Chapter 37

It had been almost an hour, and John still hadn't returned to the room. Bobby, think it best they didn't wait for John, decided to start laying protection around the room. Protection against all comers. Salt lines laid on the windowsill, and on the floor in front of the front door. Cats eye shells also littered table tops, and nightstands for more personal protection. Bobby figured they'd better be safe than sorry.

Jessica stood by the window with the curtain pulled back slightly so she could catch a clear view of the world just outside the motel room. Pink clouds rolled over a bright orange sky as the sun was sinking just below the horizon made up of the woods just outside.

Dean sat at the table, with an open leather-bound yellow paged book in front of him. He wasn't reading it, however. His mind seemed to be off in other places as he experimented silently with his new senses. He could smell the musty book in front of him, suggesting its age. It was obviously much older than he was. He found he didn't have to look to know that Bobby, Jessica, and Sam were around. He could just smell them, and their emotions which was disturbing, yet interesting to Dean at the same time.

He could smell Bobby's nerves as they were running quickly through his veins. Bobby seemed to be hoping John got back soon, but he was also a little worried and agitated at the same time.

Not trying to get a headache from over-thinking Bobby, he turned his senses toward Jessica. She also had the faint scent of fear rolling off her as she gazed out the window.

Dean wondered what Jessica was so scared about? But he quit his pondering the moment Sam came to his attention. Sam smelled like Sam, yet different. A moment ago, he too had his nerves running high, but now they seemed to be dissipating slowly as if being flushed down a drain. And being replaced by the nerves, was the most savage hunger Dean had never thought possible.

Dean's eyes widened and his head turned toward his brother who was sitting on the bed, his brow furrowed as if confused. Was he losing control again?

"Sam?" Dean asked shakily.

Upon hearing Dean's voice, Bobby's and Jessica's eyes both fell on Sam as he began to sway on the bed slightly.

Sam could smell them all, he could hear their hearts pumping that sweet fear through their veins. And all it was doing was provoking his hunger. He tried to shut it out as he looked up at the faces the heartbeats belonged to. They were his family, he couldn't hurt them.

He looked up at his brother curiously who was now suddenly at his side, gripping his shoulder firmly as if to steady him. Strange, last night his brother didn't smell like him, but now he did.

As memories flooded through Sam's mind, he remembered biting his brother on the wrist. A small smile crept on Sam's face as he remembered turning his brother.

Sam looked back up at the people before him, as their heartbeats actually seemed to grow louder as if daring him to take a bite. He growled deep in his throat at the idea, but looked down at his brother.

Now that this one was like him, maybe he would like to take a bite as well, only as long as his brother recognized him as the alpha of course.

Dean stood to his full height and removed his hand from Sam's shoulder as he realized how wild his brother had become. This wasn't at all what he thought it was just last night. Last night Dean thought that Sam was being filled with something evil to make him act this way.

But even though something evil did this to his brother, he knew that Sam wasn't kidding in any way when he said that it was only instinct. Sam didn't give off any scent indicating that he'd flipped and gone dark-side or something. Sam really seemed to think he was some kind of wolf.

Like the night before, Sam began to shred the clothing from his body as if it were burning his skin. He grunted wildly as ribbons of what used to be his clothes fell to his feet until he stood before everyone completely naked.

He then fell to his knees with a tiny moan and rolled his shoulders as the familiar adrenaline rush flooded his system, willing the change to take his body again.

"Out." Dean whispered to Bobby and Jessica gently so he didn't startle his brother as his spine popped, and became visible beneath his skin as it elongated into an odd looking tail.

"Are you crazy?" Bobby whispered to Dean, "I'm not leaving you here!"

"I'm already turned!" Dean tried to reason, "There's not much else he can do to me. I can hold him off, just lock the door behind you!"

His voice rose word by word, and a loud angry growl vibrated Sam's chest as his muscles shuddered, and his bones continued to rearrange themselves beneath his skin.

"We ain't gonna go far." Bobby whispered shakily, "We'll be just outside waitin' for John...just outside, by the truck."

Dean nodded at the hint, and then Bobby and Jessica turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind them.

When Dean heard the lock click shut, he looked down at the unbroken salt line at the doorway, and then finally turned back to Sam who was now completely in wolf form.

Sam's golden eyes pierced Dean's normal green with intense anger as he ridden the room of his prey. Was his brother trying to prove himself alpha after all?

"Come on Sammy," Dean said gently, "you're not a wolf. Think!"

Sam snarled at his brother, trying to threaten him. But for some reason, it didn't seem to be as effective as it was last night.

Dean almost laughed at Sam. He knew what his little brother was trying to do. He knew that Sam was trying to let him know that he was alpha.

It worried Dean a little that he actually understood that, but shook it off as Sam harshly nipped at Dean's knees.

He wanted Dean to change, he wanted this to be a fair fight.

Obliging, Dean quickly tossed his clothes off and began to shift as his pants fell around his ankles. He wouldn't try to fight Sam, but maybe if they were on the same playing feild Sam would cooperate a little better.

Dean fell to his knees, and moaned with pleasure as his body began to change under his brothers' threatening glare.

Sam watch as his brothers' bones began to pop, crack, and slide around in what sounded like a painful change. But experience told Sam that there was no pain.

In wolf form, Sam was still taller than Dean. But Dean had more muscles on him, Sam noticed as his brothers' arms swelled and bulged, as his fingers shortened into wolf-like toes that surrounded his hands as they became padded, and melted into a paws.

