The familiar rumbling of the Impala had lulled Sam to sleep. It had been a long drive but Dean had stubbornly insisted on driving there himself, just stopping for gas and a coffee. Sam knew better than to argue with his big brother. If Dean had set his mind on something, nothing less than knocking him out and tying him up would stop him.
Stretching the best he could in his seat, Sam tried to get rid of the stiffness in his joints and muscles. A chuckle from his left made him focus on his brother with a frown.
"Awake, princess?" Dean said in a cheerful voice that belied his weary appearance. They had been on the road almost twelve hours straight and there was no way Dean did NOT feel tired.
"I bet I'm looking better than you do, Dean," Sam growled sleepily.
"Never gonna happen, baby brother," Dean replied as expected. Sam rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I know you think you're adorable," he mumbled.
"Oh Sammy," Dean grinned. "I can give you a long list with names of chicks who all think I'm adorable."
"You remember their names?" Sam sat up in his seat, incredulous.
"Hey!" An annoyed vibe had snuck into Dean's teasing tone. "Just because you're the geek of the two of us doesn't mean I'm a moron," he replied.
Sam grinned. He knew his brother was not what most people thought he was when they first met him. Dean knew exactly what they were thinking and usually it was exactly what he wanted them to think. There was always an advantage to be gained from being underestimated.
When you spent some time in Dean's company, however, there was no way you would not notice what he really was capable of. Sometimes Sam wondered where his brother would be today if no demon had ever messed with their lives.
"Yeah, you better be quiet about that," Dean broke the silence and then pulled the Impala into the parking lot of a motel.
"Are we there already?" Sam hid a yawn while pretending to check out the area. "I thought we're going to Luis' place."
"I drive a lot faster when you're not bitching about speed limits, geek boy," Dean stated as he shut down the engine. "Luis is working a 48 hour shift, so unless you want to break in... anyways, your turn to get a room."
"Yeah, yeah," Sam muttered and opened the door to unfold his long limbs and stretch them.
"And make sure they have two beds!"
Sam stopped in his tracks. "We always get two beds," he pulled his eyebrows up, puzzled.
"Last time we saw Luis, we had to share a bed. I don't ever want to have you drool on me again." Dean had a dagger stare on him.
"I don't drool, dude," Sam protested.
"Just keep telling yourself that, princess," Dean grumbled. "Now go already, I'm tired."
Sam opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it when he looked back at his brother and saw him, eyes closed, leaning against the half rolled down window of his Baby.
***sn***
Dr. Luis Waiden stepped into the small recreational outside patio of the hospital to enjoy some fresh air. It was also the only area in the clinic where his cellphone had reception. Sure enough there was a missed call and a message. With a sigh the doctor pressed a button to play the message and then held his cellphone to his ear.
"Hey doc," Dean Winchester's voice sounded tinny through the speaker. "Just wanted to let you know we've booked a room at the Shady Hill Motel. It's shady alright. Anyhow, give us a call when you're ready to meet up to share the details on your missing heart case."
Luis glanced at his watch. It was early afternoon and he wouldn't be off duty for another three hours. The Winchesters had made good time. Still, the morning there had been another autopsy on a body missing its heart. Jack had told him about it upon finishing the autopsy.
Three victims in two days, two dead, missing their hearts, one alive but critical with massive trauma to the torso. It was obvious to Luis that whatever had attacked these people had been interrupted when it had been busy with the survivor, Jesse Simmons.
The missing hearts were a riddle for Luis, but no doubt they were the most important clue. Two nights, two missing heart corpses... Luis' money was on another victim the next night. Maybe Sam and his brother could prevent this before the city went into a full blown panic.
Glancing at his watch again, Luis sighed. Almost time to return to the circus, he thought. Quickly, he typed a message and sent it to Dean's number. Somehow, knowing that his monster hunting friends were in town loosened the knot in the doc's stomach.
***sn***
Luis checked the files he'd spread out on his living room table and nodded. He got everything they had on the cases from a medical point of view. Jack Chambers had frowned at him when he had asked for a copy of those two autopsies. Luis had told Jack he had a friend who specialized in animal attacks who had volunteered to have a look to see if he could help.
Walking to the fridge, Luis grabbed a bottle of beer and then turned to grab the opener. The deep rumble of a 60's muscle car let his face light up in a grand smile. He put down the bottle and strode to the door to open it.
Standing on the porch he watched the headlights of the impeccable looking Impala switch off and the wide doors opened to reveal Dean Winchester and his brother and former Stanford buddy Sam.
