Mitchel woke up in a hospital bed, though the room was definitely not part of a hospital. The walls were dark stone and only candlelight illuminated the shadowy space. Standing over him was Abraham, bordered by three more cultists in their black robes. One was a balding old man with glasses. Mitchel had seen him before, but only knew him as 'the doctor'.

Mitchel tried to recall how he had gotten here, but he only had snippets of memory since the werewolf attack. He should have been dead he realized, but someone had shot the wolf and chased it off. Could one of his men have survived the attack? He wasn't sure, but he remembered rescue workers finding him. He remembered an ambulance and a hospital after that, but it was blank from that point.

"Welcome back, Mr. Crawford," Abraham said. "I am very pleased to see you alive and well." Mitchel sat up straighter, stretching his spine.

"How am I alive?" he asked. "Did anyone else survive?" Abraham sighed and stepped forward, now leaning on the bed.

"You were the only survivor from your crew," Abraham said bluntly. "You were brought to a local hospital for treatment, but once we got word of the situation we relocated you here. Based on our examination of the scene after the fact, the werewolf in question escaped. Do you remember seeing anyone else in that forest?" Mitchel racked his brain, it was still spinning. How long had he been unconscious? Then it clicked, a faint moment as he lay bleeding out.

"There were two women that were there. They shot the wolf and it ran off. They followed." Abraham's lips thinned. Mitchel knew the man rarely showed emotion, but he might as well have been screaming.

"Did you get a good look at them?" Abraham asked calmly enough.

"Not then, but I'm almost certain they were the same girls I saw a few nights before at the motel." Mitchel furrowed his brow as he tried to remember.

"Both young, twenties, maybe thirties. One had darker skin. And the other was tiny, Asian, though it was dark when I saw them at the motel." Abraham's nostrils were flared. It was subtle, one probably wouldn't have noticed if you weren't the person seated directly under his cold gaze.

"The one woman you're describing is Caroline, although that could just be an alias. I don't know the Asian one's name but they are both thorns in our operations. Whatever off-the-books training they've had it's nowhere close to the level of yourself and your team, and yet somehow they managed to neutralize the werewolf right in front of you, while you and your team acted as the wolf's chew toys."

"With all due respect sir, those men died for your –" Abraham held up a hand.

"I don't care what happened to your men. You all had a job of the utmost importance and you failed."

"Please sir. Let me go back out there. I can track down this wolf and those women too. I'll neutralize them all, whatever your wish is." Then Abraham did something that really made Mitchel clench in fear, from his throat to his balls. He smiled, a genuine smile. Abraham sat down on the edge of the bed and patted Mitchel's leg as if comforting a friend.

"There's no need for that Mitchel," Abraham said still grinning. "Others will search and others will find them, but it is no longer your concern." Mitchel scanned his peripheries, trying to figure out if there was a weapon he could use when it came to it. The doctor held a needle in his hand, the other two had their hands hidden under their robes but were likely holding weapons of some kind. "How is your neck feeling Mr. Crawford?" Mitchel reached up, he hadn't even considered his injuries yet. He felt the smooth and lumpy shapes of the scar, but that's all it was now a scar. And the real horror of the situation dawned on him. Abraham appeared to notice. He was having trouble containing his glee under his normally neutral façade.

"It looks to have healed up nicely," Abraham said. "Though that is the way with a werewolf's bite. If it doesn't kill, it truly does make you stronger." Abraham patted him again. "It will be a full moon in less than two weeks, your first since the incident. The change will begin and we will take good care of you. By the time of the final ceremony, the wolf will be in control, and I have high hopes for you."

Abraham stood up and Mitchel lunged at him, not sure what his full intention was. As soon as he moved the two hooded cultists pulled out their taser guns and shot him. His body seized and he would have toppled off the bed if not for the doctor catching him. The doctor administered the needle into his neck and the room began to fade.

"Sleep well Mitchel," Abraham said as he left the room. "Your finest days are before you."