Jo waited in the car for her sister at the end of school. Lisa opened the door and plopped down next to her in the passenger seat.
"Well?" Jo waited expectantly.
Lisa shrugged. "He got away, I couldn't find him."
Jo glared at her. "You let him get away again didn't you."
"What? No…"
Jo punched her on the arm...not too hard but enough to show she meant business. "You've got a history with that boy and I want to know what. You can't keep doing this, Leese."
Lisa pondered it for a moment before glancing to her sister on her left. "I'll tell you when we get home, alright?"
Jo raised an eyebrow and pulled out of the parking lot.
The sun was getting lower in the sky when Sam left the house. Bobby had told him to avoid the spot where the attacks had been so the hunters couldn't actually pin them to the crime. The Alpha hoped that eventually the real culprits would mess up or leave a clue but Sam wasn't so sure.
He gave the impression he was just going for a run before starting off in the direction he'd gone the night before.
When he arrived he had to stop a ways away because police were crawling all over the scene and bordering it off. One of them spotted him and approached.
"Kid, you shouldn't be around a place like this right now but I guess I have to ask: Do you have any idea what happened here?"
Sam shook his head, feigning innocence which he was fortunately very good at.
"Was it an animal attack?" he asked, cracking his voice as he looked at the mess of carnage. The smell was worse now, he preferred to think it just smelled like copper but knew he was just fooling himself. Blood has a very distinct scent, especially with higher sense levels.
Sam knew he wasn't going to be able to investigate much with cops looking at everything so he turned and began to walk away.
So much for that he thought, on the verge of cursing the efficiency of the police force before realizing how ridiculous that would be. He began to run home through the trees, taking care to not slip on the leaves that coated the ground
He stepped and heard the snap before he could register what happened.
The phone was ringing, which was odd enough in the house of the reclusive Alpha. He walked over and picked up the phone.
"Robert Singer speaking." he said.
"Bobby?"
"Sam? Where are you, boy?"
"I'm-" his voice broke slightly and Bobby began to worry.
"Sam. Sam, are you alright?"
"I've been hurt. The hunters...they put out bear traps or something."
"Are you alright now?" the older man asked, feeling a twinge of panic.
"Yeah, I got out alright. It's starting to heal, too."
Bobby put a hand to his forehead, regretting what he was about to say. "Well, you know the rules, Sam. I'm sorry but you'll have to stick it out in one of the bunkers until tomorrow. The hunters have been more jumpy of late if you hadn't noticed. Hide out and they'll lose your trail."
Bobby couldn't see it but he had the feeling Sam was nodding resolutely.
"Alright."
The Alpha paused for a moment. "What were you doing over there anyways?"
The voice on the other end was suspiciously quiet.
"Aw, c'mon, Sam. The one thing I told ya to stay away from."
"Sorry. I thought I might find something useful."
"Idjit."
"Yeah…" Sam relented. "I'll tell you what I found tomorrow...'night I guess."
"'Night, Sam. Stay safe."
Bobby hung up the phone and Dean leaned on the kitchen counter next to him.
"Who was that? One of those pesky telemarketers?" he joked.
"Nah, it's Sam. He got hurt so he's staying in the bunker tonight."
Dean blinked. "He's hurt? What happened?"
"Bear trap, he says, but he's doing alright now." Bobby looked at the teenager with scrutiny, noticing the fidgeting and restlessness that had started to appear along with the elevated heart rate.
"Don't you even think about it." he said with deadly seriousness.
Dean sighed and raised an eyebrow, making the most innocent face he could.
"Dean, Sam will be fine."
"And if the hunters find him?" the boy argued.
"They'll leave him be. They have a code. They leave the youngins alone."
"You mean like they left me alone?" Dean replied. The words seemed to echo through the room, carrying a heavy weight. Dean slowly turned and moved toward the door and Bobby sighed.
"Dean', don't-" The Alpha began but stopped when he saw the older brother's expression. "...Alright fine. But stay safe. I'd better see you both in the morning in one piece, got it?" he warned and the Beta nodded.
Dean turned and pulled the door open before feeling himself being pulled into a hug.
"I mean it, boy. You watch out for yourself." Bobby said before pulling back and putting his hands on Dean's shoulders. "And the full moon's coming so try not to wreck the place. It took a weekend to build but don't think that means you can scratch it up." he tried to smile.
Dean nodded and walked out of the house. Bobby watched him and felt a pang of worry. He'd taken the boys in from a young age. At the time, he'd done it out of some kind of grudging responsibility and guilt but he'd come to care for the boys. His boys.
"Stay safe." he asked quietly again before closing the door.