Thick black fur began to cover Dean's entire body as an itching sensation krept up his spine, causing only a moment of discomfort.

Finally, two wolves stood apart from each other, staring at one another intently.

Sam stood with his stiff legs beneath him to try to elevate himself more. His ears above his head stood erect and facing forward, and his hackles bristled a little. He was showing his dominance, Dean knew.

Dean flattened his ears against his head, and nudged Sam's thick mane trying to get him to understand. But Dean soon realized that it didn't work that way, as Sam lowered his head, taking Dean's neck in his jaws and tossing him off.

A small whimper escaped Dean's throat as he was thrown off, and landed on the floor hard.

He shook his head to clear the sudden fog that had rolled in. All he wanted to do was to rip Sam's throat out, and show who was really boss.

But as those thoughts crossed his mind, he lowered his muzzle onto his paws and whined. He couldn't end up like Sam was right now, because surely one of them would die. He had to keep his cool.

Sam walked over to his brother and sunk his teeth into Dean's mane, but didn't break the skin. He was telling his brother wordlessly to submit, and let him be alpha.

Dean snorted at the thought of Sam having any sort of power over him, but still didn't challenge him.

Sam tightened his grip a little, waiting for some sign of submission from his brother. It would be a shame to kill him, but he would if it came down to it.

Dean suddenly stood bolt up on all fours, and forcefully shook his little brother off him. His ears flicked back as he heard Sam land in the wall behind him.

To be honest, Dean wasn't sure why he shook Sam off. He sure didn't want to be alpha, but he didn't want Sam to have that kind of authority over him, even in wolf terms. Dean guessed it was his human pride getting the best of him. No way he was gonna let his little brother get the drop on him.

Dean turned around to face Sam, and was met with the angriest wolf he'd ever seen in his life. Sam's ears stood above his head, and his brown coat bristled. His black lips were curled back, revealing his white fangs in a dangerous snarl.

Dean on the other hand thought this was too much. His fluffy black tail began to wag back and forth playfully as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

Sam became confused as he sensed his brothers' excitement. Why wasn't he taking him seriously? He didn't look as if he wanted to fight for power, but for play.

Sam's erect ears fell back slightly, and his golden eyes narrowed as his inspected his brother.

This wasn't a game, Sam growled. Dean understood the message, but barked a tiny chuckle.

Sam suddenly lunged at Dean furiously, but Dean jumped out of the way, dodging the blow entirely. He turned around to look at where Sam landed when he heard a loud crash. His tail wagged harder when he saw that Sam had landed on the table that stood by the window. The book Dean had been looking at fell to the ground, as the the legs holding the table up snapped under Sam's weight, sending him too crashing to the floor atop a mass of splinters and broken wood.

Without even shaking off the blow, Sam pounced at Dean again, but again - Dean jumped out of Sam's way, letting him crash into the bed.

Dean barked out another chuckle as he noticed his brothers' confusion. I can do this all night! Dean thought to himself.

xXx

It was now completely dark outside as Bobby and Jessica stood outside the motel. Bobby was leaning against his car, while Jessica was pacing back and forth nervously. Neither of them spoke a word to each other.

Suddenly, to Bobby's relief, John Winchester's truck pulled into the parking lot and came to a halt next to Bobby's car. John shut the truck off, and withdrew the key from the ignition before shoving it into his pocket. He looked out his window and his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked into Bobby's stern face, and Jessica's fearful stance.

He got out of the truck without taking the bags he picked up in town from the passengers' seat, and closed the door behind him. He walked toward Bobby hurriedly.

"What is it?" John demanded.

"Sam flipped again." Bobby explained with a shrug, "Dean insisted he take care of it."

"Damn it!" John shouted angrily as a loud crash resounded from their room, causing their eyes to avert to the front door.

There was a soft sound of twigs breaking coming from the woods behind them. John whirled around to face the sound, and his eyes narrowed in disgust. Standing behind them was the gray and white wolf the witch always had at her side.

John suddenly took off toward the trees straight at the wolf. He knew this wolf would him straight to the witch, and this was exactly why John was always armed. And now that they had The Colt, that never left his waistband. Ever.

Ignoring Bobby's calls, John urged his legs to push him faster as the wolf took off into the maze of trees.

Now in the maze himself, John kept his eyes trained on the wolf in front of him as it jumped over fallen logs and bushes trying to escape John.

But John kept forward with an intense glare in his eyes.

To his surprise, the wolf suddenly stopped in a tiny clearing only a little deeper in the woods. She turned to face him, and then sat down staring at him with an examining gleam in her eyes.

Ignoring his instincts telling him to turn back, John advanced on the wolf when suddenly there were thin hands grabbing him from behind.

Taken aback, John bit back a gasp as one of the arms wrapped around his neck while the other hand placed a white cloth over his mouth and nose.

Chloroform overtook John's senses as he breathed it in foolishly. His last thoughts before losing consciousness were that he walked right into a trap.

The witch stood behind John with a wide smile on her face as he sank to the ground in a heap. She then released him with the cloth still in her hand as she crossed her arms over her chest. She then looked down at the gray and white wolf and a loving smile replaced her satisfied grin.

"I was hoping for Dean...but I guess daddy will have to do." The witch told the wolf happily.

The wolf yipped in excitement as the witch sent a hard kick straight to John's gut.

"Now we have our human sacrifice." She whispered in a sing-song voice as she looked down at John's dead-weight form.