Disclaimer: Characters belong to Dreamworks and Netflix.
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Nights were still warm, even when the days were getting shorter once again. They were tolerable, even without the wolf's skin.
Today had been a nice day. They had found a moderately nice town, Lance had charmed the people until they were talking amicably and even selling them some goods at a lower price than usual. Keith had found himself smiling more than once, even when he didn't engage too much in conversations. Lance was funny enough for both of them. The afternoon was ending, and night would soon be over them, but the moon was waning so it wasn't an issue.
They were walking through the empty streets, wanting to find an inn soon and get something to eat. It was a quiet, peaceful evening until it wasn't anymore. Until someone found them.
Once, when he had first been adapting to the curse, he'd find another werewolf. It had been an older one, and Keith, with his head confused and feelings still raw, had thought they could help him. He'd gotten closer to the wolf, whining in something he guessed was his beast form to ask for help. The other wolf had attacked him on sight, almost killing Keith. He'd lost a lot of skin, bleeding from many different places, his left ear had been almost ripped from his head and one of his legs had been broken. He still thought it had been pure luck what allowed him to escape from their jaws.
The curse healed him quickly, but the lesson stayed with him. He'd met other cursed wolves later, and it usually went better, but he'd never forgotten that first experience. He didn't trust them and preferred to get away from them as fast as he could. So, his first reaction when the smell found his nose was a bit strange. He looked around wildly and, as soon as he found the source, he threw himself between Lance and the stranger.
His blood was pumping and he almost didn't notice Lance's hand on his shoulder or his voice asking what happened. It didn't take him too long to see or smell the other person, and the stranger also noticed them. It was a woman. She didn't look aggressive, maybe more like curious, but Keith didn't trust her one bit. There was still something predatory in her manners, in the way her balance was slightly more to her right and how her eyes followed every one of their moves.
She blinked a few times when she saw them, her head tilting to the side, and then she walked towards them. Her steps were light, and there was some sort of rhythm to them that make it seem as if she were dancing. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail and swung from side to side every time she moved. Her body was thin but there was strength and confidence in her moves. She was dangerous.
Keith took a few steps back, pushing Lance with him since he was still hiding him with his body. In all honesty, he would have preferred to leave, but he wasn't going to turn his back on her. Not until he at least knew what she wanted.
The woman stood in front of them, looking them up and down, as well as subtly smelling them. She was skilled, only her nostrils moving while her face remained impassive. Minutes passed, none of them moving until the woman smiled. She flashed them a big smile, one that pretended to be sweet and welcoming but Keith could still sense the nastiness it was trying to hide.
"Hello there." came her voice, high pitched and joyful. She received no answer and her left eye twitched, but her smile didn't falter. She raised her hand and tried to touch them, but stopped herself when Keith growled a warning.
"Calm down," She said, her voice still cheerful, even when there was a sharp edge in her eyes now. "I just want to talk. It's not every day you find two pretty boys all alone."
"Go away," Was the only answer Keith gave her. Of course, she didn't listen and instead tried to circle around them. Keith didn't let her, moving their bodies around so they remained face to face. She gave up after a moment and asked instead.
"Is he your mate?"
"No."
"No? You surely are protective enough of him."
"I said no," Keith growled again. Lance put a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him calm.
"Can we help you?" Lance asked, his voice polite but wary.
"Help me!" The woman said, laughing. "What could two puppies like you do for me?"
Lance seemed taken aback by her question because he doubted a moment before continuing.
"Then we're leaving. We've already talked, no need to detain you . I'm sure someone like you must have important business elsewhere."
"Why so mean, kid? It's been a while since I've seen young pups running wild. You should come pay me and my friends a visit, before we leave."
"Your friends?" Keith muttered, a cold shiver running through his back as Lance talked louder drowning out his question.
"Oh, so you are all visiting this town? You must like this place!" His enthusiastic tone was obviously fake, but the woman didn't seem to notice or care.
"Sure, we like this town." Her face was twisted into a cruel expression, sharp teeth showing "So lively, you can almost feel their blood pumping. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to lure a young man to take a walk away from town. Would you like to come with me and my friends? It'll be fun."
"There's no moon today," Lance whispered horrified.
"Does it matter?"
Neither of them said anything in answer and she smiled, a cruel edge on her pointy teeth.
