Just some good ol' hurt and comfort in this chapter because us authors love to hurt our characters and get them all healed up by love :3

Jack trudged up the pathway to the house, the afternoon sun beating on his back. He paused at the fence and just stared at the place for a few moments. He wanted nothing more than to avoid facing his lover in that moment, but there was nowhere else for him to go. This morning he'd left excited and energetic for a training with his new wolf friends. After the training had gone horribly and the walk back home even more so, all he wanted was to curl in a ball and be left alone to his misery. He sighed softly and continued on to the house.

After silently opening the door, Jack gripped his shoulder tightly to apply pressure to a fresh wound so he wouldn't leave a trail of blood through the ghouse. With the sun still being so high in the sky, he knew Pitch would still be sound asleep. Jack tiptoed through the house, avoiding all the creaky spots on the floor, and successfully made his way up to the attic soundlessly. The attic was full of stuff, but if you made your way through the maze there was a small bed against the wall in the back. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, but Jack didn't give one care in that moment. He lifted up the sheet with a paw, gave it a quick shake, and then pulled it over his whole body to hide himself from the world. There was nothing left for him to do at that point but cry. He cried for hours. He cried because he was so tired and miserable, but crying gave him such a headache that he couldn't fall asleep. His whole body ached, as a matter of fact, almost as much as his shoulder. It all made him feel even more upset that he couldn't sleep as much he wanted to and set him off crying again.

The bed behind Jack sank down as someone laid beside him and two arms wrapped around him. "I've smelled your blood for hours. I came the moment I could."

"Please leave me alone." The words were muffled from beneath the sheet he pulled tighter over himself. "I don' want anyone else seeing me like this."

"Who's gonna see you? The other lovers you keep hidden away?"

"You. I don' want you to see me righ' now."

"Then I won't look." Pitch pulled Jack closer, his nose nuzzling against his neck.

"Yes, you will. You always do. Nosy bastard…," he grumbled. "I've taken enough embarrassment today."

"Vulgar boy," Pitch chuckled. "What happened?"

"Was supposed to be easy. Ana and Nick 'old me 'hey picked it up fash."

"Mmm-hmm."

"We tried changing a' will. Didn' go well."

"May I see? It could be infected?"

Jack shook his head emphatically, pulling the sheet even tighter over himself. "I look awful. I'm worse than Hermione on polyjuice potion!"

"I do not understand that reference at all," Pitch hummed. He ran his fingers up to bury themselves in Jack's hair. "And you've never not been beautiful to me. You know that."

"I shink you would change your mind if you saw me righ' now. I'm sssstuck." His tongue got tangled on the word.

"What?" Pitch chuckled, giving Jack's hair a gentle tug.

A white, furry ear poked out from his shifted hood and twitched. "I went wolf, but I...couldn' go back...all the way. Ana said is too close to full moon an' I'm no' used to the energy of changing yet. Now I'm shuck looking like a bad makeup job from a classic monster movie!"

Pitch froze. "You…"

"I'm shuck." He reached up and pawed his glhood back up to cover himself.

Pitch grabbed Jack's hood and pulled it back down. "Show me the rest." Jack shook his head and buried his face in the pillow. "Please?"

Jack slowly turned onto his back and lowered the sheet to reveal his grotesque form. His partial transformation had left him with spots of fur all over the place, wolfy ears, animalistic eyes, and a half formed snout that made it quite difficult to speak.

Pitch ran his fingers down Jack's body, slowly mapping where wolf met man. "Hmm."

"It's awful. I know. You can say it." He pulled the sheet over his head with a groan. "Why couldn't I be shuck with just ears and paws like a cute cartoon or somethin'?"

"I didn't say it was awful. You did." Pitch swirled a fingertip in one of the patches of fur. "I didn't say anything."

"It is though."

"It's not too bad."

"It's horrible. I don't know how you can even touch me righ' now."

"Because I adore you. I always adore you."

