Though I'd give a double update this week. Enjoy~

Panic immediately flooded Seth as he watched Dean, normally sound and strong, collapse in a spasming heap on the floor.

"Shit! Dean!" he cried, rushing to his boyfriend's side.

Blood and foam flowed out of Dean's mouth and the tendons in his arms and neck stood out dangerously from beneath his flesh while he thrashed about.

Seth shifted Dean's flailing weight as much as he could with one hand so that the latter didn't choke on the fluid coming up, the thumb of his other hand shaking, frantically dialing 911 on his phone.

His motor skills were shot from fear and adrenaline and he punched the numbers in twice before they showed up correctly on the screen.

That was when he felt an unnatural shifting of muscle and bone under his touch. The sound of something ripping wetly filled his ears followed by a distinctly inhuman growl.

Seth paused before dropping his phone, a feeling of dread overcoming him when the skin under his hand fell away to be replaced by damp fur, covered as though with some sort of afterbirth.

"Dean?"

Another growl rattled his bones and the body – what used to be Dean – lifted itself to its haunches then to a standing position, all four feet rooted to the ground in a purely feral nature.

White fur rippled under his hand as thick chords of muscle jumped underneath flesh with every movement. Crouched on the floor, Seth was a child next to the massive animal.

Seth knew he should be running far away – every cell of his being was crying out for it, but he couldn't bring himself to remove his hand from the creature his lover had become, the fear of losing Dean forever greater than the fear for his life.

A sob wrecked his throat as he gave another weak call, "D-Dean?"

There was another shifting as it turned its head so that it was looking back and he caught his first glimpse of the wolf's face. It was too close to what he'd seen attack Dean outside the bar that one muggy night in Baltimore that they were practically one in the same.

A long, tooth-filled muzzle snarled while eerie glowing blue eyes leered at him with nothing short of malice.

Only then did Seth's hand recoil from the wolf and he darted backwards until he managed to stumble to his feet with relatively little incident.

"Dean…"

The wolf tracked his every movement even as its body turned so that they were facing each other, eyes dilating into two black holes with every step he took to put distance between them.

Bad idea on his part.

Seth attributed his timely dodge of the wolf's explosive lunge to nothing but luck and his agility. A less disciplined man would be dead.

Dean's sparse furniture and belongings went flying as Seth bolted towards the garage so he could attempt at barricading himself inside, the wolf literally biting at his heels the whole way.

He was able to make it inside the house-connected garage but could not shut the wooden door in time before the wolf's head breached the closing gap, its snapping maw snagging the leg of his sweatpants.

"Fuck! Dean, it's me!" he shrieked as he fought simultaneously to both free his leg and shove the wolf out of the room.

The wolf paid no heed, gave no hesitation to signal that there was anything left of Dean inside. The only emotion it expressed was a maddening desire to tear him limb from limb.

Dean was gone.

A strange sort of numbing fog flooded Seth, one where he could still move and all of his five senses worked, but he was emotionally blocked, stuck on autopilot per survival instinct while a hastily growing void was consuming him within.

Seth ripped his leg free without suffering any injury then used his own body to barricade the door against the wolf entering further.

Dean was gone.

The wolf bellowed low in its throat and gave a mighty shove, splintering the door and the frame in the process. The power of it sent Seth slipping forward on the smooth concrete floor and had he not dropped to the floor and braced the soles of his feet against the tires of Dean's truck, the wolf would be inside.

Pushing back with all his strength, a furious howl split his ears as consequence.

Seth flinched, a whimper escaping unbidden.

Dean was gone.

Seth's heartbeat sounded a million miles away and at the same time overwhelmingly loud in his ears as his emotionally wrecked organ pumped on, dull and heavy against his ribcage.

He couldn't even register the tears clogging his vision.

Though the wolf continued its onslaught on the door, Seth's will to fight began slipping, his fear subsiding into anguish and self-loathing. After all it was he who begged Dean to take a shot at a cure. It was he who had put down the oath that he wouldn't let Dean become a mindless beast.

And what did he have to show for it?

