A/N - I suggest you read my profile description before you read this fic.

Also, there are time skips between some chapters so if you're ever confused when starting a new chapter, it's probably that.


"So… what the fuck do we do?" Dean's brows were raised high as he looked at his brother.

"Vampires, vicious ghosts, I'm fine with that. But I'm not shooting a dog." Dean shook his head quickly. "Not getting attacked by one either." The growling was more vicious than any ghost they'd ever ganked. Hell, both of the goddamn mutts looked more dangerous than any demon. And they were presenting their dangerous nature quite well. Nipping at one another's necks, growling louder than the engines of the car the hunters were in. "Hol- … shit." Dean put a fist in front of his gaping mouth as the concrete turned red. The smaller dog's head shook, teeth latched onto the other's neck. "I think Goliath there is done…." Dean mumbled, his brother still silently staring at the spectacle. The bigger dog, the far bigger dog was a yellowish white colour, back ears, and mask, floppy ears. The smaller one, the winner of the brawl had big pointy ears, its coat a reddish brown, a black mask on its face, black legs. Although it was smaller than the other dog, it was still larger than most dogs should be. It resembled a german shepherd, a long snout, stature of a working breed.

"I still don't wanna get out there." Sam muttered, letting out a small huff. Perhaps its glaring yellow and orange eyes were what triggered his distrust. The dog on the ground, fur stained by its own blood had stopped breathing, and the brown dog let go of its neck. There was a nice, expensive looking collar around the bigger dog's neck, that somehow outlived the vicious attack.

It had happened out of nowhere, out of a yard the two dogs had run onto the road in front of the impala. The house the yard belonged to was their destination, an interview for possible suspects the hunters' goal. The smaller dog had been chased by the white giant, jumped and wounded on the leg. The two hunters saw it more clearly now that the fight was over, the dog was now calm, it walked the opposite direction it had come from. Or rather hobbled towards the forest right on the other side of the road.

"You think it needs help?" Sam frowned slightly, tilting his head to the side as the two watched it leave. They had seen worse things, had seen humans do worse things, and never had the time to get involved, but animals were a different thing.

"Not with killing." Dean snorted, eyes following the dog as well.

Before Dean could say what he meant to - no - he heard the passenger side door open, and his brother step out. He meant for his eyes to leave the dog, but the dog's reaction to Sam stopped him. It's head turned, and all other movement stopped. It lifted its head, letting out one hell of a half-assed bark, mouth barely opening upper lip blowing out slightly as it did.

"It's okay." Sam said in a calming voice, as if the dog was pointing a damn gun at him out of fear. Another, quiet, and more gentle bark.

Dean got out of the car as well, keeping the door open like his brother had, in case they needed to retreat if the dog decided to go for them as well.

"Sammy, I don't think this is a good idea." Dean didn't take his eyes off the dog, as he talked to his brother over the car.

"We're just gonna walk over there, and you can just… go over there." Sam pointed to the house first, and then the forest as he spoke to the dog gently.

Dean's eyes narrowed as the dog's ears moved, turning forward ever so slightly at the first 'over there' coming from Sam.

One paw moved, the left, and the other followed, the dog's body turning towards them, but not a step forward was taken.

"Sam…" Dean said warning, just about ready to jump back into the Impala and slam the door.

"It's fine." Sam responded. Both of the brothers were tense, and Dean watched Sam take small careful steps, sideways, never turning away from the dog, towards the yard, and house.

"This isn't fair I gotta get closer to that thing." Dean groaned, finally looking at his brother. He had to walk around the car, forward, to the right, to join his brother, forward meant closer, and he didn't like that idea.

"It's calm, it's fine." Sam rolled his eyes. Dean couldn't believe his own eyes when his brother turned, and walked towards the house like there wasn't a dog with teeth like a shark staring at the two of them. His side was now turned to the dog, soon his back as he got closer to the house. Dean looked back at the dog eyes narrowing. "Watching you." he muttered as he followed his brother, less careless than the younger was.

The dog merely stood still, turning, staring, but never moving from its spot. Sam waited for Dean at the gate to the yard, closing it after Dean was inside.

"Told you." Sam smirked as he walked up the short stone path to the door of the house. "Oh shut up, that thing could still rip your arm off, just gotta jump over the fence." Immediately after Dean finished his sentence, one foot on the first stair of the porch, they heard a bark. This time Loud. Sam couldn't stop his hand from knocking on the door before he heard it.

