Chapter Ten- Exposed

"Land there," Hagger said and Lotor guided the ship to the spot indicated to him. He was to fly ahead of the fleet and wait in the forest near the castle. The ship's two occupants disembarked and Lotor looked to the skies for the fleet before seeing that Hagger was looking at the castle, particularly the lake. Does she intend to poison the water? That could destroy Voltron by poisoning the pilots and the castle's residents. I'll stop her before she even gets close to the water. The sound of the warship arriving made him look at it. All the ships on board were rigged to fail and he had even planted an explosive on the warship that he would trigger with a remote hidden in his belt. He glanced off to the castle and saw the Voltron Force, minus Pidge, emerging from the castle as planned.

"Not going for the lions, eh?" he heard Hagger mutter to herself. "Even better." Lotor was about to demand an explanation when explosions drew both of their attentions. Lotor inwardly smirked while Hagger stared stunned. The ships were blowing up with no explanation. No one was firing on them but they were being destroyed nonetheless.

"How?" she asked. "How is this possible?"

"I would say pilot error," said Lotor. "Sometimes robots aren't the best pilots."

"Well, no matter. My plan won't fail."

"Which is, what?" he asked.

"Follow and watch, my prince," she said as she moved toward the team with Lotor behind her. The approach rustled the foliage and made the team turn to it as Hagger emerged and Lotor stood beside her.

"Hagger! What are you up to, you witch?" Lance demanded.

"I will destroy Voltron!" she declared, failing to notice Lotor moving away from her as she aimed her staff at Allura. "I lay a curse on you, princess!" Lotor then dashed forward so quickly that he was in front of Allura seconds before the curse fired. The beam hit his chest and he put a hand to it as he grunted and one eye closed in pain. "No!" Hagger screamed.

"You won't harm her," he said.

"That was the plan! I was to curse her and prevent her from flying Blue Lion. Without five lions, there's no Voltron! But you got in the way and took the one-time curse instead."

"That was my idea," Lotor retorted. "And here's another." He pulled out the remote and pushed the button. A loud explosion sounded and Hagger turned to see the warship blowing up.

She whirled around. "You…traitor!"

Lotor smiled grimly. "That's right and I'm staying right here."

"Oh no. You are coming back to face punishment." She was reaching out toward him when the roar of a lion sounded. She looked up and shrieked at the sight of the Green Lion hovering over the group. She ran for Lotor's ship, got in, and flew off, the ship on autopilot.

"Lotor, are you all right?" Keith asked, going to his boyfriend's side.

"It would seem so, but I'm not sure. I've been cursed, but who knows what it is. I seem fine, though."

"We'll have the doctor look you over and keep you in the infirmary should the curse activate," Allura said. "And thank you for saving me," she added as they headed inside.

Lotor laid in an infirmary bed, his forehead beaded with sweat. It had been two hours since the foiled attack and exam and it looked as if the curse was finally affecting him. The doctor was at a loss. Lotor was perfectly healthy; there was no reason for him to be sweating.

"There is a reason," he snapped when he heard this. "It's too hot in here."

"But, it's not," Keith said, concerned over Lotor's condition.

Gradually, Lotor drifted into a fitful sleep with Keith whimpering slightly. He stayed by the prince's side as the hours passed. When the sun was setting, Lotor awoke feeling much better and said as much to Keith when he asked.

"Keith, it's almost dark. Shouldn't you be outside?"

"No. I don't have to be and I'm not leaving your side until you're released."

He smiled as Keith shifted to wolf and then he gasped as he sat up before he howled…like a wolf! His clothes faded away as a coat of white fur covered him. Lotor groaned as he planted his hands on the bed and saw them shape themselves into paws. His nose and jaws pushed out into a muzzle while his ears moved upward. His eyes became gold wolf eyes as the change raced down his body. Soon a large, lean, and muscular white wolf sat in bed, panting from the change.

"Whoa," Keith said softly. "So, this was the curse. Hagger had planned to curse Allura as a werewolf. But, that wouldn't have destroyed Voltron."

"Yes, it would. The curse would have killed her," Lotor gasped. "Werewolf curses on my planet are meant for men. It would kill the women."

Keith also gasped. "Then, you really did save her life. Come on, let's tell the others." He looked at the doctor who was present and he nodded.

Lotor struggled to his paws before leaping down. He followed Keith out, marveling at how easily he was walking on all fours as well as his smooth, graceful movement. Wow. This is amazing. Now I'm a werewolf, like Keith.

The two went to the lounge where the team went to wait for news of Lotor. They looked up at Keith entering and then got up with gasps as Lotor came in. "You're a wolf?" Lance asked.

"Werewolf," Lotor corrected. "Hagger planned to curse Allura with a curse meant only for men and it would have killed her."

Allura's eyes went blank and she sat down hard on the couch. "I would have died?" Her eyes focused on Lotor and shined with tears. "You saved my life."

"I would have taken the curse no matter what it was," he admitted as Allura knelt in front of him and hugged him.

"Still, thank you. You are definitely staying here."

"And he'll share my room," Keith added. "He is my mate, after all."

"Mate?" Lance repeated.

"Yes," Lotor said as Allura released him. "Boyfriend during the day, mate at night."

Lotor barked in a laughing manner a few hours later as he and Keith stood in their room. "What were the odds that the witch would use the werewolf curse?"

"Rather small, I'd say."

"If it had hit Allura, she would have died when the curse tried to change her."

Keith nuzzled Lotor's cheek. "But it didn't hit her and it was a one-time curse. She can't try again."

Lotor returned the gesture. "You're right. So, can we go out tomorrow night?"

"Sure. I'd like to play with you as well as run and wrestle."

Lotor's tail swished. "Sounds like fun."

"Good and maybe you could do night watches too."

"I can." Lotor got into bed with Keith and the two snuggled each other as they fell asleep as werewolves and mates and Lotor looked forward to the new day and his new life.