and couldn't see the wolves closing in around him. The alphas stepped forward on either side of him. This time, the ritual wouldn't be vicious and quick. Carina promised herself that she would control her instincts and be completely sure that she tore away all of his suffering. She nudged him onto his back with her cold nose and gripped his burning arm in her teeth.
Dante laid across Draco's chest as Carina picked away every bit of dark magic from the cursed arm. Draco didn't feel the sharp canines rake through his skin, or the blood that soaked his robes. All he felt was relief as bit by bit, the mark lost its power. Finally, as the rest of the pack descended on Draco, he sighed. As Pansy took his throat, he whispered, "Thank you."
"This is really cool, you guys." Carina and Pansy rolled their eyes at Draco. "No, seriously, I don't think you really appreciate this whole wolf thing. It's really cool!"
"That's because we take it for the responsibility it brings us. We take our roles seriously. This isn't some teenage fantasy novel. It's war." Pansy said as Carina nodded.
Draco shrugged. "Must be an Alpha thing. I still think it's amazing." He muttered. "Anyway," He cleared his throat. "I'm supposed to inform my Mistresses that Severus and Cainis are requesting a pack meeting. Now."
Pansy and her sister looked at each other, and left their place in the garden to meet the pack in the caves.
"Mistresses." Cainis bowed his head as they joined the pack.
"What's happened?" Carina asked.
"The death eaters are being sent on a mission tomorrow night." Severus said. "Cainis and I believe it would be a good time to step into the war."
"What's the mission?" Pansy asked.
"They are going after a family of muggles that accidentally gained possession of a dark artifact. There are two children in the family. Young ones."
"What is the artifact?" Carina asked.
"It's a stone that Voldemort believes will suck the magical energy from any person who touches it."
"What? Is it true?" Carina gasped. "Does something like that really exist?"
"Voldemort believes it does. He only told me the truth because he still needs me with magic intact. He's sending three others to handle the stone. They don't know what it does. He's sacrificing them to gain more power. As long as they're holding it, no damage will be done. They won't know anything is wrong, but as soon as they try to pass it off, their magic will leave with the stone. He's sending me to overlook the mission. We're to kill the muggles once we have it."
"That will not do." Pansy said as she narrowed her eyes. "We need to plan. This cannot happen."
"I agree." Severus nodded. "But I can't be here for the planning. Thankfully, Draco is not going on this mission, so he is free to help you. But it is not acceptable for any of the pack to lose their magic taking the stone. Even using magic to handle it will drain it away. The mission will take place at sundown. I can tell you that we will not be far from here. You'll have to track us to the exact address."
Severus bowed to his daughter and her sister before he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Carina yelled and ran after him. She threw her arms around his waist. "Be careful, Dad."
"You too, my girl." He returned as he hugged her. "Remember, no unnecessary danger. Do you hear?"
She smiled. "You know I'll take every precaution for the pack's safety."
"I know." He smiled back.
Severus left and Carina stood with her sister and their generals. "Let's get planning. We have less than two days."
Cainis and Draco led the party as wolves, tracking Severus's scent to a small neighborhood. The sun was nearly setting as Carina and Strega followed in the shadows to a warm looking house at the end of a dead end street. The cloaks that Lucifer gave to the pack allowed Carina and Strega to move between the shadows soundlessly. As the family was sitting down for dinner, the two were shifting from shadow to shadow, searching the house for the stone.
It was Carina that found it. It shined in every color of the rainbow and its beauty called to her. Dante moved with her as a shadow; a known trait of all hell hounds, and whined at her, driving her attention away from the dangerous beauty. She gave him a reassuring pat on the head as she released the fire spirit from its pendant. Downstairs, the man of the family stood up with his eyebrows drawn together and his mouth in a frown.
"Do you smell smoke?" He asked his wife.
She frowned as well. "I think s-" Just then their fire alarm went off. The woman ushered her kids outside of the house as the man ran up to the attic to investigate. The door knob was hot to the touch, so he turned and ran from the house, cursing about faulty wiring.
Inside the attic, Dante was growling at the wall that faced the back yard. Through the wall, Carina could see four heat signatures at the tree line. Behind them, she saw the red hot shapes of the rest of her pack, circling around the unsuspecting death eaters.
Carina turned her head to the side and heard her father shout to the death eaters, "Hurry up and find that stone before it's destroyed in the fire!"
The group of death eaters ran for the house where Strega was still hiding in the shadows. She followed them up the stairs and watched as one of them blasted the door open with his wand. The group made their way to a work bench where a dark wooden box sat on the bench which was surrounded in flames. Carina joined Strega in the shadows as one of the death eaters used his wand to separate the beautiful stone from its setting in the box's lid. As it was lifted out, Carina noticed that it didn't shine quite as bright.
The death eater with the stone put it into the hands of another death eater, and nothing happened. The first man was still able to use magic and didn't seem affected at all as the stone was handed off. As soon as the group left, Carina emerged from the shadows and draped her cloak over the box. When she lifted it back up, the box was gone, and she and Strega left.
The plan had been to drive the death eaters closer to the manor and force them to drop the stone where one of Lucifer's warriors would carry it the rest of the way. But now Carina wasn't sure the stone was even important. She and Strega shifted and Carina let out a howl, a signal for the wolves to retreat.