Both brother turned to look over the large hedges at the road. The gap the short metal gate of the yard provided gave them view of the dog. Sprinting right at them. "Shit." Dean yelled and looked around. There was nowhere to go, no place to get up to in order to get out of the dog's reach. Dean's mouth fell open as the dog leaped, and easily flew over the gate. "Shit!" Dean pulled the gun out from inside his jacket and pushed Sam aside a little. He was ready to pull the trigger when he realised the dog wasn't aiming for him, nor Sam, but between them. It flew up the shallow stairs the way it flew over the gate. Dean cringed at the sound of the dog's claws on the concrete porch, his nose crinkling, eyes closing. When he opened them the dog simply sat right there, between the two Winchesters, back right at the door.

"Guard dog…?" Dean's eyes widened.

"It's not wearing a collar though." Sam mumbled, it was odd, the sudden calm the dog possessed neck craned to look up at the two, head moving left to right to look at them. Dean almost thought it was shaking its head.

Dean looked at his brother, and grinned for a moment before looking back at the dog. "Hey buddy, speak." Dean nodded his head once, as he spoke the common command. The dog barked, and began panting, long tongue hanging out the side of it's gaping maw, body moving with each pant.

"Good boy." Dean resisted the urge to pet the dog on the head.

"I can't believe this." Sam shook his head, resisting an urge as well, to roll his eyes.

"You think it'll go for us if we knock?" the older turned his head slightly to look at his brother from the corner of his eyes.

"Do you still have leftover pie in the car?" Sam slowly smirked.

"Ah… gotcha." Dean sighed in defeat after some hesitation, and a judging look directed at Sam.

"You'll like pie more than dog." Dean looked at the dog before turning, and heading down the five steps of the porch. Sam noticed the dog following with a wagging tail.

Sam chuckled as he heard Dean talk to the dog as they walked side by side behind his back. "You got quite a voice onya', buddy."

Sam knocked on the door once more as Dean closed the passenger side door, and got into the driver's side. For a moment he forgot about the dog, that was until he felt a hot breath on his jaw and neck, and heard the panting of the dog. "Hey!" Instinctively, without looking Dean pushed the dog's snout away from him. For a moment, he panicked, thinking he had aggravated the dog. But it simply sat down right by his side on the concrete. "You really are a good boy." He chuckled looking at the dog. Now that he had touched it, in such a manner at that, he wondered… if he could pet it.

Instead of reaching for the pie in the glove department, he reached to the opposite side, resting his hand on the dog's head for just a moment, to test the waters. No reaction whatsoever, just the same panting. Dean thought it almost looked like it was smiling when it did that. He moved his hand back its head a little, lifted it, placed it, moved it. He noticed how big the dog's head really was, he knew his hand was large, but he barely touched the dog's ears as he pet it. And its pointed ears were set fairly close on it's head.

"Are you a German Shepherd? Do you speak German?" Dean laughed at himself for a moment, before he decided feeding the dog the pie wasn't necessary to distract it from Sam entering the house.

The dog barked at his questions, two questions, two barks. Dean chuckled once more. "English too, I see." he smiled, retreating his hand finally.

Dean still saw that beige spot in the corner of his eyes, in the middle of the road. He wondered what drove this, now, kind being to killing another. It was suspicious, and remained on the back of his mind.

"You got a name?" Dean leaned back in his seat hands on his lap as he looked at the large dog.

The dog's panting stopped when it tilted its head, though it was almost as if its expression was less one of confusion than judgement.

"Don't wanna talk about it, I see. Someone call you 'cupcake'?" Dean smirked, his hand returning to the dog's head, this time rubbing its head a little roughly. This dog was cool, dogs were cool in general, but this one was scary cool. At least Dean thought so.

Suddenly as Dean continued rubbing, and grinning at the dog's pleased face, the dog lost just that face, head moving back, away from his reach. Looking towards the house for a moment, the dog took off running without any warning. A startled Dean got out of the car to see the door of the house left wide open, and not long after, the dog sprint right through and inside. "Shit!" Again, the curse left Dean's mouth as he jumped out of the car, slamming the door shut and reaching for his gun as he ran for the house.

"Sam!" Dean yelled as he heard noise, thumping upstairs. It was familiar, Sam was struggling, against something. Dean heard the dog bark upstairs, loudly, though less vicious than when he'd first heard it. Still loud and threatening, and it wouldn't stop as he bolted up the stairs. Before he rounded the corner, to head to the room the noise came from, his stomach dropped at what he heard. The deep, corner of the mouth growl of a dog attacking, tearing at something. "Help!" A voice screamed in agony, but it wasn't Sam's. Dean rounded the corner, gun pointing wherever he was looking, as he searched for a target. An old, scruffy man was on the floor, his ankle surrounded by pearl white teeth perfectly shown by the growling dog. Dean saw Sam immediately, knocked into a closet, doors broken by the impact of Sam's large body. Dean caught on quickly. "Down!" he yelled, gun aimed at the man. The dog whined as it let go, but stayed hovering over the man. The hair he had left on his head was thin, cut short and close to his head, perfect white, his beard unkempt and darker, grey, yellow in some parts.