Jack let out a big sigh. "Nick says when I rest enough I can go back to normal." He looked over at his lover with watery eyes. "But I can't sleep because everything aches and I'm miserable."

"Is there anything I could do?"

"I could probably use a first aid kit. I think the bullet's still in there." Jack slid the hoodie off his shoulder to show his mate the bloodied wound. "And maybe a bed that's not so dusty I can taste the air from ten years ago."

"Mon Dieu!" Pitch gripped Jack's arm, holding him steady while he looked at his shoulder. "You're an idiot," he grumbled. "Come on downstairs. Let's get you showered and dressed in something cleaner. Then you'll eat something and I'll bandage you up before you get into bed. No arguments, mon amour."

"'m not an idiot," Jack mumbled but sat up in the bed.

"Yes, you are." Pitch sighed and leaned forward, giving Jack's shoulder a gentle lick. "But I forgive you."

"I didn't do anyshing." He winced a little at the lick against his tender skin.

"Everytime I close my eyes, you get into trouble. I might have to put you on a leash."

"No need for a leash." Jack slowly sat up. "Nothing you could have done could've prevented today."

"A short leash tied to the bed would have been a good start."

"That would have meant I couldn' train with Ana and Nick."

"Yep."

"No leash."

"Then stop getting into trouble."

"Wasn' my fault." Jack held his hands out to Pitch in an unspoken request for help up.

"Uh-huh." Pitch stood and gripped Jack's paws, helping him up.

"It's true." He pulled his hoodie back over the wound and his head. "I was just minding my own business when it happened."

"When what happened? I wasn't aware training included shooting you," Pitch growled.

"Training didn' involve shooting me." Jack rolled his eyes and headed for the door. "Tha' was thanks to some assholes on the walk home."

"You were shot on the street?!" Pitch stiffened. "I'll kill them. I'll find the bastards and I'll kill them."

"Don't worry abou' it. They were just racis' ass'oles. I slashed their tires and broke all their weapons. They jus' got a shot in before I could get away."

"I'll slash their throats. I'll tear them out and lay them at your feet," Pitch growled. "They dared touch you."

"It's fine. I knew this could happen even when I planned on becoming a vampire. I's no different being a wolf." Jack trudged down the stairs to their bedroom.

"I'll kill them." Pitch grumbled as he followed close behind Jack.

"It's not like you even know who they are."

"I can smell them on you. I'll find them."

"Jus' leave it," he mumbled as he gingerly pulled his shirt over his head.

"Is that a request?"

"I'll make it a demand if I have to."

Pitch sighed. "I won't disobey you."

"Shank you." Jack tossed the bloodied shirt into the hamper and let out a sigh of relief when he slipped his pants off and released his tail from confinement.

A hand wrapped around Jack's tail, gently stroking it from base to tip. "You have this too?"

Jack nodded with a small shiver. "It was uncomforble in pants."

Pitch hummed. "Is it okay for me to touch it?"

"You touch it when I'm all wolf. I don' mind."

"You're not in pain when you're all wolf," Pitch sighed, repeating the motion.

"My shoulder is all tha' hurts. Everythin' else is just tired."

"Should I stop?"

"You don' have to."

"But do you want me to?"

"No."

"Does it feel good?"

Jack nodded slowly and leaned back until he felt Pitch against him. "Really good."

Pitch nuzzled Jack's neck, stroking his tail again and again. "You have a beautiful tail."

"You do seem to like it a lo'."

"It's long and soft. White as snow." Pitch slid his other hand up Jack's chest. "Such soft fur and such warm, firm skin."

Jack looked down at his chest and sighed. "I look like a wax job gone wrong."

"I dunno." Pitch's fingers ran through a patch of fur before teasing a pink nipple. "I don't think it looks that bad."

"It does. You're jus' biased."

"Guilty as charged," Pitch chuckled before biting Jack's earlobe.

"Will you shower with me?" He turned to look up at Pitch from tired wolf eyes.

"I don't trust myself to keep my hands off you," Pitch hummed. "Go shower while I make you something to eat."