"I see. You are a lovely couple, especially you." As she said that, one of her hands found Lance's cheek
Keith slapped her hand away. The woman looked at him with fury, and Keith felt his hair stand on end and his muscles tense, ready to fight whatever came his way. He was still half in between Lance and the woman, and he wouldn't let anything happen to the other man. The woman, however, soon relaxed and the smile came back, bigger than before.
"You are too far gone. Your mate may keep you at bay for a while, but it's too late for you. And then it will be too late for him too."
Keith didn't want to listen to her but her words dug deep into his worst fears.
"What do you mean?" Lance asked, taking the bait.
"He knows what I mean."
"Shut up. We're leaving." Keith pushed Lance back, towards the street leading to the inn.
"You may run away from me, pup, but you can't run away from yourself. You'll both give up, and then you'll realize this is not a curse but a blessing."
"You are crazy," Lance said, not bothering to mask his disdain and repugnance. The woman didn't care.
"Maybe. But, aren't we all?"
Keith had to physically drag Lance away from her, and they could still hear her laughing from far away.
.
.
They skipped dinner and went straight to their room. It was a nice place with two beds, which was sort of a novelty since they weren't that lucky usually. Lance sat on one of them as soon as they entered and then bounced his leg up and down. He was weirdly silent, so Keith tried to coax him into talking by sitting at his side and bumping their shoulders together. "What's up with you?"
"Do you think she was saying the truth?"
"I don't know." It was the truth and yet… "I want to think she's not, but I don't really know."
"Do you think there's a way to end this?" Lance asked then.
Keith bit his lip. There was nothing he could say. He had no answer to that question because he didn't think there was a solution, but he would never say that to Lance. He knew he still had hope for him, for them. His confidence was soothing and Keith needed the comfort more than he'd ever thought.
Silence stretched between them, until Lance broke it again, his voice a little shaky.
"My sister thought there was a solution, you know? I think I told you once," Keith nodded, his face softening at the fondness Lance's voice carried now. "She was always like that, trying to fix everything. She's a good person. She worked so hard, even more when I became this…"
Lance sighed, his right hand rubbing at his temple.
"I was… scared at first, but when I saw her so confident I thought… I thought it would be okay? Because she's my older sister and she was always right but… Now I'm not so sure. And I don't want to… I don't want to become that woman. I don't want to be that. Never."
"You won't," Keith said then, confident as never before. "Even if she is right, you'd never be like her."
Lance smiled at him, a tiny gesture on his face, but his eyes were still full of sadness and nothing else. Keith took his hand, squeezing it between his own but it didn't stop Lance's next words.
"Maybe we should die," Keith physically recoiled.
"What?"
"It would be easier for everyone," Lance said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Even for you and me. Don't you think so?"
Keith was speechless. He'd never been good with words, but now his mouth felt like it was full of sand. He had to swallow a few times before he dared to ask.
"Do you want to die?"
"No." Lance shrugged his shoulders. "Of course not. It's just… Sometimes it's harder, you know?"
"I know."
"I don't want to kill anyone," The sadness was back in his eyes and his voice, so Keith got closer to him and hugged his shoulders, dragging him closer to his chest before answering.
"I know."
"But I've done it already."
Keith didn't say anything, tightening his arm around Lance's shoulder. He had no solution for Lance, but he could at least be there for him. There was a silence again, while Lance mulled over his thoughts and then he asked.
"Would you kill me if I asked you to?"
"No." There was no hesitation, no doubts from Keith.
"But-"
Keith cut his sentence by moving their bodies until they were face to face. He shook Lance a bit until he got him to look at his eyes.
"No," He said, his voice full of passion "I would do many things for you. I would do almost anything for you. But not this. Don't ask me to kill you, don't ask me to let you die."
They stayed like that, not moving at all, just looking at each other until Lance averted his eyes and nodded as he deflated. Keith pushed him back to lay on the bed and, following an instinct, laid himself over Lance's body. It wasn't something he was used to doing, but Lance did it all the time for him when they were in their wolf bodies. The weight grounded Keith, made it easy to remember where he was and who he was. He hoped it would do the same for Lance now.
After a moment, the man relaxed under him and sighed, his arms draping around Keith's waist and hugging him. Lance dropped a light kiss on his temple before whispering.
"I'm sorry. Thank you."
Nothing else was said that night, but it took a long time for the two of them to fall asleep.