Dean heard Sam get up with a groan, and take his place beside Dean.

"He's not human." Sam said simply and Dean's eyes narrowed further, gun still trained on the guy looking from one hunter to the other.

"I don't know what you're talking about, son." The man replied, huffing.

"That thing killed my brother!" he pointed at the dog which only growled threateningly in response.

"He's a skinwalker." Sam said accusingly, and Dean's stomach dropped at the thought.

"What about this one." Dean pointed his gun at the dog for a mere second. It had done neither of the hunters harm, in fact it just saved Sam's ass.

"She's one too." The man on the ground nodded quickly, still looking from one brother to the other, clearly afraid of both of them.

"Doesn't know how to turn into a human anymore." he spilled after Dean took a threatening step forward. Dean didn't even have any silver bullets on him, that was his predicament, he was bluffing. Either the guy did think his gun was loaded with the only thing to kill him, or just scared shitless of a normal bullet, immortal to him.

"You're not human." Dean spat. This house was supposed to be of a relative, an uncle of a victim.

"Your nephew, 's he one too?" Sam frowned.

"All of us, the whole family, of blood and other. And they'll come for you." he spat.

This was different. This was entirely different, neither of the brothers knew if they killed anyone innocent. All victims were of their own kind…. This was not a usual case.

Dean should've known the dog by his side was one too. The hobbling of a wounded leg turning into a full sprint for them? He should've realised that it was a clear clue.

"The dog, outside." It was all Sam had to say for the man to nod. "Your brother?" Dean questioned, brows furrowing further into a scowl. Another nod.

"Get up." Dean commanded, and as the man got to his feet, he noticed him lift one, the one bitten, or rather chewed up, in order not to put pressure on it.

"I thought ripping your heart out, silver bullet, that was what ganked you, not a chewed up windpipe." Dean growled, not buying it.

"Skinwalkers kill other skinwalkers, darwinism." Sam mumbled in realisation.

The man nodded, again looking from one brother to the other and back.

Dean was hesitant, and not entirely confident in his idea, but, he smirked at Sam for a moment before he looked back at the man. Eyes vicious, stare evil. "Hey, buddy, bite." Dean's grin widened immediately as the dog did as he was told. The man's arm was immediately grasped in a large jaw, and a deathly grip.

"Bitch." the guy fell back to the ground with the force of the dog's jump and weight. Dean winced as the man's fist connected with the dog's skull, but as he pulled back his arm was let go of and the dog latched onto his neck. Dean and Sam both had to look away from the struggle. Dean regret his decision, knowing he would have to kill the dog… the skinwalker after this, as well. There were deaths of the innocent in the far past, but neither of the brother's connected them, most of them were chewed up, torn apart messes, but in this area there were bears, and other dangerous wild animals. All reports of those deaths were connected to one or another wild animal and showed accuracy. Dean had made the connection, now as they knew their monster's title.

Dean heard the noise again, the growling of a full mouth, and the shaking of the head, the ragged breathing of the man going from erratic to barely there. He turned around, the shabby wooden planks now soaked in the man's blood, just like the dog's fur, around it's mouth, neck, ears. Everything was now a true red, instead of an odd shade brown and black.

"Dean." Sam said gently as soon as Dean aimed his gun for the dog's head.

"He saved my life, I don't think it's evil." Dean listened, he wanted to, but all he could pay attention to was the dog's deep stare at him. He didn't know what it was trying to do, it certainly wasn't trying to look innocent or plead, wasn't trying to look threatening either. It simply waited for him to do something.

Dean jerked slightly, when Sam's hand was softly placed on the crook of his arm. He lowered his gun reluctantly, pulling the safety.

Again, Dean doubted his chances, his sanity now too, but he spoke anyway. "You the only one left?" he asked the dog.

Nothing, it simply continued staring. Sam chuckled slightly, "Bark once for yes, twice for no." he said bemused, as if going along with a joke Dean had told. Though Dean's face remained stoic, and serious as he waited.

The bark echoed slightly from the stone walls of the room, both brothers waited for a second one, but there was none.

Dean's face fell slightly. The only one could create more… and the idea that this one was the only one left, alone, saddened him a little.

"Alright let's get out of here." Without a beat Dean turned to leave. Sam lingered a little more, looking at the dog almost apologetically before following his brother outside.