"Alright," Jack sighed.

"I will cuddle you, though," Pitch promised, rubbing his nose against Jack's.

"After I shower." His lips twitched in a small smile. "And after we play doctor and patient."

"And after you eat."

"Tha' too." Jack shifted his shoulder with a wince.

"Go get in the shower, pup." Pitch gave Jack's hip a soft nudge.

"Yes, sir," he mumbled before stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door between them. Jack rinsed off with as much energy as he could muster, which wasn't much, before getting out of the shower and flopping onto the bed still dripping wet.

"Hey!" Pitch walked into the room, putting the plate of food he had been carrying onto the side table before tugging Jack back onto his feet. "Nope. Dry off first."

"Then you dry me off," Jack whined.

Pitch shook his head and took Jack back into the bathroom, scrubbing him dry with a towel. "Okay, now you can get into bed."

Jack nodded tiredly and crawled back under the covers. "Too hard to move my arm to dry off," he explained. "Shanks."

"No problem." Pitch sat beside Jack and put the plate on his lap. "Open wide, mon amour."

"I can feed myself, you know?" He reluctantly took a bite.

"Good boy."

"No' a dog," he grumbled.

"No, but you are my naughty pup."

"It's not my fault sifting is so exhausting."

"Should have just become a vampire. So much easier."

"I planned on it, remember? Fate had different plans."

"Fate decided I should be head over heels gaga for a naughty pup."

"I guess so."

"Hey." Pitch put the plate aside and leaned down. "This isn't forever. I'm not repulsed and I'm not dumping you or some other crazy bullshit you may have thought up. You're kinda stuck with me."

"But I look ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous."

"Don't care. I'm still helplessly mad about you."

"Even when I look like an awful monster movie extra?"

Pitch nodded. "Especially then. My heart is yours. So what're you gonna do about it, mon amour?"

"I'm gonna get lots of sleep so I can go back to normal and jump you."

"Is that a promise?"

"I'd even pinky swear if I had pinkies righ' now."

"How about a snoot boop instead?"

"That could work instead," Jack snorted softly.

Pitch smiled and pressed the tip of his nose to Jack's. "You can't break your promise."

"I won't. Nothing could stop me."

"Don't I know it. You love jumping me," Pitch teased.

"It's my favorite hobby."

"J'adore."

"Love you too." Jack shifted uncomfortably. "Can we play doctor and patient now? I shink I can feel myself healing around the bullet."

"Yeah." Pitch grabbed the first aid kit he had put beside the bed earlier. "This is probably gonna hurt."

"Not probably." Jack grabbed a pillow and bit down on it, nodding to the vampire that he was ready.

Pitch took the scalpel from the kit and brought it to Jack's shoulder, gently cutting into the skin. He then used the forceps to reach in and grab the bullet, slowly pulling the small chunk of metal from Jack's flesh. His skin hissed as the bullet was removed. Pitch quickly bandaged Jack's shoulder and gave him a glass of water. "All done."

Jack sighed in relief when it was over. "Shanks." He awkwardly poured the water in his mouth before setting the glass on bedside table and slipping further down under the covers. "Wors' day ever. Maybe even worse than firs' full moon," he grumbled.

"I know," Pitch hummed, rubbing his hand over Jack's back soothingly. "But it's almost over. Soon you'll sleep and you'll feel so much better."

"Shay with me?" Jack peeked tiredly at him over his shoulder.

"Of course, mon amour." Pitch cleaned up and then got into bed, pressing up against Jack.

"Love you…" Jack paused to let out a big yawn. "Pitch."

"Sleep now, mon amour." Pitch nuzzled the back of Jack's neck. "Sleep, my beautiful wolf."

Jack was extremely thankful that transformations weren't the only pains that wolfsbane helped to numb. With a full belly and his lover's scent in his nose, he quickly nodded off to sleep.

Leave your thoughts in a review if you feel up to it. I'll try to give shout outs to any lovely fans who deem us worthy of your emotional feedback :)