Now instead of curing Dean, Seth had issued what amounted to a death sentence upon his own lover.

Seth's chest gave a painful twist before his heart carried on its lifeless thudding march, merely prolonging his suffering.

Once heartfelt promises and pleas now felt hollow and meaningless.

What was the point in fighting, in surviving, in going on living if Dean was no longer there by his side?

An essential part of Seth had been torn from him, lost and locked forever inside of the bloodthirsty animal on the other side of the door.

'There is no point anymore…'

Seth was so deep in his own misery, detached from everything that he didn't realize the snarls and howls had ceased and the force pressing against the door was gone.

Only when his back leaned too much against the cracked wood and the door shut with a resounding thud amidst the sudden hush did Seth wake again to his surroundings and take them in.

The silence was deafening and unnerving.

Shifting minutely, he turned so that he could press a hand against the door. There was no pressure on the other side.

'Where's the wolf?'

Sniffling the worst of his tears and snot back, Seth gathered what was left of his wits and crept around so that he was facing the battered door. Pushing his despair aside for the moment, he placed an ear quietly to the splintered wood and listened.

At first he heard nothing, but after straining his hearing he caught the muffled sound of heavy breathing on the other side.

Seth held his breath as he slowly turned the knob in his hand and cracked the door a few inches.

Between the small gap his eyes met the sight of a large fur covered ribcage rising and falling with labored gasps as though getting a lungful of air was an intense task.

Without thought of himself Seth opened the door wide to get a full picture of what was going on. There on the floor he found the wolf lying prone on its side, blue eyes closed to the world and red tongue lolling out of its rapidly panting muzzle.

Falling to his hands and knees, he crawled over to the weakening beast covered in its own blood and cradled the massive head in his lap. The wolf did nothing to dislodge him or attack; it simply licked its lips and went back to panting.

Now that he was up close and personal with it, Seth could see nuances about the wolf that he never took into account before, like the copper tinge to what he thought was solid platinum fur, fur that flared out into a mane-like growth at the back of the neck. How the body was pure muscle, but not bogged down by that fact, and though the canine features were heavily mutated from that of a normal wolf, they were symmetrical.

This creature was more than just an evolutionary killing machine; it was also ruggedly beautiful; just like Dean.

'Dean…'

Seth's heart gave another clench and he bent forward to press his lips to the shuddering brow of his lover's beastly form.

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry," he whispered.

Dean's broad conical ears twitched but he gave no other outwardly show that he understood.

"Y-You're dying…aren't y-you?" Seth let out a shaky breath then held Dean closer, "I-I t-thought I c-could s-save you...I t-though I c-could…"

He pushed his hands soothingly up and down the white fur that covered the length of Dean's body. If he couldn't save Dean, then he was damn sure he was going to comfort him to his last breath.

Dean gave a big, huffing exhale, then abruptly his muscles and bones began jumping uncontrollably as his body quaked with intense spasms. Seth tightened his arms around the wolf in an attempt to ease the suffering, cheeks streaked with fresh tears. His eyes screwed tightly shut, his emotional pain striking him on a physical level.

"I-I love y-you s-so much, Dean."

Seth was dreadfully certain that when the form in his arms stilled that it was the end. That was until he felt Dean's anatomy shifting, rearranging, and the fur coat begin to recede into warm flesh.

Brown eyes snapped open, staring in bewilderment as the wolf morphed gradually back to man, fur melting away up to the scars that initially started this whole mess.

Shaking his head of what he witnessed, Seth's hand flew to Dean's neck where he could feel for a pulse.

It was there, bordering on the weak side, but there.

Seth let out a giddy, albeit tearful laugh. Another laugh was bubbling up, but he held it back in order to check Dean over more thoroughly.

Dean was unconscious, but seemed to be so out of exhaustion more than anything.

The wolf was gone, down to the blood that stained its fur. Almost everything that became feral in appearance on Dean's human form was also gone. The only thing keeping Seth from outright celebrating aloud were the scars on Dean's shoulder and chest.

They felt hot to the touch when Seth traced them and his fingers snagged a few long course strands of fur among many that still sprouted up from the lines of raised skin.