"Let's hope that one stays a dog too." Dean commented as he simply stepped over the dead dog on the road. Sam noticed, he noticed how Dean had earlier made sure to stay away from the dog earlier, make a big curve around it, and now derogatively stepped over it.

When the younger sat down into the car, now facing the house, he saw the dog sit in the open gate of the yard, still staring.

"It saved my life, Dean." Sam felt the resentment of the older, the urge to go for that one as well, he knew his brother too well. It would be a guilt on his mind forever, the idea that this one skinwalker could go on to create more and kill more. But something told Sam it wouldn't.

"I got it, Sam." Dean growled as he started the car.

"Go ahead then, kill her if it bothers you so much." Sam challenged his brother, but regret his words immediately as he saw Dean nod, jaw clenched, and reach for the door. Before the younger could say a word, Dean got out of the car. Sam looked ahead, and saw the dog run towards them, not sprint, but run, as if glad Dean got out of the car. Sam followed his brother's example, getting out of the car quickly. Not wanting the dog to run towards its own death so happily.

"Go, run." Sam whispered as the dog was near the car. It slowed down quickly, looking at him as if hurt. "Go away, shoo." he moved his arms as if pushing her away.

He heard Dean rummage through the trunk of the Impala behind him, hopefully not seeing the dog now standing right in front of the car.

"Go or he's going to kill you." he said firmly, knowing there was an almost human mind in there somewhere. Sam frowned in frustration as the dog sat down immediately as he said that.

"I'll kick you." he said threateningly, by now almost joining Dean's perspective.

Sam was almost hopeful when the dog moved it's forelegs, but it was merely to lie down completely. Sam frowned as he stared at the dog and it's now blood soaked fur. It was… their best option. It was their job. "Alright where is it." Sam heard Dean speak as he walked around the car, he also heard the sound of a gun being prepared, locked and loaded.

Sam had to think fast, or make up his mind, deal with his own doubts and agree with his brother on this. "Wait." Sam said quickly turning to his brother who was holding the gun, arm bent, barrel pointed at the sky for now, however if he so much as stretched his arm it would be pointed at the dog laying at Sam's feet.

"We could… keep it?" Sam gave Dean an innocent look, he knew the answer to that one, but still hoped.

"And what exactly do you plan on doing then? Keep it locked in a vault every night, sleep with a gun in your damn hand, Sam?!" Dean argued loudly.

"Leashes exist for a reason. Besides you saw what it did back there, just because you told it to. It might be helpful more than anything." Sam didn't hesitate to argue in return, realising he had more points than his brother.

"Oh and you go on a kibble run every week? Go for a walk every morning at four am? Dogs are a responsibility Sam." Dean mocked his brother, rolling his eyes before he returned his expression to serious at his last words.

"But she's not a dog, Dean." Sam let out a breathy, incredulous laugh as he spoke.

"Exactly, even worse. You're ready to keep a murderer as a pet?" Dean hissed at his brother.

Both of them had almost forgotten about the fact that the 'dog' was still lying at their feet. Though Sam quickly remembered, looking down he saw it had rested its head upon its large paw. It still looked up at them, having quite some trouble doing that without lifting its head.

"I don't know what to tell you Dean… I just know that that's not a murderer." Sam mumbled looking down at the dog. "What are our options, then, killing her, leaving her here to do god knows what. Or do you really want to give her to the next shelter to be adopted and possibly get that family killed? This is our best options, if she tries anything, go ahead and kill her. But I'm not killing someone whose innocence we aren't sure of." Sam finally regained his will to argue, and he was ready to throw more at his brother until he saw his expression. He almost smiled, he knew that one, the pursed lips, brows furrowed, and narrowed eyes look. The look of Dean knowing Sam was right.

"Get up." Dean nodded his head upwards, once, as he looked down at the dog. It hesitated, but got up to its four feet. Sam smiled, a skinwalker that magically lost the ability to turn was a dog, and he was okay with that.

Dean glared at Sam as he walked around the car, and to Sam's surprise open the door to the backseat. "In." Dean said simply, as he put away his gun.

Sam kept the smile as he watched the dog jump into the backseat, and sit down in the middle. "Interesting how it listens to me and not you." Dean commented making his way to the driver's seat. "Run, shoo." he mocked the younger waving his arms around before he got into the car. Sam didn't mind, he kept the smile as the engine began purring and he shut the door on his own side.

"You think we should put a seatbelt on her?" Sam frowned slightly as Dean began driving.

"Let it fly through the damn windshield for all I care, you're feeding it, walking it, and all the other shit dogs need. Your idea, your job." Dean grumbled focusing on the road as he drove around the dog laying on the road.