AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out to y'all, but my mother fell and fractured a vertebra in her spine. She spent 3 days in the hospital and then was sent to rehab. So I haven't had much time for writing lately. But, I didn't want to go any longer without posting.

CHAPTER 13


I spent the next 4 days watching my baby brother writhing in pain and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Bess said she'd never seen a bitten take so long to turn or one be in such agony while he did it. Was it because I'm the one that bit him? Or was something wrong? I was terrified that he was dying.

But through it all, Sam never screamed, or begged, though I knew he wanted to. I watched his jaw clench as his teeth ground together and I worried that he'd start breaking them off! A violent shutter suddenly racked his body and he gasp as his eyes flew flew open. They were yellow and his teeth had grown into sharp points. He bit down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. The smell of fresh blod, even blood that was not entirely human, was not helping me to stay calm.

This is NOT what I wanted for my brother! FUCK! I didn't want to turn him in the first place! But I did it! And now I'm paying the consequences for my selfishness! Watching my brother suffer and maybe die! And what made me feel even more worse about the whole thing was that I kept thinking about how we were running out of time to save Lydia! I felt like a real piece of shit that I was thinking of anything but my brother. I had to stay focused on what was in front of me here. Now.

"Sam! What can I do?!", I whined miserably, trying to cool his feverish forehead with a damp cloth. "You're burning up!"

"I-I'mmm f-f-fiiinnnne", Sam stammered as his teeth began to chatter.

"Like Hell you are, Sammy! If your temperature gets any higher, you're brains gonna boil in your skull!" I wet the rag again and ran it over his face without even bothering to ring it out. He shuddered hard and groaned at the cold water as it soaked his hair and T-shirt.

"B-Bess said w-weeee justtt had t-to w-waittt it ouuuttt!" He sucked in breaths in loud wheezes and let them out again in quick huffs. "I'll b-beee o-okkaaayyy, D-Deee!" There was a loud gasp at my bedroom door and I turned to see Bess standing there with her hand over her mouth and noes and her her eyes wide with what looked like shock and a little fear.

"Bess?", I asked in concern. "What's wrong?" She didn't answer. The only response I got was a quick shake of her head before she backed away from the doorway and fled down the hall. "Bess?!"

"D-Dean, w-hat happpennng?!", Sam stuttered breathlessly. He grabbed my arm and the look on his face showed the fear that I felt.

"Everything alright, Sammy", I whispered. "I'll go see what's up, ok?" Sam just nodded at me and slumped back down on the pillow. "Be right back." He didn't respond and I didn't wait for one. I jumped from the bed and raced after Garth's wife. I didn't see where she had gone, but I hoped that she was with him in their room. I knocked on the door and waited. Nothing but silence was what I got back in reply. "Bess? Are you ok?" I knocked again and waited. I thought I could hear whispering, but I couldn't tell what was being said. I was getting frustrated now and banged on the door this time. "BESS! GARTH! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! I'M NOT LEAVING UNTIL I FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON!"

I was just about to start pounding again when the door swung open, an hand reached out and grabbed me by the collar. "Wha...? The hand jerked me into the room and the door slammed behind me. For a moment I was sure I was dreaming and that I was really on a monster hunt with Sam and I was being attacked. But then I realized that it was Bess that had grabbed me. I was surprised at how strong she was for being such a tiny thing! Garth was sitting up in the bed with the same frightened expression on his face that Sam had. "What... what the Hell?!", I blurted.

"Something... something's wrong with your brother, Dean!", Bess said, wringing her hands together.

"What do mean, "wrong"?"

"Well, not necessarily "wrong", just not... "right", she said, making air quotes.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!", I shouted back. I was seriously getting angry at her evasiveness. "JUST SPIT IT OUT, BESS! I'M NOT IN THE MOOD TO...!"

"YOUR BROTHER'S AN ALPHA, DEAN!", she screamed over me. "CAN'T YOU SMELL IT?!" I froze and just stood there gawking at her. Sure, he smells different, but that's normal, isn't it? Sam can't be a... a...

"What?", I croaked when I could speak again. "But that's not... not..."

"Not possible?", Bess said. "I thought so too."

"Kate told me! You ALL told me that Alphas aren't made! They're born!"

"Yet, here you are, Dean", Garth whispered tiredly. I looked up at him and he smiled at me. He was well on the backside of his recovery, but he was still pretty weak. For a werewolf the heal from the injuries Garth had sustained, it was pretty exhausting business. "Something is only impossible until it's not." Yeah, that made perfect sense! I rolled my eyes at him and he only continued to smile at me.

"This can't be happening!", I growled, running my fingers through my hair. "We'll end up killing each other!"

"That's not necessarily true, Dean", Bess whispered. "My father's brother is... WAS an Alpha too. They never had any issues with their status in the pack. Most of the time, when more than one Alpha is born in a family, the younger sibling will defer to the elder."

"Yeah?", I croaked back. I didn't want to think about a possible Alpha showdown to the death between me and my brother.

"Yeah, and if there is a problem, the younger Alpha will leave to start his own pack when he's old enough." Now that just made me feel worse! I didn't want my brother anywhere than with me! I started to pace the room in agitation until Garth spoke up again.

"Dean, now you know Sam would never leave his big brother." I stopped and looked at him again without responding. "Besides, hasn't Sam pretty much ALWAYS deferred to you?" The implication that I was domineering had my hackles raised, but I pushed it back when I had to admit that he was right.

Why did he have to be so nauseatingly right all the time?!