Still, having Dean back as a human was a great reprieve to all the emotions Seth had been shouldering just moments ago.

Seth cupped Dean's face, one hand brushing some copper bangs back as the thumb of his opposite hand followed the lower curve of Dean's lips, lips he thought he'd never get to see or the chance to feel again.

"I-I don't think w-we're quite outta the woods y-yet, Deano," he whispered, more so as a reminder to himself, then gently yet longingly laid his lips upon that of his lover's.

Dean was his again, for now at least.

'I should get him more comfortable.'

Warmth spread across Seth's face as he realized that Dean was naked and he'd have to dress the comatose man himself. Of course this wasn't the first time he'd seen the other man naked, but this was a more personal level of nudity.

Dean wasn't even aware of what was going on, and Seth felt a little like it was bordering on violation…even if Dean was his boyfriend.

In his mind Seth could hear what Dean would likely say, ' "Buck up, Princess. We don't have time for this." '

Seth flushed again, this time more out of anger at his own insecurities.

He left Dean's body only to swiftly grab some of the other man's boxer shorts packed away in his suitcase.

Throwing caution to the wind Seth began his task, trying to complete it as quickly and as unaffected as he possibly could, but he would have been a man without a pulse if he didn't take notice of Dean's body.

How soft his skin was in some places and rough and scarred in others from his time in the indies. The unsuspecting power in Dean's legs and thighs, and the incredible slimness of his waist, its trim form emphasized even more by his broad chest and shoulders.

Seth could be almost envious of such a physical combination, and don't get him started on Dean's –

He caught himself staring as a new sort of heat enveloped him so quickly he shook himself off.

"Dammit Rollins. Focus!"

A few moments later he accomplished his task of pulling the waistband up Dean's slim hips then attempt to pull the bigger man's frame up so he could drag him along to the master bedroom.

Ever since he was bitten, Dean's skin always seemed a little tighter around his frame, as though containing a form much larger underneath that sun kissed flesh of his.

Seth now knew that it was the wolf residing inside Dean that gave him his body that constrained appearance, and it went further than that, affecting his weight as well.

Dean's dead weight barely budged with Seth's effort.

Cursing softly, Seth dropped Dean's arms and decided on hefting his boyfriend's body onto his shoulders in a typical fireman's carry. Though his shoulders mildly protested Dean's weight change, he was able to unload his sleeping cargo onto the king sized bed below.

After making his charge more comfortable under the covers, Seth got himself undressed down to his boxer briefs then climbed into bed as well. He snuggled as close as he could to the warmth of Dean's body.

Pulling out his phone and switching Dean's television on low – mostly because a little background noise helped him think better – he wasted no time in resuming his research and reevaluating the information he found.

He spent the remainder of the night reading through every website on werewolves he could find, from historical accounts and legends to cheesy blogs. Considering the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Dean, he was willing to examine every avenue, no matter how kooky it sounded.

However he'd have to tread more lightly this time after the episode with the wolfbane.

By early morning he had compiled a more thorough list of proposed cures, but he was still uncertain of what he should try first. The full moon was less than a week away now.

Sighing, Seth put away his phone then looked over at Dean.

Another wave of emotion hit him as he recalled the feelings that overwhelmed him when he thought Dean was lost to him, dead even. It was something he never wanted to experience again, though he knew it could easily happen a second time.

But Dean was here with him again, for the moment.

Seth suppressed a relieved sob, his lower lip trembling in its place, and wrapped Dean up in his arms. Dean's heart rate was strengthening, thumping steadily under his ear like the comforting beat of a drum. For a while he just listened to it.

He could listen to it forever, but he didn't have forever to work with right now.

Though he didn't want to pull away or leave a still unconscious Dean, Seth felt that a nice jog could clear his head and help relieve some stress, so after checking his boyfriend's vitals more thoroughly, Seth threw on some light clothes, grabbed his water bottle, and left the house.

Seth planned to make the jog a quick one due to Dean's condition and the soaring Nevada heat, but the more he tried to calm his mind, the more he felt his habit of thinking too long and hard take charge. So he kept going in hopes of forcing the anxious doubts from his thoughts.