***sn***
Piercing yellow eyes were watching the back entrance to the club. The door opened and out spilled a group of three girls. He could smell the alcohol on them from across the street, where he was lying in the shadows, waiting. Giggly laughter tickled his ears and sped up his pulse ever so slightly. The hunting instinct in his blood was taking over.
Crouching lower to the ground he exposed his fangs, pulling in the enthralling scent of intoxicated humans. The girls strolled a few steps towards him, laughing and breathing hard. The closer they came, the better he could hear the elevated rhythms of their beating hearts. His excitement rising, he just barely managed to suppress a low growl. Patience was not the virtue of a werewolf, but it was a necessity to be successful.
The girls changed direction, more or less approaching directly now, completely unaware of any kind of danger. They were headed for the bench next to the street lamp he was hiding in the shadows behind. Light made the shade behind it even darker, at least to those in the light. Two of the girls sat down, inches from where he was now, curled low, inhaling their sweet scent, readying himself for the pounce.
The girl standing up lifted her head. Her eyes seemed to try and penetrate the inky darkness behind the bench. Did she notice the faint glow of his yellowish eyes? He could hear the change in her heartbeat, apprehension flooding her. He was certain adrenalin was rushing through her veins now. Adrenalin made a beating heart even sweeter. Her brows narrowed and she took a step back.
"Girls?" She spoke to her chatting friends, alerting them with her tone. But before she could say any more, he was ready. Like a cheetah attacking a gazelle his curled up muscles exploded into action and he pounced. One giant leap and he took her down, her head connected with the street with and audible crack.
The girls screamed and tried to run. But they were no match for a super speed monster. In what seemed like a split second, his giant jaws had bitten first the one, then the other girl, panic and shock rendered them unconscious. Blood dripping from his fangs, he observed the back street. No movements. Nobody witnessed what happened.
Those two girls would become his allies, maybe even his mates. Yellow eyes fell onto the third girl, transfixed on the chest lifting and falling with each breath. It was tantalizing and he almost devoured her sweet heart right then and there. But detection could happen any time so he grabbed his victim with his claws and dragged her deeper into the shadows. Satisfied he would be safe from prying eyes, his claws ripped open her ribcage and finally he could sink his fangs into her still beating heart.
***sn***
Dean put down his empty beer bottle and stretched out his legs. Sam was bent over the autopsy pictures on the table, squinting his eyes while scrutinizing the gruesome looking ribcages, his eyes darting from one picture to the next and back again. Luis sat upright, nursing his own beer, and glanced at Dean who was running one hand through his spiky hair.
"Alright, Sammy," Dean broke the silence, lifting himself from his slouch. "Care to share and exchange thoughts?" Sam looked up and nodded, glancing briefly at Luis before letting his eyes settle on his brother's.
"Do you want to say it or should I?" He replied and moved an errant strand of long brown hair out of his face to tuck it behind the ear.
"Do the honors, will ya?" Dean relaxed back into the couch, closing his green eyes, and for a moment it looked like he was ready to curl up like a cat and start purring. The hint of a smile played around Sam's lips and he simply nodded. Dean still looked weary from his all day drive but he would never admit to fatigue.
"Okay, Luis. Looks like you were on the right track," Sam explained and Luis wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried. "Those are definitely claw marks on the ribs and torso itself, and the heart obviously was ripped out, not cut out. Not standard bear or cougar procedure. But it is consistent with the MO of a werewolf."
Sam lifted his eyes and looked Luis squarely in the face to gauge his reaction. Dean half lifted an eyelid to do the same, while Luis let the tension flow from his shoulders as he leaned into the backrest for the first time this night. Myriad emotions ran over his face and finally he took a deep breath and folded his hands behind his head.
"Honestly, Sam, I don't know what to think. I mean, werewolves being real doesn't shock me too much after all I've seen now. But having one on the loose in this town, it scares me. I don't think this town is ready for a horror story."
"This town might not be, but we are," Dean said, briefly putting up a fake smirk.
"Yeah, I know," Luis mumbled. "One thing, though. I thought werewolves only operate on the night of the full moon..." He left his question hanging in the air to be picked up. The brothers exchanged one look and then Dean sat up.
"That's right for ordinary werewolves. Sort of. They can transform at night in their sleep a few days around the lunar peak. Pureblood werewolves however, can transform at will."
"At will?" Luis gasped.
"Afraid so," Sam confirmed. "Since it is one more day until the full moon though, it's difficult to say at this point whether it is a pureblood or not. But my money is on pureblood." Dean nodded in agreement.
"Oh happy day," Luis exhaled and shook his head. "And how do we stop it?"
"Silver bullet to the heart," the brothers replied in unison.