I hope everyone had an awesome thanksgiving.

Please Review.

Alex knew she had to find Justin, but she didn't know where to look anymore. Their mind link was gone, so she had to search for him the old-fashioned way. She'd gone to every library in the tri-state area. She looked in every comic book shop she could think of. She'd even gone to his stupid Alien Language League Clubhouse.

And with every failure, Alex's fear seemed to be confirmed: his disappearance wasn't some lame attempt at revenge for her last prank, it had something to do with those strange dreams he'd been having.

Alex had no idea where her brother was, no idea how to find the man she loved...and she'd never felt so helpless, so alone.

Who could she turn to for help? Their parents? That conversation would lead to places she couldn't go, and their mother had been suspicious for years now, not willing to accept their new closeness at face value, as Jerry had. Max? He was off in God-knows-where, doing whatever the hell angels did these days.

There was no one she could turn to.

But that wasn't the only thing that drove Alex crazy. It was not being able to sense Justin anymore, the gaping hole his absence left in her mind...and her heart. It was the feeling of being broken.

Alex Russo doesn't do broken.

Alex.

She jumped at the sudden voice in her head. It sounded familiar...

Alex, get to Justin's room. Now, please.

She raced to Justin's room, and found him lying in his bed. His clothes were in rags, there were bags under his blood-shot eyes, and he seemed pale.

But to Alex, he'd never looked more beautiful. She raced to his side and hugged him tightly.

"Alex," he said through a gasp of breath. "Can't...breathe!"

She let go of him then, and slapped him.

"That's not all you won't be able to do," Alex said threateningly. "Where the hell have you been!"

"I don't know," Justin replied. "I keep getting these weird flashes...he probably has a better explanation than I do."

"He?"

That was when someone cleared their throat, just behind Alex. She whirled around wand in hand...and stopped short.

"Hi," Max said.

"Max?" Alex asked surprised. "Is that really you?"

"In the flesh," he replied. "Technically. You can put this away now." He handed Alex her wand back.

"How the he-"

"Watch it, sis," Max said with a smile. "That's not a word you should throw around lightly." He cocked his head slightly. "Since when do you swear?"

"Max," Justin said from his bed. "I'm glad you found me, and I'm glad we're having this little reunion, but could you please tell me what's going on?"

"Right. Dreams,wolves, all that jazz."

"How do you know about the dreams?" Alex asked.

"Angel, remember? Plus, I like to keep an eye on you guys."

Max cleared his throat again.

"So I did some digging, and as it turns out...we're descended from wolves."

"Come again?" Justin said.

"It's true. We have wolf blood in us, from mom's side; the line goes back centuries, all the way to Thiess."

Justin's hands were shaking, Alex steadied them with her own.

"So last night..."

Max nodded. "You transformed. Which is pretty weird, considering."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"Thiess was a special class of werewolf, what some European cultures called a skinwalker: he could transform at will. So for you to transform in your sleep is, well, weird."

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"No, but you owe Harper a new dress." Max thought for a moment, then asked. "How long have you been having the dreams?"

"About a week now."

"Huh. They should have stopped by now."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, still gripping Justin's hands.

"Skinwalkers are special," Max said. The reason the transformation is voluntary is because the wolf and the man are truly one; they are a melding of souls: no one vies for dominance."

Silence.

"What?" Max asked.

"Nothing," Alex said. "I'm just not used to hearing you use big words...or make sense."

Max rolled his eyes. "I grew up. Hunting does that to you." He looked at Justin. "When the wolf comes to you, what do you do?"

"I run, as fast and as far as I can."

"That's not good. The wolf isn't trying to kill you, he's trying to join with you. And until he does, he'll cut off any connections you have to anyone else, and use them as his own.

"That's why your mind link is gone."

"You knew about that?" Alex asked, surprised.

"I know a lot of things now. But that's not the point. The dreams won't stop until you and the wolf are one, Justin."

"And then what?" Justin demanded. Suppose I do what you say and we join or whatever, then what?"

Max sighed. "Thiess didn't lie, you know, at his trial."

Alex had no idea what that meant, but Justin did.

"You're kidding! You mean that shi-"

Max glared at his brother.

"That stuff about being a 'Hound of God' was true?"

"Yes. Godhounds are Heaven's equivalent to hellhounds; the light to the darkness, the balance.

"After you become a godhound, you have a choice: you join the war against Hell, or...you don't. We're not about to force you."

"Why Justin?" Alex asked. "Why not someone else?"

"Like I said, it's in our blood. There are others, though. Some fight with us, others just forget that part of them exists."

"Why aren't I having these dreams?" Alex asked.

"I don't know," Max said. "Maybe the trait skips certain generations, maybe it's only carried by males of the bloodline. Maybe it has to be triggered, I don't know."

"Is there a cure for this?" Justin asked. "Something to take the wolf out of me?"

"Not that I know of. This isn't lycanthropy, Justin: it's not a curse."

"It sure feels like one," he muttered. "How can I make the dreams go away?"

"Simple," Max replied. "Stop running." Then he was gone.

Justin was panicking; Alex could almost hear his heart hammering away.

"Shhh," Alex said softly, lying down next him and nuzzling his neck. "It's going to be okay."

"How?" Justin whispered. "I'm turning into a monster."

"We'll find a cure, something to stop it. And if not, we'll bear it. Together." Alex turned his face so they were looking right at one another. "This doesn't make me love you any less."

Then they kissed. And Justin forgot his fears, his worries, everything. He was content in the knowledge that right now, in this moment, he was everything he needed to be.