Before he knew it he had jogged all the way to the center of the Vegas strip, panting and sweating up a storm.

"Shit…" he muttered, placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. A long swig from his water bottle came shortly after.

He was about to turn back the direction he came when he recalled something Dean had mentioned about there being all sorts of people in Las Vegas. Maybe someone here could give him answers.

"Why the hell not?" he asked no one in particular and continued forward at a more sedate pace.

Dean was right. There were all sorts of people here, even in broad daylight.

From tourists and routine gamblers to shady dealers and call girls, from flamboyant street performers and clubbers – some clubs never closed it seemed – to hobos and junkies. Vegas had it all.

Well all it seemed except for what he was actually looking for, then again Seth wasn't sure what that something was.

What was he supposed to do, go around asking people if they knew about werewolves or put up fliers with his contact information?

Everyone would probably think he was on something, because werewolves weren't supposed to exist – and yet Dean existed and his problem was a very real one.

Seth stopped and leaned against a building, hands roughly raking through his hair and face in overwrought exasperation. His nerves were frayed, hanging by mere tethers. The stress from the previous night and the lack of sleep weren't helping either.

He couldn't just give up now, but his jumbled mind couldn't formulate a coherent next move.

"You look troubled, băiat," said a voice in a thick accent he could not place.

Seth whipped his head up and to the right to find a little crone of an old woman standing at the top of the front stoop of the building he was resting against.

"Perhaps Mama Lupei can give answers," her welcoming smile held gaps from missing and crooked teeth and he noted how bony her fingers looked as she beckoned him to her.

Seth's brow quirked in question at her, but he couldn't help his pique in interest.

If he wasn't mistaken, her surname meant wolf in some other language.

The sign hanging over the old woman's establishment then grabbed up his attention, cultivating and growing his curiosity.

Mama Lupei's Fortune Readings and Mystic Shop.

In Seth's opinion all psychics and palm readers were a load of crap. Hell if someone asked him a month ago if he believed in werewolves, Seth would have laughed in their face.

But as it was his very own boyfriend was one such mythical creature.

What other legends and folklore existed in this world, just beneath the surface of reality?

She could be a charlatan or she could be the key to curing Dean.

"Depends," Seth finally answered, pushing off the wall to approach her, just close enough to lean his forearms upon the railing at the bottom of the steps. "Can you tell me about werewolves?"

Mama Lupei's face shifted from an expression of warmth, to shock, then to revulsion.

Letting loose something in her native tongue (a curse he suspected), she spat on the ground and disappeared surprisingly fast back into her shop.

By her reaction she knew about them all right.

Seth took the stairs three steps at a time and doggedly pursued her inside.

Lupei did her best to ignore him, pretending to busy herself with organizing jars containing ingredients he'd never laid his eyes on before.

"Ma'am please, I just want to know how—"

"No talk of werewolves!" she snapped at him.

Seth pursed his lips to keep himself from snapping right back. "Look," he sighed, "my friend…he's changing…has already changed. I'd give my right arm for him…so please…if there's a cure, you gotta tell me. I can't lose him."

"Full moon has not yet come," she eyed him sharply, "you gave him wolfsbane then?"

"Yes."

"Bah…wolfsbane no cure. Brings out wolf."

"Yeah I already gathered that…"

"When full moon comes, your friend will change again," Lupei shook her head and carried on puttering about her shop, "he's almost gone already."

"Almost gone?"

"When he changes to wolf for third time, he will never change back. It will happen in two full moon's time now because of wolfsbane, not three."

"But you said he's almost gone," Seth pressed frantically, "he can still be cured, right?"

Mama Lupei glared at him as if he were some piece of sludge stuck to her boot. "You threaten me and my shop with talk of werewolves…I want compensation."

"If you tell me what I need to do and it works, I'll pay you whatever you want." Seth wasn't beyond begging.

"Fine," the old woman said as she waddled to the front door and flipped the sign so that it read closed.

Băiat means "boy" or "lad" in Romanian.